Note: Descriptions are shown in the official language in which they were submitted.
CA 02444315 2003-10-08
Eximsoft -2
PRB4/ILEGED AND C~NFIDENTIAL
Parking System with Centralized Reservation, Payment and
Enforcement
Field of the invention
The invention resides in the field of integrated parking systems and is
directed in particular to a system for centralized parking reservation,
payment
and enforcement. In addition, the invention introduces the mobility and
convenience of drivers by automafiion through the centralized parking system.
Background of the Invention
The parking industry is a over $500 billion industry in the US. There are
over 105 millions parking spaces, which include metered parking spaces,
garages, parking areasllots, etc, with various methods for collection the
parking
fees. Collection of the parking fees is performed in a fragmented way using
parking attendants, or automatic payment collection machines that accept cash,
debit andlor credit cards.
The existing parking systems have a few disadvantages. For example,
the municipalities provide parking meters on some streets; however typical
street
parking meters require cash, and accept only certain types of coins. In
addition,
the time that can be bought is limited (e.g. maximum one hour or two hours).
Therefore, many users must reload the meter at regular intervals of time, if
they
need to use the facility for a longer time than the maximum time allowed by
the
parking meter. While willing to correctly pay the fee, the user may get fined
if the
parking time expires, and he/she could not reload the meter in time. The fine
is
the same for one minute or one hour violation, as there is no way to determine
the duration of the violation.
Numerous parking lots or garages located within major cities use parking
attendants, and generally accept only cash; the user is required generally to
pay
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CA 02444315 2003-10-08
a deposit (cash) representing the payment for a full day. Still further, the
user is
charged in increments of d2 hours, so that the payment exceeds the cast for
the
actual parking time. In most cases, a flat parking fee is charged for parking
spaces for sport events or shows. Two events may run concurrently on the same
day, creating an opportunity for revenue scopes.
Most parking lots that accept overnight parking, such as e.g. airport
parking lots, allow prepayment in increments of some larger time units (days,
hours and minutes). Nonetheless, additional parking time cannot be bought and
the car may by eventually towed at the expense of the user, if the pre-paid
time
expires before user°s return (i.e. unplanned extended absence).
In large parking facilities that are generally provided for events with a
large
attendance e.g. sport events, shows, concerts, airports, etc., the parking
spaces
surrounding a respective venue are spread over a large area and divided into
lots. It is not easy or automatic for a user to find a free spot in such a
large
parking area. As well, it is not easy for the parking administrator to
determine
when a certain lot is full, so as to re-direct the potential users to other
lots in the
respective parking facility. This impacts on the business, since unused
parking
spaces do not bring revenue.
Large parking facilities have been lately equipped with automated
payment capabilities. However, the automatic cashiers differ from one parking
facility to another; learning how to operate a particular type of automatic
cashier,
especially at night when the visibility is poor, and/or when there are other
users
waiting in line, could be quite stressful.
In some cases the automatic cashiers are provided at the site of the venue
rather than in the parking facility; this implies that the user must carry the
parking
slip on himlher, while in most cases, the parking lip must be displayed on the
dashboard.
If the payment is not automatic, it takes a long time to exit a large parking
facility, since fee collection at the gates slows the traffic.
In addition, finding the vehicle in large parking areas/lots when the
respective event is over may pose problems, especially at night, or after a
heavy
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CA 02444315 2003-10-08
snow. To address this problem, many car models are equipped with handheld
devices for audible recognition; however, not all vehicles have this feature
and
the sound is very similar for most vehicles.
Still further, Booking for a parking spot may be time/fuel consuming, and
requires knowledge of the area in advance, since it is not easy to read the
parking signs while driving.
To summarize, there are numerous ways of managing a parking lot, and
the fee collection varies widely with the city, county, provincelstate or
country.
Currently, the onus is on the user to continuously learn new methods of
payment,
to carry the right amount of cash and the correct coin denominations and to
know
in advance for how long the parking spot is needed. Currently, the only
alternative is to pay extra money, to get a parking ticket, or to have the
vehicle
towed.
Lately, worldwide terrorist activities have added a new dimension to
security of parking operations, especially in crowded areas such as
metropolitan
areas, large commercial centers, airport parking (which require 300 feet
restriction during an orange alert) or large event venues. Increased
protection
measures are now being considered for securing public parking areas, in view
of
the events on September 11, 2001. For example, crime investigators may exploit
the information on all vehicles using the parking in the vicinity of a crime
scene
and on their owners.
lJS Patent IVos. 6,246,337 and 6,249,233 to R~senberg et af., disclose a
vehicle parking network where each subscriber is equipped with a transmitter-
responder device (TRD). The subscriber must attach a complementary box (CB)
on the car, the CB being coupled to the TRD for communications with a central
computer. A subscriber must find an empty parking spot recognized by the
central computer, after which helshe has to contact 'the central computer by
telephone for a parking authorization request. Parking is permitted after
receipt
of a parking authorization signal from the central computer. The CB has
identification marks that can be scanned from outside the o~ehicle through the
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CA 02444315 2003-10-08
windshield in order to identify the subscriber. The absence of the CB renders
the
parking illegal.
The system of Rosenberg et al. does not provide any prior indication
regarding existence of available parking spots in a particular parking area.
In
addition, advance reservation of a pre-determined parking spot is unavailable.
The current methods can be improved for better servicing the users and
for increasing the revenue collected by the parking owners. There is a need to
provide a user-friendly parking system without direct cash handling. In
addition,
there is a need to provide a system where the users pay for the actual parking
time without being ticketed, whereas parking owners achieve maximum
occupancy with minimum time violations. As well, there is a need for a
centralized parking system, which allows the users to reserve in advance a
parking spot in a desired parking area.
In addition, there is a need to collect additional information of the driver
and the car for security sensitive parking spaces.
Summary of the erwerttion
The present invention seeks to overcome the disadvantages of the prior
art parking systems. Thus, it is an object of the present invention to provide
a
centralized parking system, which allows reservation of a predetermined
parking
spot in a parking lot/area of interest. It is also an object of the invention
to
provide a user-friendly method of payment for the actual time of using the
parking
space.
A further object of the invention is to provide a parking system with
enforcement means that takes into account mutual benefits for both the user
and
the parking authority.
According to one aspect of the invention, a parking system for enabling
centralized parking reservation, payment and enforcement, comprises a central
computer for generating, managing and storing subscriber data and parking data
and performing a plurality of parking operations; a user terminal connected to
the
central computer over a data network, for enabling user access to the central
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CA 02444315 2003-10-08
computer; a service terminal connected to the central computer over the data
network for enabling automation of the parking operations; and a data portal
provided for the central computer for enabling interactive communication of
the
subscriber data and parking data between the computer and the service terminal
and the user terminal.
According to a further aspect, the invention provides a method for
managing and controlling operation of a parking facility, to enable
centralized
reservation, payment and enforcement, comprising: connecting a parking system
over a data network with a user terminal and a service terminal; registering a
user with the parking system from the user terminal; on the user terminal,
reserving a parking spot in the parking facility for a specified vehicle;
monitoring
the presence the vehicle in the parking spot and measuring an effective
parking
time for the vehicle; and calculating a parking fee for the effective parking
time
and processing the parking fee automatically according to a pre-arranged
payment plan.
The system according to the invention provides an informed parking
concept compared to the current uncertain °'find & park°'
concept, presenting
numerous advantages to both the parking user and the parking owner. An
updated central database provides the current occupancy status of the area, so
that the users can select the appropriate spot for the current use, which adds
to
customers satisfaction and increases parking fees generation. This database
can be also used to provide statistical parking information that may be used
for
further improvements of the system.
Knowing in advance the location of the parking spot combined with the
payment methods available with the system of the invention advantageously
saves time to the users. fn addition, the system of the invention allows to
speed-
up the access of vehicles in and out of large parking lots. This advantage is
particularly relevant in case of concurrent events sharing a parking lot.
The invention provides an improved solution for the parking industry, by
replacing the existing custom-made sophisticated parking meters and automatic
cashiers with web-enabled mobile communications devices activatedB
CA 02444315 2003-10-08
deactivated for space assignment and collection of fees, which is automatic in
some case, or is based on start-end user inputs in some other case. Correct
calculation of the parking fee and convenient methods of payment (cashless)
increase customer satisfaction and contribute to the success of the operation.
Moreover, the system deals with the unplanned overtime parking in a way
that is satisfactory to customers, while the additional parking costs are
debited to
the appropriate parking authority. in addition, any overtime parking penalty
is
proportional to the time violated, as opposed to the flat high rate applied
currently.
The system also provides for efficient parking lot supervision, which
detects illegal parking and stores information to improve security protection.
Thus, the system of the invention °knows' the license plate of each
vehicle using
the facility, and maintains information regarding the user of the respective
vehicle, which information is particularly useful in security sensitive areas.
The parking system according to the invention may also be used in large
high-level rack storehouses to enhance space management as the merchandise
is moved in and out. It may also be used by the car-rental companies to
identify
a rented vehicle by the parking space number and to facilitate the creation of
a
fleet of self rent cars, to reduce use of private vehicles in the cities and
to save on
parking fees.
The "Summary of the Invention" does not necessarily disclose all the
inventive features. The inventions may reside in a sub-combination of the
disclosed features.
Brief Descripti~n ~f the Drawings
The foregoing and other objects, features and advantages of the
invention will be apparent from the following more particular description of
the
preferred embodiments, as illustrated in the appended drawings, where:
Figure 1 illustrates an embodiment of a parking system according to the
invention;
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CA 02444315 2003-10-08
Figure 2 is a photograph of an optical reader installed afi a parking
facility according to the invention;
Figure 3A is an example of a map used for metered parking spaces;
Figure 3B is a map for a metered parking space located on a city street;
Figure 4 illustrates an initial portal screen for customer registration;
Figure 5 shows an example of a screen for advance parking reservation;
Figure 6 is a flowchart illustrating the centralized advance parking
reservation process and payment method according to the invention;
Figure 7A is a flowchart illustrating the parking time measurement for
parking facilities with automatic license plate reading;
Figure 7B is a flowchart illustrating the parking time measurement for
parking facilities without automatic license plate reading;
Figure 8 is a flowchart illustrating an example of parking time
enforcement procedures for un-metered parking areas; and
Figure 9 is a flowchart illustrating an example of parking violation
procedure may be handled.
Similar references are used in different figures to denote similar
components.
~etailed ~escripti~n ~f the Preferred mb~diments
The following description is of a preferred embodiment by way of example
only and without limitation to combination of features necessary for carrying
the
invention into effect.
The Parking System
Figure 1 illustrates an embodiment of the parking system with centralized
registration, reservation, payment and enforcement according to the invention.
Parking system 1 serves all types of parking facilities; Figure 1 illustrates
a
complex embodiment suitable for a large corporation, which owns a plurality of
parking facilities spread over a large geographical area
The system °i is preferably an Internet-based computerized system,
which
communicates and interacts online with a plurality of terminals, while keeping
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CA 02444315 2003-10-08
records of all operations and transactions as desired by the parking facility
management (also referred herein as the parking authority), within the
framework
of the existing local rules and regulations. Figure 1 shows the Internet 10
connecting the central computer with the terminals, however any data networks
may be used for enabling this communication.
System 1 includes in this example a central computer 15, with a
relational database 3. Database 3 stores subscriber data such as user
identification (ID), address, e-mail, password, vehicle details, and credit
card
details. A general user profile is also available. Additional information may
be
required regarding the driver and the car for example for parking spots where
security protection is critical. This information is provided by subscribers
upon
registration and is maintained as long as the user decides to maintain his/her
subscription.
The database also comprises parking facility data such as parking space
25 identification ID (street, garage floor, area, lot). This information is
stored e.g. in
the form of maps that identify each spot or in the form of'bulk' space when
identification of each spot is not available (e.g. street parking). The
parking
facility data is updated when physical changes to a certain parking area or
lot
occur, or when new areas, lots or spaces are added.
The database also stores temporary information, such as parking time
data, which information is provided when a parking request is logged. The
parking time data may be maintained for a short period, for example until the
account for the respective service has been settled. optionally, the parking
time
data may be maintained for as Bong as agreed upon with the user, or as deemed
necessary by the parking authority. Receipts of fee/charges are available on-
line or on demand.
Database 3 may be organized as a relational database, by arranging the
records as a set of tables, where each table is a set of records. In turn, a
record
is a set of fields and each feld is a pair of held-name and field-value.
Computer 15 is programmed to perform a plurality of parking-related
operations, such as subscriber registration, centralized advanced parking
CA 02444315 2003-10-08
reservation, payment and enforcement. Device 15 is provided with digital
signature capabilities such as for example PKI (public key infrastructure),
and
SWIM (subscriber wireless information module) capabilities, to provide
authentication and confidentiality of user data (identification, debitlcredit
card
information and activities), as well as for the parking area security
protection. It
may also supply statistical data regarding the customer profiles and the
services
requested, which enables the parking authority to further enhance the
operation
and revenue collection, while providing high quality services to users.
The system according to the invention also incorporates a geographic
information system (GIS) or other system that allows automatic identification
of a
parking spot on a map of the respective parking lotlarea, thus facilitating
reservation of a spot of interest and easy localization of the spot in the
preferred
parking area. The users may access the system 1 in the known way, as shown
by a HTML (Hyper Text Markup Language) portal 4, using a variety of web-
enabled user terminals.
For example, the users may use a personal computer, notebook or
laptop 17, with a dial-up interface 6, or an Ethernet interface 5 to the
Internet 10
to register, to access the system and to interact with the system by
requesting a
parking service. Or, the user may use a WAP (wireless application protocol)
cellular phone 16 with web browser capability, connected over the Internet
using
a dial-up interface 6 or a GPRS (General Packet Radio System) interface 9.
Access over the Internet is not mandatory; the users may access system 1 over
a telephone landline or a wireless line using an agent, who in turn has
Internet
access to the system.
Thus, for users that do not have an access terminal 16, 17 as in Figure
1, the communication with system 1 may be established dialing a 1-80a number
as shown at 19, to communicate with an operator (agent), who will perform the
respective service such as e.g. registration, reservation, buying additional
timer,
payment, etc. using a service terminal 18. The agent's computer 18 is
preferably connected to Internet over an Ethernet interface 5.
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System 1 may also be provided with service terminals, such as voice
portal 21, which enables users access to the system 1 by calling a toll-free
number (1-800, or 1-888, etc) number. Voice portal 21 is an automated
interactive system developed using VoiceXML technology, which harnesses the
massive infrastructure developed for HTML to create and deploy voice
applications over Internet. While HTML assumes a graphical web browser with
display and keyboard) mouse, VoiceXML assumes a voice browser with audio
output, audio input and keypad input. In this case, the voice browser's speech
recognizer handles the audio input (user's voice commands). Audio output
IO (device's 21 responses) consists both of recognition and speech synthesized
by
voice browser text-to-speech system. Voice portal 21 interfaces with Internet
preferably over an Ethernet interface 5.
Preferably, for medium sized and large parking areas, the system
incorporates license plate readers (LPR) 20, which provide automatic vehicle
IS identification and trigger the parking process. The LPR shown at 20 is
mounted
for example on the gates to the parking lots and garages, so as to keep track
of
the vehicles entering and leaving the area. For parking facilities that are
not
equipped with gates, the LPR 20 may be mounted on any convenient structure
from where the license plates of vehicles entering or exiting the facility may
be
20 read. The LPR 20 may be connected over data network 10 to computer 95 using
a wireless interface 7 or Ethernet 5. When a car is entitled to use the
respective
facility, the LPR 20 sends a trigger signal that actuates gate opening and
closing.
Figure 2 illustrates a LPR 20 by way of example. These devices are
equipped with a camera 25 which is oriented so as to °'see"' a large
portion of the
25 back of the car where the license plates 26 are fixed (since front license
plates
are not always compulsory). The license plate image is converted to data and
is
matched with the pre-stored car identity information, the time of entry or
exit is
sent to database 3 and recorded against the user i~. If the parking facility
has a
gate, a signal is sent to openlclose the gate as required. Use of LPR 20
allows
30 total automation of the vehicleluser identification, without any action on
the part
of the customer.
IO
CA 02444315 2003-10-08
it is to be noted that the term "license plate reader" designates generically
any means for automatically inputting the lice plate number. For example, it
may
be a digital camera, an optical card reader, a bar code reader, a PIN code
reader, a magnetic card reader, or combinations thereof.
Some of the large garageslparking areas may already be equipped with
a local database 24, which keeps track of the current totlarea occupancy, the
existing reservations, and the time when a reservation starts and ends. This
database may be used to load the relational database 3, when created, and to
synchronize it whenever changes in the layout of the respective parking
facility
occur. Preferably, interface 5 that connects the database 24 to the web is
Ethernet.
Service terminals 1~ are relevant to large parking facilities that are
provided with shuttle service, such as airport parking facilities. Terminals
12 are
provided at convenient locations throughout the parking facility along the
route
I5 of the shuttle, to enable the users to find out where the shuttle is and
the time of
arrival at the stop closest to hislher current location" To this end, the
shuttle is
equipped with a GPS (Geographical Positioning System), which transmits its
position continuously to system 15, so that the location of the shuttle is
always
known. The terminals 1~ may use for example a SMS (Short Messaging
System) interface 8 or a GPRS (General Packet Radio System) interface 9.
Service terminal 13 illustrates a handheld wireless device used by a
parking attendant (enforcer) for enforcing the parking reputations and for
assisting subscribers when needed. Terminal 13 could be a generic web-
enabled wireless terminal, which communicates with system 1 S over a WiFi
interface 7 for speedy, on-tine processing of information. Terminal 13 is
preferably equipped with GPS and a digital camera, or optical card reader
(OGR),
and the appropriate software process applications, for reading the license
plate of
a vehicle and uploading the information to system 15. This information is used
for updating the parking occupancy information, and it may also be used to
read
the license plate of vehicles for which the parking was prepaid, upon entry at
a
sport/show event for speeding-up the parking operations.
lI
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The enforcer°s terminal 13 also enables the enforcer to download
the
expected parking occupancy information, to identify eventual offenders and to
take appropriate actions. For example, the terminal downloads mapping of the
parking space identification to car license plates, and the enforcer
determines
which cars are illegally parked, checks which cars have "over-parking"
protection,
issues parking tickets, requests that illegally parked cars be towed, etc. In
addition, the enforcer's terminal may automatically inform the user by e-mail
that
the vehicle has been towed, and provide the address where it could be picked-
up. A time and date stamped picture of the car may be used as proof of offense
in the court, or to justify any extra charges even when the user has over-
parking
protection.
Terminal 13 may also be equipped with a magnetic card reader and a
printer, so as to enable on the spot payment for quick entry into the parking
lot at
a sport/show event.
Figure 1 also shows that central computer 15 is connected to the
Department of Motor Vehicle database 22 allowing integration of the
inforrnation
in the relational database 3 with the information in the DMV database 22.
Thus,
the information on delinquent cars can be sent from computer 15 or from the
hand-held device 13 to the local authority or states Department of Motor
Vehicles (DMV) database 22 to identify repeat offenders for appropriate
enforcement in traffc courts. This also replaces the present manual parking
ticketing process.
Integration of Parking Facilities with the Parking System
As discussed in connection with the relational database 3, system 1
maintains maps for all parking facilities administered by the respective
owner.
The type of parking facilities varies widely, and the operation of the system
1
differs accordingly.
A parking area may for example be a garage with one or more floors, or
an area with a plurality of parking lots, each parking lot with the respective
parking spots/spaces. In general, the spaces in such areas are identified
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CA 02444315 2003-10-08
(numbered) to enable the users to locate the car. Figure 3A is an example of a
map used for numbered parking spaces located in a large commercial area.
Also as a convenience to the subscribers to system 1, the numbered parking
spots in this type of facilities may be advertised to indicate if the
respective spot
is occupied, reserved, free or reserved for special parking (handicapped
persons, pregnant women, mother and child, etc). A.s well, the occupied spots
may also display the license plate of the car or the name o~f the individual
that
should use it. This information will aid the subscriber to find her/his
reserved
spot, and will discourage illegal parking.
The parking system of the invention may also be used for operating the
street parking spaces that are traditionally controlled and enforced by means
of
specialized local metering. Either no meter is required or no special
arrangements are needed in this case, as the system makes use of the number
on existing parking meters, which identifies uniquely the parking space.
Bystem
1 also operates with parking spaces in a city block or other traditional
parking
areas using a concrete block, a pole, a parking meter, or any other mainstay
physical property designating the parking spots with an identifying number.
Figure 3B is a map for a metered parking space located on a city street.
Another example of parking spaces, which are generally administered by
the city, refers to the street parking spots that are not metered/numbered,
where
parking is allowed for a limited time. Currently, an enforcer patrols the
streets
and identifies the offenders, providing manual, and thus not very accurate,
records of offending cars.
According to the invention, the maps, such as the ones shown in Figures
3A and 3B, may be displayed on the user's access terminal, in this example a
terminal 17 in Figure 1. The user terminal 17 displays the parking spots and
their characteristics: reserredloccupied such as spots A2-A3, B5-Bg and D1-D2
shown in gray, free spots such as C1 to C10, and spaces A8, A9, D8-D10,
shown in light gray, reserved for handicapped persons. The maps may also be
downloaded on web-enabled terminals 1S.
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Payment methods
System 1 can work with several payment methods. Calculation of the total
parking fees and automatic payment for pre-approved users ensures collection
of
the correct parking fees on line. In addition, the fee can be paid
conveniently,
using various payment instruments like credit cards, debit cards, decreasing
balance, a third party billing system (micro payment), or any other smart
card/prepayment method.
The option payments are numerous; the user may choose to pay by the
minute/hourldaylweek and/or start-end period activated/deactivated by
customer's access terminal.
Rates can be flexible and can be adjusted instantaneously. In all cases,
payment arrangements carp be made according to a tier system, particularly in
large parking areas/lots. A premium may be charged based on factors that the
parking area authority deems acceptable, such as distance from the parking
spot
1S to the main entry or to the venue. The arrangement may also charge higher
prices for spots close to the user's interest and decreasing as the distance
to the
respective place increases. Also, certain times of the days that are more
valuable than others may be offered at a premium. "Auctioning of parking
spaces" is a process, which can be initiated manually or automatically once a
certain percentage of parking spots have been reserved, and the value of the
remaining ones becomes so much higher that it is profitable to auction them.
Links to other websites and company promotions may also be available in order
to give more choices to the customers. examples of such sites are frequent
flyer,
car servicelmaintenance companies, other events similar to the ones the
customer chooses, etc.
As mentioned before, the payment methods are secure, as system 15
incorporates digital signature Public Key Infrastructure (PKI) and Subscriber
Wireless information Module (SWIM) technology. Any otller security technology
that conforms to the complete automation of the parking process may be used.
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CA 02444315 2003-10-08
On-line prepayment of the parking is an important advantage of the
present invention, as the user does not have to carry money or a credit card,
and
can always reserve a parking spot and be legally parked.
The customer may also choose "over-parking protection". If the time
parking period initially selected elapses, the customer is automatically
charged
for the rest of the hour/day depending on customer's desired level of
protection,
instead of being ticketed or the car being towed away. In any event,
irrespective
of the selected parking period, the customer is always charged for the
effective
time the car occupies the parking spot, if the start-end feature is selected.
This is another advantage of the invention, as the Customer is not bound
to a pre-paid parking period and can continue an activity without facing
illegal
parking condition.
Receipts of all parking transactions may be stored in database 3 and can
be used for statistical analysis or for resolving disputes. C3n-line receipts
are
IS available for the lifetime of the registration (membership) and can be
issued from
a user access terminal.
To summarize, system 1 can be adapted to variaus types of parking
facilities, payment methods, enforcement methods and provides the users with
a variety of services that make it very attractive. For example, the system
enables operations such as advanced reservation of a parking space, recording
of the effective parking time, and enforcement capabilities adapted to the
type of
parking.
All users must register first with the system ire order to receive the
desired services. Registration is performed as well known by selecting a user
name and a password to access the respective website 4. The user must then
provide hislher name, address information, vehicle information and payment
information.
Figure 4 illustrates an example of an initial portal screen for customer.
registration. This type of registration is common to web-enabled services. The
user I~ may for example be the serial number of the user terminal. The vehicle
ID requires license number (LIV), color, make, model, year, etc for all
vehicles
CA 02444315 2003-10-08
that the subscriber intends to use. The payment information may include
alternative methods of payment and options such as over-parking protection.
As discussed above, secrecy of this information is guaranteed as the
user interface to computer 15 incorporates digital signature Public Key
Infrastructure (PKI). It is to be noted that any other authentication
infrastructures may equally be used as needed and as they become available.
As well, the system according to the invention improves parking venue security
protection by advance identification of the vehicle and the customers making
the
parking reservation request.
Advanced reservation.
According to the invention, a subscriber to system 1 may reserve a
parking spot in advance using a terminal such as 17. A user may request a
parking reservation (in advance of the service) or may reserve the parking on
the
spot (parking at the moment). Advanced parking reservation is available only
for
the spaces that are marked or metered. Parking on demand is available in all
parking facilities, be they marked, metered, or not.
Figure 5 illustrates an example of a screen for advance parking
reservation and Figure 6 is a flowchart illustrating the advance reservation
process and the method of payment according to the invention.
The reservation process begins with the user accessing system 1 using
for example as the access terminal the desktop computer 17, step 3~. If an
account for this user already exists, branch "No" of decision block 31, the
user
logs-in as well known, by providing hislher user identification UI and
password
PVIe, as shown in step 33.
If a new user requires a parking reservation, branch
°'Yes°° of decision
block 31, the data for the new user is collected, as discussed in connection
with
Figure 4. For example, the system may require user's name, address, phone,
email address, type of car and license plate number, as described in
connection
with Figure 4. The user then provides the system with the parking request:
information, as shown in step 34 and illustrated by way of example in Figure
5.
16
CA 02444315 2003-10-08
This information includes at least venue identification information (Vlt) and
time
information (TI). The venue is specified as detailed as desired, and the time
as
specific as possible, indicating the date, the expected time of arrival TS~,~
and the
expected duration of the parking T~~Z.
S The subscriber must also specify the automobile make if there are more
automobiles registered to the respective subscriber. In case of large parking
facilities, the subscriber may specify some particulars of the spot, such as
floor
number, terminal and gate number (e.g. for airport parking). Once system 1
receives the particulars of the request (VII, TI), a map with the area of
interest
showing the parking spots and their identification is displayed on the
subscriber
terminal. More particularly, the availability and usage status of the spaces
closest to the place of interest is displayed on-line in real-time, so as to
allow
the user to select the preferred spot.
If a parking spot is found, as shown by branch "Yes" of decision block 35,
1S the user selects a convenient spot, or selects a bulk space with available
spots,
step 36. As discussed before, auctioning for better spots i s available.
Next, system 1 attempts to bill the service to the creditfdebit card
number, step 37. The user now specifies the payment method and payment
type. To reiterate, the user may select payment by debitlcredit card,
decreasing
balance, etc. It is noted that a subscriber has the option to maintain the
number
of a credit card in the parking system in order to speed-up the resenoation
procedure, and to direct the: parking costs to one card. Alternatively, the
user
may enter the card information at the moment of parking, in which case the
card
number is entered in step 37. As also described previously, the parking time
may be specified in various units of time, such as days, hours, minutes,
seconds. Over-parking protection option may also be activated now for this
particular parking action.
If the card verification in step 38 fails, the customer may re-try with the
same or a different card, steps 37 and 38, and if this again fails, the
subscriber
cannot reserve the spot. This procedure is not shown in detail, as being well
known for on-line transactions.
17
CA 02444315 2003-10-08
Needless to say that if at step 35 a parking spot is not available at a
facility of choice, as shown by branch 'No' of decision block 35, the customer
is
notified to try another parking facility in the vicinity, step 26. If a
parking spot is
not available at all as shown by branch 'No' of decision block 27, the user is
noticed in step 28, and the reservation process ends. If a spot is available
in
another parking area close to the respective point of interest to the
subscriber,
as shown by branch 'Yes° of decision block 27, the process continues
with step
36 as described before.
If the transaction is successful, branch °Yes' of decision block 38,
and the
spaces are numbered, branch °Yes' of decision block 29, the system
reserves
the spot, step 40. The database 3 is updated to show the newly reserved
space, step 41, and the user receives a confirmation of reservation and
invoice
information, step 42.
If on the other hand, if the spaces in the parking are not metered or
numbered, branch 'No' of block 29, the operations proceed in a similar way,
with
the exception that the system does not reserve a space. Instead, the system
reserves a spot in a bulk space by decreasing the number of free spaces in the
respective bulk space, as shown in step 43. In this case, the subscriber will
find
the reserved spot, since the bulk parking area with the respective reserved
space is confined to a block or two. The system enters the VII and T~~ in the
database in step 45 (but no parking space number), and the subscriber receives
confirmation of parking reservation as before; as shown in step 42.
It is obvious that in the absence of a terminal 17 the subscriber may still
reserve a space in advance using a telephone or a cellular, in which case an
2~ attendant will perform the reservation on the map.
Advance parking reservation is one of the main advantages of the
system 1, which allows cusi:omers to reserve desired parking spots in advance
without facing the risk of going "blindfolded" in search of a parking spot.
l~
CA 02444315 2003-10-08
Figure 7A is a flowchart illustrating the parking time measurement for
parking areas equipped with automatic license plate reading. In this scenario,
the entry and exit time are read and entered into the system automatically.
l/Vhen the vehicle arrives at parking, step 23, the license plate reader
(LPR) 20 takes a picture of the car license plate, step 46. The LPR matches
the
license plate number with the information in the database 3, as shown in step
47, and the vehicle is allowed to enter if the subscriber has reserved a spot,
as
shown by branch 'Yes° of the decision block 47. The LPR also reads the
time of
entry and stores it in the system database (Tstart).
If a reservation is not found in the database 3 for the respective car, the
subscriber is notified, step 48, and requested to proceed with reservation,
i.e. to
perform the steps shown in Figure 6. The user can log-on the system if helshe
is a registered user to determine what went wrong, andlor may try to reserve a
spot at that moment, using an access terminal such as 16, or a cellular/fixed
telephone dialing the 1-8(~0 number to contact the agent 18.
If the advanced reservation is found in database 3, as shown by branch
'Yes' of decision block 47, an Anti PassBack test is performed in step 49.
This
test is performed for detecting eventual duplication in the license plate
numbers
(e.g. typos made by users at registration, fraud; etc). The users may be
notified
of the duplication for correcting the typo, or the authorities are notified in
case of
fraud. If the test fails and a car is already using the spot as shown by
branch
°Yes°, the subscriber is notified and as shown in step 48,
helshe is requested to
perform the same actions as above in connection with the reservation check. If
the Anti PassBack test is successful, branch 'No°, the vehicle enters
the parking
facility, step 50, and the user drives it to the reserved spot.
Now, if the parking area is numbered (i.e. the spots are numbered), as
shown by the branch 'Yes' of decision block 51, the system updates the map to
show that the reserved spot is now occupied, step 53. if the parking area is
not
numbered, the system only associates the time of entry Tst~, provided by the
LPR against the subscriberwehicle identity, step 52.
19
CA 02444315 2003-10-08
The enforcer patrols the parking area and checks if the actual time of
parking Tpa,~ exceeds the time reserved Try, as shown by decision block 5~..
The enforcer is equipped with a hand-held device such as 13, which enables
access to the system at ali times, and helshe can check the status of each
car.
As indicated in connection with Figure ~, hand-held device 13 may be a generic
web-enabled wireless terminal with BPS and digital camera capabilities, with
appropriate software process applications.
A parking spot is flagged in the database (on the map) for attendant's
attention when the reserved parking time was exceeded. If the parking time
Tpa,~
exceeds the time reserved °f,.~ for a certain vehicle, branch
'Yes° of block 54, and
if over-parking protection is not available for the respective subscriber, as
shown
by branch °IVo' of decision block 55, then the enforcer checks if
additional parking
time has been requested by the respective subscriber, as shown by step 56. If
the system indicates that no additional time has been purchased, branch
°No' of
block 56, the vehicle is considered as illegally parked and a parking
violation
procedure is initiated in step 57. A digital picture may be taken and an e-
ticket,
or an e-mail explaining the 'tow information may be sent to the customer. If
the
illegally parked car is not in the reservation database, it will be
ticketedltowed and
the information regarding the illegal vehicle stored in the enforcement
database
for subsequent use.
If the subscriber has overtime protection branch 'Yes' of decision block 55
and or has purchased additional parking time, branch °Yes° of
decision block 57,
the enforcer considers the vehicle as legally parked and continues checking
other
cars.
When the vehicle exits the parking facility and arrives at the gate for
leaving, step 58, the LPR 20 reads again the license plate, step 59 and the
time
Tena~ and sends the information to the central computer 15. The actual parking
time Tpark is calculated as the difference between the Tend and TStarc, and
compared with the initially reserved period (Try), and the effective duration
of
parking is charged to the customer account. Thus, if T~~ > T,.~, the user is
CA 02444315 2003-10-08
notified, step 60 and billed for the difference. If Tpa,~ ~ T,-~, the user
account id
debited with the difference.
After the vehicle exits the parking, the system updates the database 3 by
marking the respective parking spot as free, step 61.
Figure 7B is a f(owchiart illustrating the parking time measurement for
parking areas without automatic license plate reading. In this scenario, the
subscriber must be equipped with a handheld wireless device HWD such as
device 16 on Figure 1 for entering the arrival and the: departure time into
the
1G system. The user arrives at the parking spot as shown in step 70 and
accesses
the system 1 on the handheld wireless device, step 71. The system checks if
there is any advanced reservation for that user, as shov~rn in step 73. If
not, the
subscriber is notified in step 72 and helshe proceeds with reserving a parking
spot using the handheld wireless device (HDW) 16, as shown in the flowchart of
Figure 6. If the subscriber has already reserved a parking space in the
respective facility, as shown by branch °Yes' of decision block 73, the
user
proceeds with parking in the reserved spot. If the parking area is
numberedlmetered, as shorn by branch 'Yes' of decision block 74, the user
parks the car in the reserved numbered space and enters the parking start time
Tstart and the space identification number, as shown in step 77. Then the
system records the time Tsta,t and updates the map to shove that the
respective
parking space is unavailable for the reservation time T,.~, step 78.
If the parking area is not numbered/metered, branch 'No' of decision
block 74, the user parks the car in a respective free space and enters the
2S parking start time TStart9 as shown in step 75, and the system records the
time
Tstart and updates the number of free parking spaces available in that parking
area, step 76.
During the time of parking, the enforcer controls the legality of all cars
parked in the respective area. The handheld device 13, communicates with
3D system 1 to advise which cars have been parked for more than the reserved
time, step 79, and also checks if the owners of the cars with Tpa,~ > TreZ
have
21
CA 02444315 2003-10-08
over-parking protection, step 80. As before, if the vehicle is parked
illegally
(reserved parking time expired, the owner does not have ~ver-parking
protection and he/she did not purchase any additional parking time in step
85),
the parking violation procedure is applied to that cars shown in step 8.
If on the other hand, the reserved parking time did not expire, branch 'No'
of block T9, or if the user has over-parking protection, branch °Yes'
of block 80,
or if helshe purchased additional parking time, branch 'Yes° of block
85, the
enforcer considers the vehicle as legally parked and contireues checking other
cars.
When leaving the parking facility, the user enters the time on the HWD,
step 81, and the system settles the account in accordance with the time
effectively used for parking,. step 83. In the meantime, the system updates
the
recordslmap to show the parking spot as available, step 84.
Figure 8 is a flowchart illustrating an example of parking time
enforcement procedures for un-metered parking areas (free limited time
parking). In this scenario, the enforcer patrols the area and enters the
license
plate numbers and the time for ail parked cars, step 91. This is a very simple
operation, in that he/she only has to direct the device 13 towards the license
plate of each vehicle and takes a picture of the license plate. After the
license
plates of all cars were photographed, the enforcer accesses system 1 and
uploads the license plate information, as shown at step 92. On enforcer's
request, system 1 downloads on device 13 the changes form the last reading in
the area under hislher administration, step 93. The system informs the
enforcer
of any vehicles that are not authorized to park in that area (if for example
this is
an area administered by system 1, where all users require subscription). If
the
vehicle is not in the database 3, branch 'Yes" of decision block 94, or if it
is, but
the parking time expired, branch °Yes' of decision block 95, the
enforcer applies
the parking violation procedure, as shown in step 96. If the vehicle belongs
to a
subscriber and the parking time has not expired, as shown by branch 'No' of
decision blocks 94 and 95, the enforcer considers the vehicle as legally
parked
22
CA 02444315 2003-10-08
and continues checking other cars. As shown by block 9~, the procedure is
repeated after a certain time, calculated according to the free time parking
allowance in the respective area.
Figure 9 is a flowchart illustrating an example of how parking violation
may be handled. ~nce a parking violation is detected in any of the above
scenarios, the enforcer captures a date and time stamped image of the
delinquent car, as shown in step 98. Thereafter, he/she contacts the towing
company for removing this car, step 99. If the offender is a subscriber to
system 1, branch 'Yes" of decision block 100, the enforcer eventually uploads
1~ violation information and issues a ticket to the subscriber, as shown in
step 101.
Then, system 1 notifies the user (e.g. by e-mail, or by regular mail) of the
flowing
and ticket, step 1~2. If the offender is not a subscriber to system 1, the
system
interacts with the ~epartment of Motor Vehicle database 22 to extract the
users
information, step 103. Once the user ID is known, the enforcer issues a ticket
I S as shown in step 1~4. Next, helshe advises the offender of ticket and
towing
step 102. It is to be noted that various parking violation procedures can be
devised, according to the Local parking laws and practice.
Numerous modifications, variations, and adaptations may be made to the
20 particular embodiments of the invention without departing from the scope of
the
invention as defined in the claims.
23
