Night detection of side-by-side parked vehicles
View Patent ↗To detect side-by-side parked vehicles at night, the present invention discloses a night-detection device and method. The night-detection device comprises a moving-vehicle sensor and a parked-vehicle sensor. It uses the light beam from a passing-by vehicle to extract at least a reflection of at least a head-light or at least a portion of a front bumper.
1. A night-detection device for side-by-side parked vehicles, comprising:
a parked-vehicle sensor for determining whether a parking space in a parking area is occupied; and
a moving-vehicle sensor for sensing a moving vehicle within a pre-determined range of said parking area;
wherein said parked-vehicle sensor extracts at least a reflection of at least a head-light or at least a portion of a front bumper when said moving-vehicle sensor detects said moving vehicle.
2. The device according to claim 1 , wherein said moving-vehicle sensor is an audio sensor, an optical sensor, or an electromagnetic sensor.
3. The system according to claim 1 , wherein said moving-vehicle sensor is located at the same location as said parked-vehicle sensor.
4. The device according to claim 1 , wherein said moving-vehicle sensor is located at a different location from said parked-vehicle sensor.
5. The device according to claim 4 , wherein said moving-vehicle sensor communicates with said parked-vehicle sensor using a wireless means.
6. The device according to claim 1 , wherein said parked-vehicle sensor comprises an optical detector, a processor and a memory.
7. The device according to claim 6 , wherein said optical detector comprises at least a camera.
8. The device according to claim 7 , wherein said camera operates more frequently at night than during the day.
9. The device according to claim 6 , wherein said memory stores a parked vehicle detection algorithm.
10. The device according to claim 6 , wherein said memory stores a passing-by vehicle detection algorithm.
11. A night-detection method for side-by-side parked vehicles, comprising the steps of:
A) sensing a moving vehicle within a pre-determined range of a parking area by a moving-vehicle sensor;
B) extracting at least a reflection of at least a head-light or a front bumper by a parked-vehicle sensor when said moving-vehicle sensor detects said moving vehicle;
C) processing said reflection to determine whether a parking space in said parking area is occupied.
12. The method according to claim 11 , wherein said step of processing said reflection is performed when said moving vehicle is within said pre-determined range.
13. The method according to claim 11 , wherein said step of processing said reflection is performed after said moving vehicle is out of said pre-determined range.
14. The method according to claim 11 , wherein said step of processing said reflection includes the step of processing at least a region of interest (ROI) for each parking space.
15. The method according to claim 11 , wherein said parked-vehicle sensor comprises a camera.
16. The method according to claim 15 , wherein said camera operates more frequently at night than during the day.
17. The method according to claim 11 , wherein said parked-vehicle sensor comprises a memory for storing a parked vehicle detection algorithm.
18. The method according to claim 11 , wherein said moving-vehicle sensor is located in a same location as said parked-vehicle sensor.
19. The method according to claim 11 , wherein said moving-vehicle sensor is located in a different location from said parked-vehicle sensor.
20. The method according to claim 19 , wherein said moving-vehicle sensor communicates with said parked-vehicle sensor using a wireless means.