Navigation device & method for providing parking information

Abstract

Embodiments of the present invention relate to a navigation device including a parking place notification module. In at least one embodiment, the navigation device is arranged to wirelessly receive a message indicating a location of a parking place and, in response, the parking place notification module is arranged to either display on a display device an indication of the location of the parking place, or to select as a destination location the location of the parking place.

1 . A navigation device, comprising:
 a parking place notification module, wherein the navigation device is arranged to wirelessly receive a message indicating a location of a parking place and, in response, the parking place notification module is arranged to either display on a display device an indication of the location of the parking place, or to select as a destination location the location of the parking place.   
     
     
         2 . The navigation device of  claim 1 , wherein: the message indicates a time at which the parking place became available and the parking place notification module is arranged to display on the display device the indication of the location of the parking place and an indication of the time at which the parking place became available. 
     
     
         3 . The navigation device of  claim 1 , wherein the parking place notification module is arranged to only display on the display device one or more indications of parking places which became available less then a predetermined duration ago. 
     
     
         4 . The navigation device of  claim 1 , wherein the parking place notification module is arranged to indicate the location of the parking place on a representation of map data displayed on the display device. 
     
     
         5 . The navigation device of  claim 4 , wherein the representation of the map is displayed on the display in perspective and the indication of the location of the parking place is displayed on the map according to the perspective. 
     
     
         6 . The navigation device of  claim 1 , wherein the message indicates a number of parking places available and the parking place notification module is arranged to display on the display device an indication of the number of parking places available. 
     
     
         7 . The navigation device of  claim 1 , wherein the indication of the location of the parking place is an indication of a distance from a current location of the navigation device. 
     
     
         8 . The navigation device of  claim 1 , wherein the indication of the location of the parking place is operable by a user to select the location of the parking place as a destination location for route guidance. 
     
     
         9 . The navigation device of  claim 1 , wherein parking place notification module is arranged to transmit a message indicating a current location of the navigation device to request notification of the available parking place according to the current location. 
     
     
         10 . A method for use in a navigation device, comprising:
 receiving a message indicating a location of an available parking place; and   displaying on a display device an indication of the location of the parking place, or selecting the location of the parking place as a destination location.   
     
     
         11 . The method of  claim 10 , wherein the message comprises time information for indicating when the parking place became available, and the method comprises providing an indication on the display device representing a duration since the parking place became available based upon the time information. 
     
     
         12 . The method of  claim 11 , wherein the indication representing the duration is one or more of textual or colour information indicating the duration since the parking place became available. 
     
     
         13 . The method of  claim 10 , further comprising receiving a user input for selecting an available parking place as a destination location for route guidance. 
     
     
         14 . The method of  claim 10 , further comprising:
 determining, according to a perspective applied to a map displayed on the display device, a size of the indication of the location of the parking place; and displaying the indication on the display device with the map.   
     
     
         15 . The method of  claim 10 , comprising: selecting the location of the parking place as a destination location if a current location of the navigation device is within a predetermined distance of the parking place.