US6081206A
Expired / Lapsed
US
⏱️ 0.0 years remaining
Parking regulation enforcement system
Assignee: AUTO VU TECHNOLOGIES Inc
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Filing: 1998-03-06
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Granted: 2000-06-27
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Expires: 2018-03-06
Abstract
Abstract A video camera mounted on a parking enforcement patrol vehicle and connected to a computer near the operator. The system is driven along a patrol route where parked vehicles are governed by a posted time limit. The system enforces the local parking regulation by automatically determining whether or not each parked car has been parked longer than the posted time limit. Violations are detected by applying a License Plate Recognition algorithm to the images. Each license plate number is time-tagged, geo-referenced and entered into a local database. When the patrol vehicle re-traces the patrol route after the posted parking time limit has expired, the database is searched to flag vehicles that were observed at the same location during the previous circuit and therefore in violation of the parking regulations. When the system detects a parking violation, it prints a parking citation that the operator affixes to the offending parked vehicle.
Inventors
- 👤 Peter J. Kielland
Bibliographic Details
Application Number
—
Jurisdiction
US
Data Source
google_patents
Last Synchronized
2026-11-09 11:47
CPC Classifications
G; G07; G07C; G07C5/00; G07C5/08; G07C5/0841; G07C5/0875; G07C5/0891; G06; G06Q; G06Q30/00; G06Q30/02; G06Q30/0283; G06Q30/0284; G07B; G07B15/00; G07B15/02; G07B15/04; Y; Y10; Y10S; Y10S194/00; Y10S194/902
Claims Analysis
Total Claims: 49
Claim 1
Independent Claim
183 words
A parking regulation enforcement system for monitoring a parked vehicle, the system comprising: a camera capturing a first image of the parked vehicle at a first observation time and a second image of the vehicle at a second observation time; a data processing sub-system coupled to the camera, the data processing sub-system extracting an identifier of the parked vehicle from the first image and the second image; means, within the data processing sub-system, for determining a first position of a predetermined measurement point at the first observation time and a second position of the measurement point at the second observation time, the means comprising a global positioning system; a memory within the data processing sub-system, the memory storing a first data record, the first data record comprising the identifier, the first observation time, and the first position of the measurement point; and means, within the data processing sub-system, for comparing the first data record to a second data record, the second data record including the identifier, the second observation time, and the second position of the measurement point, and for generating an output.
Claim 2
Dependent Claim
183 words
A parking regulation enforcement system for monitoring a parked vehicle, the system comprising: a camera capturing a first image of the parked vehicle at a first observation time and a second image of the vehicle at a second observation time; a data processing sub-system coupled to the camera, the data processing sub-system extracting an identifier of the parked vehicle from the first image and the second image; means, within the data processing sub-system, for determining a first position of a predetermined measurement point at the first observation time and a second position of the measurement point at the second observation time, the means comprising a global positioning system; a memory within the data processing sub-system, the memory storing a first data record, the first data record comprising the identifier, the first observation time, and the first position of the measurement point; and means, within the data processing sub-system, for comparing the first data record to a second data record, the second data record including the identifier, the second observation time, and the second position of the measurement point, and for generating an output.
Claim 3
Dependent Claim
56 words
The parking regulation enforcement system, as recited in claim 1, further comprising: a proximity sensor coupled to the data processing sub-system, the sensor measuring a distance between the parked vehicle and the measurement point; means for triggering the camera to capture the first and second images when the measured distance is equal to a predetermined value.
Claim 4
Dependent Claim
41 words
The parking regulation enforcement system, as recited in claim 1, further comprising: a metal detector coupled to the camera; means for triggering the camera to capture the first and second images when the metal detector detects a predetermined amount of metal.
Claim 5
Dependent Claim
22 words
The parking regulation enforcement system, as recited in claim 1, wherein the identifier is a license plate number of the parked vehicle.
Claim 6
Dependent Claim
34 words
The parking regulation enforcement system, as recited in claim 4, wherein the sub-system uses a pattern-matching license plate recognition algorithm to extract the license plate number from the first image and the second image.
Claim 7
Dependent Claim
36 words
The parking regulation enforcement system, as recited in claim 4, wherein the sub-system uses a full recognition mode license plate recognition algorithm to extract the license plate number from the first image and the second image.
Claim 8
Dependent Claim
43 words
The parking regulation enforcement system, as recited in claim 4, wherein the sub-system uses a pattern matching license plate recognition algorithm and a full recognition mode license plate algorithm to extract the license plate number from the first image and the second image.
Claim 9
Dependent Claim
28 words
The parking regulation enforcement system, as recited in claim 1, further comprising a radio frequency transponder coupled to the parked vehicle, the transponder broadcasting the identifier when interrogated.
Claim 10
Dependent Claim
28 words
The parking regulation enforcement system, as recited in claim 1, further comprising a display coupled to the camera, the display showing the first image and the second image.
Claim 11
Dependent Claim
19 words
The parking regulation enforcement system, as recited in claim 1, wherein the camera is mounted on a second vehicle.
Claim 12
Dependent Claim
21 words
The parking regulation enforcement system, as recited in claim 10, wherein the measurement point is a location on the second vehicle.
Claim 13
Independent Claim
175 words
A system for locating a lost vehicle comprising; a sensor capturing an image of the lost vehicle at an observation time; a sub-system, within a data processing system coupled to the sensor, the sub-system extracting an identifier of the lost vehicle from the image; a positioning system, coupled to the data processing system, for determining a position of a predetermined measurement point at the observation time; a concatenation system for concatenating the identifier, the observation time, and the position of the measurement point into a vehicle data record; a display device coupled to the data processing system for displaying a location of the lost vehicle on the display device; a database coupled to the data processing system, the database storing a plurality of data records, each data record including a vehicle identifier, the observation time, and a vehicle position; and a search engine coupled to the database for enabling a user to traverse the database to locate a second data record having the identifier of the lost vehicle, to assist in identifying the lost vehicle.
Claim 14
Independent Claim
175 words
A system for locating a lost vehicle comprising; a sensor capturing an image of the lost vehicle at an observation time; a sub-system, within a data processing system coupled to the sensor, the sub-system extracting an identifier of the lost vehicle from the image; a positioning system, coupled to the data processing system, for determining a position of a predetermined measurement point at the observation time; a concatenation system for concatenating the identifier, the observation time, and the position of the measurement point into a vehicle data record; a display device coupled to the data processing system for displaying a location of the lost vehicle on the display device; a database coupled to the data processing system, the database storing a plurality of data records, each data record including a vehicle identifier, the observation time, and a vehicle position; and a search engine coupled to the database for enabling a user to traverse the database to locate a second data record having the identifier of the lost vehicle, to assist in identifying the lost vehicle.
Claim 15
Dependent Claim
148 words
A parking regulation enforcement system for monitoring a parked vehicle, the system comprising: a camera capturing an image of a vehicle at a first observation time; a data processing sub-system coupled to the camera, the data processing sub-system extracting an identifier of the vehicle from the image; means, within the data processing sub-system, for determining a position of a predetermined measurement point at the first observation time; means for concatenating the identifier, the first observation time, and the position of the measurement point into a vehicle data record; a database coupled to the data processing sub-system, the database storing a plurality of data records, each data record including a vehicle identifier, an observation time and a vehicle position; means for traversing the database to locate a second data record having the identifier of the vehicle; and a computerized billing system for receiving data, and for creating an output.
Claim 16
Dependent Claim
148 words
A parking regulation enforcement system for monitoring a parked vehicle, the system comprising: a camera capturing an image of a vehicle at a first observation time; a data processing sub-system coupled to the camera, the data processing sub-system extracting an identifier of the vehicle from the image; means, within the data processing sub-system, for determining a position of a predetermined measurement point at the first observation time; means for concatenating the identifier, the first observation time, and the position of the measurement point into a vehicle data record; a database coupled to the data processing sub-system, the database storing a plurality of data records, each data record including a vehicle identifier, an observation time and a vehicle position; means for traversing the database to locate a second data record having the identifier of the vehicle; and a computerized billing system for receiving data, and for creating an output.
Claim 17
Dependent Claim
53 words
The parking regulation enforcement system, as recited in claim 13, further comprising: first means for comparing the observation time in the first data record to the observation time of the second data record; and second means for comparing the position in the first data record to the position in the second data record.
Claim 18
Dependent Claim
42 words
The parking regulation enforcement system, as recited in claim 14, further comprising third means for comparing a difference between the observation time in the first data record and the observation time of the second data record to a predetermined parking time limit.
Claim 19
Dependent Claim
28 words
The parking regulation enforcement system, as recited in claim 15, further comprising the computerized billing system, the billing system receiving data from the first and second comparing means.
Claim 20
Dependent Claim
29 words
The parking regulation enforcement system, as recited in claim 16, wherein the computerized billing system measures an overall parking time of the vehicle over a predetermined period of time.
Claim 21
Dependent Claim
37 words
The parking regulation enforcement system, as recited in claim 16, wherein the computerized billing system initializes a virtual parking meter in the database, the virtual parking meter comparing a plurality of data records for a particular vehicle.
Claim 22
Dependent Claim
29 words
The parking regulation enforcement system, as recited in claim 16, wherein the computerized billing system charges a fee to an owner of the vehicle based upon a fee structure.
Claim 23
Dependent Claim
21 words
The parking regulation enforcement system, as recited in claim 19, wherein the fee structure is based on a changing hourly rate.
Claim 24
Dependent Claim
50 words
The parking regulation enforcement system, as recited in claim 13, further comprising: a parking facility system for determining a parking fee within a parking facility, the system determining a parking fee by comparing the observation time in the first data record to the observation time in the second data record.
Claim 25
Dependent Claim
36 words
The parking regulation enforcement system, as recited in claim 21, further comprising an automated gate coupled to the parking facility system that blocks movement of the vehicle based upon data received from the parking facility system.
Claim 26
Dependent Claim
19 words
The parking regulation enforcement system, as recited in claim 13, further comprising a second database storing geographically referenced information.
Claim 27
Dependent Claim
55 words
The parking regulation enforcement system, as recited in claim 23, further comprising: a navigation system that records and updates a plurality of citations for vehicles based on the plurality of stored data records; means for estimating a time for patrolling a route based on the plurality of citations and geographic information to estimate the time.
Claim 28
Dependent Claim
21 words
The parking regulation enforcement system, as recited in claim 24, further comprising a display displaying information stored in the second database.
Claim 29
Dependent Claim
19 words
The parking regulation enforcement system, as recited in claim 13, further comprising a clock within the data processing sub-system.
Claim 30
Dependent Claim
21 words
The parking regulation enforcement system, as recited in claim 13, wherein the identifier is a license plate number of the vehicle.
Claim 31
Dependent Claim
28 words
The parking regulation enforcement system, as recited in claim 27, wherein the sub-system uses a license plate recognition algorithm to extract the license plate number from the image.
Claim 32
Dependent Claim
27 words
The parking regulation enforcement system, as recited in claim 28, further comprising means for comparing a result of the license plate recognition algorithm to a predetermined threshold.
Claim 33
Dependent Claim
20 words
The parking regulation enforcement system, as recited in claim 28, wherein the vehicle data record further includes the raster image.
Claim 34
Dependent Claim
33 words
The parking regulation enforcement system, as recited in claim 13, further comprising means for estimating an error in the position of the vehicle, the estimated error being stored in the vehicle data record.
Claim 35
Dependent Claim
63 words
The parking regulation enforcement system, as recited in claim 13, further comprising: a second database storing a plurality of vehicle identifiers; means for traversing the second database to locate one of the vehicle identifiers matching the identifier in the vehicle data record; means for notifying a user of a located match between the vehicle identifier and the identifier in the vehicle data record.
Claim 36
Dependent Claim
19 words
The parking regulation enforcement system, as recited in claim 13, further comprising means for encrypting the vehicle data record.
Claim 37
Dependent Claim
22 words
The parking regulation enforcement system, as recited in claim 13, wherein the camera captures a plurality of successive images of the vehicle.
Claim 38
Dependent Claim
22 words
The parking regulation enforcement system, as recited in claim 13, further comprising a second camera capturing an image of a second vehicle.
Claim 39
Independent Claim
144 words
A system for locating a lost vehicle comprising; a camera capturing an image of the lost vehicle at an observation time; a sub-system, within a data processing system coupled to the camera, the sub-system extracting an identifier of the lost vehicle from the image; means, coupled to the data processing system, for determining a position of a predetermined measurement point at the observation time; means for concatenating the identifier, the observation time, and the position of the measurement point into a vehicle data record; a database coupled to the data processing system, the database storing a plurality of data records, each data record including a vehicle identifier, the observation time, and a vehicle position; and means for enabling a user to traverse the database to locate a second data record having the identifier of the lost vehicle, to assist in identifying the lost vehicle.
Claim 40
Independent Claim
144 words
A system for locating a lost vehicle comprising; a camera capturing an image of the lost vehicle at an observation time; a sub-system, within a data processing system coupled to the camera, the sub-system extracting an identifier of the lost vehicle from the image; means, coupled to the data processing system, for determining a position of a predetermined measurement point at the observation time; means for concatenating the identifier, the observation time, and the position of the measurement point into a vehicle data record; a database coupled to the data processing system, the database storing a plurality of data records, each data record including a vehicle identifier, the observation time, and a vehicle position; and means for enabling a user to traverse the database to locate a second data record having the identifier of the lost vehicle, to assist in identifying the lost vehicle.
Claim 41
Dependent Claim
37 words
The system for locating a lost vehicle as recited in claim 36, further comprising: a display device coupled to the data processing system; and means for plotting a location of the lost vehicle on the display device.
Claim 42
Dependent Claim
18 words
The system for locating a lost vehicle, as recited in claim 36, wherein the enabling means is mobile.
Claim 43
Independent Claim
111 words
A method for enforcing parking regulations comprising: capturing an image of a parked vehicle at a first observation time; extracting an identifier of the parked vehicle from the image; determining a position of a predetermined measurement point at the first observation time; concatenating the identifier, the first observation time, and the position of the measurement point into a vehicle data record; storing a plurality of data records, each data record including a vehicle identifier, an observation time, and a vehicle position; traversing the database to locate a second data record having the identifier of the parked vehicle; and billing a customer based upon a billing criteria and the stored data records.
Claim 44
Independent Claim
111 words
A method for enforcing parking regulations comprising: capturing an image of a parked vehicle at a first observation time; extracting an identifier of the parked vehicle from the image; determining a position of a predetermined measurement point at the first observation time; concatenating the identifier, the first observation time, and the position of the measurement point into a vehicle data record; storing a plurality of data records, each data record including a vehicle identifier, an observation time, and a vehicle position; traversing the database to locate a second data record having the identifier of the parked vehicle; and billing a customer based upon a billing criteria and the stored data records.
Claim 45
Dependent Claim
51 words
The method for enforcing parking regulations, as recited in claim 39, further comprising the steps of: comparing the observation time in the first data record to the observation time of the second data record; and comparing the position in the first data record to the position in the second data record.
Claim 46
Dependent Claim
181 words
A parking regulation enforcement system for monitoring a parked vehicle, the system comprising: a sensor for capturing a first image of the parked vehicle at a first observation time and a second image of the vehicle at a second observation time; a data processing sub-system coupled to the sensor, the data processing sub-system extracting an identifier of the parked vehicle from the first image and the second image; a global positioning system within the data processing sub-system, for determining a first position of a predetermined measurement point at the first observation time and a second position of the measurement point at the second observation time; a memory within the data processing sub-system, the memory storing a first data record, the first data record comprising the identifier, the first observation time, and the first position of the measurement point; and a comparator within the data processing sub-system, for comparing the first data record to a second data record, the second data record including the identifier, the second observation time, and the second position of the measurement point, and for generating an output.
Claim 47
Dependent Claim
181 words
A parking regulation enforcement system for monitoring a parked vehicle, the system comprising: a sensor for capturing a first image of the parked vehicle at a first observation time and a second image of the vehicle at a second observation time; a data processing sub-system coupled to the sensor, the data processing sub-system extracting an identifier of the parked vehicle from the first image and the second image; a global positioning system within the data processing sub-system, for determining a first position of a predetermined measurement point at the first observation time and a second position of the measurement point at the second observation time; a memory within the data processing sub-system, the memory storing a first data record, the first data record comprising the identifier, the first observation time, and the first position of the measurement point; and a comparator within the data processing sub-system, for comparing the first data record to a second data record, the second data record including the identifier, the second observation time, and the second position of the measurement point, and for generating an output.
Claim 48
Dependent Claim
159 words
A parking regulation enforcement system for monitoring a parked vehicle, the system comprising: a sensor for capturing an image of a vehicle at a first observation time; a data processing sub-system coupled to the sensor, the data processing sub-system extracting an identifier of the vehicle from the image; a positioning sub-system, within the data processing sub-system, for determining a position of a predetermined measurement point at the first observation time; a concatenation system for concatenating the identifier, the first observation time, and the position of the measurement point into a vehicle data record; a database coupled to the data processing sub-system, the database storing a plurality of data records, each data record including a vehicle identifier, an observation time and a vehicle position; a search engine coupled to the database for traversing the database to locate a second data record having the identifier of the vehicle; and a computerized billing system for receiving data, and for creating an output.
Claim 49
Dependent Claim
159 words
A parking regulation enforcement system for monitoring a parked vehicle, the system comprising: a sensor for capturing an image of a vehicle at a first observation time; a data processing sub-system coupled to the sensor, the data processing sub-system extracting an identifier of the vehicle from the image; a positioning sub-system, within the data processing sub-system, for determining a position of a predetermined measurement point at the first observation time; a concatenation system for concatenating the identifier, the first observation time, and the position of the measurement point into a vehicle data record; a database coupled to the data processing sub-system, the database storing a plurality of data records, each data record including a vehicle identifier, an observation time and a vehicle position; a search engine coupled to the database for traversing the database to locate a second data record having the identifier of the vehicle; and a computerized billing system for receiving data, and for creating an output.
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USPTO Annuity & Maintenance Windows
| Annuity Stage | Window Opens | Payment Deadline | Surcharge Period Until | Estimated Fee | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 3.5 Years (Year 4) | 2003-06-27 | 2003-12-27 | 2004-06-27 | $2000.00 | Window Closed / Lapsed |
| 7.5 Years (Year 8) | 2007-06-27 | 2007-12-27 | 2008-06-27 | $3760.00 | Window Closed / Lapsed |
| 11.5 Years (Year 12) | 2011-06-27 | 2011-12-27 | 2012-06-27 | $7700.00 | Window Closed / Lapsed |