WO2003039040A1

WO2003039040A1 - Method and apparatus for processing a parking registration and parking information inquiry

Info

Publication number: WO2003039040A1
Application number: PCT/KR2002/001896
Authority: WO
Inventors: Jai-Young Song; Dong-Il Kim
Original assignee: Jai-Young Song; Dong-Il Kim
Priority date: 2001-10-10
Filing date: 2002-10-10
Publication date: 2003-05-08
Also published as: KR20030030853A; KR20010113568A

Abstract

The present invention relates to a method and apparatus for processing a parking registration and parking information inquiry. The method for processing a parking registration in accordance with the present invention comprises the steps of receiving parking registration information including at least one selected from the group of a parking division identifier, a vehicle identifier and a parking time from a user terminal, determining whether the vehicle can be parked or not in the parking division in correspondence with the parking division identifier at the parking time, by retrieving at least one parking information stored in advanced in a database coupled with a parking information server using the received parking registration information, and transmitting a parking allowance message to the user terminal, when the vehicle can be parked.

Description

METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR PROCESSING A PARKING REGISTRATION AND PARKING INFORMATION INQUIRY

Technical Field

The present invention relates to the system of parking registration and parking information inquiry.

Background Art

Recently, Mobile Communication System which can transmit self-message to a remote place even in the course of movement has been developed and being applied actively in daily life. With Mobile Terminal using these Mobile Communication Systems, you could get additional service such as news, weather forecast besides basic way of telephone calling, or coulduse the function of short sentence messaging. Lately, Motor Vehicles has settled down as main transportation means, and been increasing dramatically for that reason. Owing to this sharp rise, lacking of parking space has been serious social problem. To solve the problems, recently the government has enforced Resident Preferred Parking Policy that appoints definite section at the back road of residential area (existing public land) and permits the residents of the area to park preferentially. By enforcing Resident Preferred Parking Policy, the local residents' parking problem can be defused. But it has a defect of inefficient usage of land because most resident preferred parking section has remained vacant at daytime as local residents usually park at night. In addition to that, as outsiders visiting equivalent area can't park at the vacant Resident Preferred Parking Sectionwithout special permission, so they should experience nothing but big inconvenience. Also, to control the vehicles being parked at the Resident Preferred Parking Section, it's actual circumstances to arrange lots of additional parking staffs and to control by identifying whether it's illegal or not one by one using a account book. By doing this, there occur some problems such as serious waste of manpower and inefficient parking control using account book.

Disclosure of the Invention

The present invention is for solving the above problems and has a purpose to supply a Parking Registration Processing System that enables efficient usage of vacant parking section, by remote processing of Parking Registration using Mobile Terminal . Another purpose of this invention is to supply the Parking Information Inquiry Processing System that enables anyone to inquire whether it's illegal parking vehicle or not, even without an account book.

To achieve the objects, one aspect of the present invention is a method for processing parking registration in a parking information server coupled with at least one user terminal via a communicationnetwork comprising the steps of receiving parking registration information containing at least one such as parking divider, vehicle identifier and parking time fromthe above user terminal inperformingparking registration business at the parking information server combined with a user terminal through communication network, deciding if the parking is available corresponding to the above parking time in parking section corresponding to the above parking divider by searching for at least one parking information saved in database which is connected to the above parking information server using the above parking registration information received, transmitting the parking available message to above user terminal, when the vehicle can be parked. Moreover, the method further comprises the step of storing said parking registration information in above database if the parking is available. Also, the communication network is at least one of wireless communication network and wired communication network. Also, the user terminal is at least one of mobile terminal, PDA and IMT 2000 terminal. Also, the registration information is at least one of parking start time and parking end time for the above parking time while adding the user terminal identifier corresponding to the above user terminal and area type corresponding to the above parking section. Also, the parking available message is displayed on the user terminal. Also, the parking time is the time set in advance. Also, the parking divider is gained in GPS method.

Another aspect of the present invention is a method for inquiring parking information in a parking information server coupled with at least one user terminal via a communication network comprising the steps of receiving parking inquiry information containing at least one of parking divider and vehicle identifier from the above user terminal in performing parking information inquiry work at the parking information server combined with a user terminal through communication network, retrieving the parking information corresponding to the above parking inquiry information from the database connected to the above parking information server, deciding if the vehicle corresponding to the above vehicle identifier is valid for parking in the parking section corresponding to the above parking divider, as a result of the above search, transmitting the message corresponding to the above decision result to the above user terminal .

Moreover, the parking inquiry information further includes the current time. Also, the method further comprises the step of extracting the current time in correspondence with the receiving time of the parking inquiry information, wherein the retrieved parking information is corresponded to the current time. Also, the communication network is at least one of wireless communication network and wired communication network. Also, the user terminal is at least one of mobile communication terminal, PDAand IMT 2000 terminal . Also, theparking information includes at least one of aparking divider, avehicle identifier andparking time, and theparking time includes at least one of the parking start time andparking end time. Also, the decision result is displayed on the above user terminal .

Still another aspect of the present invention is a method for inquiring parking information in a parking information server coupled with at least one user terminal via a communication network comprising the steps of receiving parking divider from the above user terminal in performing the parking information inquiry work at the parking information server combined with at least one user terminal through the communication network, retrieving the parking information corresponding to the above parking divider from the database connected to the above parking information server, creating the response message containing the above search result, transmitting the above created response message to the above user terminal .

Still another aspect of the present invention is an apparatus for processing a parking registration, coupled with at least one user terminal via a communication network comprising means for receiving the parking registration information containing at least one of parking divider, vehicle identifier and parking time from the above user terminal, in the parking registration processing device to perform parking registration work combined with at least one user terminal through communication network, means for deciding if the parking is available corresponding to the above parking time in the parking section corresponding to the aboveparkingdivider, by searching forat least oneparking information saved in the database in advance which is connected with the above parking information server using the above parking registration information received,■ means for transmitting the parking available message to the above user terminal if the parking is available.

Still another aspect of the present invention is an apparatus for inquiring parking information, coupled with at least one user terminal via a communication network comprisingmeans for receiving theparking inquiryinformation containing at least one of parking divider and vehicle identifier from the above user terminal, in the parking information inquiry system to perform the parking information inquiry work combined with at least one user terminal through communication network, means for retrieving the parking information corresponding to the above parking inquiry information from the database connectedwith the above parking information server, means for deciding if the vehicle corresponding to the above vehicle identifier can be parked in the parking section corresponding to the above parking divider, from the above search result, means for transmitting the a message corresponding to the above decision result to the above user terminal .

Still another aspect of the present invention is an apparatus for inquiring parking information, coupled with at least one user terminal via a communication network comprising, means for receiving the parking divider from the above user terminal, in the parking information inquiry processing system performing the parking information inquiry work combined with at least one user terminal through communication network, means for retrieving the parking information corresponding to the above parking divider from database connected to the above parking information server, means for creating the response message containing the above search result, means for transmitting the above created response message to the above user terminal . Still another aspect of thepresent invention is aparking information server for processing parking registration coupled with at least one user terminal via a communication network, comprising a storage device and a processor coupled to said storage device, said storage device storing a program for controlling said processor and said processor operative with said program to receive parking registration information containing at least one such as parking divider, vehicle identifier and parking time from the above user terminal in performing parking registration business at the parking information server combined with a user terminal through communication network, decide if the parking is available corresponding to the above parking time in parking section corresponding to the above parking divider by searching for at least one parking information saved in database which is connected to the above parking information server using the above parking registration information received, transmit the parking available message to above user terminal, when the vehicle can be parked.

Still another aspect of the present invention is a arking information server for processing parking registration coupled with at least one user terminal via a communication network, comprising a storage device and a processor coupled to said storage device, said storage device storing a program for controlling said processor and said processor operative with said program to receive parking inquiry information containing at least one of parking divider and vehicle identi ier from the above user terminal in performing parking information inquiry work at the parking information server combined with a user terminal through communication network, retrieve the parking information corresponding to the above parking inquiry information from the database connected to the above parking information server, decide if the vehicle corresponding to the above vehicle identifier is valid for parking in the parking section corresponding to the above parking divider, as a result of the above search, transmit the message corresponding to the above decision result to the above user terminal .

Still another aspect of the present invention is a parking information server for processing parking registration coupled with at least one user terminal via a communication network, comprising a storage device and a processor coupled to said storage device, said storage device storing a program for controlling said processor and said processor operative with said program to receive parking divider from the above user terminal in performing the parking information inquiry work at the parking information server combined with at least one user terminal through the communication network, retrieve the parking information corresponding to the above parking divider from the database connected to the above parking information server, create the response message containing the above search result, transmit the above created response message to the above user terminal .

Brief Description of the Drawings

The above objects and other advantages of the present invention will become more apparent in detailed descriptions of the preferred embodiments thereof with reference to the attached drawings, in which:

Figure 1 shows the parking information system according to the example of the performance of the desirable things of the invention;

Figure 2 shows the method to obtain parking section according to the example of the performance of the other desirable things of the invention; Figure 3 shows the example of the internal configuration of parking information server organization according to the performance of the desirable things of this invention;

Figure 4 shows the module configuration of parking information server organization according to the example of the performance of the desirable things of the invention; Figure 5 shows the internal configuration of parking information server according to the example of the performance of the other desirable things of the invention; Figure 6 shows the example of the rough configuration of mobile communication system according to the performance of the desirable things of the invention;

Figure 7 shows the flowchart of parking registration processing according to the example of the desirable things of the invention; Figure 8 shows the various kinds of information saved in the database equipped in parking information server for parking registration processing according to the example of the performance of the desirable things of the invention;

Figure 9 shows the request processing for parking registration using parking registration interface according to the example of the performance of the desirable things of the invention;

Figure 10 shows the parking registration interface for parking inquiry & correction according to the example of the performance of the other desirable things of the invention;

Figure 11 shows the parking registration interface for the parking end according to the example of the performance of the other desirable things of the invention;

Figure 12 shows the parking registration interface for the vehicle identifier registration according to the example of the performance of the other desirable things of the invention;

Figure 13 shows the example of the regular parking registration processing according to the performance of the other desirable things of the invention;

Figure 14 shows the example of parking registration interface for regular parking registration according to the performance of the other desirable things of this invention;

Figure 15a shows the payment processing screen according to the example of the performance of the desirable things of the invention;

Figure 15b shows thepayment processing screenaccording to the example of the performance of the desirable things of the invention; Figure 16 shows the example of the parking information inquiry processing according to the performance of desirable things of the invention;

Figure 17 shows different information saved in the database in the parking information server for processing parking information inquiry according to the example of the performance of desirable things of the invention; and

Figure 18 shows the example of parking control according to the performance of the invention.

Best Modes for carrying out the Invention

Hereinafter, preferred embodiments of the present invention will be described in more detail with reference to the accompanying drawings, but it is understood that the present invention should not be limited to the following embodiments .

Figure 1 stands for a brief diagram of the parking information system according to the example of the performance of the desirable things of the invention. Referring Figure 1 , parking information system contains mobile terminal 101, parking information server 105 and communication network 103. The above mobile terminal 101 is all right if it has additional communication function such as mobile communication terminal, PDA terminal and IMT 2000 terminal. But for convenient explanation, the above mobile terminal 101 shall be mobile communication terminal. The above communication network is all right if it is one of cable communication network, radio communication network and satellite communication network. But for convenient explanation, the above communication network 103 shall be radio communicationnetwork. Andthe above parking information server 105 performs the processing method of parking registration and parking information inquiry according to the example of the performance of the desirable things of the invention. As for the above parking information server 105, it will be mentioned in detail later referring figures. With the above parking information system that has roughly described, it will be explained the processing method of parking registration and parking information inquiry according to the invention. As for the parking registration processing method according to this invention, to park his vehicle at the parking lot such as resident preferred parking section, a user with mobile terminal 101 requires parkingregistrationbyinputting parking divider (normally fixed area in a parking lot , a series of number marked on parking surface divided by paint, ex.

12345 or 12346) , vehicle identifier (normally vehicle reg.

No.) and parking time using the above mobile terminal 101.

Bythe above request of parking registration, the parking registration information which contains parking divider, vehicle identifier and/or parking time is transmitted to parking information server 105. Theparking information server 105 decides the validity for the receivedparking registration information with internal database, then renew the above database with the above parking registration information, and then transmit approval message to the above mobile terminal 101. After passing through a series of payment process, the above user can park corresponding to the above parking time in the parking surface corresponding to the above parking divider. As for the parking registration processing method according to this invention, a user such as parking control staff can request the inquiry of parking information corresponding to the equivalent parking divider by inputting a specific parking divider with his mobile terminal 101. By the above request forparking information inquiry, the parking registration information which contains at least one of parking divider is transmitted to the above parking information server 105. The parking information server 105 retrieves the registered information by searching database with the above parking registration information received, then process it to response message, and transmit it to the above mobile terminal 101. The above user can decide the availability of illegal parking by the above response message displayed on mobile terminal 101, and can perform the step effectively.

Figure 2 shows the method to gain the parking divider according to the example of the performance of the other desirable things of the invention.

Referring Figure 2 , mobile terminal 101 has GPS function built-in, so it can receive the absolute geographical coordinates of the user's place from at least 4 satellites 201. As GPS function is a general matter, the concrete explanation will be omitted here . After that, the above mobile terminal 101 can obtain the equivalent parking divider by using the above absolute geographical coordinates as query, from database that saves the connected parking divider and the absolute geographical coordinates built-in.

Figure 3 shows the internal configuration of the parking information server according to the example of the performance of the desirable things of the invention.

Referring Figure 3, parking information sever 105 can contain Memory System 310, at least one Central Processing Unit (CPU) 320 that performs high-speed action, Input system 330 and communication system (specially radio communication system) 340.

Central Processing Unit 320 contains ALU (Arithmetic Logic Unit) 322 to perform arithmetic, Register 324 for temporary saving of data and instructions and Controller 326 to control the action of parking information server 105. Central Processing Unit 320 shall be a processor that contains various Architecture such as Alpha of Digital Co., MIPS Technology, NEC, IDT, MIPS like Siemens, Intel & Cyrix, x86 of companies that contains AMD and Nexgen, and Power PC of IBM and Motorola. Memory system 310 usually contains High-speed Main Memory 312 as a form of saving medium such as RAM (Random Access Memory) and ROM (Read Only Memory), Supplementary Memory 314 as a form of long-term saving medium such as floppy disk, hard disk, tape, CD-ROM and flash memory, and saving system that saves data by electricity, magnetism, optics and the other saving medium. Also Main memory 312 can contain the Video PlayMemorydisplaying image through display system.

Inadditionto that , Input system330 cancontainPhysical transducer such as Keyboard, Mouse, Touch screenorMicrophone . Communication system, specially radio communication system 340 can use a system such as RF Receive/transmit antenna or network interface to perform communication (specially radio communication) with plural mobile terminals 101.

Figure 4 shows the module diagramof parking information server according to the example of the performance of the desirable things of the invention.

Referring Figure 4, parking information server 105 can contain Receive/transmit processing module 462 to process the radio communication with plural mobile terminals 101, parking registration processing module 464 to process parking registration according to the above mobile terminal 101, and parking information inquiry processing module 466 to inquire parking information according to the above mobile terminal 101 's request.

The whole configuration of parking information server 105 seen through these application module is as follows.

Parking information server 105 can use various OS (Operating System) as OS of system. These OS controls the action of each application module 460 by providing high-level instruction to API (Application Program Interface: 410).

Parking information server 105 distinguishes each application module 460 corresponding according to high-level instructionprovided fromAPI 410, and contains the processing part of high-level instruction 420 that decodes high-level instruction and provides to equivalent place. Controlling part of Application module 450 controls the action of application module 460 according to the instruction provided by the processing part of high-level instruction 420. That is, processing part of high-level instruction 420 distinguishes the equivalent existence of application module 460 according to high-level instructionprovided throughAPI 410, transmits it to equivalent mapping part by decoding to instruction that can be recognized at the equivalent application module 460 in case of existence of corresponding application module 460, or control the transmission of message .

Consequently, controlling part of application module 450 contains each of mapping part 451, 453, 455 and interface part 452, 454, 456 about receive/transmit processing module 462, parking registration processing module 464 and parking information inquiry processing module 466.

Mapping part of receive/transmit processing module 451 is provided high-level instruction from the processing part of high-level instruction 420 to perform the mobile communication with plural mobile terminals 101, proceed mapping work to device level that can be processed at receive/transmit processing module 462, and provides it to receive/transmit processingmodule 462 through interface part of receive/transmit processing module 452.

The mapping part of parking registration processing module 453 and interface part of parking registration processing module 454 is the part to process the parking registration according to the request from mobile terminal 101. That is, the mapping part of parking registration processing module 453 is provided high-level instruction from high-level instruction processing part 420 to use parking registration processing module 464, proceed mapping it to device-level instruction, and provides it to parking registration processing module 464 through interface part of parking registration processing module 454. The parking information inquiry processing module 466 is a part for processing parking information inquiry. The mapping part of parking information inquiry processing module 455 is provided high-level instruction authorized through high-level instruction processing part 420 and then proceed mapping it to device-level instruction that can be recognized by parking information inquiry processing module 466. The device-level instruction is provided to parking information inquiry processing module 466 through the interface part of parking information inquiry processing module 456.

Figure 5 shows the internal configuration of the parking information server according to the example of the performance of the other desirable things of the invention. Referring Figure 5, parking information server 105 can be composed of receive/transmit field 510, program field 520 and database field 530. Receive/transmit field 510 can contain web demon 512 and receive/transmit demon 514, by these configuration, can mark a response message about it by being inputted user's request at any time. Also, program field 520 can contain parking registration processing program 522 and parking information inquiry processing program 524. Each data saved in database field 530 will be mentioned later referring to diagrams .

Figure 6 shows the rough configuration of mobile communication system according to the example of the performance of the desirable things of the invention.

Referring Figure 6, base station 601 performs receive/transmit of wireless signal for mobile terminal 101 by identifying the location of plural mobile terminals 101 and conversion of communication protocol. Base station controller 603 administrates and controls plural base station 601, also performs the functions like quota control of communication channel for each mobile terminal 101. Exchanger 605 processes the call requestedby eachbase station 601 through control of the above base station controller 603, and performs the function of connecting general terminal through wire to the above mobile terminal 101 by connecting to PSTN.

Figure 7 shows the flowchart of the parking registration processing according to the example of the performance of the desirable things of the invention.

Referring Figure 7, mobile terminal inputs parking registration information using parking registration interface that has saved in. The input procedure of parking registration information using parking registration interface will be mentioned in detail referring Figure 7 and Figure 9.

Figure9 shows the request processing for parking registration using parking registration interface according to the example of the performance of the desirable things of the invention. If the user select the Request for Parking in Parking menu using built-in parking registration interface of his mobile terminal, a screen for selecting areas will show on mobile terminal. Thereafter, if the user select a specific area (for example, Gangdong-Gu) on the showing screen, a screen that can input parking section will show on the above mobile terminal . The mobile terminal will be inputted parking section (for example, 12345) by user's inputting key using the screen that can be inputted the above parking section (Step 701) . In the other example of the performance of the desirable things of the invention, mobile terminal can receive the absolute geographical coordinates of user's location from at least 4 satellites by having GPS function built-in. After that, Mobile terminal can gain parking section by making the above absolute geographical coordinates as query from database that combines and saves the absolute geographical coordinates and parking section inside. When the input of parking section is finished, the screen that can input Vehicle Identifier (ex. vehicle registration No.) will be showed on the mobile terminal. In the performance example of the desirable work of this invention, after inputting the Vehicle Reg. No. in advance, the user can select a specific Vehicle Reg. No. by inputting key. The mobile terminal will be inputted the vehicle identifier (ex. Seoull2No3456) that user input (or select) using the above screen (Step 703) . In the example of the performance of the other desirable things of the invention, mobile terminal transmits its mobile terminal identifier (ex. MIN) to the parking information server. Then, parking information server can retrieve the pre-saved vehicle identifier in database using the above mobile terminal identifier. In the example of the performance of the other desirable things of the invention, the parking information server that has received Mobile Terminal Identifier fromMobile Terminal retrieves thepluralpre-saved Vehicle Identifiers in database using the above Mobile Terminal Identifier, and then transmits it to Mobile Terminal . Mobile Terminal outputs the interface that user can select specific Vehicle Identifier among the above plural Vehicle Identifiers. If the above user input specific Vehicle Identifier using the above interface, the above input information is transmitted to the above parking information server. In the 2nd example of the performance and the 3rd example of the performance of the invention, if parking information server receiving Mobile Terminal Identifier from Mobile Terminal can't retrieve Vehicle Identifier corresponding to the above Mobile Terminal Identifier, the 1st example of the performance will be performed.

When Input of Vehicle Identifier is finished, a screen that can input (or select) ParkingTime shows onMobileTerminal . In the example of the performance of the desirable things of the invention, Parking Registration Interface that user can select the multiple of unit time (ex.1 hour) canbe provided. The Mobile Terminal will be inputted the Parking Time that user inputs (or selects) using the above screen (ex. 2 hour) (Step 705) .

Parking Registration Information can be composed containing at least one such as the above Parking Divider, Vehicle Identifier and Parking Time. In the example of the performance of the other desirable things of the invention, Mobile Terminal can be inputted the above Parking Divider, Vehicle Identifier and Parking Time successively, using Automatic Response System (ARS) provided by Parking

Information Server. Automatic Response System (ARS) is a general matter, so explanation in detail will be omitted.

After this, Mobile Terminal requests for Parking

Registration to Parking Information Server by transmitting the Parking Registration Information containing at least created Parking Divider, Vehicle Identifier and Parking Time (Step 707, Step 709) .

Parking Information Server decides the validity for the received Parking Registration Information by using pre-equipped database (Step 711) . That is, the above Parking Information Server decides the parking availability of the vehicle corresponding to the above vehicle identifier on equivalent parking time and in equivalent parking divider, using the parking information saved in the above database. The explanation about information saved in the above database will be described referring Figure 8. Parking Information Server goes forward Step 713 if the parking registration information is decided to be valid at Step 711 , and goes forward Step 717 if not. In Step 713, the above Parking Information Server renews the above database using the Parking Registration Information received. Afterwards, the above Parking Information Server creates Approval response message about request for parking (Step 715) . The example of the above Approval response message can be provided as a form of Hourly parking coupon in Figure 9. Hourly parking coupon that is a example of Approval response message contains Parking Divider, Vehicle Identifier, Coupon No. (ex. KD-321) and can be displayed on the display system ofMobile Terminal . InStep 717, the above Parking Information Server creates pending response message about request for parking. In Step 719, the above Parking Information Server transmits the created Approval response message of pending response message to Mobile Terminal .

Mobile Terminal displays the receivedApproval response message of Pending response message through the equipped display system (Step 721) . The example of theApproval response message can be hourly parking coupon in Figure 9.

Figure 8 shows the various kinds of information saved in database equipped in Parking Information Server for Parking Registration Processing according to the desirable performance example of the invention.

Referring Figure 8 , the above database hasvarious fields composing each table and various tables such as Area type table, Parking allot table, Parking Section table, Request for parking table, Request for parking temp table, Arrears informationtable, Terminal VehicleNo . table, Parkingpayment table, Parking discount table etc. and can save information that equivalent filed requires.

Figure 10 shows the Parking registration interface for Parking Inquiry & Correction according to the example of the performance of the other desirable things of the invention.

Referring Figure 10, user can select Inquiry and

Correction menu by inputting key to inquire and correct the result of his parking registration on the Parking menu screen displayed in Mobile Terminal owned by himself. By selecting Inquiry & Correction menu, the screen of detailed application that is the result of his request will be displayed on Mobile Terminal. By using the screen of detailed application, User can select a specific detail of application by inputting key to inquire the details of his application. By selecting a specific application details, the details of request for parking that equivalents to the above application details will be displayed on Mobile Terminal.

When user selects the Correction menu contained in details of Request for Parking screen displayed in Mobile Terminal by inputting Key, Mobile Terminal shows correction screen that can correct or change the details. Among these, if user select autonomous region correction menu by inputting key to correct the autonomous region, autonomous region correction screen that can correct autonomous region will show on Mobile Terminal. Afterwards, User can correct autonomous regionbyusing autonomous regioncorrection screen. The renewed screen of the details of parking application as a result can be displayed on Mobile Terminal.

Figure 11 shows the Parking Registration Interface for Parking End according to the example of the performance of the other desirable things of the invention.

Referring Figure 11, User can select the Parking End menu by inputting key to end parking immediately at the screen of parking menu displayed on Mobile Terminal owned by user himself. By selecting Parking End menu, the screen of details of parkingwill be displayedonMobile Terminal . At that screen, at least Parking divider, Vehicle Identifier and Parking Time will be displayed. Especially, as for Parking Time, it will be displayed from Parking Start Time of Request for Parking to the selection time of the Parking End menu (ex. 1 hour) .

Figure 12 shows parking registration interface for the registration of the vehicle identifier depending on the desirable other performance example of this invention.

Referring to Figure 12, the user can select vehicle No. registrationmenubythe keyinput forregistering a newvehicle identifier (especially, vehicle registration No.) on the parking menu screen displayed in the mobile terminal which he carries with him. With the selection of vehicle No. registration menu, the vehicle No. registration screen is displayed in the mobile terminal. By using the vehicle No. registration screen, the user can register a new vehicle identifier (For example, Seoul23Nal234) . In the desirable other performance example of this invention, the above new vehicle identifier can carry out at least one registration in match of the mobile terminal identifier.

Figure 13 is a sequential drawing which shows a regular parking registration processing depending on the desirable other performance example of this invention. Referring to Figure 13, the mobile terminal can get a regular parking registration by the key input using parking registration interface stored beforehand in the inside.

When the user selects the regular coupon application menu (Step 1301) using the parking registration interface built in the mobile terminal, the screen on which the area and parking divider can be inputted is displayed in the above mobile terminal . The mobile terminal gets an input of the parking divider (for example 12345) by the user's key input using the screen on which the above parking divider can be inputted (Step 1303) . In the desirable other performance example of this invention, the mobile terminal can receive the absolute geographical coordinates of where the user is located from at least 4 satellites, building the GPS function in the inside. And then the mobile terminal can obtain the relevant parking divider, having the above geographical coordinates as an factor, from D/B where the absolute geographical coordinates and the parking divider are saved in connection in the inside.

When the parking divider input is completed, the screen on which the vehicle identifier can be inputted (or selected) is displayed in the mobile terminal. In the desirable performance example of this invention, after inputting plural vehicle registration Nos beforehand, the user can select a particular vehicle registration No. by the key input. The mobile terminal gets an input of the vehicle identifier which the user inputted (or selected) by the above screen (Step 1305) . In the desirable other performance example of this invention, the mobile terminal transmits its own mobile terminal identifier (for example, MIN) to the parking information server. And then the parking information server can extract the vehicle identifier saved beforehand in D/B using the above mobile terminal identifier. In the desirable other performance example of this invention, the parking information server which received the mobile terminal identifier from the mobile terminal extracts the plural vehicle identifiers saved beforehand in D/B using the above mobile terminal identifier and transmits these to the mobile terminal. The mobile terminal outputs the interface where the user can select a particular vehicle identifier out of the above plural vehicle identifiers. When the above user inputs a particular vehicle identifier using the above interface, the above input information is transmitted to the above parking information server. In the 2nd and 3rd performance examples of this invention, in the case of the parking information server which received the mobile terminal identifier fromthe mobile terminal not extracting the vehicle identifier corresponding to the above mobile terminal identifier, the 1st performance example is carried out.

When the vehicle identifier input is completed, the screen on which the parking period (especially, by month) can be inputted (or selected) is displayed in the mobile terminal . The mobile terminal gets an input of the parking period (for example, a month) which the user inputted (or selected) using the above screen (Step 1307) . In the desirable other performance example of this invention, the user can select the parking type (for example, day-time parking, night-time parking or whole-day parking)

The regular parking registration information can be structured including at least the above parking divider, the vehicle identifier and the parking period. In the desirable other performance example of this invention, the mobile terminal can get an input of the above parking divider, the vehicle identifier and the parking period sequentially using Automatic Response System (ARS) provided by the parking information server. Also in the desirable other performance example of this invention, in the case of the user having carried out the parking registration before, the user can complete parking registration by selecting the parking period only for applying for the regular parking. As the parking divider and the vehicle identifier are saved beforehand in the parking information server, the regular parking registration information can be made using this.

And then, by transmitting the regular parking registration information made including the parking divider, the vehicle identifier and the parking period, the mobile terminal requests the regular parking registration on the parking information server (Step 1309, Step 1311) .

Because Step 1313 and Step 1323 is almost the same as Step 711 and Step 721 of Figure 7 in contents, the concrete description will be omitted. Figure 14 shows the parking registration interface for the regular parking registration depending on the desirable other performance of this invention. In this performance example, suppose that the user carried out the parking registration before and as a result the parking divider is saved in the parking information server beforehand.

Referring to Figure 14, the user can select the monthly regular coupon application menu by the key input for carrying out a regular parking registration on the parking menu screen displayed in the mobile terminal which he carries with him. With the selection of the monthly regular coupon application menu, thevehicleNo. selectionand input screen is displayed in the mobile terminal. Using the above vehicle No. selection and input screen, the user canregister anewvehicle identifier

(for example, Seoul23Nal234) . And then the user can apply for the regular parking by selecting the application menu onthevehicleNo. input screen. The application result screen, the application result of the regular parking registration, can be displayed in the mobile terminal .

Figure 15a shows the payment processing screen depending on the desirable work performance example of this invention Referring to Figure 15a, the parking information server makes the message for payment and transmits it to the mobile terminal after the user has applied for the parking registration using the parking registration interface described referring to Figure 9. In the message for payment can be included the coupon No. (for example, KD-321) and the menu where various payment methods such as telephone charge payment , No .700 payment and credit cardpayment canbe selected. If the user selects the payment method by the telephone charge payment in the above message, the parking information server can make a payment for the parking registration immediately, and the result is transmitted to the mobile terminal .

Figure 15b shows the payment processing screen depending on the desirable other performance example of this invention.

Referring Figure 15b, the parking information server makes the message for payment and transmits it to the mobile terminal after the user has applied for the regular parking registration using the parking registration interface described referring to Figure 14. In the message for payment can be included the menu where various payment methods such as telephone charge payment, No.700 payment and credit card payment can be selected. If the user selects the payment method by the telephone payment in the above message, the parking information server can make a payment for the parking registration immediately, and the result is transmitted to the mobile terminal.

Figure 16 is a sequential figure showing the parking information inquiry processing depending on the desirable work performance example of this invention.

Referring to Figure 16, the mobile terminal inputs the parking registration information using the parking information inquiry interface saved beforehand in the inside . The user ' s mobile terminal gets an input of the parking divider using the parking information inquiry interface built in it (Step 1601) . In the desirable other performance example of this invention, the mobile terminal can receive the absolute geographical coordinates of where the user is located from at least 3 satellites , building the GPS function in the inside . And then the mobile terminal can obtain the relevant parking divider having the above absolute geographical coordinates as a factor from D/B where the absolute geographical coordinates and the parking divider are saved in connection.

In the desirable other performance example of this invention, the mobile terminal, by inputting plural parking dividers, can make an inquiry of the parking information corresponding to the plural parking dividers at the same time . For example, if the user inputs the start parking divider

(for instance, 01-001) and the completion parking divider

(for instance, 01-010) , the respective parking information of the plural parking dividers (01-001, 01-010) is inquired.

And then the mobile terminal , by transmitting the parking registration information including at least the parking divider, demands the parking information inquiry on the parking information server (Step 1603, Step 1605) . At this time the real-time of the parking information inquiry can be transmitted together. The parking information server carries out the retrieval of the relevant parking information on a real-time basis or at the time of the above parking information inquiry demand based on the already established D/B of the above parking registration information received (Step 1607) . On the above D/B, the detailed descriptionwill be given referring to Figure 17. And then the parking information server makes a response message including the retrieved parking information (Step 1609) . In the response message can be included the parking divider, the approvedvehicle No. corresponding to the parking divider, the parking time and the parking type (hourly, day-time, night-time, whole-day) And then the parking information server transmits the response message made to the mobile terminal (Step 1611) .

Mobile terminal displays the response message received on the displaying device equipped. (Step 1613) . Parking control staff may use the response message displayed on the displaying device to crack down on illegal parking effectively.

Figure 17 shows different information stored in the database in the parking information server for processing parking information inquiry according to the example of the performance of desirable things of the invention.

Referring Figure 17 , the above database has various table and various fields having each table for such as control organization table, public announcement table, parking control sta f table, parking control terminal , parking control , towing companies and request for parking, etc. for which information required for the relevant field will be saved.

Referring Figure 18, users such as parking control staff may use the interface of parking information inquiry built-in the mobile terminal to input parking divider (01-001 ~ 01-010) to display the screen containing the parking information inquired. Users such as parking control staff can input (or select) parking divider (for instance, 01-003) requesting for parking information inquiry. As a result , the upperpart of the right screen canbe displayed. The parking control staff can crack down on illegal parking by issuing sticker or notification of towing by remote control using the above screen (interface) when a vehicle that has nothing to do with parking information inquired (Vehicle No. Seoul46Gya 7890) is parked in parking area corresponding to the above parking divider. Because the above parking information can be reported to the crack down authority by remote control using the information of illegal parking vehicle, it can crack down on illegal parking effectively.

Although the present invention has been described in terms of various embodiments, it is not intended that the inventionbe limitedto these embodiments . Modificationwithin the spirit of the invention will be apparent to those skilled in the art .

Industrial Applicability

More parking spaces can be significantly extended by taking temporary parking section by means of the invention. Also, such illegal parking vehicles can sharply be reducedby inducing the right parkingbymeans of the invention.

Moreover, it can crack down on illegal packing effectively by inquiring the parking information using the mobile terminal as it can confirm at real time whether the current parking vehicle is illegal or not.

Further, the system is to crack down on illegal parking by every citizen as well as parking control staff, resulting in maximization of the efficiency.

Claims

1. Amethod for processing parking registration in a parking information server coupled with at least one user terminal via a communication network comprising the steps of: receiving parking registration information containing at least one such as parking divider, vehicle identifier and parking time fromthe above user terminal inperformingparking registration business at the parking information server combined with a user terminal through communication network; deciding if the parking is available corresponding to the above parking time in parking section corresponding to the above parking divider by searching for at least one parking information saved in database which is connected to the above parking information server using the above parking registration information received; transmitting the parking available message to above user terminal, when the vehicle can be parked.

2. The method of claim 1, further comprising the step of storing said parking registration information in above database if the parking is available.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein the communication network is at least one of wireless communication network and wired communication network.

4. The method of claim 3, wherein the user terminal is at least one of mobile terminal, PDA and IMT 2000 terminal.

5. The method of claim 1, wherein the registration information is at least one of parking start time and parking end time for the above parking time while adding the user terminal identifier corresponding to the above user terminal and area type corresponding to the above parking section.

6. The method of claim 1, wherein the parking available message is displayed on the user terminal .

7. The method of claim 1, wherein the parking time is the time set in advance.

8. The method of claim 1, wherein the parking divider is gained in GPS method.

9. A method for inquiring parking information in a parking information server coupled with at least one user terminal via a communication network comprising the steps of: receiving parking inquiry information containing at least one of parking divider and vehicle identifier from the above user terminal in performing parking information inquiry work at the parking information server combined with a user terminal through communication network; retrieving the parking information corresponding to the above parking inquiry information from the database connected to the above parking information server; deciding if the vehicle corresponding to the above vehicle identifier is valid for parking in the parking section corresponding to the above parking divider, as a result of the above search; transmitting the message corresponding to the above decision result to the above user terminal .

10. The method of claim 9, wherein the parking inquiry information further includes the current time.

11. The method of claim 9, further comprising the step of extracting the current time in correspondence with the receiving time of the parking inquiry information, wherein the retrieved parking information is corresponded to the current time.

12. The method of claim 9, wherein the communication network is at least one of wireless communication network and wired communication network.

13. The method of claim 9, wherein the user terminal is at least one of mobile communication terminal, PDA and IMT 2000 terminal .

14. The method of claim 9, wherein the parking information includes at least one of aparking divider, avehicle identifier and parking time, and the parking time includes at least one of the parking start time and parking end time.

15. The method of claim 9, wherein decision result is displayed on the above user terminal.

16. A method for inquiring parking information in a parking information server coupled with at least one user terminal via a communication network comprising the steps of: receiving parking divider from the above user terminal in performing the parking information inquiry work at the parking information server combined with at least one user terminal through the communication network; retrieving the parking information corresponding to the above parking divider from the database connected to the above parking information server; creating the responsemessage containing the above search result; transmitting the above created response message to the above user terminal.

17. An apparatus for processing a parking registration, coupled with at least one user terminal via a communication network comprising: means for receiving theparking registration information containing at least one of parking divider, vehicle identifier and parking time from the above user terminal, in the parking registration processing device to perform parking registration work combined with at least one user terminal through communication network; means for deciding if the parking is available corresponding to the above parking time in the parking section corresponding to the above parking divider, by searching for at least one parking information saved in the database in advance which is connected with the above parking information server using the above parking registration information received; means for transmitting the parking available message to the above user terminal if the parking is available.

18. An apparatus for inquiring parking information, coupled with at least one user terminal via a communication network comprising: means for receiving the parking inquiry information containing at least one of parking divider and vehicle identifier from the above user terminal, in the parking information inquiry systemto perform the parking information inquiry work combined with at least one user terminal through communication network; means for retrieving the parking information corresponding to the above parking inquiry information from the database connected with the above parking information server; means for deciding if the vehicle corresponding to the above vehicle identifier can be parked in the parking section corresponding to the above parking divider, from the above search result; means for transmitting the a message corresponding to the above decision result to the above user terminal.

19. An apparatus for inquiring parking information, coupled with at least one user terminal via a communication network comprising: means for receiving the parking divider from the above user terminal, in the parking information inquiry processing system performing the parking information inquiry work combinedwith at least one user terminal through communication network; means for retrieving the parking information corresponding to the above parking divider from database connected to the above parking information server; means for creating the response message containing the above search result; means fortransmitting the above createdresponsemessage to the above user terminal .

20. A parking information server for processing parking registration coupled with at least one user terminal via a communication network, comprising: a storage device; and a processor coupled to said storage device, said storage device storing a program for controlling said processor; and said processor operative with said program to receive parking registration information containing at least one such as parking divider, vehicle identifier and parking time from the above user terminal in performing parking registration business at the parking information server combined with a user terminal through communication network; decide if the parking is available corresponding to the above parking time in parking section corresponding to the above parking divider by searching for at least one parking information saved in database which is connected to the above parking information server using the above parking registration information received; transmit the parking available message to above user terminal, when the vehicle can be parked.

21. A parking information server for processing parking registration coupled with at least one user terminal via a communication network, comprising: a storage device; and a processor coupled to said storage device, said storage device storing a program for controlling said processor; and said processor operative with said program to receive parking inquiry information containing at least one of parking divider and vehicle identifier from the above user terminal in performing parking information inquiry work at the parking information server combined with a user terminal through communication network; retrieve the parking information corresponding to the above parking inquiry information from the database connected to the above parking information server; decide if the vehicle corresponding to the above vehicle identifier is valid for parking in the parking section corresponding to the above parking divider, as a result of the above search; transmit the message corresponding to the above decision result to the above user terminal .

22. A parking information server for processing parking registration coupled with at least one user terminal via a communication network, comprising: a storage device; and a processor coupled to said storage device, said storage device storing a program for controlling said processor; and said processor operative with said program to receive parking divider from the above user terminal in performing the parking information inquiry work at the parking information server combined with at least one user terminal through the communication network; retrieve the parking information corresponding to the above parking divider from the database connected to the above parking information server; creat the response message containing the above search result; transmit the above created response message to the above user terminal .