Large-area parking-monitoring system

• US 8,704,680 B1
• Filed: 07/26/2013
• Issued: 04/22/2014
• Est. Priority Date: 01/30/2013
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Guobiao Zhang, Hangzhou Haicun Information Technology Co., Ltd.
• Original Assignee: Guobiao Zhang, Hangzhou Haicun Information Technology Co., Ltd.
• Inventors: Zhang, Guobiao
• Primary Examiner(s): Pham, Toan N
• Application Number:
  US13/951,467
• Time in Patent Office: 270 Days
• Field of Search: 340/932.2, 340/933, 340/937, 705/13, 705/418
• US Class Current: 340/932.2
• CPC Class Codes: G08G 1/144 on portable or mobile units, e.g. personal digital assistant [PDA]
• CPC Class Codes: G08G 1/147 where the parking area is within an open public zone, e.g. city centre

Abstract

The present invention discloses an improved large-area parking-monitoring system. It comprises first and second parking-monitoring devices. The first parking-monitoring device transmits its parking occupancy data to the second parking-monitoring device via WiFi signals. The second parking-monitoring device transmits the collected parking occupancy data to a base station via cellular signals. This parking-monitoring system has a reduced cellular usage.

Claims

1. A large-area parking-monitoring system comprising a plurality of externally-powered re-configurable parking-monitoring devices including first and second monitoring devices, each of said monitoring devices comprising:

a detector for generating parking occupancy data for a plurality of parking spaces;

a medium-range wireless communication module for transmitting said parking occupancy data between selected ones of said parking-monitoring devices; and

a long-range wireless communication module for transmitting collected parking occupancy data to a base station;

wherein;

said first monitoring device receives parking occupancy data from said second monitoring device via medium-range wireless communication signals and transmits collected parking occupancy data to said base station via long-range wireless communication signals in a first configuration;

said second monitoring device receives parking occupancy data from said first monitoring device via medium-range wireless communication signals and transmits collected parking occupancy data to said base station via long-range wireless communication signals in a second configuration.

2. The large-area parking-monitoring system according to claim 1, wherein the long-range wireless communication module of said second monitoring device is disabled in said first configuration.

3. The large-area parking-monitoring system according to claim 1, wherein the long-range wireless communication module of said first monitoring device is disabled in said second configuration.

4. The large-area parking-monitoring system according to claim 1, wherein said medium-range wireless communication module is a WiFi communication module.

5. The large-area parking-monitoring system according to claim 1, wherein said long-range wireless communication module is a cellular communication module.

6. The large-area parking-monitoring system according to claim 1, wherein selected one of said parking-monitoring devices is mounted on a support.

7. The large-area parking-monitoring system according to claim 6, wherein said support provides power to said selected one of said parking-monitoring devices.

8. The large-area parking-monitoring system according to claim 1, wherein said parking-monitoring devices are smart-phone-like devices.

9. The large-area parking-monitoring system according to claim 8, wherein said parking-monitoring devices use a smart-phone operating system.

10. The large-area parking-monitoring system according to claim 8, wherein said parking-monitoring devices run an image-recognition app.