SYSTEM AND METHOD FOR NOTIFICATION OF PARKING-RELATED INFORMATION

• US 20110148662A1
• Filed: 12/07/2010
• Published: 06/23/2011
• Est. Priority Date: 12/18/2009
• Status: Abandoned Application

• Current Assignee: Daniel Lowenthal
• Original Assignee: Daniel Lowenthal
• Inventors: Lowenthal, Daniel
• Application Number:
  US12/961,825
• Publication Number:
  US 20110148662A1
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 340/932.2
• 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: G08G 1/127 to a central station ; Indicators in a central station

Abstract

Devices, systems and methods for notifying vehicle owners of parking-related conditions are described. Particularly, devices, systems, and methods for identifying and presenting at the appropriate time relevant parking information to an owner are disclosed. Present embodiments can accomplish this presentation using a common handheld device, providing an easy and accessible means for identifying relevant parking information.

Claims

1. A non-transitory computer-readable medium comprising instructions configured to cause a computer to perform the following operations:

recording a vehicle position based on at least a hybrid positioning system;

selecting a plurality of conditions based on regulations and historical information associated with receipt of a parking ticket, the information retrieved from a database on a remote server;

monitoring the plurality of conditions with reference to the vehicle position and to a database of ordinances;

determining the satisfaction of one or more of the plurality of conditions;

determining a time to notify a user of satisfaction of at least one of the conditions; and

notifying the user of the satisfaction of at least one of the conditions via at least one of visual or auditory indicia at the determined time.

3. The system of claim 1, wherein the positioning module comprises part of a beacon.

4. The system of claim 3, wherein the beacon is located in a vehicle.

5. The system of claim 4, wherein the beacon is powered by the vehicle'"'"'s battery.

6. The system of claim 1, wherein the positioning module and handheld notification module comprise parts of a handheld device.

7. The system of claim 1, wherein the position coordinates are derived from at least one of a GPS system, an encoder in the vehicle, and a manual input by a user.

8. The system of claim 1, wherein the database is located on the same device as at least one of the handheld notification module and the positioning module.

9. The system of claim 1, wherein the database is located on a remote server.

10. The system of claim 9, wherein the handheld module communicates with the database via a wireless protocol to determine a condition'"'"'s satisfaction.

11. The system of claim 1, wherein position coordinates determined from the positioning module are used to notify the handheld module of a condition'"'"'s satisfaction.

12. The system of claim 1, wherein said parking information comprises the frequency of crime within a range of the position coordinates.

13. The system of claim 1, wherein the condition comprises the time remaining on at least one of a parking permit or a parking meter.

14. The system of claim 1, wherein the handheld module is configured to receive the amount of money provided to a parking meter, and the condition comprises the time remaining until expiration based on the amount.

15. The system of claim 1, wherein the positioning module is located within the handheld notification module.

16. The system of claim 15, wherein the notification module receives a user notification of the parking location.

17. The system of claim 1, wherein the handheld module comprises part of a cellular phone.

2. A computer-implemented system for parking notification executed on at least one processor, the system comprising:

a positioning module configured to determine position coordinates;

a handheld notification module configured to alert the user upon satisfaction of at least one condition;

wherein at least one of said positioning module and said handheld notification module is configured to receive parking information from a database.

18. A computer-implemented system for parking notification executed on at least one processor, the system comprising:

means for determining a position comprising position coordinates;

means for handheld notification configured to alert a user upon satisfaction of at least one condition, said handheld notification means comprising a visual display depicting a map of the vehicle'"'"'s present location and one or more relevant ordinances;

wherein at least one of said determining a position means and said handheld notification means is configured to receive parking information from a database relevant to said position coordinates.

19. The computer-implemented system of claim 18, wherein the determining a position means comprises a positioning module and the handheld notification means comprises a handheld notification module.

20. A non-transitory computer-readable medium comprising instructions configured to cause a computer to perform the following operations:

recording a vehicle position;

selecting a plurality of conditions;

monitoring the plurality of conditions via a handheld device with reference to the positioning module and to a database of ordinances;

notifying a user of the handheld device upon satisfaction of one or more of the plurality of conditions, via at least one of visual or auditory indicia.

21. The computer-readable medium of claim 20, wherein the plurality of conditions of interest are selected via the handheld device.

22. The computer-readable medium of claim 20, wherein recording the vehicle position comprises generating a timestamp, said timestamp subsequently used in the determination of at least one of the plurality of conditions'"'"' satisfaction.

23. A method for providing information associated with a parked vehicle, performed on one or more computer processors, comprising:

determining a vehicle'"'"'s location;

communicating the location via a wireless device to a database on a remote server; and

receiving parking information from the database associated with the location.

24. The device of claim 23, wherein determining a vehicle'"'"'s location comprises waiting for the vehicle'"'"'s engine to be stopped.