Smart parking pillar

Abstract

A smart parking pillar includes a columnar housing, which is vertically installed near a parking space; a sensing module disposed in the columnar housing for sensing environmental information and vehicle entry / exit status of the parking space; a communication unit disposed in the columnar housing for transmitting wireless signals to a smart parking management system; a microcontroller unit disposed in the columnar housing and coupled to the sensing module and the communication unit for determining a parking situation based on the environmental information and vehicle entry / exit status sensed by the sensing module, and transmitting the parking situation to the smart parking management system through the communication unit; and a power supply module disposed in the columnar housing for supplying the power required for the operation of the smart parking pillar.

Claims

1. A smart parking pillar, comprising: a columnar housing, having a columnar structure and erected near a parking space; a sensing module disposed in the columnar housing for sensing environmental information and vehicle entry / exit status of the parking space; a communication unit disposed in the columnar housing for transmitting wireless signals to a smart parking management system; a microcontroller unit disposed in the columnar housing, coupled to the sensing module and the communication unit, for determining a parking situation based on the environmental information and vehicle entry / exit status sensed by the sensing module, and transmitting the parking situation to the smart parking management system through the communication unit; and a power supply module disposed in the columnar housing for supplying the power required for the operation of the smart parking pillar.

2. The smart parking column as described in claim 1, wherein the columnar housing has waterproof and impact-resistant properties.

3. The smart parking column as described in claim 1, wherein the power supply module comprises: at least one solar panel disposed on the top or side of the columnar housing; a battery for storing electrical energy; and a battery management system (BMS) coupled to the solar panel and the battery for managing the electrical energy generated by the solar panel to charge the battery and controlling the battery to supply power to each module of the smart parking column.

4. The smart parking pillar as described in claim 1, wherein the sensing module includes: at least one sensor for detecting a vehicle approaching, entering or leaving the parking space; and at least one image capturing unit for capturing image information of the parking space.

5. The smart parking pillar as described in claim 4, wherein the microcontroller unit is further configured to determine whether to activate the at least one image capturing unit to take a picture based on the detection result of the at least one sensor.

6. The smart parking pillar as described in claim 5, wherein when the at least one sensor does not detect vehicle movement or entry / exit, the microcontroller unit controls the at least one image capturing unit to remain in standby mode to reduce overall power consumption; and when the at least one sensor detects vehicle movement or entry / exit, the microcontroller unit controls the at least one image capturing unit to capture image information of the parking space.

7. The smart parking column as described in claim 1, wherein the communication unit transmits signals via 4G, 5G, WIFI, LAN, PoE (Power over Ethernet), BT (Bluetooth), or NB-IoT (Narrowband Internet of Things).

8. The smart parking column as described in claim 1, further comprising a display module disposed on the columnar housing.

9. The smart parking column as described in claim 8, wherein the display module includes at least one of electronic paper (e-ink), organic light-emitting diode (OLED), thin-film transistor (TFT) display, LED subtitle machine and LED lights, for real-time display of parking information.

10. The smart parking pillar as described in claim 1, further comprising a supplementary light coupled to the microcontroller unit for providing supplementary lighting or warning illumination.

11. The smart parking column as described in claim 1, wherein the columnar housing, after assembly, has an IP68 protection rating.

12. The smart parking column as described in claim 1, further comprising an electronic payment device disposed on the column housing and coupled to the microcontroller unit for providing EasyCard, credit card or other non-cash payment functions.

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