Abstract:
The invention relates to systems to manage parking meters using mechanical, electrical and electromechanicals monitoring and transmitting devices. Such intelligent parking meters may be used for example to monitor pollution by idling vehicles, survey the area about the meters to identify events such as vandalism, accident or any other designated emergency situation, and to monitor volume and flow of traffic to help coordinate traffic light sequencing for facilitating optimum traffic movement. The meters may be coin, bill or card operated and are useful for monitoring individual parking spaces designed to monitor conditions ambient to the parking meter and issue summons to vehicles violating the preset requirements.

Description:
RELATED APPLICATIONS  
       [0001]     This application is a continuation-in-part application of co-pending U.S. patent application Ser. No. ______ filed Nov. 7, 2003, from which priority is asserted, and the disclosure of which is herein incorporated by reference in its entirety. 
     
    
     BACKGROUND  
       [0002]     1. Field of Invention  
         [0003]     The present invention described and claimed herein relates to systems to manage parking at mechanical, electrical and electromechanicals, intelligent parking meters that may be coin, bill or card operated in particular parking meters that are useful for monitoring individual parking spaces designed to monitor conditions ambient to the parking meter. Such intelligent parking meters may be used for example to monitor pollution by idling vehicles, survey the area about the meters to identify events such as vandalism, accident or any other designated emergency situation, and to monitor volume and flow of traffic to help coordinate traffic light sequencing for facilitating optimum traffic movement. These meters are mounted as single meters in each of a series of parking spaces located along long roadways or in parking lots.  
         [0004]     2. Discussion of Prior Art  
         [0005]     Mechanical, electric, and electromechanical parking meters are known in the art. Automated parking ticket dispensers and fee collection devices are also known in the art and include devices as described for example in U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,031,991 and 4,183,205.  
         [0006]     While these devices fulfill their respective particular objectives and requirements, each lacks a total intelligent parking/pollution/surveillance control system (“T.I.P.P.S.”), as described in the present disclosure.  
       SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION  
       [0000]     3. Discussion of Related Art  
         [0007]     The methods and systems of the presently disclosed control system employ intelligent parking enforcement devices, preferably parking meters, capable of wireless communication with an automobile registration control system (“A.R.C.S.”).  
         [0008]     In one embodiment, parking meters are employed that sense the presence of a vehicle in a metered zone and are capable of resetting the residual parking time to zero when a stationary/parked/idling vehicle pulls out of the metered zone. Preferred parking meters of the present invention are intelligent parking enforcement devices which monitor and enforce parking/idling regulations and may be programmed to facilitate the enforcement of other regulations as defined, specified and as deemed necessary by the local law enforcement authorities. As would be understood by one of ordinary skill in the art reading this disclosure, by providing improved parking/idling regulations enforcement, additional availability of parking spaces is provided. A control system of the present invention may make use of a remote monitoring module to assist monitoring, management and centralization of a process.  
         [0009]     In one embodiment, a parking meter which may be coin/bill/card operated, includes a meter housing having a card reader slot and a coin/bill receiving slot, a transreceiver module and a spaced transparent enclosure window on top of the housing. An electronic luminescent time indicator (LCD display) is mounted in the housing and displays the remaining time.  
         [0010]     In another embodiment of the invention, one or more of the intelligent parking enforcement devices optionally senses idling vehicles whether stationary or parked in a metered zone, tracks traffic volume and flow, provides time-lapse and full motion real time images, and/or self-generates a summons during the commission of a violation without human intervention.  
         [0011]     As would be understood by one of ordinary skill in the art reading this disclosure, the present invention may be used to significantly reduce the operational costs conventionally associated with enforcement regulation, as well as to eliminate errors caused by human resource utilization.  
         [0012]     In one embodiment of the control system of the present invention, a system is provided to collect a parking fee by any of the known payment collection methodologies (e.g., parking card reader, coin/bills/credit-card and direct deduction) that takes advantage of information transmitted by an A.R.C.S. housed in a vehicle, and an intelligent wireless monitoring device (“I.W.M.D.”) housed in an intelligent parking enforcement device, such as a parking meter that receives transmitted information from the A.R.C.S. through an intelligent transceiver (“I.T.”). Structure of an exemplary I.W.M.D., I.T. and A.R.C.S. is disclosed in pending U.S. patent application Ser. No. ______ filed on Nov. 7, 2003, which is incorporated by reference in its entirety herein. By receiving a transmission from the A.R.C.S. of a vehicle, the system can automatically collect the parking data and other relevant information pertaining to particular parked vehicle (e.g. ownership, insurance, licensing, vehicle service maintenance information and emission data).  
         [0013]     A control system of the present system may be operationally configured to identify vehicles idling in a metered zone with the purpose of controlling noxious gaseous emissions, communicate vehicle idling information to and from A.R.C.S. in a vehicle, communicate vehicle idling information to and from an intelligent wireless control device (“I.W.C.D.”), for example an I.W.C.D. as disclosed in the co-ending U.S. patent application Ser. No. ______ filed on Nov. 7, 2003, remotely manage and track system applications without human intervention, insert/modify/update parking and other legal regulations with minimal or no human resource utilization, provide real-time surveillance, and/or may upload surveillance data to an I.W.M.D. when activated by a number of pre-determined events such as vandalism, accident or any other designated emergency situation. 
     
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS  
       [0014]     The invention claimed and/or described herein is described in terms of exemplary embodiments. These exemplary embodiments are described in detail with reference to drawings, which are part of the description of the invention. These embodiments are non-limiting exemplary embodiments, in which like reference numerals represent similar structures throughout the several views of the drawings, and wherein:  
         [0015]      FIG. 1  depicts an exemplary side view of an automobile located along side a T.I.P.P.S. module, according to a first embodiment of the present invention;  
         [0016]      FIG. 2  depicts an visual diagram of a T.I.P.P.S. embodiment, according to the present invention;  
         [0017]      FIG. 3  depicts an exemplary functional block diagram of a T.I.P.P.S. embodiment;  
         [0018]      FIG. 4  depicts an exemplary flow diagram of a T.I.P.P.S. embodiment defining the steps/processes involved in detecting the presence of a parked vehicle;  
         [0019]      FIG. 5 ( a ) is a flowchart of an exemplary process in which T.I.P.P.S. initiates the process to detect the presence of a vehicle stationary/parked/idling in the metered zone, according to at least one embodiment of the present invention;  
         [0020]      FIG. 5 ( b ) is a flowchart of an exemplary process in which T.I.P.P.S. resumes the process of monitoring the presence of a stationary/parked/idling vehicle and prepares to issue a summons if a violation occurs, according to at least one embodiment of the present invention;  
         [0021]      FIG. 6  is a flowchart of an exemplary process of T.I.P.P.S. communicating with the A.R.C.S. and the vehicle if it is equipped with a special parking tag, according to at least one embodiment of the present invention;  
         [0022]      FIG. 7  is a flowchart of an exemplary process of T.I.P.P.S. equipped with idling sensors, according to at least one embodiment of the present invention; and  
         [0023]      FIG. 8  is a flowchart of an exemplary process of T.I.P.P.S. equipped with a miniature time-lapse surveillance system, according to at least one embodiment of the present invention.  
     
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION  
       [0024]      FIG. 1  illustrates one embodiment of the invention,  FIG. 1  depicts an exemplary side view of an automobile  10  with an arrangement to ensure monitoring of the stationary/parked vehicle. Total intelligent parking system  20  emits a narrow signal beam  22  around an area where the vehicle  10  is parked. In this depicted embodiment, the emitter  17  is installed in the parking meter  20 . For example, the emitter may be installed on the side frame of the parking meter cabinet. The wireless signal beam  22  is then transmitted towards the area around the stationary/parked vehicle. The lines  15  and  16  define the imaginary boundary for parking the vehicle in a metered zone.  
         [0025]      FIG. 2  is an exemplary functional block diagram of a T.I.P.P.S. embodiment, which is a fully functional independent parking system  200 . The housing of T.I.P.P.S.  200  is preferably aesthetically pleasing. In addition to the simplicity of its design, its easy prompts result in a user-friendly device. The case itself is forged in heavy gauge, reinforced cold rolled steel, with a durable color coat. The interior of the case is fully insulated to protect the internal components in extreme conditions.  
         [0026]     Two pairs of miniature surveillance camera  206  (facing in all four directions) are configured with a time-lapse recording mechanism, which can automatically upload the surveillance data to the I.W.M.D. in case of vandalism, accident or in any other designated or emergency situation. In addition to this, both pairs of surveillance cameras are also capable of transmitting real-time full motion images from any designated site.  
         [0027]     With full backward compatibility with the legacy parking meter, total intelligent parking system (T.I.P.P.S.) is fully equipped with an intelligent controller, a display panel  203 , a communication (wireless) port  202 , a unique coin/bills/card slot  201  and a signal emitter/receiver  204 . The connector  205  provides universal connectivity (backward compatibility) with most of the legacy parking meters.  
         [0028]     The wireless port may correspond to a RF, WLAN IEEE 802.11x &amp; 802.16x standards, Bluetooth or an IR port, where the wireless 802.11x covers the area of about 3 blocks, the wireless 802.16x covers the area of about 7 miles, a blue tooth system covers a diameter range of around 330 feet and an “IrDA” infrared red system generally covers less than 5-10 feet with a proper line of sight. This technology as is described in greater detail below  
         [0029]     The Bluetooth&#39;s native ad-hoc network property makes it very useful by replacing bulky cables, providing printing support or acting as ID cards. The Bluetooth wireless specification includes both link layer and application layer definitions for product developers, which support data, voice, and content-centric applications. Handheld wireless communication devices that comply with the Bluetooth wireless specification operate in the unlicensed, 2.4 GHz radio spectrum ensuring communication compatibility worldwide. These radios use a spread spectrum, frequency hopping, full-duplex signal at up to 1600 hops/sec. The signal hops among frequencies at 1 MHz intervals to give a high degree of interference immunity. Up to seven simultaneous connections can be established and maintained. Further details can be viewed at www.bluetooth.org or www.bluetooth.com.  
         [0030]     The IrDA specifications, on the other hand, is intended for high speed short range, line of sight, point-to-point cordless data transfer—suitable for handheld communication devices. Since 1984, “IrDA Data” defines a standard for an interoperable universal two way cordless infrared light transmission data port. IrDA technology is already in over 300 million electronic devices including PC&#39;s, PDA&#39;s, cellular phones, cameras, toys, watches and many other mobile devices. Main characteristics of IrDA signaling include: 
        Range: Continuous operation between two contacts for at least 1 meter.     Bi-directional communication is the basis of all specifications.     Data transmission starting from 9600 kbps primary speed going up to 4.0 mbps.     Data packets are protected using CRC (from CRC  16  for speeds up to 1.152 mbps to CRC-32 at 4.0 mbps).        
 
         [0035]     Radio waves are created due to the movement of electrical charges in antennas. As they are created, these waves radiate away from the antenna. All electromagnetic waves travel at the speed of light. The major differences between the different types of waves are the distances covered by one cycle of the wave and the number of waves that pass a certain point during a set time period. The wavelength is the distance covered by one cycle of a wave. The frequency is the number of waves passing a given point in one second. For any electromagnetic wave, the wavelength multiplied by the frequency equals the speed of light. The frequency of an RF signal is usually expressed in units called hertz (Hz). One Hz equals one wave per second. One kilohertz (kHz) equals one thousand waves per second, one megahertz (MHz) equals one million waves per second, and one gigahertz (GHz) equals one billion waves per second.  
         [0036]     RF energy includes waves with frequencies ranging from about 3000 waves per second (3 kHz) to 300 billion waves per second (300 GHz). Microwaves are a subset of radio waves that have frequencies ranging from around 300 million waves per second (300 MHz) to three billion waves per second (3 GHz).  
         [0037]     Basically WLAN is an ordinary LAN protocol, which is a modulated carrier of radio frequency waves. WLAN IEEE 801.11 is a natural extension to LAN Ethernet, and the modulated protocol is IEEE 802.3 (Ethernet 3).  
         [0038]     Common WLAN Products, which are using IEEE standards, are based on IEEE 802.11 and 802.11b specification. 802.11b is a high rate extension to the original 802.11, and specific 5.5 to 11 Mbps data rate. The next HyperLAN2 generation using IEEE 802.11a, IEEE 802.1 μg standards, operates in a new band frequency of 5 GHz, and achieves a high data rate as 54 Mbps. The new networking technology WiMax IEEE 802.16x should provide higher speed, and more coverage than existing Wi-Fi standards.  
         [0039]      FIG. 3  depicts a systematic diagram of a T.I.P.P.S. embodiment. The power to the T.I.P.P.S.  200  may be hard wired by conventional AC power lines, by solar panels, by low consumption batteries or combination of any of these or other power sources. The power supply  220  adapters regulate and supplies the correct voltage to the controller board. The module has a provision for secondary power, which can be easily interfaced, via a power interface  219 .  
         [0040]     The device has an onboard central processing unit  211  and is interconnected to the various sub-components via a system bus  210 . The system application  212  runs on the processor  211  and provides control and may be used to coordinate the functions of the various components of the system. The system application  212  is stored in ROM  213 . 1  and its sub-functionality can temporarily be made to run from the RAM  213 . 2  increasing the performance of overall system communication. Some of the add-on utilities are stored on the EPROM  213 . 3 . The Unique Meter Identifier  214  is stored in an encrypted mode on a separate media, which is readily available upon the request made by the application  212 .  
         [0041]     The presence of the vehicle  10  parked near the T.I.P.P.S.  200  is sensed by a sensor beacon  218 , which is connected to a vehicle sensor controller  217 . On the successful acknowledgement of the presence of the vehicle  10 , the system  212  initiates the communication. The Unique Identifier  214  is transmitted to the parked vehicle  10 . The idling sensor  228  continuously monitors the vehicle for idling.  
         [0042]     T.I.P.P.S.  200  is equipped with an impact/shock/sound/vibration sensor  229 , which in case of vandalism, accident or in any other designated or emergency situation immediately uploads all stored surveillance data to the I.W.M.D.  
         [0043]     In addition to this, both pairs of surveillance cameras  206  are also capable of transmitting real-time full motion images from any designated site.  
         [0044]     The payment processor/counter  220  is a plug-n-play interface with legacy parking meter&#39;s collection module. This T.I.P.P.S.  200  embodiment comes with a pre-installed connectivity with collector module  221 . Besides coin/bills/card payment processor, T.I.P.P.S.  200  has a pre-configured modular interface component module  225 , which is capable of processing the pre-paid parking cards.  
         [0045]     T.I.P.P.S.  200  has a multi line LCD panel  227  connected via a display adapter  226 , which is capable of displaying detailed information related to the parked/idling vehicle. The external interface  224  is provided for maintenance purpose, for equipment re-configurations, change or for updating the pre-existing applications or their sub modules. The authentication module  223  can authenticate any type of connectivity. The signal processor  215  differentiates between an incoming transmission via a signal receiver  216 . 2  and outgoing transmission via a signal emitter  216 . 1 . The coin/bills/card payment processing is done via payment processor  221 .  
         [0046]      FIG. 4 , depicts a T.I.P.P.S. embodiment and its interaction with A.R.C.S. Step  310  is activated when vehicle comes in the range of the parking meter or enters the metered zone. Step  311  is activated when vehicle is detected in a stationary/parked/idling mode in a metered zone. Step  312  consists of exchanging the unique identifiers (in case of vehicles the vehicle identification number (VIN) and in case of the parking meter the unique meter identifier number). T.I.P.P.S. receives the stationary/parked/idling vehicle information and logs the transaction into its own memory—step  313 .  
         [0047]     T.I.P.P.S. communicates with the A.R.C.S. at regular intervals—step  314 . It also informs the A.R.C.S. of an impending violation-step  315 . The A.R.C.S. receives the violation warning that the vehicle is in violation. The transaction is logged into its local drive step  316 . A violation summons is issued-step  317 .  
         [0048]      FIG. 5 ( a )- 5 ( b ) represent a flowchart of an exemplary process, in which T.I.P.P.S. mounted inside the parking meter initiates the process  601  to detect the presence of a vehicle in the metered zone. To lower power consumption, T.I.P.P.S. is programmed to go into a sleep mode  600  if there is no activity in the metered zone. If there is no vehicle sensed in the metered zone, T.I.P.P.S. waits for “n” seconds  602  and goes back to sleep mode  600 . If the presence of a vehicle is detected in the metered zone, T.I.P.P.S. initiates broadcasting a unique T.I.P.P.S. identifying number  603 .  
         [0049]     As soon as the acknowledgement of transmission is completed, T.I.P.P.S. begins the initial count down for “n” minutes  604 . The “n” minute&#39;s countdown  605  of this embodiment of the invention is displayed on the LCD panel of T.I.P.P.S.  203 . If the initial “n” minutes have passed, it informs the A.R.C.S. that a violation has occurred and a summons is being issued. In the absence of A.R.C.S. a summons is issued to the vehicle (to be delivered by mail/email/automatic deduction if authorized). As an alternative process, no violation transaction will be recorded if the vehicle is moved out of the metered zone within a grace period of “n” minutes. If the coin/bills/cards are deposited into the collection slot  609 , the total amount  610  of parking time is displayed on the parking meter  611 . If the displayed parking time is used up  612 , the parking device provides the grace period of “n” minutes  613 . The grace time  614  is displayed on the T.I.P.P.S. display panel  203 . If the defined grace period  615  is used up, the parking violation is recorded and a summons  616  is issued. If the operator of vehicle deposits the coin/bills/cards within the grace period  613 , the parking meter displays the calculated time of grace time used after subtracting the actual owed time. The T.I.P.P.S. updates its log file  617  and goes back to scan mode. Also during the grace period, if the vehicle decides to leave the parking area without paying the balance, a violation transaction is recorded and a summons is issued. The payment may include credit card, special parking permit, debit card, a particular token or any other available means.  
         [0050]      FIG. 6  is a flowchart of an exemplary process, in which a special parking authorisation number that is issued to defined designated group of individuals as suitably determined by the law enforcement officials is shown interacting with T.I.P.P.S. In step  641 , T.I.P.P.S. detects the presence of the vehicle. In step  642 , T.I.P.P.S. transmits the T.I.P.P.S. unique identifier and in the process the A R.C.S. transmits the vehicle identification information along with the special parking authorization number at step  643 . In step  644 , T.I.P.P.S. authenticates the special parking authorization number. If the special parking authorisation number is valid, it logs the transaction at step  646 . In case, a violation transaction is logged at step  646 ; and, a violation summons is issued to the vehicle at step  647 .  
         [0051]     When the vehicle is moves out of the metered zone before time expires, the T.I.P.P.S. clears the balance time and the display time is reset back to zero.  
         [0052]      FIG. 7  is a flowchart of an exemplary process, in which T.I.P.P.S. is monitoring the idling vehicle stationary/parked. In step  701 , T.I.P.P.S. detects the presence of the vehicle. In step  702  T.I.P.P.S. transmits the T.I.P.P.S. unique identifier and the A.R.C.S. transmits the vehicle id information at step  703 . In step  704  the idling sensor is activated. Simultaneously timer is activated and monitors the idling time and logs the violation at step  705 . If the idling time exceeds the pre-defined time a violation summons at step  706  is issued to the vehicle.  
         [0053]      FIG. 8  is a flowchart of an exemplary process, of T.I.P.P.S. equipped with a miniature time-lapse surveillance system which is defined hereinafter. In step  751 , an undefined event is sensed. The impact/shock/sound/vibration sensor  752  is activated. The miniature surveillance system  753  is placed in active mode.  
         [0054]     In step  754 , the active surveillance system uploads the surveillance data to I.W.M.D. and activates the real-time full motion image streaming at step  757 . Simultaneously the real-time media streaming is recorded on the local storage drive at step  755 . The transaction is logged in at step  756 . Any significant event involving T.I.P.P.S. will simultaneously activate the adjacent T.I.P.P.S. and provide a real-time full motion stream to I.W.M.D.