System and Method for Determining Parking Infraction

Abstract

Various embodiments are described herein for methods and systems for managing a parking area. In one embodiment, the method comprises receiving a parking authorization request from a parking lot user, the request specifying a parking stall identifier corresponding to a parking stall occupied by the user's vehicle, the request further specifying a parking duration parameter identifying a time duration the user's vehicle can occupy the stall; determining a parking duration rule for the stall based on the parking duration parameter, the rule indicating a parking expiration time; at a first time, receiving a first data associated with the parking stall identifier, the first data comprising an occupancy parameter indicating a presence or absence of a parked vehicle at the identified stall; if the occupancy parameter indicates a presence of a parked vehicle, generate a citation alert for the stall if the first time exceeds the parking expiration time.

1 . A method of managing a parking area, the parking lot comprising a plurality of parking stalls for occupancy by a plurality of vehicles, each parking stall being uniquely identifiable using a parking stall identifier, the method comprising:
 receiving a parking authorization request from a parking lot user, the parking authorization request specifying a parking stall identifier corresponding to a parking stall that is occupied by a vehicle belonging to the parking lot user, the parking authorization request further specifying a parking duration parameter identifying a duration of time for which the parking lot user can park the vehicle at the parking stall;   determining a parking duration rule for the parking stall based on the parking duration parameter, the parking duration rule indicating a parking expiration time at which the vehicle must vacate;   at a first time, receiving a first data associated with the parking stall identifier, the first data comprising an occupancy parameter indicating a presence or an absence of a parked vehicle at the parking stall identified by the parking stall identifier;   if the occupancy parameter indicates a presence of a parked vehicle, determining if the first time exceeds the parking expiration time; and   if the first time exceeds the parking expiration time, generating a citation alert for the parking stall identified by the parking stall identifier.   
     
     
         2 . The method of  claim 1 , further comprising:
 issuing a parking citation to the parked vehicle based on the citation alert.   
     
     
         3 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the parking authorization request further comprises a vehicle identifier identifying at least one characteristic of the vehicle, the method comprising:
 at the first time, further receiving a detected vehicle identifier corresponding to at least one detected characteristic of the parked vehicle at the parking stall, the at least one detected characteristic being comparable to the at least one characteristic;   determining if the parked vehicle is the same as the vehicle corresponding to the parking authorization request by comparing the vehicle identifier and the detected vehicle identifier;   if the parked vehicle and the vehicle corresponding to the parking authorization request are determined to be different vehicles, determining if a second parking authorization request is received from the parked vehicle; and   if the second parking authorization request is determined to not have been received from the parked vehicle, generating the citation alert for the parking stall.   
     
     
         4 . The method of  claim 3 , wherein the at least one characteristic of the vehicle comprises a data item selected from the group consisting of a license plate number of the vehicle, year of make of the vehicle, model of the vehicle, color of the vehicle and transponder identity of the vehicle. 
     
     
         5 . The method of  claim 3 , wherein the at least one detected characteristic of the parked vehicle comprises a data item selected from the group consisting of a license plate number of the vehicle, model of the vehicle, color of the vehicle, shape and length of the vehicle, and transponder identity of the vehicle. 
     
     
         6 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the first time does not exceed the parking expiration time, wherein the first data further comprises a first detected vehicle identifier identifying at least one characteristic of the parked vehicle detected at the first time, and wherein the method further comprises:
 at a second time, where the second time does not exceed the parking expiration time, receiving a second data associated with the parking stall identifier, wherein the second data comprises a second detected vehicle identifier identifying at least one characteristic of a parked vehicle detected at the parking stall at the second time, wherein the second time is subsequent to the first time, and wherein the at least one characteristic of the parked vehicle detected at the first time and the at least one characteristic of the parked vehicle detected at the second time correspond to a same data item;   comparing the first detected vehicle identifier to the second detected vehicle identifier;   if the first detected vehicle identifier and the second detected vehicle identifier are determined to correspond to different vehicles, determining if a second parking authorization request is received from the parked vehicle detected at the second time; and   if the second parking authorization request is determined to not have been received, generating the citation alert for the parking stall.   
     
     
         7 . A method of managing a parking lot using a patrol vehicle, the parking lot comprising a plurality of parking stalls for occupancy by a plurality of vehicles, each parking stall being uniquely identifiable using a parking stall identifier, the method comprising:
 operating the patrol vehicle to patrol the parking lot;   determining, at a first time, for an occupied parking stall, a parking stall identifier;   determining, at the first time, a parking duration rule for the parking stall identifier based on a parking authorization request comprising a parking duration parameter received from an operator of a vehicle occupying the occupied parking stall, wherein the parking duration parameter identifies a duration of time for which the vehicle can be parked at the parking stall, and wherein the parking duration rule indicates a parking expiration time at which the vehicle must vacate the parking stall; and   determining if the first time exceeds the parking expiration time, and if so, generating a citation alert for the parking stall identified by the parking stall identifier.   
     
     
         8 . The method of  claim 7 , further comprising:
 issuing a parking citation to a parked vehicle based on the citation alert.   
     
     
         9 . The method of  claim 7 , wherein the first time does not exceed the parking expiration time, the method further comprising:
 determining, at the first time, a detected vehicle identifier corresponding to at least one detected characteristic of a parked vehicle at the parking stall;   determining if the parked vehicle corresponds to the vehicle associated with the parking authorization request, wherein the parking authorization request further comprises a vehicle identifier identifying at least one characteristic of the vehicle;   if the parked vehicle does not correspond to the vehicle associated with the parking authorization request, determining if a second parking authorization request is received for the parking stall identifier; and   if the second parking authorization request is determined to not have been received for the parking stall identifier, generating the citation alert and issuing the parking citation to the parked vehicle.   
     
     
         10 . The method of  claim 7 , wherein the parking lot is patrolled based on a prescheduled time. 
     
     
         11 . The method of  claim 7 , wherein determining the parking stall identifier comprises:
 capturing one or more images of the occupied parking stall using an image detector mounted on the patrol vehicle; and   processing the one or more images to identify the parking stall identifier.   
     
     
         12 . The method of  claim 11 , wherein processing the one or more images comprises converting the one or more images into a machine-encoded text. 
     
     
         13 . The method of  claim 7 , wherein the parking stall identifier is designed to minimize blooming. 
     
     
         14 . The method of  claim 7 , wherein determining the parking stall identifier comprises:
 scanning the occupied parking stall using a radio-frequency identification reader mounted on the patrol vehicle, wherein the parking stall identifier comprises a radio-frequency identification tag detectable by the radio-frequency identification reader.   
     
     
         15 . The method of  claim 7 , wherein determining the parking stall identifier comprises identifying the GPS coordinates corresponding to the occupied parking stall being patrolled and determining an associated parking stall identifier by querying a parking management database. 
     
     
         16 . The method of  claim 7 , wherein identifying an occupied parking stall in the parking lot comprises:
 scanning each parking stall within the parking lot to capture one or more images of the parking stall; and   processing the one or more images to detect absence or presence of a vehicle in the parking stall.   
     
     
         17 . The method of  claim 9 , wherein determining the detected vehicle identifier comprises:
 detecting a license plate number of the parked vehicle using an image detector.   
     
     
         18 . A parking lot management system for a parking lot comprising a plurality of parking stalls for occupancy by a plurality of vehicles, each parking stall being uniquely identifiable using a parking stall identifier, the system comprising:
 a communication network;   a non-transient computer memory; and   at least processor coupled to the non-transient computer memory and the communication network, the at least one processor being configured to:
 i. receive a parking authorization request from a parking lot user, the parking authorization request specifying a parking stall identifier corresponding to a parking stall that is occupied by a vehicle belonging to the parking lot user, the parking authorization request further specifying a parking duration parameter identifying a duration of time for which the parking lot user can park the vehicle at the parking stall; 
 ii. determine a parking duration rule for the parking stall based on the parking duration parameter, the parking duration rule indicating a parking expiration time at which the vehicle must vacate; 
 iii. at a first time, receive a first data associated with the parking stall identifier, the first data comprising an occupancy parameter indicating a presence or an absence of a parked vehicle at the parking stall identified by the parking stall identifier; 
 iv. if the occupancy parameter indicates a presence of a parked vehicle, determine if the first time exceeds the parking expiration time; and 
 v. if the first time exceeds the parking expiration time, generate a citation alert for the parking stall identified by the parking stall identifier. 
   
     
     
         19 . The parking lot management system of  claim 18 , wherein the processor is further configured to perform the method as defined in any one of  claims 2  to  17 . 
     
     
         20 . A computer-readable medium storing computer-executable instructions, the instructions for causing at least one processor to perform a method of managing a parking area, the parking area comprising a plurality of parking stalls for occupancy by a plurality of vehicles, each parking stall being uniquely identifiable using a parking stall identifier, the method comprising:
 receiving a parking authorization request from a parking lot user, the parking authorization request specifying a parking stall identifier corresponding to a parking stall that is occupied by a vehicle belonging to the parking lot user, the parking authorization request further specifying a parking duration parameter identifying a duration of time for which the parking lot user can park the vehicle at the parking stall;   determining a parking duration rule for the parking stall based on the parking duration parameter, the parking duration rule indicating a parking expiration time at which the vehicle must vacate;   at a first time, receiving a first data associated with the parking stall identifier, the first data comprising an occupancy parameter indicating a presence or an absence of a parked vehicle at the parking stall identified by the parking stall identifier;   if the occupancy parameter indicates a presence of a parked vehicle, determining if the first time exceeds the parking expiration time; and   if the first time exceeds the parking expiration time, generating a citation alert for the parking stall identified by the parking stall identifier.