IP Library › Granted Patent US 12,652,510
Granted Patent B2
US 12,652,510 · App. 17/892,255 · Granted Jun 9, 2026

Generating and transmitting parking instructions for autonomous and non-autonomous vehicles

Inventors: Howard Hayes (Glencoe, IL); Regina Madigan (Mountain View, CA); Surender Kumar (Palatine, IL); Mark Slusar (Chicago, IL)
H04W4/029G06Q50/40G07B15/02H04W4/40G07C5/008H04W4/38H04W84/18
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Quick Facts
Patent No.
US 12,652,510
App. No.
17/892,255
Granted
Jun 9, 2026
Kind
B2
Abstract

Systems and apparatuses for receiving data from a plurality of sensors and using the data, as well as other data, to generate a parking recommendation for a first vehicle are provided. Data may be received from sensors associated with a first vehicle for which a parking recommendation may be generated. Data may also be received from sensors associated with other vehicles and/or from one or more structures or other non-vehicle devices. In some examples, historical parking data may be extracted from a database. The collected and extracted data may be used to generate a parking recommendation for the first vehicle. In some examples, pre-stored user preferences, may be used in generating the parking recommendation as well. The parking recommendation may then be transmitted to a computing device within the first vehicle and may be displayed on the computing device.

Claims (72)

1 . A parking analysis system comprising:

a first plurality of sensors within a first vehicle, wherein the first vehicle is an autonomous vehicle or semi-autonomous vehicle;

a second plurality of sensors installed as part of infrastructure;

a parking database storing historical parking location information; a processing unit comprising a processor; and

a memory unit storing computer-executable instructions, which when executed by the processing unit, cause a parking analysis computing device to:

receive, from the first plurality of sensors within the first vehicle, trip data related to a location and destination of the first vehicle;

receive, from the first vehicle, a parking recommendation request and a parking preference associated with the first vehicle;

receive, from the second plurality of sensors, data related to a plurality of locations being evaluated for parking the first vehicle and environmental conditions in the plurality of locations, wherein environmental conditions in the plurality of locations includes weather conditions and lighting conditions at each location;

query the parking database to identify historical data associated with the first vehicle and the plurality of locations being evaluated for parking the first vehicle;

receive, from a parking inventory server, a current parking inventory associated with one or more parking locations based on the trip data and the parking preference associated with the first vehicle;

generate, in real time, a recommended parking location based on the received data related to the location of the first vehicle and environmental conditions in the plurality of locations, and the recommended parking location being one location of the one or more parking locations;

determine a cost associated with parking the first vehicle in the recommended parking location, wherein the cost associated with parking the first vehicle in the recommended parking location comprises at least an offer to make the recommended parking location available within a predetermined time period corresponding to an estimated duration a second vehicle occupies the recommended parking location;

transmit the offer to make the recommended parking location available within the predetermined time period to the second vehicle occupying the recommended parking location;

transmit the recommended parking location and cost to a computing device associated with the first vehicle;

cause the the recommended parking location and cost to be displayed on a display of the computing device associated with the first vehicle;

transmit, to the first vehicle, an acceptance of the offer to make the recommended parking location available within the predetermined time period; and

generate, based on the acceptance of the offer, an instruction to operate the first vehicle,

transmit, based on the acceptance of the offer, the instruction to operate to the first vehicle to travel to the recommended parking location,

wherein the first vehicle receives the instruction to operate and autonomously travels to the recommended parking location.

2 . The system of claim 1 , wherein the memory unit stores instructions that, when executed by the processor, further cause the processor to:

facilitate, in response to the acceptance of the offer, a payment for the recommended parking location utilizing a stored payment information associated with the first vehicle.

3 . The system of claim 2 , wherein the memory unit stores instructions that, when executed by the processor, further cause the processor to:

receive, from the first vehicle, the payment information associated with the first vehicle.

4 . The system of claim 1 , wherein the parking preference associated with the first vehicle comprises an indication of a maintenance schedule of the first vehicle, the one or more parking locations corresponding to an activity associated with the maintenance schedule of the first vehicle.

5 . The system of claim 1 , wherein the parking preference associated with the first vehicle comprises a distance from a destination.

6 . The system of claim 5 , wherein the memory unit stores instructions that, when executed by the processor, further cause the processor to:

determine a distance from the second vehicle to the destination, wherein the offer to make the one or more parking locations available further corresponds to a comparison of the determined distance from the second vehicle to the destination and distance of the parking preference.

7 . The system of claim 5 , wherein the memory unit stores instructions that, when executed by the processor, further cause the processor to:

determine a weather condition at the second vehicle, the recommended parking location corresponding to the weather condition at the second vehicle.

8 . The system of claim 1 , wherein the second vehicle is an autonomous vehicle or semi-autonomous vehicle.

9 . A method for operating a vehicle, the method comprising:

receiving, at a computing device and from a first plurality of sensors within a first vehicle, trip data related to a location and destination of the first vehicle;

receiving, at the computing device and from a second plurality of sensors, data related to a plurality of locations being evaluated for parking the first vehicle and environmental conditions in the plurality of locations, wherein environmental conditions in the plurality of locations includes weather conditions and lighting conditions at each location, and wherein the second plurality of sensors are installed as part of infrastructure;

receiving, from the first vehicle, a parking recommendation request and a parking preference associated with the first vehicle;

querying a parking database to generate, based on the trip data and the parking preference associated with the first vehicle, a current parking inventory associated with one or more parking locations;

querying the parking database to identify, based on the parking preference, data associated with a parking risk for the one or more parking locations of the current parking inventory for parking the first vehicle;

generating, in real-time, a recommended parking location based on the received data related to the location of the first vehicle and environmental conditions in the one or more parking locations, the recommended parking location being one location of the plurality of locations being evaluated for parking the first vehicle;

determining a cost associated with parking the first vehicle in the recommended parking location, wherein the cost associated with parking the first vehicle in the recommended parking location comprises at least an offer to make the recommended parking location available within a predetermined time period corresponding to an estimated duration a second vehicle occupies the recommended parking location;

transmitting the offer to make the recommended parking location available within the predetermined time period to the second vehicle occupying the recommended parking location;

transmitting, to the first vehicle and based on the parking risk, the offer to make the at least one of the one or more parking locations available within a predetermined time period corresponding to the duration;

causing the offer to be displayed on a display of the computing device associated with the first vehicle;

transmitting, to the first vehicle, an acceptance of the offer to make the recommended parking location available within the predetermined time period;

generating, based on the acceptance of the offer, an instruction to operate the first vehicle; and

transmitting, based on the acceptance of the offer, operation instructions to the first vehicle to travel to the recommended parking location,

wherein the first vehicle is an autonomous vehicle or semi-autonomous vehicle and wherein the first vehicle receives the instruction to operate and autonomously travels to the recommended parking location.

10 . The method of claim 9 further comprising:

transmitting instructions to travel from a current location of the first vehicle to the recommended parking location.

11 . The method of claim 9 further comprising:

receiving a payment information associated with the first vehicle; and

facilitating, in response to the acceptance of the offer, a payment for the recommended parking location utilizing the payment information associated with the first vehicle.

12 . The method of claim 9 , wherein the parking preference associated with the first vehicle comprises an indication of a maintenance schedule of the first vehicle, the recommended parking location corresponding to an activity associated with the maintenance schedule of the first vehicle.

13 . The method of claim 9 , wherein the parking preference associated with the first vehicle comprises a distance from a destination, the method further comprising:

determining a distance from the second vehicle to the destination, wherein the offer to make the recommended parking location available further corresponds to a comparison of the determined distance from the second vehicle to the destination and distance of the parking preference.

14 . The method of claim 13 further comprising:

determining a weather condition at the second vehicle, the recommended parking location corresponding to the weather condition at the second vehicle.

15 . A non-transitory machine-readable medium storing instructions that, when executed by one or more processors, cause the one or more processors to perform steps comprising:

receiving, at a computing device and from a first plurality of sensors within a first vehicle, trip data related to a location and destination of the first vehicle;

receiving, at the computing device and from a second plurality of sensors, data related to a plurality of locations being evaluated for parking the first vehicle and environmental conditions in the plurality of locations, wherein environmental conditions in the plurality of locations includes weather conditions and lighting conditions at each location, and wherein the second plurality of sensors are installed as part of infrastructure;

receiving, from the first vehicle, a parking recommendation request and a parking preference associated with the first vehicle;

querying a parking database to generate, based on the trip data and the parking preference associated with the first vehicle, a current parking inventory associated with one or more parking locations;

querying the parking database to identify, based on the parking preference, data associated with a parking risk for the one or more parking locations of the current parking inventory for parking the first vehicle;

generating, in real time, a recommended parking location based on the received data related to the location of the first vehicle and environmental conditions in the plurality of locations, the recommended parking location being one location of the one or more parking locations;

determining a cost associated with parking the first vehicle in the recommended parking location, the recommended parking location being one location of the plurality of locations being evaluated for parking the first vehicle, wherein the cost associated with parking the first vehicle in the recommended parking location comprises at least an offer to make the recommended parking location available within a predetermined time period corresponding to an estimated duration a second vehicle occupies the recommended parking location;

transmitting the offer to make the recommended parking location available within the predetermined time period to the second vehicle occupying the recommended parking location;

transmitting, to the first vehicle and based on the parking risk, the offer to make the at least one of the one or more parking locations available within a predetermined time period corresponding to the duration;

causing the offer to be displayed on a display of the computing device associated with the first vehicle;

transmitting, to the first vehicle, an acceptance of the offer to make the recommended parking location available within the predetermined time period; and

generating, based on the acceptance of the offer, an instruction to operate the first vehicle and

transmitting, based on the acceptance of the offer, operation instructions to the first vehicle to travel to the recommended parking location, and

wherein the first vehicle is an autonomous vehicle or semi-autonomous vehicle and wherein the first vehicle receives the instruction to operate and autonomously travels to the recommended parking location.

16 . The non-transitory machine-readable medium of claim 15 , wherein the instructions, when executed by the one or more processors, further cause the one or more processors to perform steps comprising:

facilitating, in response to the acceptance of the offer, a payment for the recommended parking location utilizing stored payment information associated with the first vehicle.

Assignments (1)
ASSIGNMENT OF ASSIGNOR'S INTEREST Recorded Jun 23, 2023
From: HAYES, HOWARD; MADIGAN, REGINA; KUMAR, SURENDER; SLUSAR, MARK
To: ALLSTATE INSURANCE COMPANY
Reel/Frame 064037/0386 →
Continuity (2)
Continuation 15239983 · Aug 18, 2016
Related Publication 20230232185A1 · Jul 20, 2023
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