Communications: electrical – External condition vehicle-mounted indicator or alarm – Highway information
Patent
1997-03-24
1998-05-05
Hofsass, Jeffery
Communications: electrical
External condition vehicle-mounted indicator or alarm
Highway information
340995, 3409322, 341 23, 345172, 3644492, 3644493, G08G 109
Patent
active
057481075
DESCRIPTION:
BRIEF SUMMARY
FIELD OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to a method and an apparatus for finding an available parking lot or parking garage.
BACKGROUND INFORMATION
Publication "Verkehrsmanagement Stadtpilot"(Traffic Planning City Pilot), Funkschau 3/1994, pages 49 to 51, a "City-Pilot" describes a method with which a driver can already obtain all the important information relating to available parking lots as well as all lines of the public transit system, with departure times and connections, for a major city and its commuter area. The required data for this city are either transmitted directly to the terminal, via the radio data system (RDS system), or also via variable message signs which are controlled via RDS. The City-Pilot has a display on which the desired data can be displayed by pressing keys the appropriate number of times. However, it is disadvantageous that the device cannot determine its own location. Therefore all the received data have to be manually searched until a certain destination with an available parking lot is found. In view of the large number of data which can be transmitted with the RDS system, this search process can be very time-consuming. Using this process while in a moving motor vehicle, for example, could therefore overly distract the driver from the traffic events around him.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
In contrast, the method of procedure, according to the present invention for finding an available parking lot for a motor vehicle has an advantage that by determining the current position of the motor vehicle, a preselection of the data can take place, and only the data which lie within the given search area are displayed. The search area can be selected in such a way that only one city or one district is covered, and the available parking lots or parking garages for this city or district are output. If, on the other hand, there are several cities or districts in the search area, the driver can make a simple selection by pressing the appropriate keys. With the apparatus according to the present invention, the RDS system of a car radio can be used to determine an available parking lot, so that the advantages of the car radio, namely the receiver part, the existing display and any input keys, as well as a control of a microprocessor, for example, can also be used. This results in significant cost advantages in the production of the apparatus according to the present invention.
It is further advantageous that a simple and current selection of a destination can be made by assigning the keys to the districts.
Since the parking lots or parking garages are assigned to a district, the parking lot can therefore be displayed automatically, without further selection measures being required.
Another advantage according to the present invention is that the lines of the public transit system and/or their schedules are also output in the selected district. Since the selected district is relatively small, its representation is easily surveyed, particularly if an electronic street map is being used.
It is particularly advantageous that in the apparatus for carrying out the method for finding an available parking lot, the selection of a district can be made using an input device which is structured as a key pad. Pads with nine, ten or sixteen keys are usual, for example, for calculators, and rocker keys are usual for car radios, all of which are familiar to the user. It is particularly advantageous if each key of a key pad is assigned to at least one district, in accordance with its geographical location. This simplifies operation when selecting a district, so that the driver can easily operate the device even while driving.
A particularly precise and targeted selection of the destination, i.e. of a district, is achieved by repeatedly pressing a key. By assigning the keys multiple functions, space is saved on the front panel of the car radio, without losing clarity for the selection of a district.
By using a navigation or destination guidance system, there is the advantage that the driver
REFERENCES:
patent: 4974170 (1990-11-01), Bouve et al.
patent: 5103400 (1992-04-01), Yamada et al.
patent: 5231584 (1993-07-01), Nimura et al.
patent: 5635953 (1997-06-01), Hayami et al.
"Verkehrsmanagement Stadtpilot", Funkschau (Mar. 1994), pp. 49-51.
Claussen Hinrich
Kersken Ulrich
Hofsass Jeffery
Pope Daryl C.
Robert & Bosch GmbH
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