System, method and apparatus for tracking parking behavior of a vehicle

• US 8,612,137 B2
• Filed: 07/18/2011
• Issued: 12/17/2013
• 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
• Primary Examiner(s): Black, Thomas
• Assistant Examiner(s): PAIGE, TYLER D
• Application Number:
  US13/185,082
• Publication Number:
  US 20130024202A1
• Time in Patent Office: 883 Days
• Field of Search: 701/408, 701/300, 340/933, 340/932.2, 235/384, 705/13
• US Class Current: 701/408
• 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. A method of tracking parking behavior of a 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 a 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.

2. The method of claim 1 further comprising, continuing to measure the duration that the vehicle remains in the parked state mail the vehicle is detected in the non-parked state.

3. The method 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 a geographic location of the vehicle when the vehicle entered into the parked state.

4. The method of claim 3 wherein the duration that the vehicle was in the parked state is a total time from the vehicle initially entering into the parked state to the vehicle transitioning to the non-parked state.

5. The method of claim 1 wherein upon detecting that the vehicle has transitioned from the parked state to the non-parked state, returning to step a).

6. The method of claim 1 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.

7. The method of claim 6 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.

8. The method of claim 7 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.

9. The method of claim 8 wherein the predetermined time interval can be set in increments of one hour.

10. The method of claim 8 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.

11. A method of tracking parking behavior of a vehicle comprising:

a) detecting whether the vehicle has entered into a parked state, the parked state being a parking event;

b) upon detecting that the vehicle has entered into the parked stale, starting a timer to measure a duration that the vehicle remains in the parked state without transitioning into a non-parked state;

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

d) upon the duration exceeding the predetermined minimum time threshold, storing parking information data of the parking event as a parking instance in a local memory located within the vehicle.

12. The method of claim 11 further comprising:

e) upon the vehicle transitioning from the parked state to the non-parked state before the duration exceeds the predetermined minimum time threshold, discarding the parking information data of the parking event.

13. The method of claim 11 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 a geographic location of the vehicle when the vehicle entered into the parked state.

14. The method of claim 11 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.

15. The method of claim 14 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.

16. The method of claim 11 further comprising stopping the timer and returning to step a) when the vehicle transitions from the parked state to the non-parked state.

17. A method of tracking parking behavior of a vehicle comprising:

a) detecting whether the vehicle has entered into a parked state, the parked state being, a parking, event;

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

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

d) upon the duration exceeding the predetermined minimum time threshold, storing parking information data of the parking event as a parking instance in a local memory located within the vehicle,

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 a geographic location of the vehicle when the vehicle entered into the parked state.