Garage management system

• US 8,479,258 B2
• Filed: 01/06/2011
• Issued: 07/02/2013
• Est. Priority Date: 01/06/2011
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Charles E. Wainwright, Martin Herman Iii Weik
• Original Assignee: Martin Herman Iii Weik
• Inventors: Weik, Martin Herman III, Wainwright, Charles E.
• Primary Examiner(s): Mehedi, Morshed
• Application Number:
  US12/930,437
• Publication Number:
  US 20120180103A1
• Time in Patent Office: 908 Days
• Field of Search: 716/1, 716/4
• US Class Current: 726/1
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/00 Administration; Management

Abstract

A garage management and monitoring system defines and manages each operational event in a parking facility. Access events, management events, equipment operation events, equipment malfunction events, security events and defined anomaly events are labeled and parsed into a relational database, which is used for generating reports, creating logs, making management decisions, reconstructing accidents, and so on. The equipment includes a computer terminal, a reader, an identifying item or code capable of being read by the reader to control access to the facility, an IP camera, and a garage door or vehicle gate with safety sensors. Each defined event can be codified on the server and/or local controller to create an event library that is downloaded to the controller.

A distributed intelligent system includes: units that gather information about garage, ingresses, and egresses; units that send data to the central server; the central server parses data sent from units and inserts it into a database; the central server formats data and presents it to users; units use unique keys to relate information from several actions the unit has taken to accomplish a task.

Claims

1. A management system for a facility, comprising:

a computer;

a database in communication with said computer;

a task tracking means in communication with said database;

an access management means in communication with said database, for supplying event information to said database;

an inventory tracking means in communication with said database, for supplying event information to said database; and

an alert means in communication with said database, using said event information;

wherein said inventory tracking means further comprises a camera in communication with said computer, said camera being located to provide images of entry and egress of vehicles at a portal of the facility;

and wherein said alert means further comprises software operated by said computer to associate event IDs with event activities and images captured at the time of the event such that said alerts include data and images captured during a time period immediately surrounding the abnormal event,

whereby said computer uses the event information supplied to said database to compile an event library which can be used to generate alerts, compile reports, and control access to and egress from the facility and uses said alerts to notify management of abnormal events together with data and images surrounding the abnormal events.

2. A management system for a facility as claimed in claim 1, further comprising a network providing communication with said database and with said computer.

3. A management system for a facility as claimed in claim 1, wherein said task tracking means comprises an ID reader for reading employee IDs and for receiving task information from the employee, and an apparatus for generating machine readable IDs for use with said ID reader.

4. A management system for a facility as claimed in claim 3, further comprising an event monitor for recording an event which includes the reading of the employee ID together with the entering of the task information into the ID reader.

5. A management system for a facility as claimed in claim 1, wherein said access management means further comprises a readable device which carries permission information to permit a patron to access the facility, and an apparatus for reading said readable device.

6. A management system for a facility as claimed in claim 5, further comprising a local database in communication with said apparatus for reading, wherein said local database carries information relating to permission to use the facility by a patron using said readable device.

12. A method as claimed in claim 1, wherein the task tracking means further comprises GPS tracking for tracking locations of employees.

7. A method for managing a facility which has controlled access for vehicles, comprising the steps of:

providing a computer;

providing a database in communication with said computer;

providing a task tracking means in communication with said database;

providing an access management means in communication with said database, for supplying event information to said database;

providing abnormal event information to said database which represents predetermined conditions which do not ordinarily occur during routine operation of the facility being managed;

wherein said inventory tracking means further comprises a camera in communication with said computer, said camera being located to provide images of entry and egress of vehicles at a portal of the facility;

providing an inventory tracking means in communication with said database, for supplying event information to said database; and

providing an alert means in communication with said database, using said event information; and

using said computer to process the event information supplied to said database to compile an event library;

and further comprising the step of using said computer and said event library to generate alerts to warn management of abnormal events upon occurrence of said predetermined conditions stored in said database.

8. A method as claimed in claim 7, further comprising the step of using said computer and said event library to compile reports.

9. A method as claimed in claim 7, further comprising the step of using said computer and said event library to control access to and egress from the facility.

10. A method for managing a facility which has controlled access for vehicles, comprising the steps of:

providing a computer;

providing a database in communication with said computer;

providing abnormal event information to said database which represents

predetermined conditions which do not ordinarily occur during routine operation of the facility being managed;

providing a task tracking means in communication with said database;

providing an access management means in communication with said database, for supplying event information to said database;

providing an inventory tracking means in communication with said database, for supplying event information to said database; and

wherein said inventory tracking means further comprises a camera in communication with said computer, said camera being located to provide images of entry and egress of vehicles at a portal of the facility;

providing a revenue control module having a programming log control (PLC) which logs and timestamps all signals, and which also activates corresponding outputs to mirror the input signals; and

using said computer and event library to process the event information supplied to said database to compile an event library and to generate alerts to warn management of abnormal events upon occurrence of said predetermined conditions stored in said database.

11. A method as claimed in claim 10, wherein the revenue control module includes an A-loop and a B-loop for monitoring and reporting traffic, vehicle barriers for the A-loop and B-loop, ticket spit counts and ticket pay counts for generating revenue records, reconciling revenue data, and generating alerts when anomalies exceed a predetermined threshold.