SYSTEM AND METHOD FOR IDENTIFYING PARKING SPACES FOR A COMMUNITY OF USERS

• US 20110140922A1
• Filed: 04/07/2009
• Published: 06/16/2011
• Est. Priority Date: 04/08/2008
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Anagog Ltd.
• Original Assignee: Anagog Ltd.
• Inventors: Levy, Gil, Aizenbud, Yaron
• Granted Patent: US 8,576,092 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 340/932.2
• CPC Class Codes: G01C 21/3685 the POI's being parking facilities
• 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 1/144 on portable or mobile units, e.g. personal digital assistant [PDA]
• CPC Class Codes: G08G 1/147 where the parking area is within an open public zone, e.g. city centre
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/027 using movement velocity, acceleration information

Abstract

A mobile communications device includes a locator unit to receive and process information regarding a current location for the mobile communications device, a parking status determination unit to determine a parking status for the device based on at least changes in the current location, and a communication unit to forward the parking status to a parking community processor. A method includes determining a parking status of a vehicle associated with a person as a function of movement of a personal mobile communications device.

Claims

1. A mobile communications device comprising:

a locator unit to receive and process information regarding a current location for said mobile communications device;

a parking status determination unit to determine a parking status for said device based on at least changes in said current location; and

a communication unit to forward said parking status to a parking community processor.

2. The mobile communications device according to claim 1 and wherein said parking status determination unit comprises means to operate without proactive user input.

3. The mobile communications device according to claim 1 and also comprising:

a receiver to receive parking status reports from said parking community; and

means to present said parking status reports to a user of said device.

4. The mobile communications device according to claim 3 and where said means to present are at least one of:

an indicator to indicate an available parking space within a given radius, a screen display of a map indicating recently vacated parking spaces near said current location, and an audio signal.

5. The mobile communications device according to claim 1 and wherein said communication unit comprises means to use at least one of a web page, an email, an SMS, and an instant message (IM).

6. The mobile communications device according to claim 1 and also comprising a status indicator to provide non location status indications to said parking status determination unit, wherein said non location status indications are at least one of:

battery charging, keyboard usage, touch screen usage, data flow characteristics, “

hands free”

speaker usage, accelerometer output and camera usage.

7. The mobile communications device according to claim 1 and wherein said parking status determination unit comprises means to store recent history for said parking status.

8. The mobile communications device according to claim 3 and also comprising a requestor to proactively request said parking status reports based on a location.

9. The mobile communications device according to claim 1 and wherein said locator unit is at least one of:

accelerometer, mobile base station signal, compass, on ground AGPS signal, and a GPS unit.

10. The mobile communications device according to claim 1 and wherein said mobile communications device is a mobile telephone associated with a member of said community.

11. The mobile communications device according to claim 1 and wherein said parking status determination unit comprises a predictor to predict expected changes in said parking status based on “

retracing of steps”

by said device to a location where said parking status was previously determined.

12. The mobile communications device according to claim 1 and also comprising a parked vehicle finder to find a parked vehicle in accordance with a location at which said parked vehicle was determined to be “

parked”

.

13. A method implementable in software for participating in a parking community comprising:

establishing a current location for a mobile communications device;

calculating a speed for said device based on time and distance between said current location and a previously stored location;

determining said parking status as a function of;

said speed,

at least one previously calculated speed, and

at least one previously determined parking status; and

forwarding said parking status to said parking community.

14. The method according to claim 13 and also comprising:

storing a history of said current locations as said previously stored locations; and

analyzing said history to identify recurring patterns indicative of an expected change in said parking status.

15. The method according to claim 14 and where said recurring patterns are a “

retracing of steps”

toward a parking location at a said speed consistent with a user of said device returning to said parking location on foot, said parking location identified as said current location for said device at a time when said parking status of “

parked”

was most recently determined for said device.

16. The method according to claim 13 and also comprising receiving parking status reports from said parking community.

17. The method according to claim 16 and wherein said parking status reports are in the form of at least one of:

an indicator to indicate an available parking space within a given radius, a screen display of a map indicating recently vacated parking spaces near said current location and an audio signal.

18. The method according to claim 16 and wherein said parking status reports are received via at least one of a web page, an email, an SMS, and an instant message (IM).

19. The method according to claim 16 and also comprising proactively requesting said parking status reports.

20. The method according to claim 13 and also comprising locating a parked car based on a location for which a said parking status of “

parked”

was most recently determined.

21. A method comprising:

determining a parking status of a vehicle associated with a person as a function of movement of a personal mobile communications device associated with said person.

22. A parking community server implementable on a computing device comprising:

a receiver to receive parking status messages from members of a parking community, wherein said messages comprise at least a parking status and a current location, said parking status indicating at least one of “

parking”

, “

exiting parking”

;

a mapper to map said parking statuses per said current locations to derive a persistent representation of usable parking spaces in a given area; and

means to transmit at least said persistent representation to at least said members.

23. The parking community server according to claim 22 and wherein said mapper comprises:

a parking facility determiner to determine locations for parking facilities suitable for multiple vehicles from an analysis of clustered said usable parking spaces.

24. The parking community server according to claim 23 and wherein:

said mapper also comprises an entrances/exits determiner to determine locations for said entrances/exits to/from said parking facilities from an analysis of common movements reported by said members prior/subsequent to a parking event.

25. A method implementable on a computing device, the method comprising:

receiving parking status messages from members of a parking community, said messages indicating at least a current location and a parking status;

mapping said parking statuses per said locations to derive a persistent representation of usable parking spaces in a given area; and

transmitting said persistent representation to at least said members.

26. The method according to claim 25 and also comprising:

identifying clusters of said usable parking spaces indicative of parking facility locations; and

analyzing parking patterns from said parking status messages to determine locations for entrances/exits to/from said location, wherein said parking status messages indicate at least a recent history of locations.

27. A search utility implementable in software comprising:

a search engine to search a repository for at least a service and an associated business address where said service is available;

a parking availability utility to cross reference an available parking database to identify current parking availability in an area around said associated address; and

a results presenter to present said service with at least an indication of said current parking availability to a user.

28. The search utility according to claim 27 and wherein said available parking database is derived from an analysis of location based parking reports received from a community of mobile communications device users.

29. A method implementable in software for searching a repository of information comprising:

searching for at least a service and its associated business address;

cross referencing an available parking database to identify current parking availability in an area around said business address, and

presenting said service with at least an indication of said current parking availability to a user.

30. The method according to claim 29 and wherein said available parking database is derived from an analysis of location based parking reports received from a community of mobile communications device users.

31. A mobile communications device comprising:

a locator unit to receive and process information regarding a current location for said mobile communications device;

a parking status determination unit to store said location when said vehicle is determined to be parked; and

a parked vehicle finder to indicate a current location of said device and a location at which said associated vehicle was last determined to be parked.

32. The mobile communications device according to claim 31 and wherein said locator unit is at least one of:

accelerometer, mobile base station signal, compass, on ground AGPS signal, and a GPS unit.

33. The mobile communications device according to claim 31 and wherein said mobile communications device is a mobile telephone.

34. The mobile communications device according to claim 31 wherein said parking status determination unit comprises a non-location status indication unit receiving non-location status indications, wherein said non-location status indications are at least one of:

battery charging, keyboard usage, touch screen usage, data flow characteristics, “

hands free”

speaker usage, accelerometer output and camera usage.