VEHICLE LOCATOR AND GUIDE

• US 20180357898A1
• Filed: 06/07/2017
• Published: 12/13/2018
• Est. Priority Date: 06/07/2017
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: GM Global Technology Operations LLC (General Motors Company)
• Original Assignee: GM Global Technology Operations LLC (General Motors Company)
• Inventors: Kamini, Aditya S., Elswick, Richard, Oesterling, Christopher L., Williams, Nathaniel H.
• Granted Patent: US 10,269,246 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• CPC Class Codes: G08G 1/0175 by photographing vehicles, e.g. when violating traffic rules
• CPC Class Codes: G08G 1/127 to a central station ; Indicators in a central station
• CPC Class Codes: G08G 1/205 Indicating the location of the monitored vehicles as destination, e.g. accidents, stolen, rental
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 23/63 by using electronic viewfinders
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 23/633 for displaying additional information relating to control or operation of the camera
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 5/272 Means for inserting a foreground image in a background image, i.e. inlay, outlay
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 7/185 from a mobile camera, e.g. for remote control

Abstract

A system and method of presenting vehicle information to a user at a handheld mobile device, the method including: receiving a request from a user for vehicle information; sending a vehicle information request to a remote server, wherein the vehicle information request includes a location associated with the user; receiving a vehicle information response at the handheld mobile device, wherein the vehicle information response includes information pertaining to one or more vehicles within a predetermined distance of the location associated with the user; displaying a camera feed on a visual display of the handheld mobile device; based on the information pertaining to the one or more vehicles, generating one or more graphics representing at least part of the information pertaining to the one or more vehicles; and displaying the one or more graphics over the camera feed on the visual display of the handheld mobile device.

Claims

1. A method of presenting vehicle information to a user at a handheld mobile device, the method comprising:

receiving a request from a user for vehicle information, wherein the request includes receiving one or more vehicle reservation parameters;

sending a vehicle information request to a remote server, wherein the vehicle information request includes a location associated with the user and the one or more vehicle reservation parameters;

receiving a vehicle information response at the handheld mobile device, wherein the vehicle information response includes information pertaining to a plurality of vehicles within a predetermined distance of the location associated with the user, wherein the information pertaining to the plurality of vehicles includes a vehicle location for each of the plurality of vehicles, and wherein the vehicle information response is sent to the handheld mobile device in response to the vehicle information request;

displaying a camera feed on a visual display of the handheld mobile device, wherein the camera feed includes images or video captured by a camera installed in the handheld mobile device;

based on the information pertaining to the plurality of vehicles, generating one or more graphics representing at least part of the information pertaining to the plurality of vehicles, wherein each of the one or more graphics is associated with an associated vehicle, and wherein the associated vehicle is one of the plurality of vehicles; and

displaying the one or more graphics over the camera feed on the visual display of the handheld mobile device so that the handheld mobile device displays an augmented reality view that presents each of the one or more graphics at a location within the camera feed that corresponds to the vehicle location of the associated vehicle.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the handheld mobile device is a smartphone, a tablet, a wearable mobile device, or an electronic ocular device.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein the location associated with the user is a present location of the user or a location that was inputted into the handheld mobile device by the user.

5. The method of claim 1, wherein the one or more reservation parameters includes the predetermined distance of the location associated with the user.

6. The method of claim 1, wherein the remote server is configured to generate the vehicle information response in response to receiving the vehicle information request.

7. The method of claim 6, wherein the remote server is further configured to retrieve information pertaining to the plurality of vehicles that are within the predetermined distance of the location associated with the user from a database located at the same location as the remote server.

8. The method of claim 7, wherein the remote server is configured to send one or more vehicle inquiry messages to the plurality of vehicles that are within the predetermined distance of the location associated with the user, and to receive one or more vehicle inquiry response messages from the plurality of vehicles that are within the predetermined distance of the location associated with the user.

9. The method of claim 8, wherein the remote server uses at least some data contained in the one or more vehicle inquiry response messages to generate the vehicle information response.

4. (canceled)

10. A method of presenting vehicle information to a user at a handheld mobile device, wherein the handheld mobile device includes a processing, a memory device, a camera, and a visual display, and wherein the method comprises:

receiving a request from a user for nearby vehicle availability information and vehicle location information, wherein the vehicle availability information includes information relating to availability of one or more vehicles, and wherein the vehicle location information includes information relating to a location of the one or more vehicles;

sending a vehicle information request to a remote server, wherein the vehicle information request includes a location associated with the user, wherein the location associated with the user is a present location of the user or a specified reservation location;

receiving a vehicle information response at the handheld mobile device, wherein the vehicle information response includes information pertaining to the one or more vehicles within a predetermined distance of the location associated with the user, and wherein the vehicle information response is sent to the handheld mobile device in response to the vehicle information request;

receiving video data from the camera included in the handheld mobile device;

displaying the video data on the visual display of the handheld mobile device;

based on the information pertaining to the one or more vehicles, generating one or more graphics representing at least part of the information pertaining to the one or more vehicles; and

displaying the one or more graphics over the video data on the visual display of the handheld mobile device, wherein the video data includes images of an area surrounding the user, wherein the one or more graphics are displayed on the visual display such that the graphics aid the user in locating at least one of the one or more vehicles.

11. The method of claim 10, wherein the one or more graphics each identify an associated one of the one or more vehicles, and wherein each of the one or more graphics is presented when a field of view of the camera includes a location in which the associated vehicle is located.