Remote Parking Meter Auditing Mesh Network
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions
Solution Overview
Problem
Current parking meter auditing and maintenance systems are labor-intensive, error-prone, and lack timely detection of malfunctions, leading to inefficiencies and increased costs due to the need for frequent personnel dispatches, especially in urban environments where wireless systems are unreliable and power-hungry.
Innovation Solution
A remote parking meter monitoring system utilizing a mesh network of radio transceivers integrated with parking meters, an aggregate point, and a communication network that allows for low-power, reliable data transfer and routing, enabling real-time remote auditing and actuation of meters without the need for constant personnel intervention.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If cellular communication devices are equipped in each parking meter, then real-time malfunction detection is improved, but power consumption increases and cost increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent introduces intermediate aggregate points as mediators between parking meters and the central server. Meters communicate with nearby aggregate points using low-power radio transceivers, and aggregate points relay data to the server. This intermediary architecture reduces the power consumption and cost of equipping each meter with full cellular communication capabilities while maintaining real-time malfunction detection.
2Reliability
If personnel are frequently dispatched to the field for meter auditing, then timely detection of malfunctions is improved, but labor costs increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent implements a feedback mechanism where parking meters automatically transmit malfunction data to aggregate points and the central server through the mesh network. The system continuously monitors meter status and provides real-time feedback without requiring manual field audits, thereby improving malfunction detection timeliness while eliminating the need for frequent personnel dispatches.
3Use of energy by moving object
If simple beacon signals are used for transceiver communication, then power consumption is reduced, but measurement precision and utility for comprehensive auditing deteriorate
Solution Approach 1:
The patent segments the auditing information into multiple data fields including meter ID, transaction data, malfunction status, and diagnostic information. The low-power transceivers transmit these segmented data packets through the mesh network, enabling comprehensive auditing with detailed measurement precision while maintaining low power consumption through efficient data segmentation and transmission protocols.
Data Source
AI summary
A remote parking meter monitoring system is provided. The system has a plurality of radio transceivers. Each transceiver communicates with at least one other transceiver within a transceiver communication region. The transceivers are integrated to parking meters. A separate aggregate point has a transceiver and a communication network that is connected to a computer. The aggregate point communicates with at least one proximal transceiver and communicates to the computer through the network. The system has a mesh communication arrangement, and a signal routing architecture, where the information is communicated along any path of adjacent communication regions. The computer is able to communicate information through the network to the aggregate point, and the aggregate point transceiver sends the information to the proximal transceiver. The information is communicated to any one of the transceivers in the mesh using the routing architecture by communicating the signal through any path between adjacent communication regions.