Parking Space Monitoring via Sensor Consensus Logic

Resolve Bottlenecks,
Find Innovative Solutions
Generate Solutions

Solution Overview

Problem

Current parking space monitoring systems using environment sensors often result in high false-negative and false-positive object detections, which affect the reliability and availability of determining whether a route is free for motor vehicles.

Innovation Solution

A method and device utilizing multiple stationary environment sensor devices to monitor a common parking space area, where the area is considered free for motor vehicles only if all sensors agree, and not free if all sensors indicate otherwise, with a processor determining the navigability based on sensor data and implementing a repetitive verification process to detect potential errors.

Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles

VSEngineering Contradiction Analysis

1Reliability

If multiple environmental sensor devices are used to monitor the parking area, then the reliability of detection is improved, but the device complexity increases

Engineering Contradiction:
Improvedetection reliabilityVSAvoidsensor system complexity
Core Design Contradiction:
ReliabilityVSDevice complexity

Solution Approach 1:

The monitoring system is segmented into multiple independent environmental sensor devices, each monitoring the same parking area from different positions. This segmentation allows the system to achieve higher reliability through redundancy while keeping each individual sensor device relatively simple in structure.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #1Segmentation

2Reliability

If all sensor results must agree to determine the area is not freely passable, then false-negative detections are reduced, but the response time increases

Engineering Contradiction:
Improvefalse-negative reductionVSAvoiddetermination time
Core Design Contradiction:
ReliabilityVSLoss of time

Solution Approach 1:

The system performs a complete evaluation of all sensor results only when necessary to determine that the area is not freely passable. When at least one sensor indicates the area is freely passable, the system accepts this result without requiring full consensus from all sensors, thus reducing unnecessary processing time while maintaining reliability.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #16Partial or excessive action

3Area of stationary object

If multiple sensor devices are deployed, then the coverage of monitoring area is improved, but the cost of the system increases

Engineering Contradiction:
Improvemonitoring coverageVSAvoidsystem cost
Core Design Contradiction:
Area of stationary objectVSQuantity of substance

Solution Approach 1:

Multiple environmental sensor devices are merged to monitor the same parking area simultaneously. By combining the capabilities of multiple sensors rather than deploying them to monitor different areas, the system achieves comprehensive coverage of the critical monitoring zone while optimizing resource utilization and reducing overall system cost.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #5Merging (Combining)

Data Source

PatentEP3655934B1Concept for monitoring a parking space
Publication Date: 2021.12.22 ROBERT BOSCH GMBH
  • EP3655934B1 patent drawingFigure 1
  • EP3655934B1 patent drawingFigure 2~3

AI summary

The invention relates to a concept for monitoring a parking space using a plurality of environment sensor devices, wherein said plurality of environment sensor devices are arranged within the parking space in a stationary manner and are monitoring a common area of the parking space. Only if all the environment sensor devices detect that the area cannot be freely traveled by a motor vehicle, is it determined as the overall result that the area cannot be freely traveled by a motor vehicle.