# US 11,113,966 B2 · Vehicular information systems and methods > Agents: this data is available as JSON from the patentgrep API and MCP server — see https://patentgrep.com/llms.txt - Number: US 11,113,966 B2 - Document ID: US11113966B2 - Status: Granted - Kind: B2 - Application number: 17/100,478 - Filed: 2020-11-20 - Published: 2021-03-11 - Granted: 2021-09-07 - Earliest claimed: 2009-05-13 - Assignees: Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey - Applicants: Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey - Inventors: Marco Gruteser; Suhas Mathur - Web page: https://patentgrep.com/patent/US11113966B2 ## CPC - G08G 1/141: {with means giving the indication of available parking spaces} - B60Q 9/004: {using wave sensors (radar designed for anti-collision purposes between land vehicles or between land vehicles and fixed obstacles G01S13/931)} - G06F 3/14: Digital output to display device {; Cooperation and interconnection of the display device with other functional units} - G06V 20/586: {of parking space} - G08G 1/01: Detecting movement of traffic to be counted or controlled (G08G1/07 - G08G1/14 take precedence) - G08G 1/0112: {from the vehicle, e.g. floating car data [FCD]} - G08G 1/0129: {for creating historical data or processing based on historical data} - G08G 1/0141: {for traffic information dissemination} - G08G 1/14: indicating individual free spaces in parking areas - G08G 1/143: {inside the vehicles} - G08G 1/147: {where the parking area is within an open public zone, e.g. city centre} - G09G 5/006: {Details of the interface to the display terminal (specific for a display terminal using a CRT G09G1/167; using a flat panel G09G3/2096; circuits for interfacing with colour displays G09G5/04)} - G09G 5/12: Synchronisation between the display unit and other units, e.g. other display units, video-disc players - G09G 5/18: Timing circuits for raster scan displays (specially adapted for television H04N {; synchronisation between the display unit and other display units, videodisc player G09G5/12}) - G09G 2370/10: Use of a protocol of communication by packets in interfaces along the display data pipeline - G08G: TRAFFIC CONTROL SYSTEMS (guiding railway traffic, ensuring the safety of railway traffic B61L; arrangement of road signs or traffic signals E01F9/00; radar or analogous systems, sonar systems, lidar systems specially adapted for traffic control G01S13/91, G01S15/88, G01S17/88; {radar or analogous systems, sonar systems, lidar systems specially adapted for anti-collision purposes G01S13/93, G01S15/93, G01S17/93}) - B60Q: ARRANGEMENT OF SIGNALLING OR LIGHTING DEVICES, THE MOUNTING OR SUPPORTING THEREOF OR CIRCUITS THEREFOR, FOR VEHICLES IN GENERAL - G06F: ELECTRIC DIGITAL DATA PROCESSING (computer systems based on specific computational models G06N) - G06V: IMAGE OR VIDEO RECOGNITION OR UNDERSTANDING - G09G: ARRANGEMENTS OR CIRCUITS FOR CONTROL OF INDICATING DEVICES USING STATIC MEANS TO PRESENT VARIABLE INFORMATION (arrangements for transferring data between digital computers and displays G06F3/14; static indicating arrangements comprising an association of a number of separate sources or light control cells G09F9/00; static indicating arrangements comprising integral associations of a number of light sources H01J, H01K, H10H, H05B33/12; scanning, transmission or reproduction of documents or the like, e.g. facsimile transmission, details thereof H04N1/00) ## Abstract Disclosed is a method and system that receives sensor information from each of a plurality of sensors. Each sensor in the plurality is associated with a vehicle. The sensor information includes location coordinates of each vehicle in the plurality. The sensor information associated with each vehicle in the plurality then is translated to parking statistics information. In one embodiment, the translation is based on an aggregate of sensor information corresponding to the plurality of vehicles. The system then communicates parking statistics information to the vehicle. ## Claims ### Claim 1 A method comprising: receiving, by at least one first processor, sensor information from at least one sensor attached to at least one vehicle; wherein the at least one sensor is configured to: i) generate a plurality of sensor signals, and ii) receive a signal reflection associated with each sensor signal of the plurality of sensor signals; wherein the sensor information comprises timing data indicating: i) a time of generation of each sensor signal of the plurality of sensor signals, and ii) a time of reception of a signal reflection associated with each sensor signal; determining, by the at least one first processor, a plurality of time differences based on the timing data; wherein each time difference of the plurality of time differences comprises a difference between the time of generation for each sensor signal and the time of reception of the signal reflection for each sensor signal; determining, by at least one second processor, a plurality of detected dips based at least in part on at least one set of consecutive time differences within the plurality of time differences; wherein each consecutive time difference of the at least one set of consecutive time differences comprise a value less than a dip depth threshold; determining, by the at least one second processor, a parking availability status based at least in part on a dip width threshold and a dip width of the at least one set of consecutive time differences; wherein the dip width comprises a count of consecutive time differences of the at least one set of consecutive time differences; and transmitting, by the at least one second processor, an indication of the parking availability status to at least one computing device to indicate a presence or an absence of an available parking space. ### Claim 2 (depends on 1) The method of claim 1, wherein the at least one first processor and the at least one second processor are the same. ### Claim 3 (depends on 1) The method of claim 1, wherein the at least one second processor is remotely located from the at least one first processor. ### Claim 4 (depends on 3) The method of claim 3, further comprising transmitting, by the at least one first processor, the plurality of time differences to the at least one second processor. ### Claim 5 (depends on 1) The method of claim 1, wherein the at least one first processor is positioned within the at least one vehicle. ### Claim 6 (depends on 1) The method of claim 1, wherein the at least one second processor is positioned remotely from the at least one vehicle. ### Claim 7 (depends on 1) The method of claim 1, further comprising generating, by the at least one second processor, at least one parking availability metric based on at least one of: i) an aggregated count of available parking spaces in a region, ii) historical averages of the available parking spaces in the region, or iii) a combination thereof. ### Claim 8 (depends on 1) The method of claim 1, wherein the parking availability status comprises: i) an unavailable parking space indicator indicating an unavailable parking space, ii) an available parking space indicator indicating an available parking space, or iii) a combination thereof. ### Claim 9 (depends on 1) The method of claim 1, further comprising: receiving, by the at least one first processor, the at least one second processor, or both, video data from a video capture device associated with the at least one vehicle; wherein the video data comprises: i) a plurality of frames of video captured by the video capture device, and ii) a plurality of time stamps, wherein each time stamp of the plurality of time stamps comprises a time of capture of an associated frame of the plurality of frames; and verifying, by the at least one first processor, the at least one second processor, or both, the parking availability status based on the video data. ### Claim 10 (depends on 1) The method of claim 1, further comprising: receiving, by the at least one first processor, the at least one second processor, or both, location data associated with the at least one vehicle; and determining, by the at least one first processor, the at least one second processor, or both, a location associated with the parking availability status based on the location data. ### Claim 11 (depends on 10) The method of claim 10, further comprising: generating, by the at least one first processor, the at least one second processor or any combination thereof, a parking space map depicting the location associated with the parking availability status; and causing to display, by the at least one first processor, the at least one second processor or any combination thereof, the parking space map on the at least one computing device. ### Claim 12 A system comprising: at least one processor associated with a server wherein the at least one processor is configured to execute software instructions causing the at least one processor to perform steps to: receive sensor information from at least one sensor attached to at least one vehicle; wherein the at least one sensor is configured to: i) generate a plurality of sensor signals, and ii) receive a signal reflection associated with each sensor signal of the plurality of sensor signals; wherein the sensor information comprises timing data indicating: i) a time of generation of each sensor signal of the plurality of sensor signals, and ii) a time of reception of a signal reflection associated with each sensor signal; determine a plurality of time differences based on the timing data; wherein each time difference of the plurality of time differences comprises a difference between the time of generation for each sensor signal and the time of reception of the signal reflection for each sensor signal; determine a plurality of detected dips based at least in part on at least one set of consecutive time differences within the plurality of time differences; wherein each consecutive time difference of the at least one set of consecutive time differences comprise a value less than a dip depth threshold; determine a parking availability status based at least in part on a dip width threshold and a dip width of the at least one set of consecutive time differences; wherein the dip width comprises a count of consecutive time differences of the at least one set of consecutive time differences; and transmit an indication of the parking availability status to at least one computing device to indicate a presence or an absence of an available parking space. ### Claim 13 (depends on 12) The system of claim 12, wherein the at least one processor is further configured to execute software instructions causing the at least one processor to perform steps to generate at least one parking availability metric based on at least one of: i) an aggregated count of available parking spaces in a region, ii) historical averages of the available parking spaces in the region, or iii) a combination thereof. ### Claim 14 (depends on 12) The system of claim 12, wherein the parking availability status comprises: i) an unavailable parking space indicator indicating an unavailable parking space, ii) an available parking space indicator indicating an available parking space, or iii) a combination thereof. ### Claim 15 (depends on 12) The system of claim 12, wherein the at least one processor is further configured to execute software instructions causing the at least one processor to perform steps to: receive video data from a video capture device associated with the at least one vehicle; wherein the video data comprises: i) a plurality of frames of video captured by the video capture device, and ii) a plurality of time stamps, wherein each time stamp of the plurality of time stamps comprises a time of capture of an associated frame of the plurality of frames; and verify the parking availability status based on the video data. ### Claim 16 (depends on 12) The system of claim 12, wherein the at least one processor is further configured to execute software instructions causing the at least one processor to perform steps to: receive location data associated with the at least one vehicle; and determine a location associated with the parking availability status based on the location data. ### Claim 17 (depends on 16) The system of claim 16, wherein the at least one processor is further configured to execute software instructions causing the at least one processor to perform steps to: generate a parking space map depicting the location associated with the parking availability status; and cause to display the parking space map on at least one vehicle navigation system associated with the at least one computing device. ### Claim 18 A method comprising: receiving, by at least one processor associated with a server, sensor information from at least one sensor attached to at least one vehicle; wherein the at least one sensor is configured to: i) generate a plurality of sensor signals, and ii) receive a signal reflection associated with each sensor signal of the plurality of sensor signals; wherein the sensor information of each sensor of the at least one sensor comprises timing data indicating: i) a time of generation of each sensor signal of the plurality of sensor signals, and ii) a time of reception of a signal reflection associated with each sensor signal; determining, by the at least one processor, a plurality of time differences based on the timing data; wherein each time difference of the plurality of time differences comprises a difference between the time of generation for each sensor signal and the time of reception of the signal reflection for each sensor signal; determining, by at least one processor, a plurality of detected dips based at least in part on at least one set of consecutive time differences within the plurality of time differences; wherein each consecutive time difference of the at least one set of consecutive time differences comprise a value less than a dip depth threshold; determining, by the at least one processor, a parking availability status based at least in part on a dip width threshold and a dip width of the at least one set of consecutive time differences; wherein the dip width comprises a count of consecutive time differences of the at least one set of consecutive time differences; and transmitting, by the at least one processor, an indication of the parking availability status to at least one computing device to indicate a presence or an absence of an available parking space. ### Claim 19 (depends on 18) The method of claim 18, further comprising generating, by the at least one processor, at least one parking availability metric based on at least one of: i) an aggregated count of available parking spaces in a region, ii) historical averages of the available parking spaces in the region, or iii) a combination thereof. ### Claim 20 (depends on 18) The method of claim 18, wherein the parking availability status comprises: i) an unavailable parking space indicator indicating an unavailable parking space, ii) an available parking space indicator indicating an available parking space, or iii) a combination thereof. ### Claim 21 (depends on 18) The method of claim 18, further comprising: receiving, by the at least one processor, video data from a video capture device associated with the at least one vehicle; wherein the video data comprises: i) a plurality of frames of video captured by the video capture device, and ii) a plurality of time stamps, wherein each time stamp of the plurality of time stamps comprises a time of capture of an associated frame of the plurality of frames; and verifying, by the at least one processor, the parking availability status based on the video data. ### Claim 22 (depends on 18) The method of claim 18, further comprising: receiving, by the at least one processor, location data associated with the at least one vehicle; and determining, by the at least one processor, a location associated with the parking availability status based on the location data. ### Claim 23 (depends on 22) The method of claim 22, further comprising: generating, by the at least one processor, a parking space map depicting the location associated with the parking availability status; and causing to display, by the at least one processor, the parking space map on at least one vehicle navigation system associated with the at least one computing device. ### Claim 24 A method comprising: generating, by at least one processor, an electronic request for an indication of a presence or an absence of an available parking space in a region; receiving, by the at least one processor, a parking availability status indicating the presence or the absence of the available parking space in the region based on a plurality of time differences of a plurality of sensor signals from at least one sensor attached to at least one vehicle; wherein the at least one sensor is configured to: i) generate the plurality of sensor signals, and ii) receive a signal reflection associated with each sensor signal of the plurality of sensor signals; wherein the plurality of time differences are based on sensor information comprising timing data for each sensor signal of the plurality of sensor signals; wherein the timing data for each sensor signal indicates: i) a time of generation, and ii) a time of reception of each signal reflection; wherein each time difference comprises a difference between the time of generation for each sensor signal and the time of reception of each signal reflection for each sensor signal; wherein a plurality of detected dips are determined based at least in part on at least one set of consecutive time differences within the plurality of time differences; wherein each consecutive time difference of the at least one set of consecutive time differences comprise a value less than a dip depth threshold; wherein the parking availability status is determined based on a dip width threshold and a dip width of the at least one set of consecutive time differences; wherein the dip width comprises a count of consecutive time differences of the at least one set of consecutive time differences; and causing to display, by the at least one processor, the indication of the parking availability status on a display. ### Claim 25 (depends on 24) The method of claim 24, further comprising receiving, by the at least one processor, at least one parking availability metric based on at least one of: i) an aggregated count of available parking spaces in the region, ii) historical averages of the available parking spaces in the region, or iii) a combination thereof. ### Claim 26 (depends on 24) The method of claim 24, wherein the parking availability status comprises: i) an unavailable parking space indicator indicating an unavailable parking space, ii) an available parking space indicator indicating an available parking space, or iii) a combination thereof. ### Claim 27 (depends on 24) The method of claim 24, wherein the parking availability status is verified using video data from a video capture device associated with the at least one vehicle; wherein the video data comprises: i) a plurality of frames of video captured by the video capture device, and ii) a plurality of time stamps, wherein each time stamp of the plurality of time stamps comprises a time of capture of an associated frame of the plurality of frames. ### Claim 28 (depends on 24) The method of claim 24, wherein the parking availability status further comprises a location associated with the parking availability status based on location data associated with the at least one vehicle. ### Claim 29 (depends on 28) The method of claim 28, further comprising: receiving, by the at least one processor, a parking space map depicting the location associated with the parking availability status; and causing to display, by the at least one processor, the parking space map on the display. ### Claim 30 (depends on 24) The method of claim 24, wherein the display is associated with a computing device.