Parking Facility Resource Management

• US 20110004507A1
• Filed: 07/02/2009
• Published: 01/06/2011
• Est. Priority Date: 07/02/2009
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Empire Technology Development LLC (Allied Inventors Management, LLC)
• Original Assignee: Empire Technology Development LLC (Allied Inventors Management, LLC)
• Inventors: Potkonjak, Miodrag
• Granted Patent: US 9,275,392 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 705/10
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/06375 Prediction of business process outcome or impact based on a proposed change
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/02 Marketing; Price estimation or determination; Fundraising
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0202 Market predictions or forecasting for commercial activities
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0206 Price or cost determination based on market factors
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0261 based on user location
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0284 Time or distance, e.g. usage of parking meters or taximeters
• CPC Class Codes: G07B 15/00 Arrangements or apparatus for collecting fares, tolls or entrance fees at one or more control points handling coins or valuable papers, e.g. banknotes, G07D; apparatus for vending or hiring articles or services activated by coins, credit cards, paper currency or the like G07F7/00, G07F17/00
• CPC Class Codes: G08G 1/14 indicating individual free spaces in parking areas

Abstract

Technologies are generally described for an information system configured to manage parking facility resources. The system can create and apply models and profiles regarding customers, parking space usage, access patterns, events, traffic, and other factors related to the parking facility. Parking facility operators may use the models to seek optimized revenues or profits. Increased revenue for parking facility operators may be supported by allocating resources to longer staying and better paying customers. New opportunities such as reselling, auctions, or options may further improve revenue generation for parking facilities. Customers may interface with the information system for availability queries, interactive reservation, and various other functions that may improve convenience, security, privacy, and service quality for the customers as well as for neighboring businesses and venues. Improved efficiency in parking facility resource consumption may reduce street traffic congestion. Parking security may be improved by adaptive lighting and camera operation.

Claims

1. A computer storage medium having computer-executable instructions stored thereon which, when executed by a computer cause the computer to perform dynamically adjustable parking metering by:

collecting usage information related to a parking facility having one or more parking spaces;

building usage models for the parking facility based upon the collected usage information;

managing the allocation of the parking spaces based upon the usage models; and

establishing prices for the parking spaces based upon the usage models.

2. The computer storage medium of claim 1, further comprising causing the computer to provide an interface to parking customers.

3. The computer storage medium of claim 1, further comprising causing the computer to provide an interface to neighboring businesses.

4. The computer storage medium of claim 1, further comprising causing the computer to collect traffic information.

5. The computer storage medium of claim 2, wherein the interface to parking customers comprises an interface for mobile telephones.

6. The computer storage medium of claim 1, further comprising causing the computer to manage lighting resources within the parking facility based upon the collected usage information.

7. The computer storage medium of claim 4, wherein the traffic information comprises foot traffic information.

8. A method for parking facility management, the method comprising:

collecting information related to parking facility resources;

identifying resource models for the parking facility based upon the collected information; and

establishing prices for the parking spaces based upon the resource models.

9. The method of claim 8, further comprising managing the allocation of parking spaces within the parking facility based upon the resource models.

10. The method of claim 8, further comprising providing an interface to parking customers.

11. The method of claim 8, further comprising providing an interface to neighboring businesses.

12. The method of claim 8, further comprising collecting traffic information for inclusion into the resource models.

13. The method of claim 8, further comprising creating user profiles for inclusion into the resource models.

14. A parking facility management system comprising:

a processing unit;

a memory associated with the processing unit; and

a processing module stored in the memory and configured to execute on the processing unit to;

collect resource information related to a parking facility having one or more parking spaces,

collect user information related to users of the parking facility,

identify models for use of the parking facility based upon the collected resource information and the collected user information,

manage the allocation of the parking resources based upon the usage models, and

establish prices for the parking spaces based upon the usage models.

15. The parking facility management system of claim 14, wherein the processing module is further configured to provide an interface to parking customers.

16. The parking facility management system of claim 14, wherein the processing module is further configured to provide an interface for event venue information.

17. The parking facility management system of claim 15, wherein the wherein the interface to parking customers comprises an interface for mobile telephones.

18. The parking facility management system of claim 14, wherein the processing module is further configured to collect traffic information.

19. The parking facility management system of claim 14, wherein the processing module is further configured to cause increased security to be provided upon request from one of the users of the parking facility.

20. The parking facility management system of claim 14, wherein the processing module is further configured to create user profiles for inclusion into the usage models.