1. A system of directing parking in a parking lot, comprising:
means for electronically detecting the presence andor absence of a vehicle in a respective parking space in a parking lot having a plurality of parking spaces to monitor for the availability of parking spaces;
means for identifying the space location of parking spaces that are available for use based on the detecting;
means for automatically updating and providing the location of the identified available spaces to at least one output device accessible by a prospective parking lot customer in substantially real-time; and
means for electronically correlating a particular user to a particular parking location using a virtually reserved parking space identified based on a statistical probability of a parking space availability at a desired parking time.
2. A parking system according to claim 1, wherein the means for correlating comprises at least one reader in communication with a processor configured to automatically electronically obtain data in situ from a parking pass mounted to a respective vehicle as a user parks in a space that identifies a user in a respective parking space for each non-assigned parking space available to the general public, and wherein the system is configured to use the user identifier data to correlate the parking space location with a specific user in that parking space.
3. A parking system according to claim 1, wherein the means for detecting comprises at least one detector that is mounted to a floor of the parking space.
4. A parking system according to claim 1, wherein the means for detecting comprises at least one detector that is attached to an upstanding rail that is positioned to extend across a forward portion of a respective parking space.
5. A parking system according to claim 1, wherein the means for correlating comprises an electronic reader is configured to electronically automatically obtain data associated with a user andor vehicle in a respective parking space without any manual input action by a user in the parking space, the data corresponding to at least one of a user’s name, driver’s license number andor license plate number.
6. A parking system according to claim 1, wherein the means for detecting comprises at least one object detector configured to identify when an object occupies a respective parking space andor when the respective parking space is unoccupied;
wherein the means for identifying comprises at least one processor in communication with the at least one object detector, the at least one processor being configured to automatically identify the location of individual parking spaces that are available andor the parking spaces that are unavailable to a parking lot patron or potential user based on data obtained from the at least one object detector; and
wherein the means for identifying and the means for updating and providing include at least one processor in communication with an exterior display sign output device that graphically displays a map illustrating a cluster of available spaces in graphic format of parking spaces in the parking lot and visually contrasts the available spaces from the spaces that are unavailable, wherein the processor is configured to generate a textual summary of locations of isolated available spaces to prospective users, and wherein the processor is configured to communicate with a plurality of individual wireless devices with displays to provide parking patrons and potential patrons the map of the cluster of available and unavailable spaces and the textual summary of locations of isolated spaces that is updated in substantially real time.
7. A parking system according to claim 1, wherein the system identifies the locations of the available spaces in substantially real-time, wherein the system is configured to allocate a first available parking space to a first vehicle at a first time entry into the parking lot, then allocate a second different parking space to a second vehicle at a subsequent second time, and update the map and textual summary to exclude the allocated spaces even when the first or second vehicle has not yet parked in the respective allocated space.
8. A parking system according to claim 1, wherein the means for identifying and the means for updating and providing comprise at least one processor that is configured to relay the location of available andor unavailable parking spaces to prospective users over a computer network, wherein the system is configured to generate auditory navigational instructions to a parking lot patron via an associated wireless device to guide the respective patrons to an open space or a cluster of open spaces.
9. A parking system according to claim 8, wherein the computer network is a global computer network.
10. A parking system according to claim 1, wherein the means for updating and providing comprises at least one processor that is configured to communicate with a plurality of wireless devices to transmit text messages electronically notifying respective parking lot patrons of available spaces.
11. A parking system according to claim 6, wherein the display sign is sized and configured to reside proximate the parking lot for viewing by drivers approaching andor in the parking lot.
12. A parking system according to claim 6, wherein the processor is configured to graphically display the map of parking spaces in the parking lot and visually contrast the available spaces from the spaces that are unavailable on the displayed map on the exterior display and the wireless communication device displays, said system further configured to relay the visually contrasted map of available spaces to a web page.
13. A parking system according to claim 1, wherein the means for updating and providing comprises at least one processor configured to generate navigation instructions that can be output as auditory instructions transmitted to a user via a wireless device of the user to guide a user in the parking lot to an available space.
14. A parking system according to claim 1, wherein the means for identifying is configured to assign andor automatically allocate a first parking space to a first vehicle on a first time entry into the parking lot, then assign andor allocate a second parking space to a second vehicle that enters the parking lot thereafter.
15. A parking system according to claim 1, wherein the means for identifying andor means for correlating comprises at least one processor configured to virtually reserve parking spaces using a web page accessible via the Internet based on pre-orders to users that specify a date and time a parking lot space is desired, then identify to the users the parking spaces so reserved.
16. A parking system according to claim 1, wherein the means for correlating comprises a reader configured to electronically automatically obtain user identifier data from a parking pass to electronically identify a user’s parking location to that user after a user has parked to thereby allow a user to find his or her car if that user subsequently forgets where his or her parking space is located.
17. A parking system according to claim 16, wherein the means for correlating comprises at least one processor that is configured to generate a unique identifier associated with a parking pass, and wherein the reader is configured to electronically read the parking pass that is assigned to a particular user after the respective user enters or parks in a parking space without requiring physical action on the part of the user in the parking space to initiate the reading.
18. A system according to claim 17, wherein the reader is configured to automatically read the parking pass from at least one predefined position on the vehicle when the user is in a parking space to provide user-specific data, and wherein the system is configured to automatically correlate a specific user to the location of the parking space based on the user-specific data and the location of the parking space where the specific user has parked.
19. A system according to claim 1, wherein the means for correlating is configured with anti-theft control means that employs user-specific data to confirm that a vehicle exiting or leaving the parking lot has an authorized driver.
20. A system according to claim 1, wherein the means for correlating is configured with anti-theft control means that employs user-specific data to confirm that a vehicle has a proper license plate before the vehicle is allowed to exit the parking lot.
The claims below are in addition to those above.
All refrences to claim(s) which appear below refer to the numbering after this setence.
1. An illuminating lens for spreading light emitted from a light source so that a surface to be irradiated is irradiated with the spread light, the lens comprising:
a light entrance surface through which the light emitted from the light source enters the lens;
a light exit surface through which the light that has entered the lens exits the lens; and
an annular bottom surface configured to surround the light entrance surface and to face oppositely to the light exit surface,
wherein the light exit surface has a first light exit surface and a second light exit surface, the first light exit surface being recessed toward a point on an optical axis of the illuminating lens, and the second light exit surface extending outwardly from a periphery of the first light exit surface to form a convex surface,
the first light exit surface has a transmissive region located in the center of the first light exit surface and a total reflection region located around the transmissive region, the transmissive region being capable of transmitting light that has been emitted from a starting point at a relatively small angle with respect to the optical axis and then directly reached the first light exit surface, when a position of the light source on the optical axis is defined as the starting point, and the total reflection region being capable of totally reflecting light that has been emitted from the starting point at a relatively large angle with respect to the optical axis and then reached the first light exit surface,
the second light exit surface faces toward the surface to be irradiated,
the second light exit surface has a shape capable of transmitting approximately the entire amount of light that has been emitted from the starting point and then directly reached the second light exit surface, and of totally reflecting approximately the entire amount of the light that has been totally reflected at the total reflection region and then reached the second light exit surface, and
the annular bottom surface is provided with a projecting portion or a recessed portion for reflecting light that has been emitted from the light source, totally reflected repeatedly at the light exit surface, and then reached the annular bottom surface, the projecting portion or the recessed portion having a pair of side surfaces that meet each other to form a ridge.
2. The illuminating lens according to claim 1, wherein the light exit surface is axisymmetric with respect to the optical axis.
3. The illuminating lens according to claim 1, wherein the projecting portion or the recessed portion has a ring shape with the optical axis being the center of the ring shape, and satisfies the following inequalities (1) to (3):
0.1<RinR<0.75\u2003\u2003(1)
0.75<RoutR\u2003\u2003(2)
0.62<(Rout+RT)2R<0.95\u2003\u2003(3)
where Rin is an internal radius of the projecting portion or the recessed portion, Rout is an outer radius of the projecting portion or the recessed portion, RT is a distance between the optical axis and the ridge formed by the pair of side surfaces of the projecting portion or the recessed portion that meet each other, and R is an outermost radius of the illuminating lens.
4. The illuminating lens according to claim 3, wherein
the annular bottom surface is flat, and the projecting portion is formed on the annular bottom surface, and
the projecting portion satisfies the following inequality (4):
5.0 degrees<tan\u22121(h(Rout\u2212RT))<50.0 degrees\u2003\u2003(4)
where h is a height from the annular bottom surface to the ridge formed by the pair of side surface of the projecting portion that meet each other.
5. The illuminating lens according to claim 3, wherein
the annular bottom surface is flat, and the recessed portion is formed on the annular bottom surface, and
the recessed portion satisfies the following inequality (5):
15.0 degrees<tan\u22121(h(Rout\u2212RT))<30.0 degrees\u2003\u2003(5)
where h is a depth from the annular bottom surface to the ridge formed by the pair of side surface of the recessed portion that meet each other.
6. The illuminating lens according to claim 1, wherein the pair of side surface are both tapered surfaces.
7. The illuminating lens according to claim 1, wherein the entire second light exit surface transmits the light that has been emitted from the starting point.
8. The illuminating lens according to claim 1, wherein the second light exit surface totally reflects a part of the light that has been emitted from the starting point and then directly reached the second light exit surface, and transmits the remaining part of the light.
9. A lighting device comprising:
a light emitting diode for emitting light; and
an illuminating lens for spreading light emitted from the light emitting diode so that a surface to be irradiated is irradiated with the spread light,
wherein the illuminating lens is the illuminating lens according to claim 1.
10. A surface light source comprising:
a plurality of lighting devices arranged in a plane; and
a diffusing plate disposed to cover the plurality of lighting devices, the diffusing plate being configured to receive on one surface thereof light emitted from the plurality of lighting devices and to emit the light from the other surface thereof in a diffused manner,
wherein each of the plurality of lighting devices is the lighting device according to claim 9.
11. The surface light source according to claim 10, further comprising:
a substrate on which the light emitting diode included in each of the plurality of lighting devices is mounted, the substrate facing the diffusing plate with the plurality of lighting devices being disposed therebetween; and
a reflecting plate disposed on the substrate to cover the substrate with the light emitting diodes being exposed.
12. A liquid-crystal display apparatus comprising:
a liquid-crystal panel; and
the surface light source according to claim 10 disposed behind the liquid-crystal panel.
13. The illuminating lens according to claim 1, wherein:
the light entrance surface having a recess formed toward the light exit surface at the optical axis of the illuminating lens; and
the light source is configured to be disposed into the recess of the light entrance surface.
14. The lighting device according to claim 9, wherein an air space is provided between the light emitting diode and the light entrance surface such that the light emitting diode does not directly contact the light entrance surface.
15. The illuminating lens according to claim 1, wherein:
at least a portion of the second light exit surface is disposed between the light entrance surface and the surface to be irradiated, and is disposed opposite to the light entrance surface.
16. The illuminating lens according to claim 1, wherein:
the first light exit surface has a discontinuity between the first light exit surface and the second light exit surface.