Parking locations often include limitations on the time periods within which vehicles are allowed to park therein. For example, certain parking spaces may allow parking for a given period of time (e.g., two-hour parking limit), only during certain times of the day (e.g., parking allowed from 8 am-5 pm) and so forth. Some parking locations include paid parking that requires payment of a parking fee. For example, a paid parking space may require payment of a parking fee in exchange for a right to park a vehicle in the parking space for a given period of time.
In many instances, users may be subject to a penalty if their vehicle is parked without authorization.For example, if a user’s vehicle is parked in a parking space outside of authorized time periods, the user may be issued a parking citation (e.g., a parking ticket requiring payment of a penalty fee), the user’s vehicle may be towed, or the like.
Google wants to help users by sending them reminders about expiring authorized parking. The patented method includes receiving a photograph of a parking receipt. The photograph is captured via a mobile phone. The photograph includes parking information including temporal restrictions for authorized parking in a parking location.
The method processes the photograph to determine an estimated parking expiration time corresponding to a time when authorization for parking within the parking location will expire, substantially continuously tracking a current location of the mobile communications device and determining an estimated return time corresponding to an estimated time required to travel to the given parking location from the current location of the mobile communications device and, in response to determining that the estimated return time is about equal to or greater than the estimated parking expiration time, providing a parking expiration alert indicative of the estimated return time being determined to be about equal to or greater than the estimated parking expiration time.
Patent Number: 9,064,416
Patent Title: Systems and methods for providing alerts regarding expiration of authorized parking
Inventors: Foster; Andrew (Narembum, AU)
Assignee: GOOGLE INC. (Mountain View, CA)
Family ID: 1000000930747
Appl. No.: 13/407,142
Filed: February 28, 2012
Abstract
A method including receiving image data corresponding to a photograph of a display of parking information including temporal restrictions for authorized parking in a parking location, the photograph captured via a mobile communications device, processing the image data to determine an estimated parking expiration time corresponding to a time when authorization for parking within the parking location will expire, substantially continuously tracking a current location of the mobile communications device and determining an estimated return time corresponding to an estimated time required to travel to the given parking location from the current location of the mobile communications device and, in response to determining that the estimated return time is about equal to or greater than the estimated parking expiration time, providing a parking expiration alert indicative of the estimated return time being determined to be about equal to or greater than the estimated parking expiration time.