SYSTEM, METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR TRACKING PARKING BEHAVIOR OF A VEHICLE

• US 20130024202A1
• Filed: 07/18/2011
• Published: 01/24/2013
• Est. Priority Date: 07/18/2011
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Ituran USA, Inc.
• Original Assignee: Ituran USA, Inc.
• Inventors: Harris, Ryan, Schwartz, Meir, Hayman, Meir
• Granted Patent: US 8,612,137 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 705/1.1
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/00 Commerce
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 40/00 Finance; Insurance; Tax strategies; Processing of corporate or income taxes
• CPC Class Codes: G07C 5/008 communicating information to a remotely located station transmission systems for measured values G08C
• CPC Class Codes: G07C 5/04 using counting means or digital clocks
• CPC Class Codes: G07C 5/06 in graphical form

Abstract

A system, method and apparatus for tracking the parking behavior of a vehicle. In one embodiment, the apparatus may comprise a circuit located within the vehicle, the circuit comprising a processor, movement detection means, location identification means, a memory, a transceiver, and a timer operably coupled together; wherein for each occurrence in which the movement detection means detects that the vehicle has entered into the parked state, the circuit is configured to: (1) measure at duration that the vehicle remains in the parked state; (2) identify the geographic location of the vehicle; (3) detect whether the vehicle transitions into the non-parked state from the parked state; (4) upon the duration exceeding a predetermined minimum time threshold, storing parking information data relating to the occurrence in the memory as a parking instance; and (5) upon the duration failing to exceed the predetermined minimum time threshold, discarding the parking information data.

Claims

1. An apparatus for tracking parking behavior of a vehicle, the apparatus comprising:

a circuit located locally within the vehicle, the circuit comprising a processor, movement detection means for detecting whether the vehicle is in a parked state or a non-parked state, location identification means tar identifying a geographic location of the vehicle, a memory, as transceiver, and a timer operably coupled together;

wherein for each occurrence in which the movement detection means detects that the vehicle has entered into the parked state, the circuit is configured to;

(1) measure a duration that the vehicle remains in the parked state;

(2) identify the geographic location of the vehicle;

(3) detect whether the vehicle transitions into the non-parked state from the parked state;

(4) upon the duration exceeding a predetermined minimum time threshold, store parking information data relating to the occurrence in the memory as a parking instance; and

(5) upon the duration failing to exceed the predetermined minimum time threshold, discard the parking information data.

2. The apparatus of claim 1 wherein the parking information data comprises a date and time that the vehicle entered into the parked state, the duration that the vehicle was in the parked state and the geographic location of the vehicle.

3. The apparatus of claim 2 wherein the circuit is further configured to generate a virtual log of the parking information data for each parking instance organized by longest duration to shortest duration.

4. The apparatus of claim 2 wherein the geographic location of the vehicle is stored in the memory as at least one of a longitudinal and latitudinal coordinate and a street address.

5. The apparatus of claim 1 wherein the movement detection means comprises an ignition input, the ignition input operably connected to an ignition of the vehicle;

and wherein the ignition input detects that the vehicle is in the parked state by detecting that the vehicle'"'"'s ignition is turned off.

6. The apparatus of claim 1 wherein the movement detection means comprises a GPS module;

and wherein the GPS module detects that the vehicle is in the parked state by monitoring a speed and location of the vehicle.

7. The method of claim 6 wherein the location identification means comprises the GPS module.

8. The apparatus of claim 1 wherein the predetermined minimum time threshold is programmed into the circuit in increments of one minute.

9. The apparatus of claim 8 wherein the predetermined minimum time threshold is configurable by an external server.

10. A method of tracking parking behavior of vehicle comprising:

a) detecting whether the vehicle has entered into a parked state;

b) upon detecting that the vehicle has entered into the parked state, measuring a duration that the vehicle remains in the parked state;

c) monitoring whether the vehicle transitions from the parked state to a non-parked state;

d) comparing the duration that the vehicle is in the parked state to as predetermined minimum time threshold; and

e) upon the duration exceeding the predetermined minimum time threshold, storing parking information data as a parking instance in a local memory located within the vehicle, or upon the vehicle transitioning from the parked state to the non-parked state and the duration failing to exceed the predetermined minimum time threshold, discarding the parking information data.

11. The method of claim 10 further comprising continuing to measure the duration that the vehicle remains in the parked state until the vehicle is detected in the non-parked state.

12. The method of claim 10 wherein the parking information comprises a date and time that the vehicle entered into the parked state, the duration that the vehicle was in the parked state and a geographic location of the vehicle when the vehicle entered into the parked state.

13. The method of claim 12 wherein the duration that the vehicle was in the parked state is a total tune from the vehicle initially entering into the parked state to the vehicle transitioning to the non-parked state.

14. The method of claim 10 wherein upon detecting that the vehicle has transitioned from the parked state to the non-parked state, returning to step a).

15. The method of claim 10 further comprising storing the parking information data as the parking instance in the local memory for each occurrence that the duration that the vehicle is in the parked state exceeds the predetermined minimum time threshold.

16. The method of claim 15 further comprising generating a virtual log of the parking information data for each of the parking instances in the local memory and organizing the virtual log by longest duration that the vehicle is in the parked state to shortest duration that the vehicle is in the parked state.

17. The method of claim 16 further comprising transmitting the virtual log of the parking information data to a server as a report at a predetermined time interval, the server processing the parking information data and storing the parking information data in a database for end user access.

18. The method of claim 17 wherein the predetermined time interval can be set in increments of one hour.

19. The method of claim 17 wherein when a number of the parking instances stored in the local memory is greater than a predetermined report size, the parking instance containing the shortest duration is deleted from the local memory.

20. A method of detecting fraud by a purchaser of a vehicle comprising:

a) recording the purchaser'"'"'s address;

b) detecting whether the vehicle has entered into a parked state;

c) upon detecting that the vehicle has entered into the parked state, measuring a duration that the vehicle remains in the parked state;

d) monitoring whether the vehicle transitions from the parked state to a non-parked state;

e) comparing the duration that the vehicle is in the parked state to a predetermined minimum time threshold;

f) upon the duration exceeding the predetermined minimum time threshold, storing parking information data including a geographic location of the vehicle as a parking instance in a local memory located within the vehicle; and

g) comparing the geographic location of the vehicle with the purchaser'"'"'s address.

21. The method of claim 20 wherein step a) comprises programming the purchaser'"'"'s address into the local memory and step g) is performed automatically by the local memory.

22. The method of claim 20 further comprising storing the parking information data including the geographic location as the parking instance in the local memory for each occurrence that the duration that the vehicle is in the parked state exceeds the predetermined minimum time threshold.

23. The method of claim 22 further comprising comparing all of the geographic locations stored in the local memory with the purchaser'"'"'s address for up to one week after the purchaser purchases the vehicle.

24. The method of claim 23 further comprising repossessing the vehicle if none of the geographic locations stored in the local memory match the purchaser'"'"'s address.