Patent ID: RE40013

Claim:
A parking space locating system comprising: at least one vehicle detector disposed proximately to an associated parking space and configured to output an occupied/vacant signal along with an associated space identifier according to whether said vehicle detector detects that a vehicle is present/absent in/from said associated parking space respectively; a central processor in communication with said at least one vehicle detector via at least one communication link; wherein said central processor is programmed to receive at least one of said occupied/vacancy signals along with said associated space identifiers and maintain an updated database of said occupied/vacant signals along with associated space identifiers, wherein said central processor integrates said database with geographical map data including a geographical area of said parking space(s) and generates an electronic street map which is capable of being displayed on a standard computer device screen as a graphical map, said graphical map having sufficient detail to distinguish individual parking spaces, wherein said occupied/vacant signal is indicated at a corresponding location on said graphical map; wherein said central processor is further programmed and configured to quickly communicate updated graphical map data structures including updated occupied/vacant signal indication to a network.