Meterless remote parking monitoring system

• US 8,451,142 B2
• Filed: 07/12/2010
• Issued: 05/28/2013
• 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 C
• Application Number:
  US12/805,079
• Publication Number:
  US 20110063135A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,051 Days
• Field of Search: 340/932.2, 340/933, 340/937, 340/938, 340/904, 340/942, 340/905, 340/955, 340/539.1, 701/1, 701/36, 701/13, 701/418, 235/381, 235/385
• US Class Current: 340/933
• 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 meter-less 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 Reader (RFID) 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 one of said plurality of vehicle detector and Radio Frequency Identification Units; and

a Command and Control Server;

wherein said plurality of Cellular Gateway Radios being connected to said Command and Control Server via the internet and wherein the command and Control Server is configured to validate a parking space in which a vehicle identification unit is located when multiple vehicle identification units are in communication with a common Radio Frequency Identification Reader (RFID) unit.

2. A system as in claim 1, wherein each of the at least one vehicle identification unit is mounted to a a vehicle and includes a unique identification code representing authorization for a motorist to park in a given parking space and an associated RFID permit transmitter for transmitting the unique identification code;

the vehicle detector for a given space detects the arrival of new vehicles at which time the RFID reader is triggered to read the unique identification code transmitted by the RFID permit placed in the vehicle driven by a motorist authorized to park in the parking space and upon the successful reading of this identification code, said Vehicle Detector and RFID Unit transmits the unique identification code via the wirelessly connected Cellular Gateway Radio to the Central Command and Control Server through the internet.

3. A process in a meter-less remote parking monitoring system performed by a Command and Control Server wherein a unique identification code from an RFID permit transmitted from a Vehicle Detector and RFID Reader Unit in a parking space is verified against a list of issued parking permits to verify that the parking permit:

a) uses an existing code,

b) is permitted to be parked in the parking space in which the vehicle is parked,

c) has not expired, and

d) is in good standing with respect to payments for the permitted parking space,

wherein the Command and Control Server validates in which parking space the RFID permit is located when multiple vehicle identification units are in communication with a common RFID Reader Unit.

4. A process in a meter-less remote parking monitoring system wherein a Vehicle Detector and RFID Reader Unit will read all RFID permits within its proximity and transmits all unique identification codes to a Central Command and Control Server Unit where all unique identification codes are compared to the unique identification codes transmitted from other Vehicle Detector and RFID Reader Units monitoring other parking spaces to identify the permit associated with the actual vehicle that just arrived in the parking space monitored by the Vehicle Detector and RFID Reader Unit.