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

Abstract

A system, method, and apparatus for tracking, organizing, and displaying the parking behavior of a vehicle. In one aspect the invention can be an apparatus for tracking parking behavior of a vehicle comprising: a device comprising a processor, a movement detector for detecting whether the vehicle is in a parked state or a non-parked state, a location identifier for identifying a geographic location of the vehicle, and a transceiver operably coupled together; and wherein for each occurrence in which the movement detector detects that the vehicle has entered into the parked state, the processor is configured to: (1) measure a duration that the vehicle remains in the parked state; and (2) 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 as a parking instance.

What is claimed is: 
     
         1 . An apparatus for tracking parking behavior of a vehicle comprising:
 a device comprising a processor, a movement detector for detecting whether the vehicle is in a parked state or a non-parked state, a location identifier for identifying a geographic location of the vehicle, and a transceiver operably coupled together; and   wherein for each occurrence in which the movement detector detects that the vehicle has entered into the parked state, the processor is configured to: (1) measure a duration that the vehicle remains in the parked state; and (2) 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 as a parking instance.   
     
     
         2 . The apparatus of  claim 1  wherein the device further comprises a memory operably coupled to the processor, and wherein upon the duration exceeding the predetermined minimum time threshold without the vehicle transitioning into the non-parked state, the parking information data is stored in the memory. 
     
     
         3 . The apparatus of  claim 2  wherein the device is installed locally within the vehicle. 
     
     
         4 . The apparatus of  claim 1  wherein upon the duration exceeding the predetermined minimum time threshold without the vehicle transitioning into the non-parked state, the processor is configured to transmit, via the transceiver, the parking information data to an external database for display to an end user as an interactive graphical user interface. 
     
     
         5 . The apparatus of  claim 1  wherein the parking information data comprises a date and time that the vehicle entered into the parked state, the duration that the vehicle was in the parked state, and the geographic location of the vehicle. 
     
     
         6 . The apparatus of  claim 1  wherein the predetermined minimum time threshold is configurable by a user via an external server. 
     
     
         7 . The apparatus of  claim 1  wherein the predetermined minimum time threshold is between one and four hours. 
     
     
         8 . A method of tracking parking behavior of a vehicle comprising:
 a) detecting whether the vehicle has entered into a parked state, the parked state being a parking event;   b) upon detecting that the vehicle has entered into the parked state, measuring a duration that the vehicle remains in the parked state without transitioning into a non-parked state; and   c) upon the duration that the vehicle is in the parked state exceeding a predetermined minimum time threshold, storing parking information data of the parking event.   
     
     
         9 . The method of  claim 8  further comprising storing the parking information data within a memory of a device installed within the vehicle for each parking event having a parked state duration that exceeds the predetermined minimum time threshold. 
     
     
         10 . The method of  claim 9  further comprising transmitting, in a single message, the parking information data for all of the parking events stored within the memory of the device to a server. 
     
     
         11 . The method of  claim 10  wherein the single message is transmitted at pre-determined time intervals. 
     
     
         12 . The method of  claim 10  further comprising transmitting the parking information data from the server to a database for presentation as a graphical user interface that can be viewed and manipulated by an end user. 
     
     
         13 . The method of  claim 12  wherein the graphical user interface comprises an interactive pie chart, a data grid, and an interactive map, each of which provides a visual representation of the parking events. 
     
     
         14 . The method of  claim 13  further comprising organizing results in the pie chart by one of duration of the parking events, location of the parking events, and time of day of the parking events via user selection on the graphical user interface. 
     
     
         15 . The method of  claim 8  wherein the parking information data comprises a date and time that the vehicle entered into the parked state, the duration that the vehicle was in the parked state, and a geographic location of the vehicle when the vehicle entered into the parked state. 
     
     
         16 . The method of  claim 8  further comprising:
 d) upon the vehicle transitioning from the parked state to the non-parked state before the duration exceeds the predetermined minimum time threshold, discarding the parking information data of the parking event. 
 
     
     
         17 . A system for tracking, organizing, and displaying parking behavior of a vehicle comprising:
 a device comprising a processor, a movement detector for detecting whether the vehicle is in a parked state or a non-parked state, a location identifier for identifying a geographic location of the vehicle, a memory, and a transceiver operably coupled together;   wherein for each occurrence in which the movement detector detects that the vehicle has entered into the parked state, the device is configured to: (1) measure a duration that the vehicle remains in the parked state; and (2) upon the duration exceeding a predetermined minimum time threshold, store parking information data relating to the occurrence in the memory as a parking instance; and   wherein the parking information data for each occurrence is transmitted from the device to a database and presented as a graphical user interface that can be viewed and manipulated by an end user.   
     
     
         18 . The system of  claim 17  wherein the graphical user interface comprises a user interactive pie chart that illustrates the parking instances organized by duration, location, or time depending on user selection and an interactive map that provides a visual illustration of geographic locations of the vehicle. 
     
     
         19 . The system of  claim 17  wherein the graphical user interface can be viewed and manipulated by the end user logging onto a website.