Automotive vehicle parking systems, methods, and apparatus

• US 10,692,374 B2
• Filed: 08/14/2018
• Issued: 06/23/2020
• 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
• Primary Examiner(s): McNally, Kerri L
• Assistant Examiner(s): Tran, Thang D
• Application Number:
  US16/103,225
• Publication Number:
  US 20190066505A1
• Time in Patent Office: 679 Days
• Field of Search: 3409322
• 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 first communication device associated with an automotive vehicle, the first communication device comprising a mobile application associated with a plurality of users, the mobile application configured to receive, from a first user of the first communication device, the first user comprising a first user of the plurality of users, a request to locate any available free parking space unassociated with any parking meter proximate the first communication device or the automotive vehicle, the mobile application further configured to alert the first user, in response to the request, when any available free parking space unassociated with any parking meter is located proximate the first communication device or automotive vehicle, and to transmit to, or display on, the first communication device a location of, or directions to, the available free parking space unassociated with any parking meter, the first communication device further configured to transmit, to a dynamic database, information indicating that the first user has occupied the available free parking space unassociated with any parking meter and it has become an unavailable free parking space unassociated with any parking meter, the first communication device further configured to transmit to the dynamic database information indicating that the first user is about to vacate, or has vacated, the unavailable free parking space unassociated with any parking meter, the system configured to transmit, based on a priority, to a second communication device associated with a second user of the plurality of users information indicating that the unavailable free parking space unassociated with any parking meter is about to become or has become an available free parking space unassociated with any parking meter, wherein the priority is based on factors comprising (1) proximity of the second user to the available free parking space, (2) length of time the second member has been searching for any available free parking space unassociated with any parking meter, and (3) length of time the second member intends to remain parked in the available free parking space, and to transmit information comprising the location of, or directions to, the available free parking space unassociated with any parking meter to the second communication device associated with the second user.

2. The system of claim 1, wherein the mobile application is associated with a mobile device associated with the automotive vehicle or the first communication device of the first user.

3. The system of claim 2, wherein the mobile device is selected from a 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.

4. The system of claim 1, wherein the first communication device is further configured to determine, based on instructions received from the dynamic database, the location of the available free parking space unassociated with any parking meter.

5. The system of claim 1, wherein a user of the mobile application is required to transmit, via the mobile application or communication device, information that a free parking space unassociated with any parking meter occupied by the user is about to be vacated or has been vacated by the user.

6. The system of claim 1, wherein the system is further configured to identify restricted available free parking spaces unassociated with any parking meter, and to transmit information that a restricted available free parking space unassociated with any parking meter is available only to users of the mobile application who have a user status qualifying them to park in such restricted available free parking spaces unassociated with any parking meter.

7. The system of claim 6 wherein the user status is selected from the group consisting of users who are:

members of the mobile application, handicapped, hospital patients, expectant mothers, emergency vehicle operators, medical personnel, or law enforcement personnel.

8. The system of claim 7, wherein the system is further configured to identify whether a user of an automotive vehicle parked in a restricted free parking space unassociated with any parking meter has a user status to permit that user to occupy that space, and if not, to communicate to a database a parking violation by such user.

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

receiving, via a mobile application associated with a plurality of users, a notification that a first user of a first vehicle is about to vacate, or has vacated, a first free parking space unassociated with any parking meter, wherein the first user comprises a first user of the plurality of users;

receiving a request via the mobile application from a second user of a second vehicle to locate a user-specific free parking space unassociated with any parking meter, wherein the second user comprises a second user of the plurality of users;

determining a location of the second vehicle or second user;

accessing a database comprising free parking spaces unassociated with any parking meter within a geographic region;

identifying, from the database of free parking spaces unassociated with any parking meter, a subset of free parking spaces unassociated with any parking meter within the geographic region, the subset comprising user-specific free parking spaces unassociated with any parking meter for the second user;

determining if the first free parking space unassociated with any parking meter qualifies as the user-specific free parking space unassociated with any parking meter for the second user; and

if it qualifies, initiating a transmission, intended for the second user or the second vehicle, of a location of the first free parking space unassociated with any parking meter, wherein the transmission intended for the second user or the second vehicle is initiated based on a priority, wherein the priority is based on factors comprising (1) proximity of the second user to the user-specific free parking space unassociated with any parking meter, (2) length of time the second user has been searching for the user-specific free parking space unassociated with any parking meter, and (3) length of time the second user intends to remain parked in the user-specific free parking space unassociated with any parking meter.

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

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 unassociated with any parking meter is available, initiating at least one of;

a communication intended to advise the second user of the second vehicle that no user-specific free parking spaces unassociated with any parking meter are available;

a query intended for receipt by the second user of the second vehicle, inquiring if a broadened search for available free parking spaces unassociated with any parking meter 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 unassociated with any parking meter in the database;

increasing the maximum predetermined distance of user-specific free parking spaces unassociated with any parking meter 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 unassociated with any parking meter to identifying paid parking spaces;

or altering a user request for locating restricted free parking unassociated with any parking meter spaces to identifying unrestricted free parking spaces unassociated with any parking meter.

13. The non-transitory computer readable storage medium of claim 9, wherein the operations further comprise initiating a query intended for the second user inquiring if the second user desires to take the first free parking space unassociated with any parking meter.

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

responsive to receiving from the second user an affirmative response indicating that the second user desires to take the first free parking space unassociated with any parking meter, altering in the database an identification of the first free parking space unassociated with any parking meter to indicate that it is an unavailable free parking space unassociated with any parking meter.

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

receiving information indicative of the second vehicle having vacated the unavailable free parking space unassociated with any parking meter; and

updating the database to indicate that the unavailable free parking space unassociated with any parking meter is available.

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 unassociated with au parking meter within the geographic area.

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

18. A system comprising a mobile application associated with a plurality of users comprising members of the mobile application, the mobile application configured to enable the members to request the mobile application to search for an unoccupied free of charge parking space, the free of charge parking space unassociated with any parking meter, the mobile application further configured to require a first one of the members to transmit a notification that the first one of the members is about to vacate or has vacated an occupied free of charge parking space, the mobile application further configured to transmit, responsive to a request from a second one of the members for a free of charge parking space unassociated with any parking meter, to the second member, that the occupied free of charge parking space is about to be vacated by the first one of the members, the mobile application further configured to determine, among a plurality of users of the mobile application, which one of the plurality of users has top priority to an available free parking space unassociated with any parking meter, and to notify users of the mobile application who approach the available free parking space unassociated with any parking meter who do not have top priority for the available free parking space unassociated with any parking meter that they may not occupy the available free parking space unassociated with any parking meter, the top priority determined based on factors comprising (1) proximity of the second member to the available free parking space unassociated with any parking meter, (2) length of time the second member has been searching for the available free parking space unassociated with any parking meter, and (3) length of time the second member intends to remain parked in the available free parking space unassociated with any parking meter, the mobile application further configured to identify restricted available free parking spaces unassociated with any parking meter, and to transmit information that a restricted available free parking space unassociated with any parking meter is available only to users of the mobile application who have a user status qualifying them to park in such restricted available free parking spaces unassociated with any parking meter.