WO2002048975A1

WO2002048975A1 - Device and method for parking

Info

Publication number: WO2002048975A1
Application number: PCT/SE2001/002703
Authority: WO
Inventors: Jörgen LARSSON
Original assignee: Blue Lemon Technology Ab
Priority date: 2000-12-11
Filing date: 2001-12-07
Publication date: 2002-06-20
Also published as: SE0004555L; SE0004555D0; AU2002221232A1

Abstract

A device for indicating that a vehicle (3) positioned in a parking space (4) is registered as parked in the space (4) is arranged on the vehicle (3) and comprises a receiver unit. The receiver unit is adapted to receive from a server unit (2) a signal (10) provided by the server unit (2) when this has received a message (6) which was sent from a terminal (5) via an information transfer system (7) and which contains parking information concerning the vehicle (3). The device (9) is adapted to receive said signal (10) independently of the terminal (5) and, in response to the signal (10), change from a first indication state to a second indication state, which states are readable in connection with the vehicle (3). A vehicle parking system (1) comprises the above-mentioned device (9). In a method of registering the vehicle (3) as parked in a parking space (4), this device (9) is used . In a method of checking that the vehicle (3) is registered as parked in the parking space (4), the indication state of the device (9) is checked in connection with the vehicle.

Description

DEVICE AND METHOD FOR PARKING

Field of the Invention

The present invention relates to a device for indicating that a vehicle positioned in a parking space is registered as parked in the space. The invention also relates to a vehicle parking system, which comprises a server unit, which is adapted to receive a message which is sent from a terminal via an information transfer system and which contains parking information concerning a vehicle. The invention also concerns a server unit for registering a vehicle as parked in a parking space, said server unit being adapted to receive a message which was sent from a terminal via an information transfer system and which contains parking information concerning the vehicle, and then to register the vehicle as parked. The invention also relates to a method of registering a vehicle as parked in a parking space, a checking device and a method of checking that a vehicle positioned in a parking space is registered as parked in the space. Background Art Most parking spaces in large towns are subjected to a fee, i.e. the person parking his vehicle, such as a car, bus, lorry, motorcycle or the like, in the parking space has to pay a fee. It is desirable to reduce the handling of cash and instead change to electronic payment.

WO 00/11616 discloses a method of registering a vehicle as parked. A vehicle terminal placed in the vehicle comprises a transceiver. When the vehicle has been parked, the vehicle terminal sends a registration signal to a server. The server receives the registration signal and returns a confirmation signal which is received by the vehicle unit. In an alternative embodiment, an external mobile telephone connected to the vehicle unit can serve as transmitter and receiver. The above method of paying a parking fee suffers from the drawbacks that the vehicle unit becomes expensive and complicated and that registration of parking must be made adjacent to vehicle. Summary of the Invention

An object of the present invention thus is to provide a device which avoids or reduces the above problems of prior-art technique. This object is achieved by a device according to claim 1. The device requires a receiver but no transmitter for communication with the server unit, which makes it simple. Moreover it is not necessary for the terminal to be compatible with the device. Registration of parking time can be made far away from the vehicle. An example of this is when a person who has parked his vehicle in a parking space and travelled on to another place, needs to extend the parking time. The device receives the information contained in the signal from the server unit and stores it locally in connection with the vehicle. A car-park attendant thus does not have to call the server unit each time a parked vehicle is to be checked but can check the state of the device locally in connection with the vehicle. This makes the checking operation smoother and quicker since the carpark attendant does not have to download information from the server unit via, for instance, a mobile telephone network.

Preferably, the signal is a radio signal provided by a radio transmission system, such as a paging system, which sends the radio signal over a large area, such as an entire nation. Radio transmission systems are well extended and usually have good coverage. For instance in paging systems, cheap radio receivers can be used, which lowers the cost of the device.

According to a preferred embodiment, the information transfer system is a mobile telephone system, such as a GSM, GPRS or UMTS system. Mobile telephone systems allow the user increased movability, whereby registration of parking, or extension of parking time, can take place almost independently of the position of the user.

Preferably the device has a means which is adapted to provide an indication signal which indicates the indi- cation state of the device. The indication signal, which comes directly from the device, makes it possible for, for example, a car-park attendant to electronically read whether a parked vehicle has been registered correctly. It is also possible for the car-park attendant to read the indication state at a certain distance from the vehicle, which may facilitate reading. The information contained in the indication signal can be stored for further processing. Thus the information is quickly available to the car-park attendant who thus does not risk to have to wait in a telephone queue or to be interrupted in the data transfer.

According to a still more preferred embodiment, the means is adapted to provide said indication signal in response to a request signal, the means further being arranged for local transmission and reception of signals. The car-park attendant can send a request signal to the means and request the information stored in the device concerning expiry of parking time, parking space etc. The means receives the request signal and immediately returns an indication signal containing the requested information, which is checked by the car-park attendant. By "local" is here meant that the means has a short range for sending and receiving signals. Such local sending gives the means a low consumption of power, which decreases the consumption of energy. Moreover interference to other radio equipment decreases, and the load on frequency bands intended for radio communication increases to a very small extent .

Preferably the means is a radio device according to a Bluetooth™ standard. The Bluetooth™ standard, which operates at a frequency of about 2.4 GHz, has several advantages in that there are standardised radio devices which are easily accessible at a low cost. The standard also satisfies the requirements for short range, low consumption of energy and little interference to other radio communication. An object of the invention is to provide a vehicle parking system, which is simple and requires only small investments. This object is achieved by a vehicle parking system according to claim 5. Thus the vehicle parking system can to a great extent use existing infrastructure and otherwise simple components, which results in a low investment cost .

Preferably the signal is a radio signal provided by a radio transmission system, such as a paging system, which sends the radio signal over a large area, such as an entire nation. The vehicle parking system can thus utilise existing systems for radio transmission and thus cover a large area, such as an entire nation, without extensive investments.

Preferably the device has a means which is adapted to provide to a reading apparatus an indication signal which indicates the indication state of the device. A car-park attendant can by means of the reading apparatus smoothly exchange information and codes with the device arranged in the vehicle. A large number of vehicles provided with devices of this type can therefore be checked in a short time and with great safety as regards forgery and imposture. It is also possible for the carpark attendant to go by car and read the devices in the vehicles that are being passed. This allows very rapid control of parked vehicles.

An additional object of the invention is to provide a server unit, which eliminates or reduces the above drawbacks of prior-art technique. This object is achieved by a server unit according to claim 8. An object of the present invention is also to provide a method of registering a vehicle in a server unit, said method allowing the registration to be made both close to and far away from the vehicle in question. This object is achieved by a method of registering a vehicle as parked according to claim 10.

Preferably the message is sent by means of a mobile telephone. The use of a mobile telephone makes the registration considerably easier compared with registration via the stationary telephone network or via a computer terminal. A special advantage is that a message regarding a new later time for terminating the parking can be sent by means of the mobile telephone also when the person who has parked his vehicle is far away from the vehicle and/ or a stationary telephone.

Preferably the signal is sent as a radio signal. Radio signals have a long range and can be sent over an entire country in a manner known to those skilled in the art. A great advantage in this respect is that the server unit need not keep track of in which part of, for instance, a country a device arranged on a vehicle is located. The radio signal is thus sent over a large area, for instance an entire country, and received by the device at the place where it happens to be located. A further advantage is that use can be made of existing radio systems for e.g. pagers using the same principle. An object of the present invention is also to pro- vide a method of checking that a vehicle has been registered for payment, which method eliminates or reduces the above drawbacks of prior art technique. This object is achieved by a method according to claim 12. In this way, the checking operation will be both quick and independent of any problems in, for instance, mobile telephone systems .

Preferably the indication state of the device is checked by means of a checking device for receiving an indication signal from the device. The checking device can receive all the information stored in the device. The information can be stored in the checking device for further processing, statistical processing etc. The checking device may also contain information about devices which are not approved owing to, for example, theft or records for non-payment of debt . A safety check for discovering counterfeit devices can also be added to the checking device.

One more object of the present invention is to provide a checking device that allows quick checking whether a vehicle has been registered for parking. This object is achieved by a checking device according to claim 13. According to a preferred embodiment, the checking device is adapted to provide, where appropriate, a fine signal which makes the device change to a fine state. The fine state makes it possible for the person who has parked his vehicle wrongly to obtain quick feedback indicat- ing that a parking ticket has been issued. Brief Description of the Drawings

The invention will now be described in more detail by way of a number of embodiments and with reference to the accompanying drawings . Fig. 1 shows a vehicle parking system according to the invention.

Fig. 2 shows a first embodiment of a device according to the invention.

Fig. 3 shows a second embodiment of a device accord- ing to the invention.

Fig. 4 shows a third embodiment of a device according to the invention. Description of the Preferred Embodiments

By "parking space" is meant in the description and claims one or more surfaces, such as parking spaces or multistorey car parks, each of which is intended for parking one or more vehicles. Thus, a parking space may comprise, for example, a plurality of surfaces which can be located at a distance from each other, but which have been grouped in a common parking zone. A parking space may also consist of a single surface. By "terminal" is here meant a unit having some type of user interface, which can used to send information to a server. Examples of terminals are stationary telephones, mobile telephones, laptop computers, stationary computers and hand-held computers .

By "telephone system" is here meant both mobile telephone systems, such as GSM, GPRS and UMTS, and systems for stationary telephony.

By "information transfer system" is here meant a system which can be used to electronically transfer information from a terminal to a server. Examples of information transfer system are telephone systems, broadband systems for data transfer and radio systems .

Fig. 1 shows a vehicle parking system 1. The system 1 has a server unit 2. A person who has just parked a vehicle 3 in a parking space 4 uses a mobile telephone 5 to send a message 6 via an ordinary mobile telephone system 7 to the server unit 2. The message 6 contains information about in what parking space 4 the vehicle 3 has been parked, at what time the parking is to be considered to have started, for instance that the parking is considered to have started simultaneously with the sending of the message 6, and at what time the parking is to be terminated. Moreover, the message 6 contains an identification code for the person in question and an identity of a parking device 9 arranged on the inside of the windscreen 8 of the vehicle 3. The server unit 2 checks the identification code, registers the parking device 9 for parking and sends a signal 10 to the park- ing device 9. The signal 10 contains information about the parking space 4 for which parking has been registered and about at what time the parking is to be terminated. Furthermore the signal 10 contains information about the identity of the parking device 9. The signal 10 is sent via a common national radio transmission system 11. The signal 10 is received by the parking device 9 if the identity thereof conforms with the identity indicated by the signal 10. When receiving the signal 10, the parking device 9 will change from a first indication state indicating that parking is not registered, to a second indication state indicating that parking in the parking space 4 is registered up to a predetermined time.

The parking device 9 receives and stores electronically the information contained in the signal 10 regarding the parking space 4 and the time at which parking is to be terminated. When this time is passed, the parking device 9 is registered as "non-parked" in the server unit 2.

When checking whether the parking device 9 of a vehicle 3 is registered for parking in the parking space 4, a hand-held reading or checking device 13 is used. The checking device 13 has a radio arrangement 14 which is adapted to send and receive signals according to a Bluetooth™ standard known to those skilled in the art. A request signal 15 is sent by the checking device 13 and calls all parking devices 9 which are located within the range of the radio arrangement 14, which usually is about

0-20 m. The request signal 15 is received by a radio device 16 (see Figs 2-4) arranged on each parking device 9, said radio device being adapted to send and receive signals according to a Bluetooth™ standard. The radio device 16 answers by sending an indication or response signal 17 which contains the information stored in the parking device 9 regarding the parking space 4, the time for termination of the parking as well as the identity of the parking device 9. The response signal 17 is received by the radio arrangement 14, the information contained in the response signal 17 being shown on a character display 18 arranged on the checking device 13. A car-park attendant can thus quickly and easily check, by means of the checking device 13 and without having to contact the actual server unit 2, whether the parking device 9 of a vehicle 3 has been registered in the server unit 2 for parking . As is evident from that stated above and from Fig. 1, no contact has to be established between the mobile telephone 5 and the parking device 9 which thus is independent of the mobile telephone 5 as regards receiving the signal 10 from the server 2. The parking device 9 receives the signal 10 directly from the server 2 without having to be in contact with or be connected to the mobile telephone 5. Thus, any mobile telephone 5 can be used and at an optional distance from the parking device 9. Thus it is also possible to use other types of terminals, such as stationary computers and laptop computers as well as telephones for the stationary telephone network.

Fig. 2 shows a first embodiment of a device accord- ing to the invention in the form of a parking device 9. The parking device 9 has an aerial 19 which is arranged to receive the radio signal 10. The aerial 19 is part of a system included in the parking device 9 for receiving and storing of information from the server unit 2. For example, said system may comprise a per se known electronic read-write memory. The identity of the parking device 9 is written on a display 12 of the parking device 9. The radio device 16 is, as mentioned above, adapted to receive according to a Bluetooth™ standard a request signal 15 from a checking device 13 and send a response signal 17 containing information about the parking space 4, the time of termination of the parking and the identity of the parking device 9. The parking device 9 also has a mounting 20, by means of which the parking device 9 can be fixed to the vehicle 3.

Fig. 3 shows a second embodiment of a device according to the invention in the form of a parking device 9. This parking device 9 differs from the parking device shown in Fig. 2 merely by having a light-emitting diode 21 which is adapted to indicate the state of the parking device 9, and is provided with an internal clock 22. When the time of termination of the parking is later than the ω ω ϋ to M¹ M¹ in o LΠ o LΠ o LΠ rr α Mi Φ ■t Mi CQ Φ CQ 13 ϋ Ω

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skilled in the art. If the mobile telephone standard supports position determination, the correct parking space 4 can be selected automatically by means of the mobile telephone 5 and attached to the message 6. Thus, the sig- nal can, if appropriate with regard to the position of the user in relation to the vehicle 3, include information co ing from a GPRS positioning system or obtained from the operator of the telephone system.

The radio transmission system 11 can be a broadcast- ing system. For instance, the radio transmission system can be a radio transmission system sending via the FM band. One option is to use existing systems for paging services .

Alternatively, the parking device 9 can be adapted to receive signals 10 from a system using GSM, GPRS or some other suitable standard. In such a case, the parking device 9 is suitably provided with a simple receiver, such as a GSM receiver, without a sending function, for said standard. The signal 10 can in this embodiment be in the form of an SMS message sent by the server unit 2 and received by the parking device 9. An advantage of this embodiment is that the parking device 9 can be used in several countries since the above-mentioned mobile telephone standards are usually international. If the vehicle 3 has a fixedly mounted mobile telephone, this can receive the signal 10 and forward it to the parking device 9.

The parking device 9 is suitably attached to the inside of the windscreen 8 of the vehicle or one of its side windows or its rear window and in such a manner that the identity of the parking device 9 and, where appropriate, the light-emitting diode 21 or display 23 can easily be read from outside. The position of the parking device 9 is suitably selected in such manner that recep- tion and transmission of signals are not interfered with by the bodywork of the vehicle 3 and the like. The dis- play 23 can be arranged to also indicate the current time of the internal clock 22.

The colour of the light-emitting diode 21 is optional. However, green is particularly preferred. It is also possible to use several light-emitting diodes, in which case for instance a green light-emitting diode indicates that the parking device 9 of the vehicle 3 is registered as "parked", an orange light-emitting diode indicates that the time for termination of the parking will soon be passed or has just been passed, and a red light-emitting diode indicates that the parking device of the vehicle is registered as "non-parked" .

It is also possible to add a fine function to the checking device 13 of the car-park attendant . When the car-park attendant observes a vehicle where the parking time has expired, a fine signal can be sent from the checking device 13 to the parking device 9. The parking device 9 can then change to a fine state which can be observed by the person who has parked the vehicle 3 when he returns to the vehicle. A further alternative is that the car-park attendant sends a fine request to the server 2 and that the server 2 then sends a fine signal to the parking device 9. The advantage of the fine signal and, resulting therefrom, the fine state in the parking device 9 is that the fined person obtains an indication of this at an early stage and also may object to the fine while the vehicle is still parked. In this embodiment, the parking device 9 may be provided with a single light- emitting diode which has the following states: light- emitting diode not radiating: parking not registered, light-emitting diode radiating with fixed light: registered for parking, light-emitting diode radiating with flashing light: a fine has been issued. In the case where the parking device 9 is provided with a display, this can show a fine message, such as "A fine has been issued" when the parking device has received the fine signal from the car-park attendant. ) ω DO DO M¹ μ¹

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sage with or without a photograph, can also be generated directly in the checking device 13 and then be sent to a suitable server for printing and dispatch.

In local residents' parking, the message 6 can be sent electronically from a computer. The computer receives from, for example, a system for charging of rents information about which parking devices 9 authorise a vehicle to be parked in the parking space of the residential area. The computer then sends a message 6 to the server unit 2 for each parking device 9 which gives such authorisation .

Claims

1. A device for indicating that a vehicle (3) posi- tioned in a parking space (4) is registered as parked in the space (4), c h a r a c t e r i s e d in that the device (9) is arranged on the vehicle (3) and is adapted to receive from a server unit (2) a signal (10) provided by the server unit (2) when this has received a message (6) which was sent from a terminal (5) via an information transfer system (7) and which contains parking information concerning the vehicle (3) , the device (9) being adapted to receive said signal (10) independently of the terminal (5) and to change, in response to said signal (10) , from a first indication state to a second indication state, which states are readable in connection with the vehicle (3) .

2. The device as claimed in claim 1, in which the signal is a radio signal (10) provided by a radio trans- mission system (11) , such as a paging system, which sends the radio signal (10) over a large area, such as an entire nation.

3. The device as claimed in claim 1 or 2 , in which the information transfer system is a mobile telephone system (7) , such as a GSM, GPRS or UMTS system.

4. The device as claimed in any one of claims 1-3, which has a means (16) which is adapted to provide an indication signal (17) which indicates the indication state of the device (9) , the means (16) being adapted to provide said indication signal (17) in response to a request signal (15) , the means (16) being further arranged for local transmission and reception of signals (17 and 15 respectively) .

5. A vehicle parking system, which comprises a server unit (2) which is adapted to receive a message

(6) sent from a terminal (5) via an information transfer system (7) and containing parking information concerning a vehicle (3), c harac t er i s e d by a device (9) which is placed on the vehicle (3) and adapted to receive independently of the terminal (5) a signal (10) which is provided by the server unit (2) when this has received said message (6) , and change, in response to said signal (10) , from a first indication state to a second indication state, which states are readable in connection with the vehicle (3) .

6. The vehicle parking system as claimed in claim 5, in which the signal is a radio signal (10) provided by a radio transmission system (11) , such as a paging system, which sends the radio signal (10) over a large area, such as an entire nation.

7. The vehicle parking system as claimed in claim 5 or 6, in which the device (9) has a means (16) which is adapted to provide to a reading apparatus (13) an indication signal (17) which indicates the indication state of the device (9) .

8. A server unit for registering a vehicle (3) as parked in a parking space (4) , said server unit (2) being adapted to receive a message (6) which was sent from a terminal (5) via an information transfer system (7) and which contains parking information concerning the vehicle

(3) , and then register the vehicle (3) as parked, charac t e r i s ed in that the server unit (2) is adapted to provide, after having received the message

(6) , a signal (10) which is designed so as to be able to be received, independently of the terminal (5) , by a device (9) which is placed on the vehicle (3) and which is adapted to change, in response to said signal (10) , from a first indication state to a second indication state, which states are readable in connection with the vehicle (3) .

9. The server unit as claimed in claim 8, in which the signal provided is a radio signal (10) which is provided by a radio transmission system (11) , such as a pag- ing system, which sends the radio signal (10) over a large area, such as an entire nation.

10. A method of registering a vehicle (3) as parked in a parking space (4) , a message (6) containing parking information concerning the vehicle (3) being sent to a server unit (2) from a terminal (5) via an information transfer system (7) , c h a r a c t e r i s e d in that a signal (10) is provided by the server unit (2) when receiving said message (6) , the signal (10) is received, independently of the terminal (5) , by a device (9) placed on the vehicle (3) , and the device (9) changes, in response to said signal (10) , from a first indication state to a second indication state, said states being readable in connection with the vehicle (3) .

11. The method as claimed in claim 10, in which the message (6) is sent by means of a mobile telephone (5) .

12. A method of checking that a vehicle (3) positioned in a parking space (4) is registered as parked in the space (4), c h a r a c t e r i s e d in that an indication state of a device (9) placed on the vehicle (3) is checked in connection with the vehicle (3) , said device (9) being adapted to receive from a server unit (2) a signal (10) , which is provided by the server unit (2) when this has received a message (6) which was sent from a terminal (5) via an information transfer system (7) and which contains parking information concerning the vehicle (3) , the device (9) being adapted to receive, independently of the terminal (5) , said signal (10) and to change, in response to said signal (10) , from a first indication state to a second indication state, said states being readable in connection with the vehicle (3) , the indication state of the device (9) being checked by means of a checking device (13) for receiving an indication signal (17) from the device (9) .

13. A checking device for checking whether a vehicle (3) has been registered as parked in a certain parking space (4), c h a r a c t e r i s e d in that the checking device (13) is adapted to cooperate with a device (9) which is placed on the vehicle (3) and adapted to receive from a server unit (2) a signal (10) which is provided by the server unit (2) when this has received a message (6) which was sent from a terminal (5) via an information transfer system (7) and which contains parking information concerning the vehicle (3), the device (9) being adapted to receive, independently of the terminal (5) , said signal (10) and change, in response to said signal, from a first indication state to a second indication state, and that the checking device (13) is adapted to receive from the device (9) an indication signal (17) which contains said parking information.

14. The checking device as claimed in claim 13, which is adapted, where appropriate, to provide a fine signal which causes the device (9) to change to a fine state.