Method and device for finding a parked vehicle

• US 6,650,999 B1
• Filed: 05/17/2000
• Issued: 11/18/2003
• Est. Priority Date: 05/22/1998
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Hans-Detlef Brust
• Original Assignee: Hans-Detlef Brust
• Inventors: Kilcioglu, Mehmet Ali, Brust, Hans-Detlef
• Primary Examiner(s): Beaulieu, Yonel
• Application Number:
  US09/463,178
• Time in Patent Office: 1,280 Days
• Field of Search: 701/207, 701/213, 701/214, 701/216, 701/300, 701/1, 701/24, 340/825.31, 340/825.34, 340/825.69, 340/825.72, 340/988, 340/933, 340/943, 340/989, 340/991, 340/932.2, 235/375
• US Class Current: 701/213
• CPC Class Codes: B60R 25/102 a signal being sent to a remote location, e.g. a radio signal being transmitted to a police station, a security company or the owner
• CPC Class Codes: G01C 21/3688 Systems comprising multiple parts or multiple output devices (not client-server), e.g. detachable faceplates, key fobs or multiple output screens
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 5/0045 Transmission from base station to mobile station G01S5/009 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 5/0284 Relative positioning
• CPC Class Codes: G08G 1/005 including pedestrian guidance indicator
• CPC Class Codes: G08G 1/14 indicating individual free spaces in parking areas
• CPC Class Codes: G08G 1/205 Indicating the location of the monitored vehicles as destination, e.g. accidents, stolen, rental

Abstract

The invention discloses a device and an apparatus with the assistance of which a driver can locate his parked vehicle of unknown location. The information concerning the instantaneous location of the vehicle gained by a navigation system located in the vehicle is transferred, prior to or at completion of parking, to a mobile terminal which can be carried along by the driver when leaving his vehicle and stored therein. When needed, the driver can recall the information concerning the parked location from the memory of the mobile terminal for display on a monitor in a recognizable manner. Instead of direct storage in the mobile terminal, the information concerning the parked location can also be stored in a remote intermediate memory to which the terminal has access.

Claims

1. A device for assisting a driver in finding his parked vehicle, the device comprising:

a navigation system disposed on the vehicle for determining at least one of position data of the vehicle and data about a traveled route;

a data transmission unit for connection to said navigation system to receive at least one of said position data of the vehicle and said data about the traveled route, said data transmission unit transmitting at least one of said position data of the vehicle and said data about the traveled route in one of a wireless and a wire-bound manner;

a mobile terminal unit to be carried by the driver when leaving the vehicle, said mobile terminal unit comprising means for at least temporary accommodation of a memory unit;

said mobile terminal unit receiving said data transmitted by said data transmission unit via a data transmission link and storing said data in said memory unit, wherein said data transmission link has a transmission range which is restricted to one of an interior and a direct vicinity of the vehicle; and

a display unit for connection to said mobile terminal unit to display at least one of said position data of the vehicle and said data about the traveled route, as stored in said memory unit, for observation by the driver.

2. The device of claim 1, wherein said data transmission unit transmits said data to said mobile terminal unit as long as the vehicle is moving.

3. The device of claim 1, wherein said data transmission unit transmits said data of to said mobile terminal unit in response to an indication of a parking process.

4. The device of claim 3, further comprising a parking detection circuit connected to said data transmission unit to continuously monitor an indication of a parking process and for signaling such an indication to said data transmission unit to trigger transmission of said data by said data transmission unit to said mobile terminal unit.

5. The device of claim 1, wherein said mobile terminal unit further comprises:

a data receiving unit to at least one of receive, demodulate and decode said data transmitted by said data transmission unit via said data transmission link;

a control unit connected to an output of said data receiving unit and to said memory unit, said control unit receiving said data transmitted by said data transmission unit to said data receiving unit, said control unit having read and write access to said memory unit for storing and subsequent reading of said data to and from said memory unit, wherein said display unit is connected to said control unit to receive said data from said control unit for display thereof after said control unit has previously read said data from said memory unit.

6. The device of claim 5, wherein said data receiving unit, said control unit, said memory unit and said display unit are resident within independently transferable parts from which said mobile terminal unit is constructed.

7. The device of claim 1, wherein said mobile terminal unit comprises a chip card.

8. The device of claim 1, further comprising an additional electronic device carried by the driver when leaving the vehicle, wherein said mobile terminal unit is an integral part of said additional device.

9. The device of claim 1, wherein said position data of the vehicle comprise at least one of coordinates of a vehicle location, a name of a street where the vehicle is positioned, an approximate house number of a vehicle position in a street, and a name of a next cross-road.

10. The device of claim 1, wherein said memory unit comprises an optical memory that stores said data and information associated with said data in a manner directly perceptible by the driver.

11. The device of claim 1, wherein said mobile terminal unit comprises one of a position determination system and an input device for manual input of a driver position.

12. The device of claim 1, further comprising a route registering unit connected to several sensors and disposed in the vehicle.

13. A device for assisting a driver in finding his parked vehicle, the device comprising:

a navigation system disposed on the vehicle for determining at least one of position data of the vehicle and data about a traveled route;

a data transmission unit for connection to said navigation system to receive at least one of said position data of the vehicle and said data about the traveled route and to transmit at least one of said position data of the vehicle and said data about the traveled route;

an intermediate memory disposed outside of the vehicle and having a memory unit and a transmitting/receiving unit connected to said memory unit, said transmitting/receiving unit receiving said data transmitted by said data transmission unit via a first transmission link said intermediate memory storing at least one of said position data and said data about the traveled route in said memory unit; and

a mobile terminal unit to be carried by the driver when leaving the vehicle, said mobile terminal unit for one of accommodating and connecting a display unit, said mobile terminal unit communicating, via a second transmission link, with said intermediate memory to receive at least one of said position data and said data about the traveled route as stored in said memory unit and to facilitate display thereof for observation by the driver.

14. The device of claim 13, wherein said data transmission unit transmits said data to said intermediate memory as long as the vehicle is moving.

15. The device of claim 13, wherein said data transmission unit transmits said data to said intermediate memory in response to an indication of a parking process.

16. The device of claims 15, further comprising a parking detection circuit connected to said data transmission unit to continuously monitor an indication of a parking process and for signaling such an indication to said data transmission unit to trigger transmission of said data by said data transmission unit to said intermediate memory.

17. The device of claim 13, wherein functional circuits of said mobile terminal unit are resident within independently transferable parts from which said mobile terminal unit is constructed.

18. The device of claim 13, wherein said mobile terminal unit comprises a chip card.

19. The device of claim 13, further comprising an additional electronic device carried by the driver when leaving the vehicle, wherein said mobile terminal unit is an integral part of said additional device.

20. The device of claim 13, wherein said position data of the vehicle comprise at least one of coordinates of a vehicle location, a name of a street where the vehicle is positioned, an approximate house number of a vehicle position in a street, and a name of a next cross-road.

21. The device of claim 13, wherein said mobile terminal unit is one of a mobile phone and a mobile computer with internet access and wherein said intermediate memory is an internet computer.

22. The device of claim 13, wherein said mobile terminal unit comprises one of a position determination system and an input device for manual input of a driver position.

23. The device of claim 13, wherein transmission of at least one of said position data of the vehicle and said data about the traveled route to said intermediate memory is effected with a time offset.

24. The device of claim 13, wherein said mobile terminal unit for integration into said data transmission unit.

25. The device of claim 13, further comprising a route registering unit connected to several sensors and disposed in the vehicle.

26. A method for assisting a driver in finding his parked vehicle, the method comprising the steps of:

a) determining, using a navigation system disposed aboard the vehicle, at least one of position data of the vehicle and data about a traveled route;

b) receiving, using a data transmission unit connected to said navigation system, at least one of said position data of the vehicle and said data about the traveled route from said navigation system;

c) transmitting, using said transmission unit and via transmission link, said data to one of a mobile terminal unit which the driver can carry along when leaving the car and an intermediate memory;

d) storing said data in a memory unit; and

e) reading, using said mobile terminal unit, at least one of said position data of the vehicle, said traveled route, and information associated therewith from said memory unit; and

f) displaying said data on a display unlit for observation by the driver.

27. The method of claim 26, wherein step e) comprises the step of transmitting said data from said intermediate memory to said mobile terminal via a second transmission link.

28. The method of claim 26, further comprising:

g) recording said data for one of documentation and logging thereof.