Centralized Parking Pool Management System
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing parking management systems are inefficient due to individually-metered or -reserved parking allocation, leading to fragmented parking space usage and increased search time for drivers, as well as higher maintenance costs for local governments.
Innovation Solution
A centralized server-based system manages parking spaces as a pool, allowing motorists to reserve interchangeable parking spaces, eliminating the need for individual meters and reducing fragmentation by consolidating available time across multiple spaces.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If parking spaces are individually metered and reserved, then each space can be precisely controlled and tracked, but the system complexity and maintenance costs increase significantly
Solution Approach 1:
The patent combines multiple individually-metered parking spaces into a single parking pool managed by one parking meter. The meter tracks the total number of available spaces and reservations for the entire pool rather than individual spaces, reducing device complexity while maintaining control accuracy through centralized monitoring of space availability and reservation status.
Solution Approach 2:
The parking meter is designed to serve multiple functions: it manages reservations for multiple spaces, tracks occupancy status, provides real-time availability information, and handles payments for the entire pool. This multi-functional approach eliminates the need for separate meters at each space while maintaining comprehensive control.
2Manufacturing precision
If each parking space has unique reservation times, then precise space allocation is achieved, but driver search time and frustration increase
Solution Approach 1:
The system segments the parking pool into multiple interchangeable spaces that can be dynamically allocated. When a driver arrives, the system identifies any currently occupied spaces and directs the driver to available spaces within the pool, eliminating the need to search for a specific pre-assigned space while maintaining precise allocation through real-time occupancy tracking.
Solution Approach 2:
The parking space assignments are dynamic rather than static. Spaces within the pool can be reallocated based on current occupancy status, allowing the system to adapt to changing conditions and guide drivers to available spaces efficiently without fixed assignments that would require extensive searching.
3Adaptability or versatility
If parking spaces are treated as individually reservable resources, then reservation specificity is improved, but overall parking occupancy rate decreases
Solution Approach 1:
By merging multiple parking spaces into a single reservable pool, the system maintains reservation specificity at the pool level while enabling flexible allocation within the pool. This allows the entire pool to be reserved for a specific time window, ensuring occupancy while allowing individual spaces to be dynamically assigned to different drivers based on real-time availability.
4Measurement precision
If parking meters are deployed at every parking space, then individual space monitoring is achieved, but maintenance and operating expenses increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent consolidates monitoring functions for multiple parking spaces into a single parking meter located at the pool entrance or nearby. This single meter tracks occupancy status across all spaces in the pool, eliminating the need for multiple meters and significantly reducing maintenance and operating expenses while maintaining accurate monitoring through centralized sensing and counting mechanisms.
Data Source
AI summary
A computer-implemented system and method for managing interchangeable parking spaces is provided. A parking pool that includes a plurality of parking spaces, which are each interchangeably reservable by motorists, is formed. The parking spaces in the parking pool that are currently-occupied by other vehicles and any reservations by motorists to park their vehicles in the parking pool are identified. The number of the parking spaces in the parking pool free of the currently-occupied parking spaces and the parking spaces in the parking pool that will be used to fulfill the reservations, plus the time available for parking in the parking pool, are displayed.