Automotive Vehicle Parking Systems, Methods, and Apparatus

• US 20190066505A1
• Filed: 08/14/2018
• Published: 02/28/2019
• Est. Priority Date: 08/25/2017
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Denise Lisa Salvucci, Evan Humphreys, Michael J. Kline
• Original Assignee: Denise Lisa Salvucci, Evan Humphreys, Michael J. Kline
• Inventors: Salvucci, Denise Lisa, Kline, Michael J., Humphreys, Evan
• Granted Patent: US 10,692,374 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/341 Active cards, i.e. cards including their own processing means, e.g. including an IC or chip
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 2240/00 Transportation facility access, e.g. fares, tolls or parking
• CPC Class Codes: G07F 17/24 for parking meters
• CPC Class Codes: G08G 1/141 with means giving the indication of available parking spaces
• CPC Class Codes: G08G 1/143 inside the vehicles
• CPC Class Codes: G08G 1/144 on portable or mobile units, e.g. personal digital assistant [PDA]
• CPC Class Codes: G08G 1/146 where the parking area is a limited parking space, e.g. parking garage, restricted space

Abstract

Systems, methods, and apparatuses for locating parking spaces are disclosed. According to one method, a request is received from a user of a vehicle to locate a space; the location of the user is determined; a database comprising spaces within a geographic region is accessed; from the database, a subset of spaces within the geographic region is identified, the subset comprising user-specific spaces; a determination is made regarding the availability of the user-specific spaces; and if a user-specific space is available, a transmission is initiated, intended for the user, providing the location of at least one available space. The systems, methods, and apparatus may be used to locate free spaces, may allow users to indicate when they are vacating a space to enable other users to access the space via a “park it forward” approach, and may assign available spaces to users based on an equitable prioritization protocol.

Claims

1. A system comprising:

a communication device associated with an automotive vehicle;

a parking meter associated with a parking space, the parking meter comprising a sensor configured to determine if the parking space is occupied, and wherein the communication device is configured to communicate with the parking meter; and

a server in communication with the communication device and the parking meter.

2. The system of claim 1, wherein the communication device comprises a mobile app associated with a user of the automotive vehicle.

3. The system of claim 2, wherein the mobile app is associated with a mobile device associated with the automotive vehicle or the user.

4. The system of claim 3, wherein the mobile device is selected from the group consisting of a factory-installed device installed in the automotive vehicle, an after-market device installed in the automotive vehicle, a smart phone, and a heads-up display.

5. The system of claim 1, wherein the communication device is configured to communicate with the server and determine, based on instructions received from the server, a location of the parking space or the parking meter.

6. The system of claim 1, wherein the communication device is configured to communicate with the parking meter, and wherein at least one of the communication device and the parking meter is configured to determine a length of time during which the automotive vehicle is parked in the parking space and to assign a parking charge to a user of the automotive vehicle based at least in part on the length of time.

7. The system of claim 1, wherein at least one of the communication device and the parking meter is configured to communicate the parking charge to the server, and wherein the server is configured to charge the user for payment.

8. The system of claim 1, wherein at least one of the communication device and the parking meter is configured to communicate to the server when the automotive vehicle has left the parking space and to communicate an availability of the parking space to at least one other user of at least one other automotive vehicle.

9. A non-transitory computer readable storage medium storing instructions that, when executed by a processor, cause the processor to perform operations comprising:

receiving a request from a user of a vehicle to locate a free parking space;

determining a location of the user;

accessing a database comprising free parking spaces within a geographic region;

identifying, from the database of free parking spaces, a subset of free parking spaces within the geographic region, the subset comprising user-specific free parking spaces;

determining if any of the user-specific free parking spaces is available; and

if a user-specific free parking space is available, initiating a transmission, intended for the user, of a location of at least one available free parking space.

10. The non-transitory computer readable storage medium of claim 9, wherein the subset of user-specific free parking spaces is located a maximum predetermined distance from the location of the user.

11. The non-transitory computer readable storage medium of claim 9, wherein the operations further comprise:

if none of the user-specific free parking spaces is available, initiating at least one of;

a communication intended to advise the user that no user-specific free parking spaces are available;

a query intended for receipt by the user, inquiring if a broadened search for available free parking spaces is desired;

or

a new determination of whether any user-specific free parking spaces is available by identifying a revised subset of user-specific free parking spaces, the revised subset of user-specific free parking spaces identified based on altering user-specific parameters.

12. The non-transitory computer readable storage medium of claim 11, wherein altering the user-specific parameters comprises at least one of:

widening the geographic region of free parking spaces in the database;

increasing the maximum predetermined distance of user-specific free parking spaces from the location of the user;

altering a user-specific free parking space crime/safety or air quality rating;

altering a user request for locating free parking spaces to identifying paid parking spaces;

or

altering a user request for locating restricted free parking spaces to identifying unrestricted free parking spaces.

13. The non-transitory computer readable storage medium of claim 9, wherein the operations further comprise initiating a query intended for the user inquiring if the user desires to take the at least one available free parking space.

14. The non-transitory computer readable storage medium of claim 12, wherein the operations further comprise:

responsive to receiving from the user an affirmative response indicating that the user desires to take the at least one available free parking space, altering in the database an identification of the at least one available free parking space to indicate that it is an unavailable free parking space.

15. The non-transitory computer readable storage medium of claim 13, wherein the operations further comprise:

receiving information indicative of the user having vacated the unavailable free parking space; and

updating the database to indicate that the unavailable free parking space is an available free parking space.

16. The non-transitory computer readable storage medium of claim 9, wherein the database further comprises a crime or safety ranking for the geographic area or for free parking spaces within the geographic area.

17. The non-transitory computer readable storage medium of claim 16, the operations further comprising providing to the user a crime or safety ranking for the location of at least one available free parking space.

18. The non-transitory computer readable storage medium of claim 9, wherein determining if any of the user-specific free parking spaces is available comprises:

establishing a priority for the user relative to priorities of other users seeking a free parking space in the geographic region; and

if the priority established for the user is higher relative to the priorities other users, initiating a transmission, intended for the user, of a location of the at least one available free parking space.

19. The non-transitory computer readable storage medium of claim 18, wherein the priority of the user is established relative to the priorities of other users based on at least one factor selected from the group consisting of:

proximity of the user to the at least one available user-specific free parking space,

length of time the user has been searching for an available user-specific free parking space, and

length of time the user intends to remain parked in the at least one available user-specific free parking space.

20. The non-transitory computer readable storage medium of claim 19, the operations further comprising initiating a transmission, intended for at least one of the other users, that the at least one available user-specific free parking space has been assigned to the user based on the user'"'"'s higher priority.