Methods and apparatus for using wide area networks to support parking systems

Abstract

A customer premises parking system including one or more cameras and wireless communications transmission capability is described. The presence of a vehicle with a license plate at an entrance or exit of a parking area is detected and one or more high resolution images are captured and time stamped. A license plate portion of the HD image is captured and stored. The license plate number and corresponding time is determined and communicated using a wide area wireless network. The HD license plate portion of the image is processed to produce a low resolution version of the license plate image which is segmented and processed into fragments which are transmitted via the wide area network using available transmission opportunities. A high resolution version of the license plate portion is stored at the premises where the parking facilitate is located and can be retrieved via a cellular wireless interface in the event of a dispute or discrepancy with regard to the detected and reported license plate number. From the time stamps associated with entrance and exit images of license plates the amount of time and/or date at which a vehicle was present at the parking garage is determined and the vehicle owner billed for the use of the parking facility.