Systems and methods for weather-related vehicle damage prevention

• US 10,354,455 B1
• Filed: 04/20/2016
• Issued: 07/16/2019
• Est. Priority Date: 09/04/2015
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: State Farm Mutual Automobile Insurance Company (State Farm)
• Original Assignee: State Farm Mutual Automobile Insurance Company (State Farm)
• Inventors: Chan, Aaron, Mullen, Christina P., Grant, Rosemarie, Nepomuceno, John, Garretson, Cynthia L.
• Primary Examiner(s): Chang, Edward
• Application Number:
  US15/133,940
• Time in Patent Office: 1,182 Days
• Field of Search: 705 4
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/02 Reservations, e.g. for tickets, services or events
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 40/08 Insurance
• CPC Class Codes: G07B 15/02 taking into account a variable factor such as distance or time, e.g. for passenger transport, parking systems or car rental systems G07B15/06 takes precedence; taximeters G07B13/00; parking meters per se G07F17/24; car rental systems per se G07B15/00
• CPC Class Codes: G07B 15/04 comprising devices to free a barrier, turnstile, or the like turnstiles with registering means G07C9/10; coin-freed aspects G07F17/00
• CPC Class Codes: G08G 1/143 inside the vehicles
• CPC Class Codes: G08G 1/146 where the parking area is a limited parking space, e.g. parking garage, restricted space
• CPC Class Codes: G08G 1/148 Management of a network of parking areas
• CPC Class Codes: G08G 1/149 coupled to means for restricting the access to the parking space, e.g. authorization, access barriers, indicative lights
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/80 Services using short range communication, e.g. near-field communication [NFC], radio-frequency identification [RFID] or low energy communication

Abstract

A computer-implemented method for providing covered parking to vehicles is provided. The method may include transmitting a location identifier of a covered parking location and a communication address of a covered parking location (CPL) computing device to a vehicle computing device and/or an insurance computing device. The method may further include transmitting a signal to the vehicle computing device indicating a number of available parking spots of the covered parking location when the vehicle computing device contacts the CPL computing device, receiving a request from the vehicle computing device to reserve a parking spot of the covered parking location, determining whether to accept the request, and transmitting a response to the vehicle computing device. Accepting the request causes the CPL computing device to permit a vehicle associated with the vehicle computing device access to the covered parking location.

Claims

1. A computer-implemented method for providing covered parking to vehicles using a covered parking location (CPL) computing device associated with a covered parking location, the method comprising:

transmitting, from the CPL computing device, a registration request to an insurance computing device, the registration request requesting that the insurance computing device register the covered parking location with the insurance computing device as a possible available protected location for parking a vehicle during inclement weather;

receiving, by the CPL computing device, a location request requesting a location identifier associated with the covered parking location;

transmitting, in response to receiving the location request, the location identifier of the covered parking location and a communication address of the CPL computing device to at least one of a vehicle computing device associated with the vehicle and the insurance computing device;

transmitting a signal to the vehicle computing device indicating a number of available parking spots of the covered parking location when the vehicle computing device contacts the CPL computing device;

receiving a request from the vehicle computing device to reserve a parking spot of the covered parking location, wherein the request includes a vehicle user profile associated with the vehicle;

determining whether to accept the request based on the vehicle user profile, wherein accepting the request causes the CPL computing device to permit the vehicle associated with the vehicle computing device access to the covered parking location;

transmitting a response to at least one of the vehicle computing device and the insurance computing device, the response including an access code to the covered parking location; and

processing a payment transaction for the parking spot using payment information associated with a user of the vehicle.

2. The computer-implemented method of claim 1, wherein transmitting the location identifier of the covered parking location and the communication address of the CPL computing device to at least one of the vehicle computing device and the insurance computing device further includes:

detecting vehicle computing devices within a predefined distance from the covered parking location; and

transmitting the location identifier to each vehicle computing device within the predefined distance.

3. The computer-implemented method of claim 1, wherein the communication address is configured to enable the vehicle computing device to contact the CPL computing device.

4. The computer-implemented method of claim 1 further comprising:

communicating with an access terminal of the covered parking location, the access terminal being configured to control a barricade of the covered parking location to selectively permit access to the covered parking location.

5. The computer-implemented method of claim 4 further comprising transmitting an access code to the access terminal and the vehicle computing device, wherein the vehicle computing device presents the access code to the access terminal to cause the access terminal to control the barricade.

6. The computer-implemented method of claim 4 further comprising transmitting a signal to the access terminal to cause the access terminal to control the barricade and permit the vehicle access to the covered parking location.

7. The computer-implemented method of claim 4 further comprising receiving a notification from the access terminal that the vehicle associated with the vehicle computing device has entered or exited the covered parking location.

8. The computer-implemented method of claim 1 further comprising:

transmitting the registration request to the insurance computing device, the registration request including an insurance policy identifier associated with the covered parking location, wherein the insurance computing device is configured to generate a usage profile for a policyholder of the covered parking location; and

receiving, from the insurance computing device, a notification that an insurance-related benefit is applied to an insurance policy associated with the insurance policy identifier based upon the usage profile.

9. The computer-implemented method of claim 1, wherein the request to reserve a parking spot of the covered parking location further includes payment information.

10. The computer-implemented method of claim 1 further comprising selectively restricting, with the CPL computing device, access to at least a portion the covered parking location and any infrastructure associated with the covered parking location by at least one of activating a security system and locking at least one door of the covered parking location or the infrastructure.

11. A computer-implemented method for providing insurance-related benefits for providing covered parking to a vehicle, the method comprising:

receiving, by an insurance computing device, a registration request from a vehicle computing device associated with a vehicle and a covered parking location (CPL) computing device associated with a covered parking location;

registering, by the insurance computing device, the vehicle computing device and the CPL computing device, wherein registering the vehicle computing device includes identifying the vehicle and an insurance policy associated with the vehicle, and wherein registering the CPL computing device includes identifying the covered parking location and an insurance policy associated with the covered parking location;

generating a usage profile associated with the vehicle and a usage profile associated with the covered parking location;

transmitting by the insurance computing device, a location request to the CPL computing device, the location request requesting a location identifier associated with the covered parking location;

receiving, by the insurance computing device, in response to transmitting the location request, the location identifier of the covered parking location and a communication address of the CPL computing device;

receiving, by the insurance computing device, a notification message indicating that access to the covered parking location was permitted to the vehicle;

updating, by the insurance computing device based on the notification message, the usage profile associated with the vehicle and the usage profile associated with the covered parking location; and

determining, by the insurance computing device, if (i) the insurance policy associated with the vehicle is eligible for an insurance-related benefit based upon the usage profile associated with the vehicle, and (ii) the insurance policy associated with the covered parking location is eligible for the insurance-related benefit based upon the usage profile associated with the covered parking location.

12. The computer-implemented method of claim 11 further comprising applying eligible insurance-related benefits to the insurance policy associated with the vehicle and the insurance policy associated with the covered parking location.

13. The computer-implemented method of claim 11 further comprising:

receiving weather data of at least one region;

determining from the weather data that a region including the vehicle will experience inclement weather, and

identifying that at least one of the vehicle and the covered parking location is affected by the inclement weather.

14. The computer-implemented method of claim 11, wherein the registration request from the CPL computing device includes the location identifier of the covered parking location and the communication address of the CPL computing device.

15. The computer-implemented method of claim 14 further comprising transmitting at least one of the location identifier and the communication address to the vehicle computing device.

16. The computer-implemented method of claim 14, wherein the registration request from the vehicle computing device includes a vehicle user profile.

17. The computer-implemented method of claim 16, wherein monitoring the vehicle computing device and the CPL computing device for one or more requests to reserve an available parking spot of the covered parking location further includes transmitting the vehicle user profile to the CPL computing device when the CPL computing device receives the one or more requests to reserve the available parking spot of the covered parking location.

18. The computer-implemented method of claim 11, wherein the usage profile associated with the vehicle indicates a frequency of the vehicle computing device requesting to park at covered parking locations during inclement weather.

19. The computer-implemented method of claim 11, wherein the usage profile associated with the vehicle further indicates a frequency of the vehicle being parked in covered parking locations when a one or more requests to reserve a parking spot is approved.

20. The computer-implemented method of claim 11 wherein the usage profile associated with the covered parking location indicates a frequency in which the CPL computing device associated with the covered parking location receives one or more requests to park at the covered parking location during inclement weather.

21. The computer-implemented method of claim 17, wherein the usage profile associated with the covered parking location further indicates a frequency in which the CPL computing device associated with the covered parking location approves one or more requests to park at the covered parking location.