Peer-to-peer virtual chalking

Abstract

Provided is a technology that allows, inter alia, two different patrol-vehicles to be used to enforce parking regulations. Unique systems and methods, inter alia, allow a patrol vehicle or the like to collect parking data pertaining to parked vehicles, and to wirelessly transmit such parking data to a server. A later patrol vehicle or the like can wirelessly receive parking data related to parking events related to its parking enforcement situation and determine whether parking violations, such as overtime or permit sharing violations, are occurring using a combination of parking data generated locally and extraneous parking data collected by the previous patrol vehicle.

What is claimed is: 
     
         1 . A method for in-the-field parking enforcement executed on a mobile parking enforcement device, the parking enforcement device comprising:
 a. a wireless interface for communicating wirelessly with a remote parking enforcement server;   b. a data interface for communicating with parking data acquisition hardware for receiving therefrom parking data pertaining to nearby vehicles;   c. a processing device in communication with the wireless interface and the data interface;   d. computer-readable memory in communication with and accessible by the processing device;   
       the method comprising:
 a. receiving at the wireless interface from said remote parking enforcement server a set of at least one extraneous past parking events each comprising extraneous past parking data captured by another parking enforcement device and corresponding to an extraneous past parking event for a particular vehicle including at least a vehicle identifier for the particular vehicle and one other parking parameter; 
 b. receiving at the parking data acquisition hardware interface current parking data pertaining to a nearby vehicle, the current parking data comprising at least a vehicle identifier and one other parking parameter for the nearby vehicle and generating at the processing device a current parking event using the current parking data; 
 c. at the processing device, searching said at least one extraneous past parking events and identifying a match between a particular extraneous past parking event and the current parking event generated at the processing device on the basis of their respective parking data and determining at least in part on the basis of the parking data of the matched parking events that a parking violation has occurred; 
 d. at the processing device generating a violation event and storing said violation event in said computer-readable memory. 
 
     
     
         2 . A method as defined in  claim 1 , wherein receiving at the wireless interface from said remote parking enforcement server a set of at least one extraneous past parking events comprises receiving a batch of extraneous past parking data, and storing said batch in said computer-readable memory for quick retrieval, wherein searching said at least one extraneous past parking events comprises searching through said batch stored in said computer-readable memory. 
     
     
         3 . A method as defined in  claim 2 , further comprising, determining a particular geographic location for said parking enforcement device, and wherein said batch of extraneous past parking data corresponds to said particular geographic location for said parking enforcement device, the method further comprising transmitting an indication of the particular geographic location to said parking enforcement server and receiving said batch of extraneous past parking data in response to said parking enforcement device entering said particular geographic location. 
     
     
         4 . A method as defined in  claim 1 , wherein the parking data acquisition hardware including at least one license plate reader, the method further comprising: capturing the current parking data including a license plate number with the parking data acquisition hardware. 
     
     
         5 . A method as defined in any of  claims 1 - 4 , further comprising transmitting by the wireless interface at least a portion of the violation event to the remote parking enforcement server. 
     
     
         6 . A method as defined in  claim 1 - 5 , wherein said computer-readable memory comprises a database of parking events, said method further comprising storing said parking event in said database. 
     
     
         7 . A method as defined in  claim 6 , further comprising repeatedly displacing the parking enforcement device to bring another parked vehicle nearby and repeating at each displacement the steps of:
 a. receiving at the parking data acquisition hardware interface at least some of the current parking data pertaining to the nearby vehicle, the current parking data comprising at least a vehicle identifier and one other parking parameter for the nearby vehicle and generating at the processing device the current parking event with the current parking data; and   b. storing said current parking event in said database.   
     
     
         8 . A method as defined in  claim 7 , wherein the step of searching said at least one extraneous past parking events and identifying a match between a particular extraneous past parking event and the current parking further comprises searching through said database for a match. 
     
     
         9 . A method as defined in any of  claims 7  and  8 , further comprising establishing a connection with said remote parking enforcement server and transmitting parking data from all or a subset of entries in said database. 
     
     
         10 . A method as defined in any of  claims 1 - 9 , further comprising transmitting by the wireless interface at least a portion of said current parking event generated by the processing device. 
     
     
         11 . A method as defined in any of  claims 1 - 10 , wherein determining on the basis of the parking data of the matched parking events that a parking violation has occurred comprises:
 a. comparing the particular extraneous past parking event and the current parking event generated at the processing device to identify a match in parking parameters;   b. upon determining a match in parking parameters, generating a tentative violation event;   c. transmitting to said parking enforcement server over said wireless interface a request for context data associated with said particular extraneous past parking event; and   d. receiving from said parking enforcement server over said wireless interface context data associated with said particular extraneous past parking event.   
     
     
         12 . A method as defined in  claim 11 , wherein the parking enforcement device comprises a user interface for providing data to and receiving instructions from a user, the method further comprising providing at least a portion of said context information to a user via said user interface and receiving at said user interface confirmation that said tentative violation event is a parking violation, wherein said determining on the basis of the parking data of the matched parking events that a parking violation has occurred is based at least in part on said confirmation. 
     
     
         13 . A method as defined in  claim 11 , wherein the parking enforcement device comprises a video output interface in communication with the processing device for communicating with a display device and provide thereto images to display thereon and an input device interface in communication with a user input device for receiving therefrom user input, the method further comprising:
 a. causing the video output interface to output to the display image data associated with the current parking event and the extraneous past parking event;   b. receiving over said input device interface user input indicative of a confirmation of a match in said image data; and   c. determining that a parking violation has occurred at least in part based on the user input indicative of a confirmation of a match in said image data.   
     
     
         14 . A parking enforcement system comprising:
 a. a wireless interface for communicating wirelessly with a remote parking enforcement server;   b. a data interface for communicating with parking data acquisition hardware for receiving therefrom parking data pertaining to nearby vehicles;   c. a processing device in communication with the wireless interface, and data interface, the processing device being configurable under computer readable storage instructions;   d. computer-readable memory in communication with and accessible by the processing device storing computer-readable program code for configuring the processing device to execute a parking enforcement method, the computer-readable program code comprising instructing the processing device to:
 i. receive from the wireless interface a set of at least one extraneous past parking events from said remote parking enforcement server each comprising extraneous past parking data captured by another parking enforcement device and corresponding to a extraneous past parking event for a particular vehicle including at least a vehicle identifier for the particular vehicle and one other parking parameter; 
 ii. receive from the parking data acquisition hardware interface current parking data pertaining to a nearby vehicle, the current parking data comprising at least a vehicle identifier and one other parking parameter for the nearby vehicle and generate a current parking event using the current parking data; 
 iii. search said at least one extraneous past parking events and identify a match between a particular extraneous past parking event and the current parking event on the basis of their respective parking data and determine at least in part on the basis of the parking data of the matched parking events that a parking violation has occurred; 
 iv. generate a violation event and storing said violation event in said computer-readable memory. 
   
     
     
         15 . The parking enforcement system of  claim 14 , wherein receiving from the wireless interface a set of at least one extraneous past parking events comprises receiving a batch of extraneous past parking data, and causing said processing device to store said batch in said computer-readable memory for quick retrieval, wherein searching said at least one extraneous past parking events comprises accessing and searching through said batch stored in said computer-readable memory. 
     
     
         16 . The parking enforcement system of  claim 15 , the computer-readable program code further comprising instructions instructing the processing device to:
 a. determine a particular geographic location for said parking enforcement device, wherein said batch of extraneous past parking data corresponds to said particular geographic location for said parking enforcement device, and   b. cause the wireless interface to transmit an indication of the particular geographic location to said parking enforcement server and receive over the wireless interface said batch of extraneous past parking data in response to said parking enforcement device entering said particular geographic location.   
     
     
         17 . The parking enforcement system of  claim 14 , wherein the parking data acquisition hardware comprises at least one license plate reader, the computer-readable program code further comprising instructions instructing the processing device to cause the parking acquisition hardware to capture the current parking data including a license plate number. 
     
     
         18 . The parking enforcement system of  claims 14 - 17 , the computer-readable program code further comprising instructions instructing the processing device to cause the wireless interface to transmit at least a portion of the violation event to the remote parking enforcement server. 
     
     
         19 . The parking enforcement system of any of  claims 14 - 18 , wherein said computer-readable memory comprises a database of parking events, the computer-readable program code further comprising instructions instructing the processing device to store said parking event in said database. 
     
     
         20 . The parking enforcement system of  claim 19 , the computer-readable program code further comprising instructions instructing the processing device to repeat upon displacement of the parking enforcement system from near one parked vehicle to near another parked vehicle the steps of:
 a. receiving from the parking data acquisition hardware interface current parking data pertaining to a nearby vehicle, the current parking data comprising at least a vehicle identifier and one other parking parameter for the nearby vehicle and generating a current parking event using the current parking data; and   b. storing said current parking event in said database.   
     
     
         21 . The parking enforcement system of  claim 20 , wherein to search said at least one extraneous past parking events and identify a match between a particular extraneous past parking event and the current parking further comprises searching through said database for a match. 
     
     
         22 . The parking enforcement system of any of  claims 20  and  21 , the computer-readable program code further comprising instructions instructing the processing device to establish a connection with said remote parking enforcement server via said wireless interface and cause the wireless interface to transmit parking data from all or a subset of entries in said database. 
     
     
         23 . The parking enforcement system of any of  claims 14 - 22 , the computer-readable program code further comprising instructions instructing the processing device to cause the wireless interface to transmit at least a portion of said current parking event generated by the processing device. 
     
     
         24 . The parking enforcement system of any of  14 - 23 , wherein to determine at least in part on the basis of the parking data of the matched parking events that a parking violation has occurred comprises:
 a. comparing the particular extraneous past parking event and the current parking event generated at the processing device to identify a match in parking parameters;   b. upon determining a match in parking parameters, generating a tentative violation event;   c. causing said wireless interface to transmit to said parking enforcement server a request for context data associated with said particular extraneous past parking event; and   d. receiving over said wireless interface from said parking enforcement server context data associated with said particular extraneous past parking event.   
     
     
         25 . The parking enforcement system of  claim 24 , further comprising a user interface for providing data to and receiving instructions from a user, the computer-readable program code further comprising instructions instructing the processing device to cause the user interface to provide at least a portion of said context information to a user, and to receive from the user interface confirmation that said tentative violation event is a parking violation, wherein to determine at least in part on the basis of the parking data of the matched parking events that a parking violation has occurred is based at least in part on said confirmation. 
     
     
         26 . The parking enforcement system of  claim 24 , further comprising a video output interface in communication with the processing device for communicating with a display device and provide thereto images to display thereon and an input device interface in communication with a user input device for receiving therefrom user input, the computer-readable program code further comprising instructions instructing the processing device to:
 a. cause the video output interface to output to the display image data associated with the current parking event and the extraneous past parking event;   b. receive over said input device interface user input indicative of a confirmation of a match in said image data; and   c. determine that a parking violation has occurred at least in part based on the user input indicative of a confirmation of a match in said image data.