# US 12,112,633 B2 · Methods and systems for generating parking related data > Agents: this data is available as JSON from the patentgrep API and MCP server — see https://patentgrep.com/llms.txt - Number: US 12,112,633 B2 - Document ID: US12112633B2 - Status: Granted - Kind: B2 - Application number: 16/337,906 - Filed: 2017-09-29 - Published: 2019-07-25 - Granted: 2024-10-08 - Earliest claimed: 2016-09-29 - Assignees: Tomtom Traffic B.V. - Applicants: TomTom Traffic B.V. - Inventors: Steffen Gunther Wiesner; Joakim Skarding; Konrad Bösche; Gunnar Schmidt - Web page: https://patentgrep.com/patent/US12112633B2 ## CPC - G08G 1/147: {where the parking area is within an open public zone, e.g. city centre} - G01C 21/3492: {employing speed data or traffic data, e.g. real-time or historical (traffic control systems for road vehicles involving transmission of navigation instructions to the vehicle G08G1/0968)} - G01C 21/3685: {the POI's being parking facilities} - G01C 21/3691: {Retrieval, searching and output of information related to real-time traffic, weather, or environmental conditions (arrangements for giving variable traffic instructions G08G1/09)} - 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 1/0133: {for classifying traffic situation} - G08G 1/0141: {for traffic information dissemination} - 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}) - G01C: MEASURING DISTANCES, LEVELS OR BEARINGS; SURVEYING; NAVIGATION; GYROSCOPIC INSTRUMENTS; PHOTOGRAMMETRY OR VIDEOGRAMMETRY (measuring liquid level G01F; radio navigation, determining distance or velocity by use of propagation effects, e.g. Doppler effects, propagation time, of radio waves, analogous arrangements using other waves G01S) ## Abstract A method is disclosed for generating parking related data in respect of one or more navigable elements of a navigable network within a geographic area, each navigable element being represented by a segment of an electronic map, the electronic map comprising a plurality of segments representative of the navigable network. The method comprises obtaining positional data relating to trips made by vehicles in the navigable network, each trip being a journey between stationary periods indicative of the vehicle being in a parked state. The method comprises, for each one of the plurality of trips, analysing the positional data to identify a parking space search portion of the trip; and analysing the positional data corresponding to the parking space search portions of the trips to obtain, for each one of a plurality of segments of the electronic map, a parking related parameter associated with the segment. ## Claims ### Claim 1 A method for generating parking related data in respect of one or more navigable elements of a navigable network within a geographic area, each navigable element being represented by a segment of an electronic map, the electronic map comprising a plurality of segments representative of the navigable network, said method comprising: obtaining positional data relating to a plurality of trips made by vehicles in the navigable network, each trip being a journey between stationary periods indicative of the vehicle being in a parked state; analysing, for each one of the plurality of trips, the positional data to identify a parking space search portion of the trip, the analyzing including analysing the respective positional data to identify a start of a parking space search during the trip that defines the start of the parking space search portion of the trip; analysing the positional data corresponding to the parking search portions of the trips to obtain, for each one of at least one set of a plurality of different time periods, a relative value of the parking related parameter associated with each one of a plurality of segments of the electronic map in respect of the time period, the parking related parameter being a time dependent parameter; clustering, for the or each set of time periods, the segments into groups of segments based on the relative values of the parking related parameter obtained for the segments in each time period of the set, wherein, for each of the time periods of the set of time periods, the segments in each group of segments are considered to have similar relative values of the parking related parameter; using, for each group, relative parking related parameter data associated with each of the segments of the group to generate an aggregate profile that represents a time dependence of the relative value of the parking related parameter for that group, wherein the aggregate profile is used as a representation of the time dependence of the parking related parameter for all of the segments of that group; generating a parking search route based on one or more of the aggregate profiles; and displaying, on a display, a representation of the parking search route, the displaying including superposing the representation of the parking search route on an electronic map displayed on the display. ### Claim 2 (depends on 1) The method of claim 1, wherein the parking space search portion is detected based on one or more criteria using the positional data in respect of the trip, the criteria including the positional data being indicative of one or more of; the vehicle performing one or more turns, the vehicle performing one or more loops, and the vehicle travelling at a speed below a predetermined threshold. ### Claim 3 (depends on 1) The method of claim 1, wherein the predetermined threshold is set with respect to a free flow speed for the segment. ### Claim 4 (depends on 1) The method of claim 1, wherein said identified point is considered to be a candidate point for the start of a parking space search, the method comprising considering one or more further criteria to determine whether the candidate point may be confirmed as the start of a parking space search, wherein the criteria include one or more of; the point being within a predetermined distance of the end of the trip, the point being within a predetermined distance of a turn performed by the vehicle and/or being within a loop performed by the vehicle. ### Claim 5 (depends on 4) The method of claim 4, wherein the step of determining whether the candidate point may be confirmed as the start of a parking space search further takes into account a distance travelled at the speed below the predetermined threshold. ### Claim 6 (depends on 1) The method of claim 1, wherein: the parking parameter is a parking probability; and the parking probability obtained for a segment is based on a ratio of the number of times the segment is traversed without finding a parking space according to the parking space search portion data to the number of times a parking space is successfully found on the segment according to the parking space search portion data. ### Claim 7 (depends on 1) The method of claim 1, wherein the parking related parameter is an expected parking search time. ### Claim 8 (depends on 7) The method of claim 7, wherein the expected parking space search time is based on the average remaining time spent searching for a parking space after traversing the segment according to the parking space search portion data. ### Claim 9 (depends on 1) The method of claim 1, wherein the parking related parameter is a time dependent parameter, and a plurality of values of the parameter are determined for each segment, each value of the parking related parameter being in respect of a different time period. ### Claim 10 (depends on 1) The method of claim 1, further comprising associating data indicative of the parking probability for the segment with each segment in the electronic map for which such data is determined. ### Claim 11 (depends on 1) The method of claim 1, comprising associating data indicative of the aggregate profile in association with each segment of the group. ### Claim 12 (depends on 1) The method of claim 1, further comprising using the parking related parameter data obtained for determining an estimated time to find a parking space. ### Claim 13 (depends on 1) The method of claim 1, wherein the aggregate profile is generated for a given group by: computing, for each time period of a specified set of time periods, an average or mean value of the parking related parameter for each of the segments of the given group; and combining the average or mean values of the parking related parameter into the aggregate profile. ### Claim 14 (depends on 1) The method of claim 1, further comprising: generating a set of instructions indicative of the parking search route; and outputting instructions from the set of instructions for guiding a user on the parking search route as the user travels the parking search route. ### Claim 15 A system constructed and arranged to generate parking related data in respect of one or more navigable elements of a navigable network within a geographic area, each navigable element being represented by a segment of an electronic map, the electronic map comprising a plurality of segments representative of the navigable network, said system comprising: processing circuitry configured to: obtain positional data relating to a plurality of trips made by vehicles in the navigable network, each trip being a journey between stationary periods indicative of the vehicle being in a parked state; analyse, for each one of the plurality of trips, the positional data in respect of the trip to identify a parking space search portion of the trip, the analyzing including analysing the respective positional data to identify a start of a parking space search during the trip that defines the start of the parking space search portion of the trip; analyze the positional data corresponding to the parking search portions of the trips to obtain, for each one of at least one set of a plurality of different time periods, a relative value of the parking related parameter associated with each one of a plurality of segments of the electronic map in respect of the time period, the parking related parameter being a time dependent parameter; cluster, for the or each set of time periods, the segments into groups of segments based on the relative values of the parking related parameter obtained for the segments in each time period of the set, wherein, for each of the time periods of the set of time periods, the segments in each group of segments are considered to have similar relative values of the parking related parameter; use, for each group, relative parking related parameter data associated with each of the segments of the group to generate an aggregate profile that represents a time dependence of the relative value of the parking related parameter for that group, wherein the aggregate profile is used as a representation of the time dependence of the parking related parameter for all of the segments of that group; generate a parking search route based on one or more of the aggregate profiles; and display, on a display, a representation of the parking search route, the displaying including superposing the representation of the parking search route on an electronic map displayed on the display. ### Claim 16 (depends on 15) The system of claim 15, wherein the processing circuitry is further configured to: generating a set of instructions indicative of the parking search route; and outputting instructions from the set of instructions for guiding a user on the parking search route as the user travels the parking search route. ### Claim 17 A non-transitory computer readable medium having stored thereon instructions which, when executed by a computing device, cause the computing device to perform a method for generating parking related data in respect of one or more navigable elements of a navigable network within a geographic area, each navigable element being represented by a segment of an electronic map, the electronic map comprising a plurality of segments representative of the navigable network, said method comprising: obtaining positional data relating to a plurality of trips made by vehicles in the navigable network, each trip being a journey between stationary periods indicative of the vehicle being in a parked state; analysing, for each one of the plurality of trips, the positional data to identify a parking space search portion of the trip, the analyzing including analysing the respective positional data to identify a start of a parking space search during the trip that defines the start of the parking space search portion of the trip; analysing the positional data corresponding to the parking search portions of the trips to obtain, for each one of at least one set of a plurality of different time periods, a relative value of the parking related parameter associated with each one of a plurality of segments of the electronic map in respect of the time period, the parking related parameter being a time dependent parameter; clustering, for the or each set of time periods, the segments into groups of segments based on the relative values of the parking related parameter obtained for the segments in each time period of the set, wherein, for each of the time periods of the set of time periods, the segments in each group of segments are considered to have similar relative values of the parking related parameter; using, for each group, relative parking related parameter data associated with each of the segments of the group to generate an aggregate profile that represents a time dependence of the relative value of the parking related parameter for that group, wherein the aggregate profile is used as a representation of the time dependence of the parking related parameter for all of the segments of that group; generating a parking search route based on one or more of the aggregate profiles; and display, on a display, a representation of the parking search route, the displaying including superposing the representation of the parking search route on an electronic map displayed on the display. ### Claim 18 (depends on 17) The non-transitory computer readable medium of claim 17, wherein the method further comprises: generating a set of instructions indicative of the parking search route; and outputting instructions from the set of instructions for guiding a user on the parking search route as the user travels the parking search route.