LT6680B - Method and equipment implementing that method for paying different price for using different parking zones - Google Patents

Abstract

This description describes a vehicle parking method in the parking area and the equipment for implementing that method. The parking area is divided into zones where the cost of vehicle parking is different. One of the possible options of parking area zones - different floors of the multi-storey parking area. When the vehicle passes the boundary, separating different zones, the vehicle is identified and the time in a particular zone begins to be counted. When leaving, the total amount to be paid is presented, depending on the vehicle parking zone, where the vehicle was parked. The technical solution is novel because the user of the parking area does not need special equipment or special software on the mobile phone, nor does the special equipment, able distinguishing if a particular space in a parking area is occupied, is needed to be installed in the parking area. In another embodiment of the same invention, there could be barriers that prohibit access to a particular zone if the identified vehicle is not authorized to enter that zone.

Description

TECHNICAL FIELD

The invention relates to the management of parking lots, to the payment of parking fees, and more particularly to the method and equipment of paying for parking in different areas of the parking lot where different parking fees are applied.

TECHNICAL LEVEL

This description provides a technical solution to help control the distribution of cars in the car park. The car park is divided into zones, where one possible implementation of the zones is different floors of the multi-storey car park. In order to ensure the proper distribution of cars in the parking areas, different prices apply for different parking areas. Prices may vary from one area to another over time. In the case of the present invention, the car driver does not need to have any additional devices or special software on the mobile phone to use this service in this way of payment. In the case of the present invention, the parking equipment identifies the vehicle by its registered license plates. After determining the duration of the identified vehicle's stay in a particular zone and adjusting the zone-specific parking fee, the full parking fee is determined.

A similar technical solution is found in US2012188101 (A1) (issued July 26, 2012), where the implementation of the technical solution requires devices at each of the parking spaces as well as a special device (located in the car) for vehicle identification. In the case of a quoted solution, it is inconvenient, sometimes impossible, and certainly much more expensive to install a special vehicle identification device for each car using the car park. A similar technical solution to the one cited is also disclosed in US2010268618 (A1) (issued 2010-10-21). In the case of this solution also a special device is attached to the car / car for identification of the car.

US2010090865 (A1) (published April 15, 2010) provides similar solutions to those quoted above, except that the vehicle is identified using the driver's portable electronic device, such as a cell phone and special software in the phone.

Summarizing the closest analogues of the present invention, the following general disadvantages can be identified:

- technical means of identification of the vehicle to be fitted in the vehicle,

- the driver's mobile phone with special software installed to identify the vehicle,

- special equipment is used to identify each location on the site and to link it to a specific vehicle at that location.

This description provides a technical solution that does not have the drawbacks listed above.

THE SUBSTANCE OF THE INVENTION

This description describes how to pay for parking your vehicle and the equipment that implements it. The car park is divided into zones where the cost of parking the car varies. One of the possible options for the site areas is the different floors of the multi-storey site. As the car traverses the boundary between the different zones, the vehicle is identified and the time it takes for the vehicle to reach the specific zone begins to count. When leaving, whether or not the total amount that the driver is required to pay is based on the area in which the vehicle is parked.

The technical solution is that the user of the parking lot does not need special equipment or special software on the mobile phone, nor does the parking lot need to be equipped with equipment that can distinguish or occupy a specific parking space. In another embodiment of the present invention, there may be barriers that prohibit access to a particular area if the identified vehicle is not authorized to enter that area.

PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

Multi-storey car parks often aim to regulate the choice of drivers to leave the car on one floor or another, in one area or another. If one floor is more comfortable to leave the car than the other, this may result in one floor being overcrowded, leading to a lack of empty space, while other floors have plenty of parking space. One possible way to solve this problem is to implement a parking payment method, where the cost of parking your car depends on the parking floor.

The present invention provides an invention providing a method of paying for parking a vehicle and equipment for implementing such a method of payment. The cost of parking depends on the floor of the multi-storey car park, the area of the car park, the specific location or other parameters that characterize the location, the location of the car park. In this description, the term "zone" is used to denote a site area, which can be distinguished from other site areas, and which carries a different price (compared to other areas) for parking, one possible variant where "area" refers to different floors of a multi-storey site.

The present invention provides a method of paying for parking a car where the price depends on the floor of the car park. Parking areas are separated by visible signs from one area to another, but there is always a passage between one area and another to enter another area. Car identification facilities are installed alongside such passes, so it is possible to determine when a particular car enters and / or exits a particular area, i.e. how much time you spend in one particular zone. In any case, cars are allowed to move from one area to another, where a car is identified on the border of the zones. In the context of the present invention, said vehicle identification means are video cameras that scan and identify vehicle registration plates. In other embodiments of the present invention, there may be other known vehicle identification means capable of accurately identifying the vehicle. Once the car is identified, the car driver is charged with paying for parking. The amount of the charge is based on the cost of parking in a particular area and the length of time it takes for the vehicle to park in that area. The amount of time a vehicle spends in a particular area is calculated by measuring the time between entering and exiting the area. Measuring the amount of time the car spends in a particular parking area calculates the total parking fee. Each different site area has predetermined price rates, which are used to calculate the said total fee.

Rates for different zones may change over time. One possible method of determining the price of different zones according to the present invention is to determine prices for different zones by taking into account the tendency of car drivers to keep the car in one or another zone. Since the passage of a car across the boundaries of different zones is recorded, this enables the occupation of one or another particular zone to be determined at a particular time. If the occupancy rate of one area is significantly higher than the other areas, this may result in a higher occupancy rate for the more occupied area compared to other less occupied areas. In other embodiments of the present invention, different parking rates may be applied in different zones depending on the time of day, week, month or other period. This creates even greater incentives for car drivers to fill the parking space according to the needs of the car park managers. Another possible way of the present invention to determine the price of a particular area is to adjust the price in real time based on the actual occupancy of the site area. If necessary, this method leaves a predetermined amount of free space available, regardless of the real-time price.

In another embodiment of the present invention, the identified cars (their identification parameters being provided to the equipment implementing the payment method) are afforded the opportunity to apply different prices to the designated areas than all others. In this way, when the car enters a specific area, the car operator is informed of the price to be applied in a particular area of the parking lot, as well as the prices applicable to a particular vehicle in other areas of that area. For example, if a car park is owned by several owners, parking for a particular car (which owns part of the car park) in a particular area may be free, and in other areas prices will be set as for all other cars. One of the phases of pay-per-parking is to identify the car entering the specific area and to inform its manager of the prices specifically assigned to that car in the parking areas.

In another embodiment of the present invention, depending on the control parameters of the site equipment set by the site manager, if the site is equipped with barriers between different areas of the site, said barriers may prevent vehicles from entering an area that is restricted to specific vehicles.

The method of paying for parking at different parking prices involves the following steps:

- before entering the car park, the driver is provided with information on parking charges in different areas;

- when entering the car park and passing through the boundaries of different zones, video cameras are identified;

- when the vehicle is identified, the time of the vehicle's presence in the zone is counted;

- when leaving the car, passing through the boundaries of different zones, the camera captures and identifies the car, capturing the time when the car exits the specific zone;

- calculating the difference between the time the vehicle enters the zone and the time it leaves the zone, calculating the duration of the vehicle's presence in the zone;

- the final amount payable for the use of the car park is determined by applying pre-determined and assigned tariff rates for each zone and taking into account the time spent by the vehicle in the particular zone.

An alternative step of implementing the present invention may be to prohibit access to a particular parking area, regardless of cost, unless a particular vehicle is granted access to a particular area.

The method of determining the fee of the present invention is implemented by technical means having the following basic components:

- vehicle identification,

- technical means of data processing,

- means of communication,

- other technical means which, as usual, ensure the performance of such technical functions as the present invention.

In the present invention, video cameras are used to identify a car. Video cameras capture the passage car image, identify, distinguish the license plates of the car, converting the visual information of the license plates into textual information that determines the car's driver and how to pay the parking fee. As a general rule, users of such parking lots must, prior to using the parking lot for the first time, transmit data to the processing and equipment of the present invention, thereby associating the vehicle registration plates with the information required for parking payment. In other embodiments of the present invention, upon identification of the vehicle and upon departure at a price for parking the vehicle, payment information is transmitted to a physical terminal, usually located at the parking lot, where the car operator can pay for parking.

The method of payment described herein also utilizes electronic data processing means having processor (s), temporary and non-volatile memory modules, internal and external data communication means, and other technical means specific to this type of device. The data processing means are linked by means of information communication with the vehicle identification means as well as technical means implementing the payment.

The equipment implementing the above payment method has the technical means to inform the driver of the car entering the specific zone, the prices assigned to the particular vehicle in different zones. The aforementioned media may be visual display screens located in different areas or in other easily visible locations, and the information may be provided in real time to the driver's mobile electronic device, such as a smartphone.

All technical means implementing the method of payment described include software tools which ensure the implementation of the method described.

Possible applications of the present invention, for example, in long parking lots, where parking is more expensive, would have a parking space closer to the exit, a more convenient location. Another possible application is when one parking lot is used for different purposes, for example, the same parking lot is used to leave the car while shopping in the mall and the same parking lot is used by the residents of the dwelling house who leave the car while parking at home.

In order to illustrate and describe the present invention, the following is a description of the most preferred embodiments. It is not a detailed or restrictive description intended to determine the exact form or embodiment. the description above should be viewed as an illustration rather than a limitation. Obviously, many 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 be made without departing from the scope of the present invention as defined in the following definition.

Claims (8)

1. A method of paying for parking in a car park where the cost of parking depends on the area of the car park, with the following steps: - before entering the car park, the driver is provided with information on parking charges in different areas; - when the vehicle is identified, the time of the vehicle's presence in the zone is counted; - calculating the difference between the time the vehicle enters the zone and the time the vehicle leaves the zone, - the final amount payable for the use of the car park shall be determined by applying pre-determined and assigned tariffs for each zone and taking into account the time spent by the vehicle in a particular zone, which includes the following stages: - when entering the car park and passing through the boundaries of different zones, video cameras are identified; - when leaving the vehicle, passing through the boundaries of different zones, the cameras record and identify the vehicle, and the time when the vehicle leaves the particular zone. 2. A method of paying for parking in accordance with claim 1, wherein, once the vehicle has been identified as intending to enter the area, one of the steps of the method prohibits access to a particular area, regardless of price, unless a particular vehicle is granted access to a particular area. . 3. A method of paying for parking a car according to the preceding claims, wherein the price in the different parking areas is determined in real time based on the current occupancy of the parking area. 4. A method of paying for parking a car according to the preceding claims, wherein providing a car enters a specific area provides information to the driver about the prices in different areas of the particular car, where such prices are pre-assigned to the particular vehicle by the car park managers. 5. Equipment to pay for parking a car, implementing the method of claims 1-4. 6. Equipment to pay for parking in accordance with Claim 5, comprising: - vehicle identification, - technical means of data processing, - means of communication, - other technical means, which, as usual, ensure the performance of functions such as those described in the present invention, characterized in that said vehicle identification means are video cameras which record the registration number of the vehicle. 7. Equipment to pay for parking in a car park according to claims 5 to 6, characterized by having barriers that prevent unauthorized vehicles from entering the designated area. 8. Equipment to pay for parking in a car park according to claims 5 to 7, characterized in that it has the technical means to inform the driver of the car-specific prices for parking in different zones.