System for parking management

• US 8,279,088 B2
• Filed: 09/08/2006
• Issued: 10/02/2012
• Est. Priority Date: 12/06/2005
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Quercus Technologies, S.L.
• Original Assignee: Key-Chang Khim
• Inventors: Khim, Key-chang
• Primary Examiner(s): Swarthout, Brent
• Application Number:
  US12/086,052
• Publication Number:
  US 20090303079A1
• Time in Patent Office: 2,216 Days
• Field of Search: 340/932.2, 340/937, 705/5, 705/13, 348/148, 348/149, 382/105, 707/812
• US Class Current: 340/932.2
• CPC Class Codes: G08G 1/017 identifying vehicles G08G1/015, G08G1/054 take precedence
• CPC Class Codes: G08G 1/0175 by photographing vehicles, e.g. when violating traffic rules
• CPC Class Codes: G08G 1/065 by counting the vehicles in a section of the road or in a parking area, i.e. comparing incoming count with outgoing count
• CPC Class Codes: G08G 1/146 where the parking area is a limited parking space, e.g. parking garage, restricted space
• CPC Class Codes: G08G 1/149 coupled to means for restricting the access to the parking space, e.g. authorization, access barriers, indicative lights

Abstract

The present invention relates to a parking management system. The parking management system includes an entrance camera (100) installed at an entrance of a parking lot to photograph a vehicle that enters the parking lot. An exit camera (200) photographs a vehicle that departs from the parking lot. A plurality of region cameras (300) is installed in respective parking regions to photograph a vehicle. A management server (400) includes a vehicle license number recognition unit (450) for recognizing a vehicle license number, a registration unit (460) for registering a last photographed parking region on a parking ticket, a control unit (440) for calculating a number of available parking spaces for each parking region, and determining a total number of available parking spaces, and a guidance unit (470) for guiding an entering vehicle to an available parking region. A display unit (350) displays the number of available parking spaces.

Claims

1. A parking management system, comprising:

an entrance camera (100) installed at an entrance of a parking lot, and adapted to photograph a vehicle that enters the parking lot;

an exit camera (200) for photographing a vehicle that departs from the parking lot;

a plurality of region cameras (300) installed in respective parking regions in the parking lot, and adapted to photograph a vehicle;

a management server (400) comprising a vehicle license number recognition unit (450) for recognizing a vehicle license number on the basis of image data photographed by the entrance camera (100), the exit camera (200), and the region cameras (300), a registration unit (460) for registering a last photographed parking region on a parking ticket, which a driver holds when entering the parking lot, on the basis of a vehicle license number photographed by the region cameras installed in respective parking regions, a control unit (440) for calculating a number of available parking spaces for each parking region based on a last input vehicle license number for each parking region, and determining a total number of available parking spaces, and a guidance unit (470) for guiding an entering vehicle to an available parking region determined by the control unit through a parking guidance signal unit; and

a display unit (350) installed at the entrance of the parking lot, and adapted to display the number of available parking spaces received from the control unit.

2. The parking management system according to claim 1, further comprising at least one parking guidance signal unit (500) for guiding the vehicle to a closest available parking region in which parking is possible along a path along which the vehicle to be parked will move, using the number of available parking spaces for each parking region received from the control unit (440).

3. The parking management system according to claim 1, wherein the management server (400) further comprises a parking recognition unit (430) for determining that the vehicle has been parked in a parking region corresponding to a region camera that last recognized the vehicle among the region cameras (300).

5. The parking management system according to claim 1, further comprising a Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) unit for recognizing entrance and departure of a vehicle instead of the cameras for recognizing the entrance and departure of the vehicle.

6. The parking management system according to claim 1, wherein the parking management system is operated to sense whether an entering vehicle is a vehicle permitted to enter the parking lot on the basis of an image photographed when the vehicle enters the parking lot, thus allowing the vehicle to enter the parking lot without receiving a separately issued parking ticket.

4. A parking management system, comprising:

an entrance camera (100) installed at an entrance of a parking lot, and adapted to photograph a vehicle that enters the parking lot;

a parking fee management unit (250) for displaying an overall parking time and parking fee of a vehicle that enters or departs from the parking lot, and indicating departure of the vehicle;

a plurality of region cameras (300) installed in respective parking regions in the parking lot, and adapted to photograph a vehicle;

a management server (400) comprising a vehicle license number recognition unit (450) for recognizing a vehicle license number on the basis of image data photographed by the entrance camera (100), an exit camera (200), and the region cameras (300), a registration unit (460) for registering a last photographed parking region on a parking ticket, which a driver holds when entering the parking lot, on the basis of a vehicle license number photographed by the region cameras installed in respective parking regions, a control unit (440) for calculating a number of available parking spaces for each parking region on the basis of a last input vehicle license number for each parking region, and determining a total number of available parking spaces, and a guidance unit (470) for guiding an entering vehicle to an available parking region determined by the control unit through a parking guidance signal unit; and

a display unit (350) installed at the entrance of the parking lot, and adapted to display the number of available parking spaces received from the control unit.