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CA-3011814-C - VEHICLE PARKING SYSTEM

CA3011814CCA 3011814 CCA3011814 CCA 3011814CCA-3011814-C

Abstract

Aspects of the present disclosure are generally related to one or more systems, methods, and devices for forecasting the likelihood of locating available parking spaces at various remote locations, and navigating a vehicle to the available parking space. In some examples, aspects of the present disclosure may utilize a variety of data sources (e.g., historical data, surveyed data, and real-time parking availability data) in order to predict the likelihood of locating the available parking space within the confines of an available hours of service (HOS) requirement of a driver of the vehicle.

Inventors

  • Wesley M. Mays
  • Richard GLASMANN

Assignees

  • OMNITRACS, LLC

Dates

Publication Date
20260505
Application Date
20170127
Priority Date
20160129

Claims (20)

  1. WO 2017/132622 7/150016WO CLAIMS What is claimed is: PCT/US2017/015508 1. A method for navigating a vehicle to one or more parking location candidates, comprising: identifying a route for the vehicle to a destination; determining a remaining hours of service (HOS) for a driver associated with the vehicle; calculating a distance that vehicle can travel on the route before expiration of the remaining HOS; identifying the one or more parking location candidates for the vehicle at a target resting destination based on the calculated distance; and navigating the vehicle to the one or more parking location candidates at the target resting destination.
  2. 2. The method of claim 1, wherein the identifying the route for the vehicle to the destination, comprises: receiving, at a network entity, vehicle specific information from a mobile computing platform associated with the vehicle, wherein the vehicle specific information includes a current location of the vehicle, the destination of the route, and the route that the vehicle will traverse to the destination.
  3. 3. The method of claim 1, wherein identifying the one or more parking location candidates for the vehicle at the target resting destination, comprises: determining parking location candidates based on at least one of a historical data, surveyed data, or real-time parking availability data.
  4. 4. The method of claim 3, wherein the historical data is determined based on information collected from a plurality of mobile computing platforms at the target resting destination.
  5. 5. The method of claim 1, further comprising: reserving a parking space at the one or more parking location candidates.
  6. 6. The method of claim 1, further comprising: 23 WO 2017/1326227/150016WO PCT/US2017/015508 assigning a confidence factor to the one or more parking location candidates; and displaying the confidence factor at a display of a mobile computing device associated with the one or more parking location candidates.
  7. 7. The method of claim 1, wherein calculating the distance that vehicle can travel on the route before expiration of the remaining HOS is based on traffic or weather conditions on the route.
  8. 8. The method of claim 1, wherein the one or more parking location candidates includes one or more available parking spaces.
  9. 9. An apparatus for navigating a vehicle to one or more parking location candidates, comprising: a processor; and a memory, wherein the memory includes instructions executable by the processor to: identify a route for the vehicle to a destination; determine a remaining hours of service (HOS) for a driver associated with the vehicle; calculate a distance that vehicle can travel on the route before expiration of the remaining HOS; identify the one or more parking location candidates for the vehicle at a target resting destination based on the calculated distance; and navigate the vehicle to the one or more parking location candidates at the target resting destination.
  10. 10. The apparatus of claim 9, wherein the processor is further configured to: receive, at a network entity, vehicle specific information from a mobile computing platform associated with the vehicle, wherein the vehicle specific information includes a current location of the vehicle, the destination of the route, and the route that the vehicle will traverse to the destination.
  11. 11. The apparatus of claim 9, wherein the processor is further configured to: 24 WO 2017/132622 7/150016WO PCT/0S2017 /015508 determine parking location candidates based on at least one of a historical data, surveyed data, or real-time parking availability data.
  12. 12. The apparatus of claim 11, wherein the historical data is determined based on information collected from a plurality of mobile computing platforms at the target resting destination.
  13. 13. The apparatus of claim 9, wherein the processor is further configured to: reserve a parking space at the one or more parking location candidates.
  14. 14. The apparatus of claim 9, wherein the processor is further configured to: assign a confidence factor to the one or more parking location candidates; and display the confidence factor at a display of a mobile computing device associated with the one or more parking location candidates.
  15. 15. The apparatus of claim 9, wherein calculating the distance that vehicle can travel on the route before expiration of the remaining HOS is based on traffic or weather conditions on the route.
  16. 16. The apparatus of claim 9, wherein the one or more parking location candidates includes one or more available parking spaces.
  17. 17. A computer-readable medium for navigating a vehicle to one or more parking location candidates, comprising instructions executable to: identify a route for the vehicle to a destination; determine a remaining hours of service (HOS) for a driver associated with the vehicle; calculate a distance that vehicle can travel on the route before expiration of the remaining HOS; identify the one or more parking location candidates for the vehicle at a target resting destination based on the calculated distance; and navigate the vehicle to the one or more parking location candidates at the target resting destination. WO 2017/132622 7/150016WO PCT/US2017/015508
  18. 18. The computer-readable medium of claim 17, wherein the instructions are further executable to: receive, at a network entity, vehicle specific information from a mobile computing platform associated with the vehicle, wherein the vehicle specific information includes a current location of the vehicle, the destination of the route, and the route that the vehicle will traverse to the destination.
  19. 19. The computer-readable medium of claim 17, wherein the instructions are further executable to: determine parking location candidates based on at least one of a historical data, surveyed data, or real-time parking availability data.
  20. 20. The computer-readable medium of claim 19, wherein the historical data is determined based on information collected from a plurality of mobile computing platforms at the target resting destination. 26

Description

VEHICLE PARKING SYSTEM CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION(S) [0001] This application claims the benefit of U.S. Non-Provisional Application Serial No. 15/011,182, entitled "VEHICLE PARKING SYSTEM" and filed on January 29, 2016. BACKGROUND [0002] In recent decades, significant attention has been called to the issue of safety among truck drivers. In particular, the fact that many drivers may drive for long hours, and may thus be at a lowered sense of alertness, has contributed to a number of highway accidents and fatalities. Accordingly, such perception has led to legislation and regulations that seek to determine how much and how often a truck driver may drive, and dictate the amount and frequence of rest periods. Generally, in order to comply with the legislation and regulations, truck drivers maintain an accurate driver log that records time periods when the driver is on-duty and driving, on-duty but not driving, off-duty, and resting/sleeping. Based on such information, a driver may be able to determine his or her allowable hours of service (HOS) (e.g., a time value that the driver may be on-duty). In some examples, HOS rules may require a trucker to take a 30-minute rest after eight hours of driving, or to stop for a longer period after driving for 11 hours. [0003] Accordingly, in complying with the HOS requirements, truck drivers often seek out convenient parking locations (e.g., authorized truck stops) in order to rest/sleep during the off-duty period. However, truck drivers are often faced with a critical shortage in available truck parking due to growth in commercial vehicle truck travel on the nation's roads. Particularly, the five-axle trucks that generally drive the nation's highways are difficult to park, and require spaces specifically designed for trucks. Inability to find a designated parking spot may result in the truck driver having to spend the night on road shoulders and exit ramps. As such, often truckers must guess when and where to stop, and if they are wrong, may face long distances to find the next location with dedicated legal parking. In some instances, given the unpredictability of traffic congestion, the trucker may be unable to reach the next location without violating the HOS requirements. I Date Re9ue/Date Received 2024-05-14 WO 2017/1326227/150016WO PCT/US2017/015508 [0004) Thus, in many instances, a truck driver, in order to avoid the risks associated with not finding a convenient parking location, may prematurely stop ( e.g., prior to the expiration of available HOS) at a first location that may have available parking. However, in doing so, the truck driver may not maximize his or her allowable HOS. SUMMARY [0005) Aspects of the present disclosure are generally related to one or more systems, methods, and devices for forecasting the likelihood of locating available parking spaces at various remote locations, and navigating the driver to the available parking space. In some examples, aspects of the present disclosure may utilize a variety of data sources ( e.g., historical data, surveyed data, and real-time parking availability data) in order to predict the likelihood of locating an available parking space at a location that is within the confines of an available HOS requirement of the vehicle driver. [0006) Accordingly, in some aspects, an analytics and navigation system of the present disclosure may maintain an active electronic driver log that collects information from driver inputs and/or one or more sensors associated with the vehicle to record time periods when the driver is on-duty and driving, on-duty but not driving, off-duty, and resting/sleeping in order to dynamically determine remaining HOS for a driver associated with a vehicle. In some examples, the analytics and navigation system may further utilize the remaining HOS information to calculate a distance that the vehicle can travel on a route to a final destination of the vehicle before expiration of the remaining HOS. In some examples, aspects of the present disclosure may calculate the distance based on consideration of factors such as traffic and/or weather conditions. [0007) Upon calculating the distance that the vehicle may travel before the expiration of HOS associated with the driver, aspects of the present disclosure may identify a target resting destination (e.g., a region of predetermined radius). Accordingly, in some examples, the analytics and navigation system may determine the likelihood of locating available parking spaces at various intervals (e.g., every 2 miles) at the target resting destination such that the driver may reach the available parking location (e.g., designated truck stop) while maximizing the available HOS. [0008) Aspects of the present disclosure include a method, apparatus, and a computerreadable medium for navigating a vehicle to one or more parking location candidates. In some aspects, the method, apparatus, and a computer-readable medium may comprise identifying a route f