Method for verification via information processing

• US 8,055,703 B2
• Filed: 03/05/2007
• Issued: 11/08/2011
• Est. Priority Date: 03/05/2007
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Honeywell International Inc.
• Original Assignee: Honeywell International Inc.
• Inventors: Johnson, Andrew, VanRiper, Ryan A.
• Primary Examiner(s): Backer; Firmin
• Assistant Examiner(s): BUI, JONATHAN A
• Application Number:
  US11/714,604
• Publication Number:
  US 20080222709A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,709 Days
• Field of Search: 709/217, 709/219
• US Class Current: 709/203
• CPC Class Codes: G08G 1/0175 by photographing vehicles, e.g. when violating traffic rules
• CPC Class Codes: G08G 1/042 using inductive or magnetic detectors
• CPC Class Codes: G08G 1/20 Monitoring the location of vehicles belonging to a group, e.g. fleet of vehicles, countable or determined number of vehicles

Abstract

Identification servers are small, perhaps embedded, systems that can be used as subsystems of a tracking and verification system. An identification server can obtain identification data when a trigger, called an identification event, occurs. The identification server can store the identification data in a database module with a key. The identification server can send a message containing the identification data or the key to a set of subscribing clients. Subscribing clients, such as a central database or a graphical user interface, are clients that subscribe to receive messages from the identification server. An identification server can trigger off of an identification message sent by another identification server.

Claims

1. A system comprising:

a plurality of identification servers connected to a communications network wherein every identification server is configured to receive at least one of a plurality of identification events wherein one of the identification servers is a license plate server comprising a license plate camera and wherein another one of the identification servers is a road loop server comprising a road loop sensor;

a plurality of subscribing clients;

a central database server that is one of the subscribing clients, wherein said the central database server is configured to store said the identification events for future retrieval and use;

a processing server that is one of the subscribing clients;

a graphical user interface that is one of the subscribing clients;

a plurality of messages transmitted over the communications network wherein the messages comprise a plurality of id messages and a plurality of subscription requests wherein each of the subscribing clients sends at least one of the subscription requests to at least one of the identification servers to thereby subscribe to the at least one of the identification servers,

wherein the identification events trigger the identification servers to obtain identification data and to send the identification data to the subscribing clients based on which of the subscribing clients is subscribed to which of the identification servers, wherein sensing a vehicle in the road loop triggers the road loop server to obtain identification data indicating that a vehicle is present in the road loop, and wherein the license plate server subscribes to the road loop server by sending one of the plurality of subscription requests; and

wherein receiving a message from the road loop server is the license plate server'"'"'s identification event.

2. The system of claim 1 wherein the id messages comprise the identification data.

3. The system of claim 1:

wherein one of the identification servers is a database server that comprises a database module;

wherein the database module stores the identification data in association with a plurality of identifiers;

wherein the database server receives an identification event comprising one of the identifiers; and

wherein the database server sends the identification data associated with the one of the identifiers to the subscribing clients.

4. The system of claim 1 wherein one of the identification servers is a driver'"'"'s license server comprising a driver'"'"'s license reader that is triggered to read the identification data from a drivers license when the driver'"'"'s license is scanned by the driver'"'"'s license reader.

5. The system of claim 1:

wherein sensing a vehicle in the road loop is one of the identification events.

6. A system comprising:

a plurality of subscribing clients connected to a communications network;

a central database server that is one of the subscribing clients;

a graphical user interface that is one of the subscribing clients;

a plurality of messages transmitted over the communications network wherein the messages comprise a plurality of id messages;

a plurality of identification servers comprising an input module and a server module wherein one or more of the subscribing clients subscribes to each of the identification servers wherein the identification servers receive identification events;

a simple server that is one of the identification servers wherein the simple server comprises a second input module and a second server module and wherein the simple server is a road loop server that comprises a road loop sensor;

a processing server that is another one of the identification servers wherein the processing server is a license plate server comprising a license plate camera;

a plurality of subscription requests that are messages sent from the subscribing clients to the identification servers to thereby subscribe various of the subscribing clients to various of the identifications servers wherein the processing server subscribes to the simple server and wherein the license plate server subscribes to the road loop sensor by sending one of the plurality of subscription requests;

wherein at least one of the identification events triggers the simple server to obtain identification data and to send one of the id messages to the simple server'"'"'s subscribing clients, wherein the id messages comprise the obtained identification data and wherein the license plate server'"'"'s identification event is the identification message sent by the road loop server; and

wherein the processing server further comprises a processing module wherein at least one of the identification events triggers the processing server to obtain raw data, processes the raw data to produce identification data, and to send one of the id messages to the processing server'"'"'s subscribing clients.

7. The system of claim 6:

wherein one of the identification servers comprises a database module and is configured to receive an identification event comprising one of the id messages that comprises one of a plurality of identifiers;

wherein the database module stores the identification data in association with the plurality of identifiers; and

wherein the one of the identification servers sends a response message comprising the identification data associated with the one of the identifiers to every subscribing client that subscribes to the one of the identification servers.

8. The system of claim 6 wherein one of the identification servers is a driver'"'"'s license server comprising a driver'"'"'s license reader that is triggered to read the identification data from a drivers license when the driver'"'"'s license is scanned by the driver'"'"'s license reader.

9. The system of claim 6:

wherein sensing a vehicle in the road loop is the identification event for the road loop server.

10. The system of claim 6 wherein the license plate camera takes a license plate image, wherein the processing module comprises an image processing module that processes the license plate image to obtain a plate number, and wherein the identification data comprises the plate number.

11. A method comprising:

providing a plurality of identification servers wherein one of the identification servers is a license plate server comprising a license plate camera and another one of the identification servers is a road loop server comprising a road loop sensor;

receiving a subscription request from at least one of a plurality of subscribing clients wherein the license plate server subscribes to the road loop server by sending a subscription request;

waiting for an identification event wherein receiving a message from the road loop server is the license plate server'"'"'s identification event;

receiving the identification event;

obtaining identification data wherein sensing a vehicle in the road loop triggers the road loop server to obtain identification data indicating that a vehicle is present in the road loop; and

sending an id message to the at least one of the subscribing clients, wherein the id message comprises the obtained identification data and wherein one of the subscribing clients is a central database server and another of the subscribing clients is a graphical user interface.

12. The method of claim 11 further comprising:

storing the identification data in a database module in association with a key wherein the id message comprises the key;

receiving a request message comprising the key; and

sending a response message comprising the identification data.

13. The method of claim 11 wherein the identification data is obtained from a driver'"'"'s license by a driver'"'"'s license reader and wherein the identification event occurs when the driver'"'"'s license is read by the driver'"'"'s license reader.

14. The method of claim 11 wherein the identification event triggers a license plate camera to take a picture of a license plate.