Smart spacing allocation

• US 8,766,818 B2
• Filed: 11/09/2010
• Issued: 07/01/2014
• Est. Priority Date: 11/09/2010
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Slingshot IOT LLC
• Original Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
• Inventors: Gupta, Rudranil D., Lahiri, Kaushik
• Primary Examiner(s): TRIEU, VAN THANH
• Application Number:
  US12/942,550
• Publication Number:
  US 20120112929A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,330 Days
• Field of Search: 340/436, 340/906, 340/932.2, 340/933, 340/937, 348/118, 348/148, 348/143, 701/1, 701/301, 701/523, 180/199, 180/204, 705/13, 705/418, 414/239, 414/262, 414/800
• US Class Current: 340/932.2
• CPC Class Codes: G08G 1/145 where the indication depends on the parking areas
• CPC Class Codes: G08G 1/146 where the parking area is a limited parking space, e.g. parking garage, restricted space
• CPC Class Codes: G08G 1/149 coupled to means for restricting the access to the parking space, e.g. authorization, access barriers, indicative lights
• CPC Class Codes: G08G 1/168 Driving aids for parking, e.g. acoustic or visual feedback on parking space

Abstract

A method, system and computer program product for allocating parking spaces for vehicles in a parking area. In one embodiment, the invention provides a system comprising a sensor system for generating output representing measurements of vehicles in the parking area, a marking system for identifying parking spaces in the parking area, and a controller for calculating parking spaces for vehicles. The controller obtains defined measurements for the vehicles in the parking area, and calculates for each of the vehicles, a respective one parking space in the parking area. In an embodiment, the controller allocates a size and a position for each parking space in the parking area, and operates the marking system to mark each parking space to facilitate driving the vehicles into the parking spaces. Embodiments of the invention dynamically allocate parking spaces based on criteria: (1) Determine the minimum space that should be enough for the size of the car that is being currently identified for parking; and (2) Maximize utilization of space by preventing improper fragmentation, where because of allocating fixed size spaces to all cars, big/small/medium, fragments of space would be wasted.

Claims

1. A method of calculating and allocating space for a vehicle to park in a parking area, comprising:

obtaining defined measurements for specified dimensions of an identified vehicle in the parking area;

using the obtained defined measurements of the specified dimensions of the identified vehicle to calculate dimensions for a parking space in the parking area for the identified vehicle, including determining a size for the parking space;

determining a position in the parking area for the parking space having the calculated dimensions; and

marking the calculated parking space to facilitate driving the identified vehicle into said parking space.

2. The method according to claim 1, wherein the obtaining includes measuring the vehicle in the parking area to obtain the defined measurements.

3. The method according to claim 1, wherein the parking area includes one or more sensors for measuring the vehicle, and the measuring includes using said one or more sensors to measure the vehicle.

4. The method according to claim 1, comprising the further steps of:

identifying a zone having a defined relationship relative to the parking space; and

generating an alarm when the vehicle enters said zone.

5. The method according to claim 4, wherein:

the parking space has a defined boundary; and

said zone is adjacent said defined boundary.

6. The method according to claim 1, wherein the marking includes illuminating a perimeter for the parking space.

7. The method according to claim 6, wherein the illuminating includes using a light source to form an outline for the parking space.

8. The method according to claim 1, wherein the vehicle is driven into the parking space, and wherein:

the marking includes forming specified markings on the parking area to identify a location of the parking space; and

the method further comprises removing the specified markings after the vehicle is parked in the parking space.

9. The method according to claim 8, wherein the vehicle is driven out of the parking space, and wherein:

the removing includes removing said specified markings after the vehicle is driven out of the parking space.

10. The method according to claim 1, wherein the calculating given dimensions for a parking space for the vehicle includes using one or more defined equations, using the defined measurements of the specified dimensions of the vehicle, to calculate the given dimensions for the parking space.

11. The method according to claim 10, wherein:

the defined measurements of the vehicle include a length of the vehicle and the width of the vehicle; and

the using one or more defined equations to calculate the given dimensions for the parking space includes;

calculating a length of the parking space by adding a first fixed amount to the length of the vehicle; and

calculating a width of the parking space by adding a second fixed amount to the width of the vehicle.

12. The method according to claim 1, wherein:

the identified vehicle is currently identified for parking in the parking area;

the obtaining defined measurements includes using vector oriented graphic drawings methods to calculate boundaries of the identified vehicle;

the using the obtained defined measurements of the vehicle to calculate a parking space includes determining a minimum space for the identified vehicle and calculating a length and a width for the parking space; and

the method further comprises guiding the vehicle to the parking space.

13. A system for calculating and allocating spaces for vehicles to park in a parking area, the system comprising:

a sensor system for generating output representing measurements of identified vehicles in the parking area;

a marking system for identifying parking spaces in the parking area; and

a controller including one or more processor units for receiving the output from the sensor system, for using said output to obtain defined measurements for specified dimensions of the vehicles in the parking area, for each of the identified vehicles, for using the defined measurements of the specified dimensions of the identified vehicle, to calculate dimensions for a respective one parking space in the parking area, including for each of the parking spaces, allocating a size for said each parking space, determining a position in the parking area for the parking space having the calculated dimensions, and for operating the marking system to mark said each parking space to facilitate driving the identified vehicles into said parking spaces.

14. The system according to claim 13, wherein the defined measurements include a length and a width for each of the vehicles.

15. The system according to claim 13, wherein:

the controller identifies a respective one buffer zone for each of the parking spaces; and

the parking facility further includes an alarm system for generating an alarm when one of the vehicles enters the buffer zone for the parking space calculated for said one of the vehicles.

16. The system according to claim 15, wherein:

each of the parking spaces has a defined boundary; and

the buffer zone for each parking space is adjacent the defined boundary of said each parking space.

17. An article of manufacture, comprising:

at least one tangible computer readable medium having computer readable program code logic to execute machine instructions in one or more processing units for, calculating and allocating space for a vehicle in a parking area, said computer readable program code logic, when executing, performing the following;

receiving defined measurements for specified dimensions of an identified vehicle in the parking area;

using the received defined measurements of the specified dimensions of the identified vehicle to calculate dimensions for a parking space in the parking area for the identified vehicle, including determining a size for the parking space,

determining a position in the parking area for the parking space having the calculated dimensions; and

generating output to a marking system to operate the marking system to mark the calculated parking space to facilitate driving the identified vehicle into said parking space.

18. The article of manufacture according to claim 17, wherein said computer readable program code logic, when executing, further performs the following:

identifying a buffer zone having a defined relationship relative to the parking space; and

wherein an alarm is generated when the vehicle enters said buffer zone.

19. The article of manufacture according to claim 18, wherein:

the parking space has a defined boundary; and

said buffer zone is adjacent said defined boundary.

20. The article of manufacture according to claim 17, wherein the vehicle is driven into the parking space, and wherein:

the generating output to the marking system includes generating output to the marking system to operate said marking system to form specified markings on the parking area to identify a location of the parking space; and

to remove the specified markings after the vehicle is parked in the parking space.