WO2016053074A1 - Highly reliable management of valet parking - Google Patents

Abstract

The invention relates to a system for the highly reliable management of valet parking, for remotely tracking vehicles up to and from the area of a parking facility with valet service, which uses electronic means as proximity sensors and a GPS for monitoring the use of the vehicle when being driven by a valet and ensuring that the vehicle does not deviate from the route between the parking facility and the place of the event, as well as monitoring the distance-time ratio between same.

Description

 VALET HIGH RELIABILITY PARKING MANAGEMENT

TECHNICAL FIELD OF THE INVENTION

This request refers in general to the vehicle parking service and, in particular, to a system and method implemented by data processing unit, remote vehicle tracking unit and mobile telephony for the management of valet parking service.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

The shortage of parking negatively impacts trade in goods and services in cities, particularly those with high density buildings. The valet service is offered by a shop or a group of people who work in coordination to receive, drive, park and return cars efficiently.

The valet parking service is essential for the operation of some shops that do not have enough space in their immediate surroundings. However, the lack of guarantees on the safety and good use of the car creates distrust and inhibits the popularization of this service. Moreover, the cost of the service is not always included in the cost of consumption and payment must be made in cash, which complicates the process for those users who prefer the use of electronic payments.

There are several alternative solutions to improve this service. For example, in US Pat. No. US20120047001, "Valet Parking Management System," Chagnon, Theodore (2012) describes a method of maintaining a database of cars parked by valet service through a distributed computer network, assigning a unique tracking code to each vehicle. A file of said vehicle is generated, including the tracking code, the entry and exit times, and an alarm indicating that the maximum time to park the vehicle has been exceeded. It also generates an alarm when the maximum time to return the vehicle to the owner has been exceeded, after the return was requested. This patent describes a simple system of monitoring good service in a valet system in order to prevent the misuse of the car or the annoying delay to return the vehicle. In US Pat. No. US5710557, "Computerized valet parking system," Schuette, Kai Herman (1998) describe a method, similar to the previous one, to statistically monitor the performance of the employee assigned to provide the valet parking service, using in this case a communication system Remote with parking.

In US Pat. No. US20140066110, "Valet Parking System and Method," Lovegreen, Kenneth J. (2014) describe a method similar to the previous one in which it also uses a cell phone to register the vehicle and establish basic communication with the owner, including instructions to recover the vehicle . In this case, we also seek to prevent fraud by repeated use of the parking ticket.

In US Pat. No. US20120232965, "INTERACTIVE VALET PARKING MANAGEMENT SYSTEM," Rodríguez, Juan F .; Diaz, Elysium} .; Cleaver, Dean A. (2012) describe a method similar to the previous ones but described in more general and intentionally confusing language. However, in the examples shown it does not differ substantially from the above. The patent application has not yet been approved.

In US Pat. No. US20130082102, "VALET PARKING SYSTEM AND METHOD," Rogic, Lori (2013) describe a valet parking system supported by the use of portable communication devices, where the descriptive information of the vehicle and its owner is registered and electronically sent a message with the corresponding registration to the owner's "smartphone" phone. The same message is replicated by the owner when the time comes to request the return of the vehicle. Finally, the valet service employee verifies that the code in the owner's phone matches his own to validate and deliver the vehicle.

In US Pat. No. US7900966, "Valet parking envelope and method of use," Stennett, Robert (2011) describe a physical, non-electronic card system for vehicle identification.

In US Pat. No. US20120194354, "Electronic Valet Parking Kiosk System and Method," Kundmueller, Kenneth Eugene; Lie down, Steven Michael; Kundmueller, Benjamin Thomas; Kundmueller, John Kenneth (2012) describe a remote communication system coded through a microcontroller to organize and manage the keys in a valet parking business. Each key is held by a device with an identity transmitter, and a visible signal is activated when said identity transmitter is requested. In US Pat. No. US20100156672, "SYSTEM AND METHOD FOR AUTO VALET PARKING," Yoo, Jaejun; Jang, Byung Tae; Choi, Jeong Dan; Kim, Do Hyun; Sung, Kyung Bok; Kim, Jungsook; Jang, Jeong Ah; Kim, Kyeong Tae; Lim, Jae Han (2010) describe a sensor network to guide a vehicle to the pre-assigned parking space. This network can be used by valet parking systems by people or robots.

In US Pat. No. US20130151070, "METHOD AND DEVICE FOR ACTIVATING AND DEACTIVATING A VALET PARKING FUNCTION," Bock, Thomas; Havemann, Joerg (2013) describe a device and method to select or deselect Valet Mode in a vehicle, which restricts access to unauthorized areas to people who provide valet parking.

In US Pat. Do not. ÜS20120095790, "Computer-Implemented System And Method For Managing On-Street Valet Parking," Stefik, Mark Jeffrey; Bell, Alan G .; Eldershaw, Craig; Good, Lance E .; Greene, Daniel H .; Torres, Francisco Eduardo; Uckun, Serdar; Cummins, David Preston; Partridge, Kurt (2012) describe a network of sensors to establish availability, reserve and assign parking areas through a module for processing said information and visual display of indicators.

In US Pat. No. US20120188100, "TERMINAL, APPARATUS AND METHOD FOR PROVIDING CUSTOMIZED AUTO-VALET PARKING SERVICE," Min, Kyoung-wook; Choi, Jeong-dan; An, Kyoung-hwan; Sung, Kyung-bok (2012) describe a method to allow a vehicle owner to determine the location where they want to house their vehicle through the valet parking service. The system also provides the route that the employee must follow to take the car to the area selected for parking.

The state of the art describes different methods to provide a certain level of confidence of the owner in valet parking services, and methods to improve service times. However, they do not provide the owner with any information that allows the owner to estimate the real risk that his or her vehicle may be stolen or partially or completely banalized. The state of the art also does not describe mechanisms for the owner to monitor the movement of his vehicle to the parking area and its subsequent return path.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION The characteristic details of the present invention are clearly shown in the following description and in the accompanying figures, which are mentioned by way of example, and therefore should not be considered as a limitation for said invention.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE FIGURES

Figure 1 is a flow chart of the HIGH RELIABILITY VALET PARKING MANAGEMENT system of the present invention.

Figure 2 is a schematic diagram of the system in question, where the network of electronic devices of the present invention is illustrated in detail.

Figure 3 is a block diagram of the GPS tracking module with integrated proximity sensors.

With respect to the figures listed above, the VALET HIGH RELIABILITY PARKING MANAGEMENT system of the present invention is constituted of at least one device and method for remotely tracking a vehicle to and from the assigned valet parking zone, characterized by: a portable remote tracking device (1) integrated by a portable GPS module [8) for satellite tracking adhering to a vehicle glass (2), a first capacitive sensor (3) to monitor the proximity of said sensor to the vehicle (2) and with the portable remote tracking device (1), a second proximity sensor (4) with sensitivity to detect radiation in the spectral range of 100 to 100 micrometers, calibrated to operate in different outdoor and indoor temperature settings of a vehicle, a remote bluetooth communication unit (5) of data from both sensors (3) and (4} and said portable remote tracking device [1), a data processing unit (6] for recording the time and geographical position of the vehicle, an application for user registration and deployment of vehicle tracking data, valet driver identification data, available for download and Use in Smartphone type phone (7) of the owner of said vehicle, a system for estimating time of arrival at the parking lot and return time of the parking based on data from previous and historical immediate events, an alarm system that indicates when the current time to reach the parking lot or to return from the parking lot has exceeded the estimated time, an alarm system that indicates when the vehicle has left its route preset, and a communication system with the owner of the valet service to disarm said alarm or generate an official report of potentially criminal failure of the valet parking service.

Claims

1. A HIGH RELIABILITY VALET PARKING MANAGEMENT system, for remote vehicle tracking to and from the area of a valet parking lot, characterized by:  to. A portable GPS module for satellite tracking adhering to a vehicle glass; b. A first sensor to monitor the physical contact between said sensor and the car, and the GPS module;  C. A second proximity sensor with sensitivity to detect radiation in the spectral range of 100 to 100 micrometers, calibrated to operate in different exterior and interior temperature settings of a vehicle, with directional filter aligned to the driver's seat;  d. A wireless bluetooth communication unit between the tracking module and at least one mobile phone;  and. a data processing unit for recording the time and geographical position of the vehicle, capable of estimating time of arrival to the parking lot and time of return of the parking lot based on data from previous and historical immediate events;  F. an application for user registration and deployment of vehicle tracking data, valet driver identification data, available for download and use on the Smartphone type phone of the owner of said vehicle;  g. an alarm system that activates when the current time to reach the parking lot or to return from the parking lot has exceeded the estimated time, and when the vehicle leaves its pre-established route;  h. a communication protocol, operated from the mobile phone of the parking administrator or the owner of the vehicle, to disarm said alarm and / or generate a report of potentially criminal activity of the valet parking service.  2. A HIGH RELIABILITY VALET PARKING MANAGEMENT system, as described in claim 1, wherein the first proximity sensor is capacitive, inductive or ultrasonic.