Patents by Inventor William D. Rau

William D. Rau has filed for patents to protect the following inventions. This listing includes patent applications that are pending as well as patents that have already been granted by the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO).

  • Automated license plate recognition system for use in law enforcement vehicles
    Patent number: 6982654
    Abstract: The present invention is directed to a law enforcement vehicle 100 having a camera 210 mounted to a portion of the vehicle 100. Camera 210 is configured to identify a license plate 260 on a vehicle that is viewed, and provides an output signal 214 indicative of the identified license plate 160 to a processor 220 carried on the vehicle 100. Processor 220 is configured to receive the signal 214 from camera 210, and compares the received signal 214 with a list of stolen vehicle license plates contained in a database 232. The processor 220 also accesses a storage device 230 containing database 232 of stolen vehicle license plates. The processor 220 is further configured to provide an output signal 228 to an output device 240. Output device 240 is configured to provide an output that is detectable by the law enforcement officer, indicating to the law enforcement officer that there is a match. In another embodiment the system is configured to detect a license plate while the law enforcement vehicle is in motion.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 14, 2003
    Date of Patent: January 3, 2006
    Inventors: William D. Rau, Nathan M. Rau
  • Automated license plate recognition system for use in law enforcement vehicles
    Publication number: 20040104813
    Abstract: The present invention is directed to a law enforcement vehicle 100 having a camera 210 mounted to a portion of the vehicle 100. Camera 210 is configured to identify a license plate 260 on a vehicle that is viewed, and provides an output signal 214 indicative of the identified license plate 160 to a processor 220 carried on the vehicle 100. Processor 220 is configured to receive the signal 214 from camera 210, and compares the received signal 214 with a list of stolen vehicle license plates contained in a database 232. The processor 220 also accesses a storage device 230 containing database 232 of stolen vehicle license plates. The processor 220 is further configured to provide an output signal 228 to an output device 240. Output device 240 is configured to provide an output that is detectable by the law enforcement officer, indicating to the law enforcement officer that there is a match. In another embodiment the system is configured to detect a license plate while the law enforcement vehicle is in motion.
    Type: Application
    Filed: November 14, 2003
    Publication date: June 3, 2004
    Inventors: William D. Rau, Nathan M. Rau