Gen II meter system with multiple processors, multiple detection sensor types, fault tolerance methods, power sharing and multiple user interface methods

• US 9,000,949 B2
• Filed: 07/07/2010
• Issued: 04/07/2015
• Est. Priority Date: 07/10/2009
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Fybr LLC
• Original Assignee: Fybr LLC
• Inventors: Keller, Scott, Krstanovic, Chris, Swiedler, Tom, Fasciano, David, Groft, Eric
• Primary Examiner(s): Lee, Benjamin
• Assistant Examiner(s): PHAM, QUANG
• Application Number:
  US12/801,987
• Publication Number:
  US 20110063133A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,735 Days
• Field of Search: 340/392.2, 340/932.2, 340/933, 340/995.1, 340/4.6, 340/593, 340/468, 340/505, 340/687
• 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: G07F 17/246 provided with vehicle proximity-detectors detecting hidden masses, e.g. metal detectors, G01V, e.g. G01V3/00; proximity switches per se H03K17/00; traffic control systems G08G1/00
• CPC Class Codes: G08G 1/144 on portable or mobile units, e.g. personal digital assistant [PDA]

Abstract

A parking space monitoring system, with multiple microprocessors for handling various parking space management conditions, including at least one of the following conditions: (1) Space Occupancy (vehicle detection); (2) Parking Meter Status; (3) Display of Parking Policy to Motorists; (3) Motorist User Interactions; (4) Maintenance User Interactions; (5) Radio Communications with a Central management system and Network; and (6) Coordination of the operation between various ones of the microprocessors.

Claims

1. A parking space monitoring system for handling various parking space management, comprising:

a node with a piece of electronic equipment;

a plurality of microprocessors located within the same piece of electronic equipment of the node, wherein individual ones of microprocessors are configured to monitor and respond to various parking space management conditions of the parking space monitoring system;

a power control mechanism configured to reinitialize individual ones of said microprocessors without affecting an operation of the other of said microprocessors; and

wherein an individual operability status of the individual ones of said microprocessors is queried by another of said microprocessors and instructs said power control mechanism to reinitialize a non-responsive microprocessor.

2. The parking space monitoring system as in claim 1, further comprising a power supply and solar cells for supplementing additional power shared with at least one external device including parking meters, digital signage and other types of related user interfacing devices.

3. The parking space monitoring system as in claim 1, further comprising mobile computers, a remote processing center and a network to connect said remote processing center to aggregate data and instruct said mobile computers to instruct field personnel of at least one of current violations, maintenance issues or meter collection requirements.

4. The parking space monitoring system as in claim 3 wherein each of said mobile computers includes a Global Positioning System (GPS) whereby said (GPS) reports current geographical location to receive direction as to instructions of field personnel with respect to current violations, maintenance issues or meter collection requirements are most proximate to a person using said mobile devices.

5. The parking space monitoring system as in claim 3, further comprising a plurality of parking space monitoring devices, a configuration of said mobile computers, said remote processing center and said plurality of parking space monitoring devices for defining and weighing additional information related to an urgency of action by field personnel and a responding proximity of a person for determining the highest degree of effective response including at least one of a citation fine amount, violation type, type of equipment failure, historical usage rates in a location being monitored, meter rates, time in violation, current duration of equipment failure, and type of residential or commercial parking location.

6. The parking space monitoring system as in claim 5 wherein the networked mobile computers and remote processing center are arranged so that remote access is provided for observation of a location of each worker in a monitored parking space, based on at least part of the aggregate data, and identification of an emergent condition at a different location and for direction of a worker to the different location in response to identification of the emergent condition.

7. The parking space monitoring system as in claim 1, further comprising at least one of a reed relay switch and other type of switch for use by in-field personnel to wake the parking space monitoring system from a power-saving sleep mode and to initiate a programmable set of instructions, including at least one of:

(1) retrieving updated commands from a remote processing center or a local network, (2) sending a unit'"'"'s configuration and diagnostic information, (3) posting time to a connected parking meter and any other set of operational and troubleshooting tasks the parking space monitoring system is capable of initiating.

8. The parking space monitoring system as in claim 1, further comprising a separate device employing at least one of an induction loop, magnetometer, RADAR, ultrasonic, infrared viable means, and a radio, said separate device monitoring a parking space'"'"'s occupancy and communicates the parking space'"'"'s occupancy status either directly through at least one of (1) said radio, (2) a network to which the separate device is connected, and (3) by a remote processing center.

9. The parking space monitoring system as in claim 8, further comprising a connected detection unit including said induction loop and installed below grade in the parking spaces of said parking space monitoring system.

10. The parking space monitoring system as in claim 1, wherein at least one of the microprocessors configured to track and communicate an operational status for each of said multiple microprocessors including at least one of the following error conditions:

(1) Unspecified general error—

No response;

(2) Transfer aborted;

(3) Checksum error;

(4) Link level protocol error;

(5) Transport level protocol error;

(6) Application level protocol error;

(7) Invalid Transport error;

(8) Invalid request type;

(9) Invalid data in request;

(10) Invalid count was specified in request;

(11) Verify error;

(12) No transfer buffer available;

(13) No memory buffer available;

(14) Invalid message length;

(15) Error accessing real time clock;

(16) Invalid chip ID;

(17) Not active;

(18) Device is busy;

(19) Invalid sequence number;

(20) No response to application level request;

(21) Device cannot accept input—

retry later;

(22) Parking meter error;

protocol error;

(23) Parking meter error;

Invalid acknowledgement character received from parking meter;

(24);

Listen pulse error;

(25) Parking meter error;

Meter mode character error; and

(26) Parking meter error Parking meter has been disabled.

11. The parking space monitoring system as in claim 3, wherein at least one of the microprocessors configured to apply sequenced message numbers to each message received by said remote processing center, whereby any messages that fail to be successfully communicated from the parking space monitoring system are identified as missing, said means for subsequently quantifying said messages to indicate the number of missing messages that occur during a particular time frame and examining said messages to identify potential maintenance needs.

12. The parking space monitoring system as in claim 1, wherein the various parking space management conditions include at least one of the following conditions:

Space Occupancy;

Parking Meter Status;

Display of Parking Policy to Motorists;

Motorist User Interactions;

Maintenance User Interactions;

Radio Communications with a Central management system and Network; and

Coordination of the operation between various ones of said microprocessors.

13. The parking space monitoring system as in claim 4 wherein the networked mobile computers and remote processing center are arranged so that remote access is provided for observation of a location of each worker in a monitored parking space, based at least in part on the last transmission of GPS data, and identification of an emergent condition at different locations and for direction of a worker to the different location in response to identification of the emergent condition.