Automatic Detection of Parking Level In Multi-Level Structure
First Claim
1. A method, implemented through the use of a telematics unit of a vehicle, for determining a present location of the vehicle within a multi-level parking structure, the method comprising:
- determining that the vehicle is operating, within a multi-level parking garage;
determining a number of circles traversed by the vehicle on a spiraling vehicle ramp in the multi-level parking garage;
determining, based at least partly upon the number of circles traversed, a first value identifying a level of the multi-level parking garage at which the vehicle is located.
3 Assignments
0 Petitions
Accused Products
Abstract
Implementations of the present invention contemplate utilizing the communicative connections between a telematics service provider (TSP), a communication device, and a telematics unit in a vehicle parked in a multilevel parking garage to determine location information of the vehicle and to provide such information to a subscriber of the TSP. A subscriber of a TSP may transmit a request for information pertaining to the location of a vehicle parked within a multilevel parking structure from a communication device. Upon the receipt of such a request, the TSP provides the information requested by the subscriber. In various implementations, the providing of such information by the TSP may involve querying the telematics unit in the vehicle or querying a database storing location information pertaining to one or more vehicles and may further involve performing calculations to derive the information requested by the communication device. In some implementations, the information requested by the communication device includes but is not limited to a floor number, or level, of the parking garage on which the telematics-equipped vehicle is parked.
-
Citations
20 Claims
-
1. A method, implemented through the use of a telematics unit of a vehicle, for determining a present location of the vehicle within a multi-level parking structure, the method comprising:
-
determining that the vehicle is operating, within a multi-level parking garage; determining a number of circles traversed by the vehicle on a spiraling vehicle ramp in the multi-level parking garage; determining, based at least partly upon the number of circles traversed, a first value identifying a level of the multi-level parking garage at which the vehicle is located. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9)
-
-
10. A method, implemented using a mobile device, for determining the location of a vehicle in a multi-level parking garage, the method comprising:
-
transmitting a request for information pertaining to the location of a vehicle from the mobile device to a telematics service provider; and receiving information identifying the level of the multi-level parking garage at which the vehicle is parked from the telematics service provider; wherein the level of the multi-level parking garage at which the vehicle is parked is determined based upon information provided by a telematics unit in the vehicle. - View Dependent Claims (11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18)
-
-
19. A system for determining the location of a vehicle within a multi-level parking structure, the system comprising:
-
a mobile device configured to transmit a request for a location of the vehicle within the multi-level parking structure and to receive data indicating the level of the parking garage at which the vehicle is parked; a telematics service provider having a server, the server configured to receive a request for a location of the vehicle within the multi-level parking structure, to submit a query for data pertaining to the level of the parking garage at which the vehicle is parked, to receive data pertaining to the level of the parking garage at which the vehicle is parked, and to transmit data indicating the level of the parking garage at which the vehicle is parked; and a telematics unit configured to collect data from one or more vehicle sensors and to transmit the data collected from the vehicle sensors to the server at the telematics service provider. - View Dependent Claims (20)
-
Specification