Parking lot information system using image technology for identifying available parking spaces

• US 8,625,853 B2
• Filed: 08/11/2011
• Issued: 01/07/2014
• Est. Priority Date: 08/11/2011
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: DoorDash, Inc.
• Original Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
• Inventors: Carbonell, Lee A., Cheng, Tsz, Edgington, Jeffrey L., Mariadoss, Pandian
• Primary Examiner(s): Fitzpatrick, Atiba O
• Application Number:
  US13/208,336
• Publication Number:
  US 20130039532A1
• Time in Patent Office: 880 Days
• Field of Search: 382100-107, 340907-910, 340933-935, 348/113
• US Class Current: 382/104
• CPC Class Codes: G06V 20/54 of traffic, e.g. cars on the road, trains or boats
• CPC Class Codes: G08G 1/0175 by photographing vehicles, e.g. when violating traffic rules
• CPC Class Codes: G08G 1/142 external to the vehicles
• CPC Class Codes: G08G 1/146 where the parking area is a limited parking space, e.g. parking garage, restricted space

Abstract

A parking lot information system comprising a digital camera for obtaining an image of parking spaces in the parking lot where each parking space is marked with a visual identifier, a computer coupled to the digital camera for identifying available parking spaces by recognizing the identifiers marking the available parking spaces, and a display coupled to the computer for displaying information on the available parking spaces.

Claims

1. A parking lot information system, comprising:

a plurality of visual identifiers each marking a parking space in a parking lot;

a digital camera for obtaining an image of parking spaces in the parking lot;

a mirror arrangement within each of the parking spaces, wherein the minor arrangement reflects an image of a license plate of a vehicle parked in a corresponding parking space to the digital camera, and wherein the minor arrangement is associated with a visual identifier of the parking space;

a computer coupled to the digital camera for updating parking information associated with the parking lot by recognizing the identifiers, wherein the identifiers are recognized based on at least one of the image of the parking spaces and the image of the license plate; and

a display coupled to the computer for displaying the updated parking information.

2. The system of claim 1, wherein the parking information comprises available parking spaces information and occupied parking spaces information.

3. The system of claim 1, wherein the computer recognizes the parking space identifiers using optical character recognition.

4. The system of claim 1, wherein the parking space identifiers comprise characters marking the parking spaces.

5. The system of claim 1, wherein the computer records a license plate of a car in a parking space, parking time, and parking duration of the car.

6. The system of claim 1, wherein the parking information comprises at least one of parking space location information, parking space identification information, and number of the available parking spaces.

7. The system of claim 1, wherein the display provides a layout of the parking lot.

8. The system of claim 1, wherein the computer is coupled to a network to provide information on the parking lot to remote customers through the network.

9. A computer implemented method comprising:

obtaining an image of a parking lot by a camera, the parking lot including a plurality of parking spaces each marked by a visual identifier;

obtaining an image of a vehicle license plate, reflected from a minor arrangement, wherein the mirror arrangement is associated with the visual identifier of one of the plurality of parking spaces where the vehicle is parked;

identifying available parking spaces and occupied parking spaces in the parking lot based on at least one of the image of the parking lot and the image of the vehicle license plate; and

displaying information on the available parking spaces and the occupied parking spaces.

10. The method of claim 9, wherein the parking space identifiers are recognized using optical character recognition.

11. The method of claim 9, wherein the parking space identifiers comprise characters marking the respective parking spaces.

12. The method of claim 9, further comprising providing a minor arrangement to reflect an image of a car license plate to the camera.

13. The method of claim 9, further comprising recording a license plate of a car in a parking space, parking time, and parking duration of the car.

14. A computer program product comprising a non-transitory computer readable storage medium having computer readable program code embodied therewith, the computer readable program code comprising:

computer readable program code, stored in the non-transitory computer readable storage medium, configured to obtain an image of the parking lot by a camera, the parking lot including a plurality of parking spaces each marked by a visual identifier;

computer readable program code, stored in the non-transitory computer readable storage medium, configured to obtain an image of a license plate of a vehicle parked in a corresponding parking space, reflected from a mirror arrangement wherein the minor arrangement is associated with a visual identifier of the corresponding parking space;

computer readable program code, stored in the non-transitory computer readable storage medium, configured to identify available parking spaces in the parking lot by recognizing at least one of the image of the parking lot or the image of the license plate of the vehicle, the recognition being done by a computer coupled to the camera; and

computer readable program code, stored in the non-transitory computer readable storage medium, configured to display information on the available parking spaces and the occupied parking spaces.

15. The computer program product of claim 14, wherein the computer readable program code comprises computer readable program code configured to display a layout of the parking lot.

16. The computer program product of claim 14, wherein the computer readable program code comprises computer readable program code configured to recognize the parking space identifiers using optical character recognition.

17. The computer program product of claim 14, wherein the computer readable program code comprises computer readable program code configured to provide information about the parking lot to remote customers through a network.

18. The computer program product of claim 14, wherein the information includes parking time, duration, and parking space identification.

19. The computer program product of claim 14, wherein the information comprises parking space location information, parking space identification, and the number of the available parking spaces.

20. The computer program product of claim 14, wherein the computer readable program code comprises computer readable program code configured to record a car license plate, associated parking space identifier, parking time, and parking duration.