Abstract:
A method of assisting a user of a personal navigation device with parking nearby a destination location includes receiving instructions from the user to create navigation instructions to the destination location, determining that the destination location is in an urban area, querying whether the user requires parking, and presenting a plurality of nearby parking areas to the user when the user requests parking, receiving the user&#39;s choice of a selected parking area from the plurality of nearby parking areas presented to the user, and planning a route to the destination location using the selected parking area as an intermediate destination.

Description:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
       [0001]    1. Field of the Invention 
         [0002]    The invention relates to a personal navigation device, and more particularly, to a method of assisting a user of a personal navigation device with finding a parking area nearby a destination location and navigating from the parking area to the destination location. 
         [0003]    2. Description of the Prior Art 
         [0004]    Global Positioning System (GPS) based navigation devices are well known and are widely employed as in-car navigation devices. Common functions of a navigation device include providing a map database for generating navigation instructions that are then shown on a display of the navigation device. These navigation devices are often mounted on or in the dashboard of a vehicle using a suction mount or other mounting means. 
         [0005]    The term “navigation device” refers to a device that enables a user to navigate to a pre-defined destination. The device may have an internal system for receiving location data, such as a GPS receiver, or may merely be connectable to a receiver that can receive location data. The device may compute a route itself, or communicate with a remote server that computes the route and provides navigation information to the device, or a hybrid device in which the device itself and a remote server both play a role in the route computation process. Personal GPS navigation devices are not permanently integrated into a vehicle but instead are devices that can readily be mounted in or otherwise used inside a vehicle. Generally (but not necessarily), they are fully self-contained—i.e. include an internal GPS antenna, navigation software and maps and can hence plot and display a route to be taken. 
         [0006]    In a conventional personal navigation device, a user will input a destination location that he wishes to travel to, such as a concert hall at the center of town. Although the personal navigation device can provide the user with driving instructions on how to get to the concert hall, the user is still left with the problem of parking. At certain locations, especially those near a crowded downtown area, parking can be hard to find, and it can be especially hard to find parking on the premises of the location that the user wishes to travel to. The personal navigation device guides the user to the destination location, but the user ultimately has to find a suitable nearby parking area without the assistance of the personal navigation device. When the user is unfamiliar with the area surrounding the destination location, this can cause unnecessary stress for the user, and can even cause the user to run late due to the extra time that parking requires. In some instances, the user may not even be aware that parking will be difficult until the user arrives at the destination location, making it difficult for the user to determine when to start the trip to the destination location. 
       SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
       [0007]    It is therefore one of the primary objectives of the claimed invention to provide a way to help users with finding parking nearby the destination location and then navigating from the parking area to the destination location. 
         [0008]    According to an exemplary embodiment of the claimed invention, a method of assisting a user of a personal navigation device with parking nearby a destination location is disclosed. The method includes receiving instructions from the user to create navigation instructions to the destination location, determining that the destination location is in an urban area, querying whether the user requires parking, and presenting a plurality of nearby parking areas to the user when the user requests parking, receiving the user&#39;s choice of a selected parking area from the plurality of nearby parking areas presented to the user, and planning a route to the destination location using the selected parking area as an intermediate destination. 
         [0009]    According to another exemplary embodiment of the claimed invention, a personal navigation device for assisting a user with parking nearby a destination location is disclosed. The personal navigation device includes a map database comprising map and address data, routing software for receiving instructions from the user to create navigation instructions to the destination location and determining that the destination location is in an urban area, and a user interface for querying whether the user requires parking, presenting a plurality of nearby parking areas to the user when the user requests parking, and receiving the user&#39;s choice of a selected parking area from the plurality of nearby parking areas presented to the user. A processor is used for controlling operation of the personal navigation device, and for executing the routing software for planning a route to the destination location using the selected parking area as an intermediate destination. 
         [0010]    It is an advantage that the present invention assists users with parking near destination locations in urban areas where there may not be a parking area onsite. The personal navigation device can guide the user to the parking area and then guide the user to the destination location from the parking area. In addition, an estimated time of arrival can be calculated that takes the walking time from the parking area to the destination location into account for providing users with a more accurate estimate of the total time needed to arrive at the destination location. 
         [0011]    These and other objectives of the present invention will no doubt become obvious to those of ordinary skill in the art after reading the following detailed description of the preferred embodiment that is illustrated in the various figures and drawings. 
     
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         [0012]      FIG. 1  is a functional block diagram of a personal navigation device according to the present invention. 
           [0013]      FIG. 2  is a table showing properties of destination locations that indicate whether the destination locations are situated in urban areas or not. 
           [0014]      FIG. 3  shows a map containing a destination location as well as nearby parking areas. 
           [0015]      FIG. 4  is a flowchart illustrating the present invention method of assisting users with parking nearby a destination location. 
       
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION 
       [0016]    Please refer to  FIG. 1 .  FIG. 1  is a functional block diagram of a personal navigation device  10  according to the present invention. The personal navigation device  10  has a display  12 , a microphone  14 , and a speaker  16 . The display  12  can be a touch-sensitive display for allowing a user of the personal navigation device  10  to input commands and data using the display  12 . The personal navigation device  10  also contains a processor  18  for controlling operation of the personal navigation device  10  as well as executing routing software  24  stored in memory  20 . The memory  20  also stores a map database  22  for storing map data, address data, parking area information, etc. The memory  20  also stores a user interface  26  for receiving user&#39;s input. 
         [0017]    The present invention personal navigation device  10  helps the user by making it easy for the user to plan his journey to a destination location. The personal navigation device  10  recognizes that although the user ultimately wants to reach a particular destination location (such as the concert hall mentioned above), in reality the user will not be able to drive and park there, so what the user really needs is guidance to a parking facility first. 
         [0018]    The need for parking assistance is greatest in urban areas since there is less space available for parking onsite. Therefore, different metrics can be used for determining whether an area is considered an urban area or not. Please refer to  FIG. 2 .  FIG. 2  is a table  30  showing properties of destination locations that indicate whether the destination locations are situated in urban areas or not. The table  30  can be stored in the memory  20  as part of the map database  22  or in other sections of the memory  20 . 
         [0019]    One property that can be used to determine if a destination location is located in an urban area or not is the number of streets per unit area located within a predetermined radius of the destination location. The length of the predetermined radius can be set by the user of the personal navigation device  10 . Another property that can be used to determine if a destination location is located in an urban area or not is the number of street intersections per unit area around the destination location. If the number of streets per unit area is greater than a first threshold or if the number of street intersections per unit area is greater than a second threshold, it can be concluded that the destination location is located in an urban area. Alternatively, the map database  22  can store an indicator that states whether the destination location is in an urban location or not. For example, in the downtown area of a large city, this indicator can state that all destination locations within the downtown area are considered to be in an urban area. 
         [0020]    As shown in  FIG. 2 , two different locations are shown to give an example of a location that is in an urban area and a location that is not in an urban area. The first location, a “concert hall” is shown as having 20 streets and 100 street intersections per square kilometer in an area located within a predetermined radius of the concert hall. Please note that the predetermined radius can be set or modified by the user of the personal navigation device  10 . For example, the user could make the radius smaller when the user wishes to walk less and wants the data to be more accurate on a smaller scale. Alternatively, the user may make the radius larger when the user expects that a parking space will not be easy to find without any assistance. The table  30  can also include an urban area indicator, which in this case states that the concert hall is in an urban area. The second location shown in  FIG. 2 , a “lake” is shown as having 2 streets and 2 street intersections per square kilometer in an area located within a predetermined radius of the lake. The urban area indicator for the lake also states that the lake is not in an urban area. 
         [0021]    In the personal navigation device  10 , the user is given a choice of guidance mode between driving mode and walking (pedestrian) mode. These options change the nature of the roads that can be selected for routing and the degree to which road rules such as one-way restrictions and blockages are applied during the route calculation. In one common scenario, the personal navigation device  10  will be in driving mode while guiding the user to the parking area, and then will be in walking mode when guiding the user from the parking area to the destination location. 
         [0022]    When the user selects a destination location, such as the concert hall, the personal navigation device  10  will first determine if the concert hall is in an urban area. Once it is determined that the destination location is located in an urban area, the user is then asked if they would like to park nearby. For example, “Do you want parking with that?” can be asked. If the user indicates that they require parking, the nearest parking facility can be automatically selected or the user can be presented with a list of nearby parking areas. If the user is given a choice, the available parking areas can include all parking areas located within a specified radius of the destination location. Along with each parking area, the corresponding distance from each parking area to the destination location can also be shown. Alternatively, a map can be shown on the display  12  such as the map  40  shown in  FIG. 3 . The map  40  shows the concert hall  46  centered on the screen and located at the intersection of roads  42  and  44 . Two parking areas  48  and  50  are shown near the concert hall  46 , with parking area  48  shown as being 0.3 km away from the concert hall  46  and parking area  50  shown as being 0.5 km away from the concert hall  46 . In this example, the concert hall  46  is the destination location, and icons for the concert hall  46  as well as the parking areas  48  and  50  are shown as being superimposed on the map  40 . In addition to the map  40  showing the distances of the parking areas  48  and  50  as being 0.3 km and 0.5 km away from the concert hall, the distances shown on the map between the parking areas  48  and  50  and the concert hall  46  are directly proportional to the actual distances between these locations. Thus, the user is given sufficient information for selecting the best parking area for the current destination location. 
         [0023]    Once a parking area has been selected, whether automatically or by the user, the selected parking area is then inserted into the route as an intermediate destination along the way to the destination location. The route to the selected parking area will be planned using driving instructions, and the route from the selected parking area to the destination location will be planned using walking instructions. In addition, an estimated time of arrival (ETA) can be calculated that considers both the driving time to the selected parking area and the walking time from the parking area to the destination location. 
         [0024]    Please refer to  FIG. 4 .  FIG. 4  is a flowchart illustrating the present invention method of assisting users with parking nearby a destination location. Steps contained in the flowchart will be explained below. 
         [0025]    Step  100 : Start. 
         [0026]    Step  102 : The user sets the destination location in the personal navigation device  10 . 
         [0027]    Step  104 : Upon receiving the destination location, the personal navigation device  10  determines if the destination location is located in an urban area. If so, go to step  106 . If not, go to step  108 . 
         [0028]    Step  106 : Since the destination location is located in an urban area, the user is asked if “parking with that” destination location will be required. If parking is required, go to step  110 . If not, go to step  108 . 
         [0029]    Step  108 : Since a special parking area is not required, a route is planned for the user to drive directly to the destination location. At the same time, an ETA to the destination location is calculated. Go to step  116 . 
         [0030]    Step  110 : The user is presented with a list of parking areas nearby the destination location. Alternatively, the nearest parking area can be selected automatically for the user. 
         [0031]    Step  112 : The user chooses a selected parking area if it was not already selected automatically. 
         [0032]    Step  114 : A route is planned to the destination location by using the selected parking area as an intermediate destination. The route to the selected parking area will be planned using driving instructions and the route from the selected parking area to the destination location will be planned using walking instructions. An ETA to the destination location including the driving time and the walking time is calculated for the user. 
         [0033]    Step  116 : End. 
         [0034]    In summary, the present invention provides a way to help users park their vehicles in urban areas where there may not be a parking area onsite. The personal navigation device can guide the user to the parking area and then guide the user on foot to the destination location from the parking area. In addition, an estimated time of arrival can be calculated that takes the walking time from the parking area to the destination location into account for providing users with a more accurate estimate of the total time needed to arrive at the destination location. 
         [0035]    Those skilled in the art will readily observe that numerous modifications and alterations of the device and method may be made while retaining the teachings of the invention.