Parking-zone management system

• US 7,889,099 B2
• Filed: 04/03/2007
• Issued: 02/15/2011
• Est. Priority Date: 04/04/2006
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Siemens AG
• Original Assignee: Siemens AG
• Inventors: Aubrey, Kenneth, Krebs, Tilo, Braukmann, Erwin
• Primary Examiner(s): Previl; Daniel
• Application Number:
  US11/732,429
• Publication Number:
  US 20070257818A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,414 Days
• Field of Search: 340/932.2, 340/928, 340/951, 340952-955, 340/972, 340/903, 340/905, 340907-908, 340991-994, 340/995.26
• US Class Current: 340/932.2
• CPC Class Codes: G07B 15/02 taking into account a variable factor such as distance or time, e.g. for passenger transport, parking systems or car rental systems G07B15/06 takes precedence; taximeters G07B13/00; parking meters per se G07F17/24; car rental systems per se G07B15/00
• CPC Class Codes: G07C 1/30 Parking meters registering or indicating waiting time of vehicles by means driven by the vehicle G07C5/02; coin-freed parking meters G07F17/24
• CPC Class Codes: G08G 1/14 indicating individual free spaces in parking areas

Abstract

The invention relates to a system for the management of a parking zone with chargeable parking spaces for vehicles, in particular of a parking zone sited at or on a public road, comprising an automatic machine for the payment of a parking fee for a parking space, said machine being assigned to the parking spaces. A parking-zone management system is provided which can indicate the current occupancy status of the parking spaces of the managed parking zone in an up-to-date manner and as accurately as possible, whereby at least one vehicle detector which is configured for determining the occupancy status of the parking space is arranged on each parking space, and whereby communication means, by means of which data representing the occupancy status can be transmitted, is provided for wireless data transmission between each respective vehicle detector and the automatic parking-fee machine.

Claims

1. A system for the management of a parking zone with a plurality of parking spaces for vehicles, comprising:

an automated payment machine for receiving payment of a parking fee for a plurality of parking spaces in the parking zone and monitoring a payment state for each parking space;

a vehicle detector arranged on each parking space, the vehicle detector configured for determining an occupancy status of the parking space as being either free or occupied;

one or more communication devices configured to wirelessly transmit the occupancy status of the parking space between the vehicle detectors and the automatic parking-fee machine;

a central parking control center configured for collectively receiving the occupancy status for each parking space in the parking zone;

a display device for displaying an overall occupancy status of all the parking spaces in the parking zone to collectively show the occupancy status of each parking space in the parking zone as being either free or occupied;

an evaluation device in communication with the automated payment machine that evaluates, for each parking space in the parking zone, the payment state and occupancy status to determine all wrongly occupied parking spaces as those parking spaces that are occupied but not adequately paid for, wherein the evaluation device organizes and prioritizes inspection rounds in an evaluation result for such wrongly occupied parking spaces based on one or more of;

(a) a number of wrongly occupied parking spaces within a predefined geographical area;

(b) a number of wrongly occupied parking spaces that have exceeded a predetermined time threshold of being not adequately paid for; and

(c) a number of wrongly occupied parking spaces that comprise a density per unit geographic area exceeding a predetermined threshold value.

2. The parking-zone management system of claim 1, wherein the parking zone is at or on a public road and the parking spaces are marked as defined parking bays, the vehicle detectors in each parking bay are arranged based on number and position so that detection of a vehicle by a detector is determinative as to which parking bay a vehicle is parked within.

3. The parking-zone management system of claim 2, wherein each vehicle detector is arranged below ground and configured so that when a vehicle passes over the vehicle detector on a parking space one of the communication devices transmits vehicle occupancy data to the automatic parking-fee machine.

4. The parking-zone management system as claimed in claim 3, wherein each vehicle detector has an autonomous power supply.

5. The parking-zone management system as claimed in claim 4, wherein each vehicle detector has a magnetometer for recording a vehicle occupying the parking space.

6. The parking-zone management system as claimed in claim 5, wherein the communication device has a transceiver device for a radio transmission.

7. The parking-zone management system as claimed in claim 6, wherein a transmission of occupancy states of the parking spaces from the vehicle detectors to the automatic parking-fee machine can be triggered as a function of the time of day or on demand by the automatic machine.

8. The parking-zone management system as claimed in claim 7, wherein the parking control center is configured for controlling adjustable information signs displaying the overall occupancy status of all the parking spaces in the parking zones.

9. The parking-zone management system as claimed in claim 8, wherein the automatic parking-fee machine is connected to a traffic management center configured for receiving the occupancy states of all the parking spaces assigned to the automatic parking-fee machine and for providing traffic information based on other traffic information services.

10. The parking-zone management system as claimed in claim 9, wherein a user recordable unambiguous space ID is assigned to each parking space, and the automatic parking-fee machine selects a parking space from its space ID and for the payment of a parking fee for the selected parking space based on input of the space ID.

11. The parking-zone management system as claimed in claim 1, wherein the payment state evaluation device comprises an output device for outputting the evaluation result.

12. The parking-zone management system as claimed in claim 11, wherein the output device is a printing mechanism configured to output the evaluation result as a paper list.

13. The parking-zone management system as claimed in claim 11, wherein the output device is a display device configured for the evaluation result to be output as a screen display.

14. The parking-zone management system as claimed in claim 11, wherein the automated payment machine includes the evaluation device and the output device comprises an interface, through which the evaluation result is transmitted from the automated payment machine as electronic data to a mobile monitoring device.