Method for locating vehicle and electronic device employing the method

• US 10,692,383 B1
• Filed: 06/05/2019
• Issued: 06/23/2020
• Est. Priority Date: 06/05/2019
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Nanning Fugui Precision Industrial Co., Ltd.
• Original Assignee: Nanning Fugui Precision Industrial Co., Ltd.
• Inventors: Wang, Hon-Da
• Primary Examiner(s): Girma, Fekadeselassie
• Application Number:
  US16/432,166
• Time in Patent Office: 384 Days
• Field of Search: None
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 13/765 with exchange of information between interrogator and responder
• CPC Class Codes: G08G 1/005 including pedestrian guidance indicator
• CPC Class Codes: G08G 1/20 Monitoring the location of vehicles belonging to a group, e.g. fleet of vehicles, countable or determined number of vehicles
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/02 Services making use of location information
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/46 for vehicle-to-vehicle communication [V2V]
• 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 method for locating a vehicle left parked in a parking lot can be applied by an electronic device in the hands of the driver. The method generates a first data package based on the vehicle and the same is broadcast to other vehicles in the parking lot as a parking space is being found. A second data package is generated when the driver takes his electronic device away from the parked vehicle and sent to the other vehicles within a preset range. Upon the driver'"'"'s return, the parked vehicle can generate a navigation path to itself. The navigation path sent by the parked vehicle is received by the electronic device, and the electronic device can prompt a driver to locate his/her own parked vehicle according to information of the navigation path.

Claims

1. An electronic device communicating with a target vehicle and a plurality of other vehicles, the electronic device comprising:

a storage device;

at least one processor; and

the storage device storing one or more programs that, when executed by the at least one processor, cause the at least one processor to;

generate a first data package containing information of the target vehicle;

broadcast the first data package to the other vehicles, the first data package being configured to be received and stored by the other vehicles;

generate a second data package when the electronic device is separated from the target vehicle;

send the second data package to the other vehicles within a preset range;

locate the target vehicle according to the first data package and the second data package through the other vehicles; and

receive predetermined information of a navigation path.

2. The electronic device according to claim 1, wherein the first data package comprising an identification of the target vehicle, an elevation of the target vehicle, a first time information, and a second time information, and the elevation is a vertical distance between a current location of the target vehicle and sea level, the first time information is a time when the target vehicle is being driven into a parking lot, and the electronic device sends the first data package to the other vehicles, and the second time information is set manually.

3. The electronic device according to claim 2, wherein the at least one processor is further caused to:

obtain an elevation corresponding to the current location of the electronic device;

determine whether the electronic device and the target vehicle are on the same floor of the parking lot by comparing the obtained elevation with an elevation of the target vehicle contained in the second data package;

wherein

the electronic device and the target vehicle are on the same floor when an absolute of a difference between the obtained elevation and the elevation of the target vehicle in the second data package is less than or equal to a predetermined elevation; and

the electronic device and the target vehicle are at different elevations when an absolute of a difference between the obtained elevation and the elevation of the target vehicle in the second data package is greater than the predetermined elevation.

4. The electronic device according to claim 2, wherein the at least one processor is further caused to:

send the second data package to the other vehicles within a preset range;

determine whether at least one candidate vehicle exists among the other vehicles;

confirm a path vehicle from the candidate vehicle when the at least one candidate vehicle exists among the other vehicles, wherein the path vehicle is the last one of the candidate vehicle which has received the first data package;

determine whether the path vehicle is the target vehicle;

receive the predetermined information of the navigation path when the path vehicle is the target vehicle, wherein the predetermined information comprising identifications and locations of the target vehicle and the path vehicle.

5. The electronic device according to claim 4, wherein the at least one processor is further caused to:

determine that at least one candidate vehicle exists among the other vehicles when the identification information of the second data package is the same as the identification information of the first data package; and

determine that no candidate vehicle exists among the other vehicles when the identification information of the second data package is different from the identification information of the first data package.

6. The electronic device according to claim 4, wherein the at least one processor is further caused to:

calculate a backpropagation (BP) value of the candidate vehicles based on the first time information and the second time information; and

select the vehicle with a smallest BP value from the candidate vehicles as the path vehicle.

7. The electronic device according to claim 6, wherein the at least one processor is further caused to:

receive identification information of the path vehicle;

determine that the path vehicle is the target vehicle when the identification information of the path vehicle is the same as the identification information of the target vehicle of the second data package; and

determine that the path vehicle is not the target vehicle when the identification information of the path vehicle is different from the identification information of the target vehicle of the second data package.

8. A vehicle locating method applied in an electronic device, the electronic device communicating with a target vehicle and a plurality of other vehicles, the method comprising:

generating a first data package containing information of a target vehicle;

broadcasting the first data package to other vehicles, the first data package being configured to be received and stored by the other vehicles;

generating a second data package when the electronic device is separated from the target vehicle;

sending the second data package to the other vehicles within a preset range;

locating the target vehicle according to the first data package and the second data package through the other vehicles; and

receiving predetermined information of a navigation path.

9. The method according to claim 8, wherein the first data package comprising an identification of the target vehicle, an elevation of the target vehicle, a first time information, and a second time information, and the elevation is a vertical distance between a current location of the target vehicle and sea level, the first time information is a time when the target vehicle is being driven into a parking lot, and the electronic device sends the first data package to the other vehicles, and the second time information is set manually.

10. The method according to claim 9, wherein the method further comprising:

obtaining an elevation corresponding to the current location of the electronic device;

determining whether the electronic device and the target vehicle are on the same floor of the parking lot by comparing the obtained elevation with an elevation of the target vehicle contained in the second data package;

wherein

the electronic device and the target vehicle are on the same floor when an absolute of a difference between the obtained elevation and the elevation of the target vehicle in the second data package is less than or equal to a predetermined elevation; and

the electronic device and the target vehicle are at different elevations when an absolute of a difference between the obtained elevation and the elevation of the target vehicle in the second data package is greater than the predetermined elevation.

11. The method according to claim 9, wherein the method further comprising:

sending the second data package to the other vehicles within a preset range;

determining whether at least one candidate vehicle exists among the other vehicles;

confirming a path vehicle from the candidate vehicle when the at least one candidate vehicle exists among the other vehicles, wherein the path vehicle is the last one of the candidate vehicle which has received the first data package;

determining whether the path vehicle is the target vehicle; and

receiving the predetermined information of the navigation path when the path vehicle is the target vehicle, wherein the predetermined information comprising identifications and locations of the target vehicle and the path vehicle.

12. The method according to claim 11, wherein the method further comprising:

sending the second data package and identification information of the path vehicle to the other vehicles within a second preset range when the path vehicle is not the target vehicle;

locating the target vehicle according to the second data package and the identification information of the path vehicle and the first data package.

13. The method according to claim 12, wherein the method further comprising:

determining that at least one candidate vehicle exists among the other vehicles when the identification information of the second data package is the same as the identification information of the first data package; and

determining that no candidate vehicle exists among the other vehicles when the identification information of the second data package is different from the identification information of the first data package.

14. The method according to claim 11, wherein the method further comprising:

calculating a backpropagation (BP) value of the candidate vehicles based on the first time information and the second time information; and

selecting the vehicle with a smallest BP value from the candidate vehicles as the path vehicle.

15. The method according to claim 14, wherein the method further comprising:

receiving identification information of the path vehicle;

determining that the path vehicle is the target vehicle when the identification information of the path vehicle is the same as the identification information of the target vehicle of the second data package; and

determining that the path vehicle is not the target vehicle when the identification information of the path vehicle is different from the identification information of the target vehicle of the second data package.

16. A non-transitory storage medium having stored thereon instructions that, when executed by a processor of an electronic device, causes the processor to perform a vehicle locating method, the electronic device communicating with a target vehicle and a plurality of other vehicles, the method comprising:

generating a first data package containing information of a target vehicle;

broadcasting the first data package to other vehicles, the first data package being configured to be received and stored by the other vehicles;

generating a second data package when the electronic device is separated from the target vehicle;

sending the second data package to the other vehicles within a preset range;

locating the target vehicle according to the first data package and the second data package through the other vehicles; and

receiving predetermined information of a navigation path.

17. The non-transitory storage medium according to claim 16, wherein the first data package comprising an identification of the target vehicle, an elevation of the target vehicle, a first time information, and a second time information, and the elevation is a vertical distance between a current location of the target vehicle and sea level, the first time information is a time when the target vehicle is being driven into a parking lot, and the electronic device sends the first data package to the other vehicles, and the second time information is set manually.

18. The non-transitory storage medium according to claim 17, wherein the method further comprising:

obtaining an elevation corresponding to the current location of the electronic device;

determining whether the electronic device and the target vehicle are on the same floor of the parking lot by comparing the obtained elevation with an elevation of the target vehicle contained in the second data package;

wherein

the electronic device and the target vehicle are on the same floor when an absolute of a difference between the obtained elevation and the elevation of the target vehicle in the second data package is less than or equal to a predetermined elevation; and

the electronic device and the target vehicle are at different elevations when an absolute of a difference between the obtained elevation and the elevation of the target vehicle in the second data package is greater than the predetermined elevation.

19. The non-transitory storage medium according to claim 17, wherein the method further comprising:

sending the second data package to the other vehicles within a preset range;

determining whether at least one candidate vehicle exists among the other vehicles;

confirming a path vehicle from the candidate vehicle when the at least one candidate vehicle exists among the other vehicles, wherein the path vehicle is the last one of the candidate vehicle which has received the first data package;

determining whether the path vehicle is the target vehicle; and

receiving the predetermined information of the navigation path when the path vehicle is the target vehicle, wherein the predetermined information comprising identifications and locations of the target vehicle and the path vehicle.

20. The non-transitory storage medium according to claim 19, wherein the method further comprising:

sending the second data package and identification information of the path vehicle to the other vehicles within a second preset range when the path vehicle is not the target vehicle; and

locating the target vehicle according to the second data package and the identification information of the path vehicle and the first data package.

21. The non-transitory storage medium according to claim 20, wherein the method further comprising:

determining that at least one candidate vehicle exists among the other vehicles when the identification information of the second data package is the same as the identification information of the first data package; and

determining that no candidate vehicle exists among the other vehicles when the identification information of the second data package is different from the identification information of the first data package.

22. The non-transitory storage medium according to claim 19, wherein the method further comprising:

calculating a backpropagation (BP) value of the candidate vehicles based on the first time information and the second time information; and

selecting the vehicle with a smallest BP value from the candidate vehicles as the path vehicle.

23. The non-transitory storage medium according to claim 21, wherein the method further comprising:

receiving identification information of the path vehicle;

determining that the path vehicle is the target vehicle when the identification information of the path vehicle is the same as the identification information of the target vehicle of the second data package; and

determining that the path vehicle is not the target vehicle when the identification information of the path vehicle is different from the identification information of the target vehicle of the second data package.