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

• US 9,092,822 B2
• Filed: 12/17/2013
• Issued: 07/28/2015
• 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 G
• Assistant Examiner(s): PAIGE, TYLER D
• Application Number:
  US14/109,122
• Publication Number:
  US 20140107861A1
• Time in Patent Office: 588 Days
• Field of Search: 701/408, 455/457, 340/539.1
• US Class Current: 1/1
• 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 aspect, the method comprises: a) recording an address associated with a person to whom possession of a vehicle has been provided, b) detecting when the vehicle transitions between a parked state and a non-parked state, and measuring a time duration each time the vehicle is in a parked state; c) for each time duration that exceeds a predetermined minimum time threshold, storing parking information data including a geographic location of the vehicle as a parking instance; d) for a predetermined initial time period subsequent to the person taking possession of the vehicle, comparing, the geographic locations of the parking instances to the associated address; and e) upon determining that none of the geographic locations of the parking instances determined during the predetermined initial time period correspond with the associated address, generating an alert.

Claims

1. An apparatus for tracking parking behavior of a vehicle, the apparatus comprising:

a circuit located locally within the vehicle, the circuit comprising a processor, movement detection means for detecting whether the vehicle is in a parked state or a non-parked state, location identification means for identifying a geographic location of the vehicle, a memory, a transceiver, and a timer operably coupled together;

wherein the circuit is configured to record an address associated with a person to whom possession of the vehicle has been provided, the vehicle being collateral for a loan;

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 a duration that the vehicle remains in the parked state;

(2) detect whether the vehicle transitions into the non-parked state from the parked state;

(3) upon the duration exceeding a predetermined minimum time threshold without the vehicle transitioning into the non-parked state, store parking information data relating to the occurrence in the memory as a parking instance, the parking information data including the geographic location of the vehicle; and

(4) compare each of the geographic locations stored in step (3) with the associated address.

2. The apparatus of claim 1 wherein when the circuit detects that the vehicle transitions into the non-parked state from the parked state before the duration exceeds the predetermined minimum time threshold, the circuit discards the parking information data.

3. The apparatus of claim 1 wherein the parking information data further comprises a date and time that the vehicle entered into the parked state, and the duration that the vehicle was in the parked state.

4. The apparatus of claim 3 wherein the circuit is further configured to generate a virtual log of the parking information data for each parking instance organized by longest duration to shortest duration.

5. The apparatus of claim 3 wherein the geographic location of the vehicle is stored in the memory as at least one of a longitudinal and latitudinal coordinate and a street address.

6. The apparatus of claim 1 wherein the movement detection means comprises an ignition input, the ignition input operably connected to an ignition of the vehicle;

and wherein the ignition input detects that the vehicle is in the parked state by detecting that the vehicle'"'"'s ignition is turned off.

7. The apparatus of claim 1 wherein the movement detection means and the location identification means comprises a GPS module;

and wherein the GPS module detects that the vehicle is in the parked state by monitoring a speed and location of the vehicle.

8. The apparatus of claim 1 wherein the predetermined minimum time threshold is configurable by an external server.

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

a) recording an address associated with a person to whom possession of a vehicle has been provided, the vehicle being collateral for a loan;

b) detecting when the vehicle transitions between a parked state and a non-parked state, and measuring a time duration each time the vehicle is detected to be in the parked state;

c) for each of the time durations that exceed a predetermined minimum time threshold, storing parking information data including a geographic location of the vehicle as a parking instance;

d) for a predetermined initial time period subsequent to the person taking possession of the vehicle, comparing the geographic locations of the parking instances to the associated address; and

e) upon determining that none of the geographic locations of the parking instances determined during the predetermined initial time period correspond with the associated address, generating an alert.

10. The method of claim 9 wherein step a) comprises programming the associated address into a database and wherein step c) comprises storing the parking information data in a local memory located within the vehicle.

11. The method of claim 10 further comprising:

c-1) transmitting the parking information data from the local memory to a server; and

c-2) transmitting the parking information data from the server to the database.

12. The method of claim 11 wherein step d) comprises an end user manually comparing the geographic location of the vehicle with the associated address.

13. The method of claim 11 wherein step d) is performed automatically by a computer device.

14. The method of claim 9 further comprising transmitting the alert to a financial or lending institution, and wherein upon receiving the alert, the financial or lending institution repossessing the vehicle.

15. The method of claim 9 wherein the predetermined initial time period is one day or one week.

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

a) recording an address associated with a person to whom possession of a vehicle has been provided, the vehicle being collateral for a loan;

b) subsequent to the person taking possession of the vehicle, detecting whether the vehicle has entered into a parked state;

c) for each instance that the vehicle has entered into the parked state, measuring a time duration that the vehicle remains in the parked state without transitioning into a non-parked state;

d) for each of the time durations that exceeds a predetermined minimum time threshold, storing parking information data including a geographic location of the vehicle;

e) comparing each of the geographic locations of the vehicle stored in step d) with the associated address; and

wherein at least one of steps a) through e) is carried out by a computer device.

17. The method of claim 16 wherein step d) further comprises:

d-1) storing the parking information data in a local memory located within the vehicle;

d-2) transmitting the parking information data from the local memory to a server; and

d-3) transmitting the parking information data from the server to a database for access by an end user.

18. The method of claim 17 wherein step e) comprises the end user manually comparing the geographic location of the vehicle with the associated address.

19. The method of claim 16 wherein step a) comprises programming the associated address into the computer device and step g) is performed automatically by the computer device.

20. The method of claim 16 further comprising:

comparing each of the stored geographic locations with the associated address for a predetermined initial time period subsequent to the person taking possession of the vehicle; and

generating an alert if, after expiration of the predetermined initial time period, none of the geographic locations are located within a predetermined distance from the associated address.