Inter-Vehicle Queue Spacing via Automated Position Adjustment
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Solution Overview
Problem
On-street and residential parking areas often suffer from congestion due to insufficient parking spaces and poor parking etiquette, leading to vehicles being illegally parked or positioned in a way that blocks other vehicles from exiting or entering the queue, making it difficult to extract or tow illegally parked vehicles without damaging them or adjacent vehicles.
Innovation Solution
A method using computer processors to determine distance values between vehicles in a queue, calculate changes in position to exceed a threshold distance, and transmit requests to adjacent vehicles to move, allowing for optimal positioning and space creation within the queue through wireless inter-vehicle communications, enabling vehicles to exit, enter, or be inserted without human intervention.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Quantity of substance
If vehicles are parked closely together in a queue to maximize parking space utilization, then the quantity of parked vehicles increases, but the ability to extract or insert vehicles becomes difficult and may cause damage
Solution Approach 1:
The system performs preliminary actions by automatically adjusting vehicle positions within the queue before extraction is needed. Sensors detect when a vehicle needs to be extracted and the system proactively creates sufficient spacing by moving adjacent vehicles, ensuring the extraction path is clear before the extraction operation begins.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent introduces an intermediary automated system (including control units, sensors, and communication devices) that mediates between the need for dense parking and the need for easy vehicle extraction. This intermediary system coordinates vehicle movements and maintains optimal spacing without requiring manual intervention from drivers.
2Manufacturing precision
If manual parking is used to allow drivers to skillfully position vehicles, then parking precision may be improved, but congestion and poor parking etiquette worsen due to lack of coordination
Solution Approach 1:
The system implements feedback mechanisms where sensors continuously monitor vehicle positions, spacing, and queue status. This feedback information is used by the automated control system to adjust vehicle positions, provide guidance to drivers, and enforce parking rules, thereby improving both positioning precision and overall parking efficiency through coordinated management.
Solution Approach 2:
The automated system enables self-service parking where vehicles are automatically positioned and adjusted within the queue without requiring skilled manual intervention. The system uses sensors, actuators, and control algorithms to autonomously optimize vehicle placement, creating an efficient self-regulating parking environment that improves both precision and throughput.
3Quantity of substance
If vehicles are positioned too close to fire hydrants or crosswalks to maximize parking capacity, then more vehicles can be parked, but safety restrictions are violated and access is blocked
Solution Approach 1:
The system applies preliminary anti-action by proactively preventing vehicles from being positioned in restricted zones. Sensors detect the locations of fire hydrants, crosswalks, and other restricted areas, and the automated control system ensures vehicles are positioned at safe distances before parking is completed, thereby preventing safety hazards rather than reacting to them afterward.
Solution Approach 2:
The automated control system acts as an intermediary between parking demand and safety restrictions. It coordinates vehicle positioning to satisfy both the need for high parking capacity and the requirement to maintain safe distances from restricted zones, using real-time monitoring and automated adjustment to enforce safety rules while maximizing space utilization.
Data Source
AI summary
A method for modifying a queue of vehicles. In one embodiment, the method includes at least one computer processor determining respective distance values between a first vehicle and one or more adjacent vehicles within a queue of vehicles. The method further includes determining a threshold distance value that corresponds to a distance required to extract the first vehicle from within the queue of vehicles. The method further includes determining a change of position corresponding to at least one adjacent vehicle to the first vehicle within the queue of vehicles based on the determined respective distance values, wherein the determined change in position moves the at least one adjacent vehicle to a distance value from the first vehicle that exceed the threshold distance value. The method further includes transmitting respective requests to the at least one adjacent vehicle to move to the determined change of position.