Server Navigation for Empty Parking Spaces

Resolve Bottlenecks,
Find Innovative Solutions
Generate Solutions

Solution Overview

Problem

Users face difficulties in finding empty parking spaces in large parking lots due to the lack of accurate navigation information, as existing methods only provide identification of empty spaces without guiding users to their locations.

Innovation Solution

A navigation method and system that uses a server to determine the initial and target positions based on feature information from mobile terminals and a database, displaying a route on an electronic map to guide users to empty parking spaces.

Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles

VSEngineering Contradiction Analysis

1Loss of information

If parking cameras are installed to identify empty parking spaces, then the user can obtain identification information of empty spaces, but the user cannot find the actual location of these spaces in large parking lots

Engineering Contradiction:
Improveparking space identification informationVSAvoiduser's ability to find parking space
Core Design Contradiction:
Loss of informationVSEase of operation

Solution Approach 1:

The patent introduces a mobile terminal as an intermediary device between the parking camera system and the user. The mobile terminal receives identification information from parking cameras, retrieves corresponding position information from a database, and displays both pieces of information together, enabling the user to locate empty parking spaces by matching the displayed position with visual observation in the parking lot.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #24Intermediary (Mediator)

2Quantity of substance

If the parking lot size increases to meet growing vehicle population, then more parking spaces are available, but the complexity of finding empty spaces increases

Engineering Contradiction:
Improvenumber of parking spacesVSAvoidnavigation complexity
Core Design Contradiction:
Quantity of substanceVSDevice complexity

Solution Approach 1:

The patent divides the large parking lot into multiple smaller regions, each monitored by dedicated parking cameras. Each camera captures images of specific parking spaces and sends identification information to the database. This segmentation allows the system to manage large numbers of parking spaces through modular, distributed camera units rather than requiring a single complex monitoring system.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #1Segmentation

Solution Approach 2:

The database acts as an intermediary that stores and manages the correspondence between parking space identification information and position information. When the mobile terminal queries for empty parking spaces, the database returns both identification and position data, enabling the user to navigate to specific spaces without manually searching through the entire large parking lot.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #24Intermediary (Mediator)

3Device complexity

If only parking space identification is provided without position information, then the system remains simple, but the user cannot navigate to the target parking space

Engineering Contradiction:
Improvesystem complexityVSAvoidnavigation information
Core Design Contradiction:
Device complexityVSLoss of information

Solution Approach 1:

The patent merges two separate pieces of information - parking space identification information and position information - into a single display output on the mobile terminal. The database stores these information types separately but retrieves and transmits them together, allowing the user to see both the identification (for verification) and the position (for navigation) simultaneously without increasing system complexity.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #5Merging (Combining)

Data Source

PatentEP3480561B1Navigation method, device, and system
Publication Date: 2024.04.17 HANGZHOU HIKVISION DIGITAL TECHNOLOGY CO LTD
  • EP3480561B1 patent drawingFigure 1
  • EP3480561B1 patent drawingFigure 2
  • EP3480561B1 patent drawingFigure 3

AI summary

The embodiments of the present application provide a navigation method, device and system. The method is applied to a server. The method includes: receiving current position feature information sent by a mobile terminal, determining a position of an area matching the current position feature information based on the current position feature information and a database stored in the server, and taking the position as an initial position; determining a position of one empty area of the areas as a target position based on position information corresponding to respective areas and correspondence relationship between identification information of the respective areas and the respective feature information currently stored in the database; and determining a first route from the initial position to the target position and displaying the first route on an electronic map of the mobile terminal. In embodiments of the present application, it is possible to provide the user with accurate navigation information and make him quickly find an empty parking space in a large parking lot.