LT6692B - A vehicle parking lot system and method - Google Patents

Abstract

The invention is related to a vehicle parking lot system for controlling and recording vehicle access to parking areas and ensuring flexible sharing of parking spaces. The system is designed to simplify the control of entry into a certain vehicle parking area and to manage the vehicle parking space sharing process. This method enables the maximum use of the vehicle parking spaces which are often not occupied at a certain time as the sharing system can be used not only by the parking lot administrators but also by lower level parking lot users and / or owners (residents, employees, etc.).

Description

TECHNICAL FIELD

The invention relates to a parking system for controlling and recording the access of cars to parking areas and allowing for flexible sharing of parking spaces.

TECHNICAL LEVEL

The present invention provides a system and method for capturing and controlling vehicles entering a car park and for pre-booking parking in a particular area, and, unlike present systems, for managing sharing sites, not only for main site administrators, but also for the lowest level of each. parking space for administrators or owners.

U.S. Pat. US20060250278A1 (published November 9, 2006) provides a solution for parking reservations, but the application describes that sharing management can be done by the site administrator, but is not appropriate for sites with multiple individual parking managers and / or owners.

Spanish patent no. ES2361430B1 (published December 27, 2011) provides a solution for managing sharing sites, but provides for the identification of users by telephone when a user has to make a call. This means that the system is not fully automated and the system described in this patent requires additional user action.

In another Spanish patent no. ES2270725B1 (published February 1, 2008) describes a solution for parking reservation and sharing, but uses additional devices to identify users by entering a unique booking identifier and entry / exit code. This way, the user has to take additional steps and time to enter the site.

In European patent application no. EP2500888A1 (published June 5, 2013) provides a solution for implementing access control to reserved areas using automated license plate recognition in combination with radio frequency identifiers. However, such a solution is complicated because the issuance and replacement of radio frequency identifiers needs to be additionally administered, as well as the users have to receive them additionally and install them in their cars. In addition, this patent only describes a parking space system, but this method is not suitable for sites with a large number of individual parking administrators and / or owners.

The prior art documentation provided has the following main shortcomings:

User identification uses solutions that are either incompletely automated (i.e. requiring driver involvement or calling or entering a reservation code on special devices) or requiring additional costs in installing and administering identification equipment in vehicles;

Sharing space administration is only possible at the system administrator level.

Sharing system users do not have additional information tools to make better decisions about potential space tenants or space owners, lower rent rates for good tenants, and higher rates for users with low valuation history or no parking space at all.

THE SUBSTANCE OF THE INVENTION

The ride control system and the parking reservation and sharing method of the present invention do not have the disadvantages of the solutions presented in the above documents. It describes the totality of the entry / exit control system and car park sharing method, which captures and controls access to a car park and determines how the parking reservation and sharing process is managed. Passenger car locking and control is realized by recognizing car license plates and / or other automated identification technologies. In both cases, this happens automatically without the need for additional user action, which makes it very convenient for users. The parking reservation and sharing method allows you to make efficient use of the available space not only at the site owner / administrator level, but at all other lower levels: both the site manager and even the individual site owner.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWING FIGURES FIG. A schematic drawing of the system is provided. Some embodiments of the system may differ from the figure in the figure;

Fig. a sketch is provided illustrating the parking sharing system, the levels of parking administrator and / or owner who can actively participate in the parking sharing process. Some embodiments of the system may differ from the drawing in the figure.

PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

With the increasing number of cars on the streets, it is becoming increasingly urgent to accelerate and automate the entry and exit of car parks or other parking areas and to make the most of parking spaces as they are often unused for a part of the time. The system of the present invention efficiently addresses these two important issues.

It is common practice for certain user or his vehicle identification devices to be provided at entrances or exits to the car park. These may include: RFID ID card scanning antenna, paper or plastic barcode or magnetic stripe scanners, car license plates and other solutions. Some solutions are fully automatic, i.e. drivers do not have to take any extra action, some solutions require drivers to take extra action, but this is not effective as it takes extra time to identify. This description introduces a system that performs user identification in a fully automated manner, which makes the identification process faster compared to systems where the user has to perform additional actions.

Fig. a car entry / exit system including entry 1 and exit 2, inbound and outbound car number identification cameras 1.1 and 2.1, other technology automated user identification devices 1.2 and 2.2, and user information devices 1.3 and 2.3, wherein the system provides interactive information to users as to whether or not the system is recognized by the system and other system-relevant information for the user, the local system controller 3 and the central system controller 4.

The present invention provides an effective user recognition system. This system fully automates the process of entering / exiting the site or parking area without requiring any additional action from the user. The operator only needs to perform standard driving operations on the vehicle. Such a system does not have the disadvantages of the systems described above and is simpler for the user and this entry / exit control solution takes less time, allowing more cars to travel in the same time unit.

Fig. the parking space sharing system provided shall cover all the possible levels of such a common system as shown in the following table:

Level 3 Administrator of ASVDS Car Parking Sharing System Level 2 Administrator of the CSVS Centralized Parking System Level 1 LSVDA Local Parking Area Administrator Level 0 Owner or administrator of SVS One or more Parking Spaces SVN Parking Tenant

i.e. from a Level 0 single-car park owner's SVS, labeled Ο-X, to a Level 3io entire car park sharing system administrator's ADS. This sharing system has users at these levels:

ASVDS Administrator (s) - A top-level administrator who can make changes to the system and all sites;

"CSVS Administrator (s)" means the Centralized Parking System Administrator who can make changes to a portion of his parking lots;

LSVDA Administrator (s) - Administrator of a specific parking lot. The LSVDA Administrator assigns the owner of each parking space, who can further manage his / her own place (s);

Parking lot owner (SVS) who has a parking lot or multiple and wants to rent them;

Parking Tenants (SVNs) - Users who want to rent parking spaces.

Depending on the particular implementation, there may be three types of parking sharing systems:

A closed system consisting of a single site (facility) where parking can only be shared within a closed system, i.e. they may be leased and leased only by users of a particular site / group of sites;

Closed corporation type system consisting of two or more, even geographically distant, sites, where parking can only be shared within a closed system, i.e. they may be leased and rented only by users of a particular site or group of sites;

An open system whereby any user of the system can rent and lease parking spaces.

Each user of the sharing system has their own account in the system. Your account includes: username, last name, license plate number, make and model of car, parking number (if it has a parking space) or numbers, hey. Your e-mail address, your phone number, your bank card for which your parking charges are deducted and / or paid, and the bank account for which your parking charges are being paid (in the case of SMS).

ASVDS, CSVS or LSVDA can activate the sharing function for a pitch or group of pitches. The SVS may further enable or disable the sharing feature if there is no such need for the particular SVS. Below, SVS provides parking spaces for sharing based on the following principles:

1. Only a user with SVS status who wants to share their parking space (s) must specify the start and end dates for sharing (if they have more than one location, also the parking spaces they wish to share) in their account and assign the desired charging rate for each sharing period type and price.

2. Each SVS may set a desired rate for parking sharing. The tariff may be selected for each sharing period separately, specifying the desired tariff from the tariff types entered in the system (in case of a special tariff, the SVS must contact the system administrator for the necessary tariff). Only one rate can be assigned to one period. When defining parking spaces for sharing, SVS can choose whether parking is paid or free. In the event that SVS sets a paid rate, the prospective user will search for available seats, showing the available booking options with the amounts due at the rate and rate chosen by each SVS.

3. When sharing parking spaces, the date selection is done by specifying the period or periods in the calendar.

4. The SVS Sharing Calendar may have an indefinite future date but may not exceed the validity period of a specific user number or group of numbers entered in the system.

5. SVS may cancel or edit sharing dates only if other users have not made a reservation at that time.

6. If a place is already reserved, only the administrator can cancel or edit the reservation.

7. The SVS shall be informed. by mail and / or other electronic means: of the booking made; about the start of the sharing of the parking space before the set time; at the end of the set time, about the end of the sharing of the parking space, about the fact of departure delay, the actual time of departure.

8. The user sees in his account a calendar where he can view and change sharing periods, active bookings.

9. The administrator can make a reservation for each user in his / her parking space. The user can see in his account who shared his parking space (user or administrator) and which users reserved his parking space.

10. The system collects and provides information on the number of times the space has been rented, the duration, etc.

All active users registered in the system can book free parking spaces through the system reservation interface, accessible via the Internet address, except for closed-end parking sharing systems where rental must be authorized by the CSVS or LSVDA. The user then places the parking space in the following order:

1. To find vacant parking spaces for a desired time period, the user must enter a time period, number of parking spaces, site or location (city name or city street) of interest and search.

2. After a search, results with prices of the service and variants of seats (if there is more than one available seat) are displayed.

3. The user must select the desired service option, enter the Vehicle Registration Number (AVN) (if different from his / her account), select the payment method for parking services (if available) and confirm the booking. If a reservation is made by a regular customer group administrator, it is not necessary to enter the AVN as this reservation would increase the group space limit for the selected period.

4. The same user may make multiple reservations that do not overlap in time, if the reservation is made for the same AVN. If another AVN, then overlap may occur.

5. The user's account shows the calendar of active bookings and booking history.

6. The user has the ability to edit or cancel the reservation.

7. The system also shows the total calendar of available seats for the next period (month).

8. When booking parking, the date is selected from the calendar.

9. The user is informed. by mail and / or other electronic means: confirmation of the booking; before the start of the reservation, about the start of the reservation; about the expiry of the reservation before the set time; other changes.

The payment for parking services is made by debiting the amount payable from the bank card account at the time of departure from the reserved area or zone (plus the corresponding penalty fee if leaving after the reserved time). If there are other payment methods on the site (for example, automatic payment checkout, SMS billing or smart phone application) - before leaving the site, the user can pay in the most convenient way and use such sites without entering the bank card details in his account. Alternatively, the user may enter into an agreement with the ASVDS service company and pay for the parking services by wire transfer. In this case, an invoice is generated at the end of the month along with a detailed report of the parking sharing services and an invoice sent by email.

At the end of each month, a usage report is generated and emailed to the SVS users using a chargeable closed parking sharing system, which allows SVS to bill parking to the users in question.

SVS may also specify an additional penalty rate to be applied if SVN vacates the space beyond the reserved time. The penalty fee is included in the total amount due.

If SVN leaves the site after the reservation period has expired, i.e. later than the reserved time, SVS will be notified of this event by email and / or other electronic means.

The system automatically collects user statistics - information about late users, which can be used to prevent or delay the booking of frequently delayed users.

The system also uses a user rating system where both SVN and SVS have to leave a rating (5 points, 5 being the best rating). This ranking can continue to be used to prohibit or charge higher rentals to users with lower scores. Feedback on SVN and SVS is also left.

Some embodiments of the system may differ from the above description.

The sharing method described in this description does not have the disadvantages mentioned in the prior art description, as it encompasses all potential participants in such a system, the possible application types for such a system, and is usable from the smallest parking space to the global system.

In order to illustrate and describe the present invention, the following is a description of the most preferred embodiments. This is not a detailed or restrictive description intended to determine the exact form or embodiment, and the description above should be viewed as an illustration rather than as a limitation. It is obvious that potential modifications and variations may be apparent to those skilled in the art. An embodiment is selected and described so that those skilled in the art will best understand the principles of the invention and their best practical application for different embodiments with different modifications suitable for a particular application or application. The scope of the invention is intended to be defined by the appended definition and its equivalents, in which all the foregoing terms have the widest possible meaning, unless otherwise stated.

Embodiments described by those skilled in the art may make modifications within the scope of the present invention as defined below.

Claims (22)

DEFINITION OF INVENTION 1. A parking sharing system comprising a plurality of parking areas, automated vehicle identification devices, a control center having a database of parking lots and locations, and a system reservation interface accessible to users via the Internet, characterized in that the system is closed a system consisting of a single parking space (facility) where parking can only be shared within a closed system, ie they can only be rented and rented by users of a certain site (object) group. 2. A system according to claim 1, characterized in that the system is a closed corporation-type system consisting of two or more geographically distant sites, where parking can be shared only within a closed system, i.e. they may be leased and rented only by users of a particular site or group of sites. 3. A system as claimed in any one of claims 1 to 2, wherein the system is an open-ended system in which parking spaces can be rented and leased by any user of the system. 4. A system as claimed in any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the system comprises multi-level administrators: - Parking Sharing System Administrator ASVDS, which is a Level 3 (Top) Administrator with the ability to make changes to the system and on all sites; - Centralized Parking System Administrator CSVS, which is a Level 2 Centralized Parking System Administrator with the ability to make changes to part of its parking lots; - LSVDA, the Local Parking Sharing Site Administrator, who is a Level 1 Parking Administrator, assigning the owner of each parking space, who can further manage his / her own space; - The owner or administrator of one or more parking spaces in the SVS, which is a Level 0 Administrator with a parking space or multiple parking spaces and who wishes to lease them; and - Parking space tenants in SVN i.e. users who want to rent parking spaces. 5. A system as claimed in any one of the preceding claims, wherein each user of the sharing system has an account in a system accessible via the Internet which identifies the user and his vehicle. 6. The system of claim 5, wherein said data includes a user name, vehicle registration number, vehicle model and make, parking number, ei. email address, phone number, bank account to which the parking charges are deducted, bank account to which the parking charges are transferred. 7. The method of operation of the parking sharing system, which includes the collection of parking space data, the creation of a database of vacant parking spaces, the reception of user requests for free / vacant parking space / free parking space / Providing user parking space, in which not only parking lot or group parking lot owners or administrators at ASVDS, CSVS or LSVDA, but also lower level parking lot administrators and even the lowest level of individual parking spaces are effectively involved in booking and sharing parking spaces. place owners SVS. 8. The method of claim 7, wherein only the ASVDS, the CSVS, or the LSVDA can activate the sharing function for the pitch or group of pitches. 9. The method of claim 7, wherein the SVS can enable or disable the sharing feature if there is no need for the particular SVS. 10. The method of claim 9, wherein only a user with SVS status who wants to share his parking space or spaces identifies sharing locations and sharing start and end dates in his account and assigns the desired type and rate of charging to each sharing period. 11. The method of claim 10, wherein the SVS Sharing Calendar can indicate an indefinite amount of time in the future, but may not exceed the validity period of a particular user number or group of numbers entered in the system. 12. The method of claims 10-11, wherein the SVS may cancel or edit the sharing dates only if other users have not made a reservation at that time. 13. A method as claimed in any of claims 10 to 12, wherein, if the location is already reserved, only the administrator can cancel or edit the reservation. 14. The method of claim 7, wherein all active users registered in the system can reserve free parking spaces via the system reservation interface accessible via the Internet. 15. The method of claim 14, wherein, in order to find available parking spaces for a desired period of time, the user must perform a search by typing in the system reservation interface search box the period, number of sites, site or location (city name or street) of interest. 16. The method of claim 15, wherein the user is required to select a preferred service option, to enter the car's license plate number, if different from his / her account, to select a payment for parking services, and to confirm a booking. 17. The method of claim 16, wherein the same user may make multiple reservations that do not overlap in the case of a reservation for the same AVN, or multiple overlapping reservations if different AVNs are registered. 18. The method of claim 17, wherein the user is informed. by mail and / or other electronic means: confirmation of the booking; before the start of the reservation, about the start of the reservation; about the expiry of the reservation before the set time; other changes. 19. The method of claims 7-18, wherein the payment for the car or parking service is made automatically by debiting the amount due from the user's bank account at the time of departure from the reserved area or area. 20. The method of claim 19, wherein other methods of paying for parking are available: via automatic payment checkout, SMS, smart app, bank transfer. 21. The method of claims 7-20, wherein, at the end of each month, a consumption report is generated and e-mailed to the users of the parking space by the SVN using a taxed closed car park sharing system. 22. The method of claim 7-21, wherein using the SVN rating system, when both the SVN and the SVS are required to evaluate the service received / rendered, and continues to use this rating to prohibit or charge a higher rent to users with lower scores. .