Systems and methods for monitoring and actuating a vehicle gate

Abstract

Systems and methods for monitoring and actuating a vehicle gate are provided by certain embodiments of the invention. Data associated with a vehicle at the gate is collected and at least of the portion of the collected data is analyzed to identify one or more exceptions. A determination is made as to whether at least one exception is identified in the collected data, and the gate is actuated based at least in part on the determination.

1 . A gate monitoring and actuating system, comprising:
 a gate actuator operable to open a gate;   a communicator operable to collect data associated with a vehicle at the gate; and   a processing station operable (i) to receive the collected data from the communicator, (ii) to analyze at least a portion of the collected data to identify one or more exceptions, (iii) to determine whether at least one exception is identified, and (iv) to communicate a signal to the gate actuator based at least in part on the determination.   
     
     
         2 . The system of  claim 1 , wherein the communicator comprises one or more of a scanner, a camera, a keypad, or a touch screen. 
     
     
         3 . The system of  claim 1 , wherein:
 the data associated with the vehicle comprises data associated with a driver's license of a driver of the vehicle.   
     
     
         4 . The system of  claim 3 , wherein:
 the data associated with the driver's license is collected by scanning a barcode of the driver's license with a barcode scanner associated with the communicator or by receiving RFID information associated with the driver or the vehicle.   
     
     
         5 . The system of  claim 1 , wherein:
 the data associated with the vehicle comprises data associated with a bill of lading for the vehicle.   
     
     
         6 . The system of  claim 1 , wherein the processing station is further operable to identify one or more exceptions by comparing at least a portion of the collected data to one or more expected values. 
     
     
         7 . The system of  claim 1 , wherein the communicator is further operable to communicate the collected data to the processing station. 
     
     
         8 . The system of  claim 7 , wherein the communicator is operable to communicate the collected data to the processing station in real time or near real time as the data is collected. 
     
     
         9 . The system of  claim 1 , wherein the signal communicated to the gate actuator includes an instruction to open the gate. 
     
     
         10 . A method for monitoring and actuating a vehicle gate, the method comprising:
 electronically collecting data associated with a vehicle at the vehicle gate;   analyzing at least a portion of the collected data to identify one or more exceptions;   determining whether at least one exception is identified in the collected data; and   opening the vehicle gate based at least in part on the determination of whether at least one exception is identified.   
     
     
         11 . The method of  claim 10 , wherein electronically collecting data associated with the vehicle comprises collecting data utilizing one or more of a barcode scanner, a RFID reader, a camera, a keypad, a wireless communications device, or a touch screen. 
     
     
         12 . The method of  claim 10 , wherein electronically collecting data associated with the vehicle comprises collecting one or more of data associated with a driver's license of a driver of the vehicle or data associated with a bill of lading for with the vehicle. 
     
     
         13 . The method of  claim 10 , wherein electronically collecting data associated with the vehicle comprises scanning a barcode of a driver's license of a driver of the vehicle or receiving RFID information associated with the driver or the vehicle. 
     
     
         14 . The method of  claim 10 , wherein electronically collecting data associated with a vehicle comprises collecting data at the vehicle utilizing a data collection device, and wherein the data collection device is further operable to communicate the collected data to a processing center. 
     
     
         15 . The method of  claim 14 , wherein the data collection device is operable to communicate the collected data to a processing center real time or near real time. 
     
     
         16 . The method of  claim 10 , wherein analyzing at least a portion of the collected data to identify one or more exceptions comprises comparing at least a portion of the collected data to one or more expected values. 
     
     
         17 . A vehicle gate monitoring and actuating system, comprising:
 one or more data collection devices operable to collect data associated with a vehicle at a vehicle gate; and   a processor operable to identify one or more exceptions by analyzing at least a portion of the collected data, to determine whether at least one exception is identified, and to control the actuation of the gate based at least in part on the determination.   
     
     
         18 . The system of  claim 17 , wherein the one or more data collection devices are operable to communicate the collected data to the processor in real time or near real time as the data is collected. 
     
     
         19 . The system of  claim 17 , wherein the collected data associated with the vehicle comprises at least one of data associated with a driver's license of a driver of the vehicle or data associated with a bill of lading for the vehicle. 
     
     
         20 . The system of  claim 17 , wherein the processor is operable to identify one or more exceptions by comparing at least a portion of the collected data to one or more expected data values.