Automated Valet Parking Fee Timing for Fair Duration Charging
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional automated valet parking systems inaccurately charge parking fees based on the duration from vehicle entry to exit, which can be disadvantageous to users, especially in crowded conditions.
Innovation Solution
A parking charge device that calculates parking fees based on specific start and termination conditions, including reservation, arrival at designated areas, and user requests, to accurately determine the duration for charging.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of manufacture
If parking fee is charged based on duration from vehicle entry to exit, then the charging method is simple, but the parking fee becomes unfair and disadvantageous to users in crowded conditions
Solution Approach 1:
The patent segments the parking process into distinct phases: entry phase (from entry to parking completion), parking phase (from parking completion to exit request), and exit phase (from exit request to actual exit). The counting unit selectively counts only during the parking phase, excluding entry and exit waiting times. This segmentation resolves the contradiction by maintaining simple charging logic while improving fairness through precise phase-based measurement.
2Productivity
If parking fee is charged from vehicle entry to exit, then the charging process is straightforward, but waiting time is unfairly included in the chargeable duration
Solution Approach 1:
The system performs preliminary actions by detecting entry and exit requests and transitioning between defined phases before actual parking or exiting occurs. The counting unit is pre-configured to start counting only after parking completion and stop before actual exit, thereby preliminarily excluding unfair waiting periods from the chargeable duration while maintaining efficient automated processing.
3Measurement precision
If the system uses multiple start and termination conditions for counting, then the parking fee calculation becomes fair, but the system complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent implements a dynamic phase transition system where the counting unit's operation state changes based on detected conditions. The system dynamically transitions between non-counting phases (entry, exit) and counting phase (parking), with clear start and termination conditions for each phase. This dynamic approach achieves precise measurement while managing complexity through structured state transitions rather than continuous complex calculations.
Data Source
AI summary
A parking charge device, which charges a parking fee of a target vehicle in a parking lot with automated valet parking service, is configured to: start a count operation for charging purpose when a start condition is satisfied, terminate the count operation when a termination condition is satisfied; calculate a parking fee corresponding to a count value obtained by the count operation; and calculate a temporary parking fee based on the count value at a detection time of an exit request of the target vehicle. When the count operation is terminated within a preset duration, the temporary parking fee is adopted as the parking fee corresponding to the count value.