Meterless remote parking monitoring system

• US 9,058,701 B2
• Filed: 05/24/2013
• Issued: 06/16/2015
• Est. Priority Date: 07/13/2009
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Fybr LLC
• Original Assignee: Fybr LLC
• Inventors: Groft, Eric, Berman, Larry
• Primary Examiner(s): Pope, Daryl
• Application Number:
  US13/901,760
• Publication Number:
  US 20130339107A1
• Time in Patent Office: 753 Days
• Field of Search: 340/932.2, 340/933, 340/937, 340/938, 340/904, 340/942, 340/905, 340/955, 340/539.1
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 2240/00 Transportation facility access, e.g. fares, tolls or parking
• 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: G08G 1/123 indicating the position of vehicles, e.g. scheduled vehicles; Managing passenger vehicles circulating according to a fixed timetable, e.g. buses, trains, tramstransmission of navigation instructions to vehicles G08G1/0968
• CPC Class Codes: G08G 1/14 indicating individual free spaces in parking areas

Abstract

A meterless remote parking monitoring system, incorporating a plurality of vehicle detector and Radio Frequency Identification Reader (RFID) units deployed in individual parking spaces; a plurality of Cellular Gateway Radios, each Cellular Gateway Radio being connected to one of said plurality of vehicle detector and Radio Frequency Identification Units; a Command and Control Server; the plurality of Cellular Gateway Radios being connected to said Command and Control Server via the internet.

Claims

1. A meter-less remote parking monitoring system, comprising:

a plurality of vehicle detector and Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) reader units deployed in individual parking spaces and configured for communication with at least one vehicle identification unit;

a plurality of Cellular Gateway Radios, each Cellular Gateway Radio being connected to at least one of said plurality of vehicle detector and Radio Frequency Identification Units; and

a Command and Control Server configured to

receive a unique identification code from an RFID permit transmitted from one of the vehicle detector and RFID reader units in a parking space, and

verify the unique identification code against a list of issued parking permits to determine that a parking permit associated with the unique identification code has

an existing code,

permission for a vehicle associated with the unique identification code to be parked in the parking space in which the vehicle is parked,

not expired, and

good standing with respect to payments for the permitted parking space.

2. The meter-less remote parking monitoring system of claim 1, wherein the Command and Control Server is further configured to validate in which parking space the RFID permit is located when multiple vehicle identification units are in communication with a common RFID Reader Unit.

3. The meter-less remote parking monitoring system of claim 1, wherein each of at least one vehicle identification unit is mounted to a corresponding vehicle and includes

a corresponding one of the unique identification codes representing authorization to park in a given one of the parking spaces, and

an associated RFID permit transmitter for transmitting the corresponding one of the unique identification codes,

where a vehicle detector and Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) reader unit for a given space detects the arrival of new vehicles at which time the vehicle detector and Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) reader unit for the given space is configured to read the unique identification code transmitted by the associated RFID permit placed in the vehicle driven by a motorist authorized to park in the given one of the parking spaces and upon the successful reading of the unique identification code, the vehicle detector and Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) reader unit being further configured to transmit the unique identification code via the plurality of Cellular Gateway Radios to the Command and Control Server through the internet.

4. The meter-less remote parking monitoring system of claim 1, wherein each vehicle detector and Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) reader unit is configured to read all RFID permits within its proximity and transmit all unique identification codes to the Command and Control Server where the Command and Control Server is further configured to compare all unique identification codes to unique identification codes transmitted from other vehicle detector and Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) reader units monitoring other parking spaces and identify an RFID permit associated with an actual vehicle that arrived in a parking space monitored by a respective vehicle detector and Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) reader unit.