Field of the Invention

[001] The present invention generally relates to vehicle navigation, in particular, to a computer-implemented method and system for assisting a user with parking a vehicle.

Background of the Invention

[002] Car parking in metropolitan areas, particularly, temporary parking, is becoming more and more difficult. Firstly, the road networks in the metropolitan areas are quite complex, it is hard for a driver to identify a suitable parking zone while driving. As a result, the driver is likely to miss an available parking zone while driving. Secondly, parking rules associated with a parking zone are also complex, which is very common for temporary parking, often times the driver needs to slow down or stop the vehicle in the parking zone in order to interpret the parking rules and decide if it is eligible to park the vehicle in the parking zone. This make the driver stay longer on the road and may lead to traffic congestion or even traffic accidents sometimes.

[003] Therefore, there is need for an improved parking assistance system and method to alleviate at least part of the problems aforementioned.

[004] Any discussion of the background art throughout the specification should in no way be considered as an admission that such background art is prior art, nor that such background art is widely known or forms part of the common general knowledge in the field in Australia or any other country.

Summary of the Invention

[005] There is provided a computer-implemented method for assisting a user with parking a vehicle, the method comprising:

receiving from a computing device associated with the user a request to identify a desired parking zone to park the vehicle, the request including a set of requirements for the desired parking zone; identifying from a database one or more candidate parking zones, wherein a set of parking rules associated with each of the one or more candidate parking zones meet the set of requirements for the desired parking zone; and

sending candidate parking zone information in relation to the one or more candidate parking zones to the computing device to assist the user with parking the vehicle in one of the one or more candidate parking zones.

[006] Using this method, the user is able to use the computing device to send the request to identify the desired parking zone before the vehicle arrives at the desired parking zone. The method identifies the one or more candidate parking zones that meet the requirements for the desired parking zone and sends the candidate parking zone information to the computing device being used by the user for the user to select one of the parking zones to park the vehicle. This way, the user will not miss the desired parking zone while driving and does not need to interpret the parking rules when in the parking zone. Therefore, this method reduces the time for the user to find the desired parking zone and to decide if it is eligible to park the vehicle in the parking zone. As a result, traffic congestion may be alleviated and traffic accidents may be avoided.

[007] The set of requirements for the desired parking zone may comprise one or more of the following:

a location of the desired parking zone;

an available time of the desired parking zone;

a duration of the desired parking zone;

a parking fee rate of the desired parking zone;

a jurisdiction of the desired parking zone;

reservation for persons with disabilities;

loading only;

unrestricted parking;

car share parking only;

a type of a vehicle;

a condition on a driver's license;

permit holder only; and a user profile, the user profile including the age of the user, a driver license number, a plate number of the vehicle, parking permit information, payment information.

[008] The set of parking rules associated with each of the one or more candidate parking zone may comprise one or more of the following:

a location of the candidate parking zone;

an available period of the candidate parking zone;

an unavailable period of the candidate parking zone;

a duration of the candidate parking zone;

a parking fee rate of the candidate parking zone;

reservation for persons with disabilities;

a jurisdiction of the candidate parking zone;

tow away;

a street sweeping period;

loading only;

unrestricted parking;

no parking;

no stopping;

bus stop only;

car share parking only;

permit holder exemption;

permit holder only;

availability status of the candidate parking zone;

occupancy status of the candidate parking zone;

other attributes that may designate special entitlements or rights for a subset of users;

restrictions based on the user profile, including no parking for a vehicle with an even or odd plate number on certain days, no parking for a vehicle with a plate number ending with a certain digit on certain days.

[009] The method may further comprise:

determining a cost estimate for parking the vehicle based on the set of requirements for the desired parking zone and the set of rules associated with the candidate parking zone; and sending the cost estimate to the computing device associated with the user.

[010] The request may be a voice command, the method may further comprise applying a voice recognition process to the voice command to determine the set of requirements for the desired parking zone.

[011] The request may be a natural language command, the method may further comprise applying a natural language understanding process to the natural language command to determine the set of requirements for the desired parking zone.

[012] The candidate parking zone information in relation to the one or more candidate parking zones may comprise one or more of an audio direction, a visual direction, and a textual direction.

[013] There is provided a parking assistance system for assisting a user with parking a vehicle, the parking assistance system comprising:

a data collection device;

a zone generation server;

a parking zone identification server; and

a parking query device associated with the user;

wherein,

the data collection device is configured to capture parking area information in relation to a parking area and send the parking area information to the zone generation server via a communication network;

the zone generation server is configured to

receive the parking area information from the data collection device; generate one or more data records to define parking zones in the parking area and rules associated with the parking zones based on the parking area information; and

send the one or more data records to the parking zone identification server to store the one or more data records; the parking query device associated with the user is configured to send a request to the parking zone identification server to identify a desired parking zone to park the vehicle, the request including a set of requirements for the desired parking zone,

the parking zone identification server is configured to

receive from the parking query device the request to identify the desired parking zone to park the vehicle;

identify one or more candidate parking zones from the parking zones defined by the one or more data records, wherein a set of parking rules associated with each of the one or more candidate parking zones meet the set of requirements for the desired parking zone; and

send candidate parking zone information in relation to the one or more candidate parking zones to the parking query device to assist the user with parking the vehicle in one of the one or more candidate parking zones.

[014] The data collection device may comprise a first processor, a camera and a global positioning system (GPS) device, and the processor is further configured by a first set of computer-readable instructions to active the camera to capture images of street signs in the parking area.

[015] The data collection device may further comprise a touch-sensitive screen, the processor is further configured to

present a map on the touch-sensitive screen;

receive position data representing positions of the street signs in the map in response to touch operations on the touch-sensitive screen.

[016] The first processor of the data collection device may be further configured to active the GPS device to locate positions of the street signs in the parking area.

[017] The data collection device may further comprise one or more sensors to sense acceleration, direction of the data collection device and altitude to refine positions of the street signs in the parking area.

[018] The first processor of the data collection device may be further configured to send the images and the positions of the street signs to the zone generation server via the communication network. [019] The zone generation server may comprise a second processor and the second processor may be further configured by a second set of computer-readable instructions to

receive the images and the positions of the street signs from the data collection device via the communication network;

generate the one or more data records to define the parking zones in the parking area and a set of parking rules associated with each of the parking zones based on the images and the positions of the street signs; and

send the one or more data records to the parking zone identification server to store the one or more data records.

[020] The second processor may be further configured to recognise the set of parking rules associated with each of the parking zones from the images of the street signs or receive the set of parking rules associated with each of the parking zones.

[021] The set of parking rules associated with each of the parking zones may comprise one or more of the following:

an available period of the parking zone;

an unavailable period of the parking zone;

a duration of the parking zone;

a parking fee rate of the parking zone;

reservation for persons with disabilities;

a jurisdiction of the parking zone;

tow away;

a street sweeping period;

loading only;

unrestricted parking;

no parking;

no stopping;

bus stop only;

car share parking only;

permit holder exemption;

permit holder only; availability status of the parking zone;

occupancy status of the parking zone;

other attributes that may designate special entitlements or rights for a subset of users;

restrictions based on the user profile, including no parking for a vehicle with an even or odd plate number on certain days, no parking for a vehicle with a plate number ending with a certain digit on certain days.

[022] The second processor may be further configured to combine a first parking zone of the parking zones and a second parking zone of the parking zones to a single parking zone if rules associated with the first parking zone are identical with rules associated with the second parking zone and the first parking zone is adjacent to the second parking zone.

[023] The second processor may be further configured to checks if rules associated a first street sign of the street signs are consistent with rules associated with a second street sign of the street signs to verify validity of rules associated with a parking zone between the first street sign and the second street sign.

[024] The parking query device may include a screen and is further configured to present on the screen a map and one or more indications that represent the one or more candidate parking zones.

[025] The request may be a voice command, and the zone identification server may be further configured to apply a voice recognition process to the voice command to determine the set of requirements for the desired parking zone.

[026] The request may be a natural language command, and the zone identification server is further configured to apply a natural language understanding process to the natural language command to determine the set of requirements for the desired parking zone.

[027] The one or more candidate parking zone information in relation to the one or more candidate parking zone may comprise one or more of an audio direction, a visual direction, and a textual direction to be presented on the parking query device. Brief Description of the Drawings

[028] Notwithstanding any other forms which may fall within the scope of the present invention, one or more embodiments of the invention will now be described, by way of example only, with reference to the accompanying drawings in which:

[029] Fig. 1 illustrates an example of a parking assistance system in accordance with the present disclosure;

[030] Figs. 2a to 2f illustrate an example of a data collection device of the parking assistance system in accordance with the present disclosure;

[031] Fig. 2g illustrates an example structure of the data collection device in accordance with the present disclosure. Figs. 3a and 3b illustrates an example of a zone generation server of the parking assistance system in accordance with the present disclosure;

[032] Fig. 3c illustrates example datapoint objects in accordance with the present disclosure;

[033] Fig. 3d illustrates one or more example data records defining the parking zones in according with the present disclosure;

[034] Fig. 4. illustrates a method for assisting a user with parking a vehicle in accordance with the present disclosure; and

[035] Figs. 5a and 5b illustrates an example of a parking query device of the parking assistance system in accordance with the present disclosure.

[036] It should be noted in the accompanying drawings and description below that like or the same reference numerals in different drawings denote the same or similar elements.

Description of Embodiments

[037] Fig. 1 illustrates a parking assistance system 100 in accordance with the present disclosure.

[038] The parking assistance system 100 is used to assist a user with parking a vehicle. The parking assistance 100 includes a data collection device 101 , a zone generation server 105, a parking zone identification server 110 and a parking query device 1 15 associated with the user. The data collection device 101 , the zone generation server 105, the parking zone identification server 110 and the parking query device 115 are connected to a communication network 102 via the respective links between the communication network 102 and these entities. The communication network 102 can be a cellular communication network, a wireless local area network (WLAN), an optical communication network, the Internet or a combination of the aforementioned networks. It should be noted that although the data collection device 101 , the zone generation server 105, the parking zone identification server 110 and the parking query device 1 15 are shown as separate entities, some of them can be combined in a same entity, for example, the zone generation server 105 and the parking zone identification server 110, without departing from the scope of the present disclosure.

[039] The data collection device 101 is used to capture information in relation to a parking area, for example, a start area or an end area of the parking area, street signs or parking signs in the parking area. Particularly, the information may include images and locations of the start area, the end area or the parking signs. The data collection device 101 sends parking area information in relation to the parking area to the zone generation server 105 via the communication network 102. Upon receipt of the parking area information in relation to the parking area, the zone generation server 105 interprets the parking area information and generates one or more data records to define parking zones in the parking area and rules associated with the parking zones. The zone generation server 105 then stores the one or more data records in the parking zone identification server 110.

[040] Typically, the parking query device 115 is a computing device 107 (i.e., the user device as shown in Figs.5a and 5b) associated with the user, for example, a mobile phone of the user or a desktop being used by the user. In other examples, the parking query device 1 15 can also be a device installed in the vehicle, which is able to communicate with a driver driving the vehicle or a fleet manager of fleet vehicles. Further, although the user of the parking query 115 in the present disclosure is described as the driver driving the vehicle for description purposes, in other examples, the user of the parking query device 1 15 can also be the fleet manager of fleet vehicles. The fleet manager can use the parking query device 115 or the computing device 107 to assisting with parking the vehicle. In the context of a remote controlled vehicle, the user may refer to the operator that controls the vehicle remotely. Further, in the context of automatic driving, the user may refer to the parking query device 1 15 or the computing device 1107 itself.

[041] The user uses the parking query device 115 to request the parking zone identification server 110 to identify an available parking zone to park the vehicle. The user inputs into the parking query device 115 or the computing device 107 a set of requirements for the desired parking zone, for example, a street name, a start of parking time, duration of parking, etc. The parking query device 1 15 or the computing device 107 sends the set of requirements to the parking zone identification server 110. The parking zone identification server 110 searches the data records stored therein to identify one or more candidate parking zones. Each of the candidate parking zones has a set of parking rules that meets the set of requirements for the desired park zone. The parking zone identification server 110 then sends candidate parking zone information in relation to the one or more candidate parking zones to the parking query device 115 or the computing device 107 to assist the user with parking the vehicle in one of the one or more candidate parking zones. For example, the parking query device 115 or the computing device 107 presents the candidate parking zone information to the user on its screen in order to assist the user with parking the vehicle in one of the one or more candidate parking zones.

Data Collection Device 101

[042] The data collection device 101 is described in detail below with reference to Figs. 2a to 2g.

[043] In order to build a parking zone database, one or more data collectors are employed to collect parking area information using the data collection device 101 in a parking area. The data collection device 101 is typically a portable mobile computing device, for example, a mobile phone or a tablet computer, which has the capabilities of capturing images of an object, determining the location of the portable mobile computing device and executing a set of computer-readable instructions operating thereon (referred to as data collection process).

[044] Fig. 2g illustrates an example structure of the data collection device 101 in accordance with the present disclosure. As shown Fig. 2g, the data collection device 101 comprises a first processor 101 1 , a camera 1015, a global positioning system (GPS) device 1020 and a touch-sensitive screen 1025. The first processor 101 1 is configured by the data collection process to perform the steps as described below.

[045] Each of the one or more data collectors carries the data collect device 101 and is assigned to a parking area to collect parking area information in the parking area. Although the data collection device 101 used in the description below refers to a mobile phone, the data collection device 101 can be other type of devices in other examples.

[046] As shown in Fig. 2a, to start collecting parking area information in a parking area, particularly, a side of a street, the data collector travels to the side of that street and launches the data collection process operating on the data collection device 101. The data collector touches or clicks on the "Start Area" button to start collecting parking zone information on the street.

[047] As shown in Fig. 2b, the first processor 101 1 is configured to active the camera 1015 to capture images in the parking area. Specifically, the data collection process actives the camera 1015 of the data collection device 101 to capture an image of a starting point of the side of the street, referred to as the Area Start hereinafter. The image of the Area Start does not only define the street that is about to be captured, but also which side of the street will be processed. It is desired that the data collector takes the image of the Area Start near the edge of the kerb because a) it is more obvious from the image which side of the street the data collector is on and b) it marks the starting point where any applicable parking rules may take effect.

[048] As shown in Fig. 2c, if the image captured is acceptable, the data collection process causes the data collection device 101 to capture information about the location where the image is taken. For example, each time the image of the Area Start or a street sign is captured by the camera 1015, the first processor 101 1 is further configured to active the GPS device 1020 to locate the position of the Area Start or the street sign.

[049] In another example, if the GPS device 1020 is not able to provide accurate position data, the first processor 1 101 is configured to provide a "Pin-point location on map" feature. Specifically, the first processor 1 101 presents a map on the touch-sensitive screen 1025. The data collector designates the position of the street sign by touching on the map at the position of the street sign. The first processor 1101 receives the position data representing the accurate position of the street sign in the map in response to the touch operation on the touch-sensitive screen 1025. This way, the data collection device 101 obtains the accurate position of the street sign in the parking area.

[050] In another example, the data collection device 101 further comprises one or more sensors (not shown in Fig. 2g) to sense other statistics data, for example, acceleration, direction of the data collection device 101 and altitude to refine the positions of the street signs in the parking area before proceeding to next step.

[051] As shown in Fig. 2d, once the image has been correctly positioned by the GPS device 1020 or using the "Pin-point location on map" feature, the "Save" button will appear at the top right of the screen. Select this to save the image of the Area Start and continue capturing street signs on the side of the street if any.

[052] As shown in Fig. 2e, the data collector moves to the next street sign and takes an image of the street sign. As shown in Fig. 2e, the image includes the direction of the street sign. The data collection device 101 also captures location of the street sign. In an example, the data collection device 101 applies an artificial intelligence process to recognise the category of the street sign. The street sign shown in Fig. 2e is a "No Stopping" sign. In other examples the street sign can be a Parking Sign, a Parking Meter, an Area End, or Kerb markings etc. The category of the street sign can also be manually adjusted if necessary by using the zone generation process operating on the zone generation server 105, as described below.

[053] As shown in Fig. 2f, when the data collector gets to the end of the side of the street, the data collector needs to capture an image of the end of the side of the street, also referred to as Area End hereinafter. Similarly, the data collection device 101 captures information about location and direction of the Area End. It is desired that the data collector captures the image of Area End facing back towards where the other previous street signs have been processed. The data collection device 101 can also shows on a map where other data collectors have already collected. These can appear as lines of a different color on either side of the road.

[054] The data collector repeats the above process for each street sign on the side of the street and the other side of the street if there is a parking area on that side. If the data collector finishes data collection on the street, the data collector moves onto the next street to collection parking information on the next street.

Zone Generation Server 105

[055] The data collection device 101 sends the parking area information in relation to the parking area, for example, the images and locations of Area Start, Area End, and the street signs collected by the data collector, to the zone generation server 105 via the communication network 102. The zone generation server 105 is typically a computer server including a second processor (not shown in Fig. 1) that is able to execute a set of computer-readable instructions, referred to as zone generation process below. The second processor is configured by the zone generation process to generate one or more data records to define one or more parking zones in the parking area. In the present disclosure, the zone generation process is a web-based application that can be accessed by an operator via the Internet browser operating on the operator's computing device. The second processor of the zone generation server 105 receives the images captured on a street by the data collection device 101 , and presents the images on the operator's computing device to generate parking zones in the parking area. The second processor of the zone generation server 105 also presents location and jurisdiction information in relation to these images. As shown in Fig. 3a, there are 14 images captured on a street in Sydney, Australia representing 14 locations (also referred to as datapoints) where the images are captured, which are numbered DP50694, DP50695, DP50696, DP50697, DP50698, DP50699, DP50700, DP50701 , DP50702, DP50703, DP50704, DP50705, DP50705, DP50707. Among the 14 images, DP50694 is the image of Area Start, and DP50707 is the image of Area End, and others are the images of street signs between the Area Start and the Area End in the parking area.

[056] The zone generation process generates datapoint objects to represent the datapoints. Each of the datapoint objects includes for example the image of the datapoint, the category of the datapoint, the position of the datapoint, the direction(s) shown in the image etc. These datapoint objects also constitute a parking area object representing the parking area. As an example, the simplest parking area object only includes a datapoint object representing the Area Start of the parking area and a datapoint object representing the Area End of the parking area. Fig. 3c illustrates example datapoint objects corresponding to DP50694, DP50695, DP50696 in accordance with the present disclosure.

[057] Take the image DP50695 as an example, as shown in Fig. 3a, this image is the image of the first street sign captured after the image of Area Start DP50694. The image DP50695 includes two parking signs: a no stopping sign and a restricted parking sign (in this example, a 2-hour parking sign). The zone generation process applies an artificial intelligence process to the image DP50695 to separate the two parking signs included in the image DP50695. The separation of the parking signs can also be adjusted or performed manually by the operator. The zone generation process also determines from the parking signs a set of parking rules associated with each of the parking signs.

[058] The set of parking rules associated with each of the parking zones comprises one or more of the following:

an available period of the parking zone;

an unavailable period of the parking zone;

a duration of the parking zone;

a parking fee rate of the parking zone;

reservation for persons with disabilities;

a jurisdiction of the parking zone;

tow away;

a street sweeping period;

loading only;

unrestricted parking;

no parking;

no stopping;

bus stop only;

car share parking only;

permit holder exemption;

permit holder only;

availability status of the parking zone;

occupancy status of the parking zone;

other attributes that may designate special entitlements or rights for a subset of users;

restrictions based on the user profile, including no parking for a vehicle with an even or odd plate number on certain days, no parking for a vehicle with a plate number ending with a certain digit on certain days.

[059] For example, the no stopping sign indicates that parking is not allowed on the left-hand side of the no stopping sign.

[060] In other examples, the zone generation process presents a graphic user interface (as shown in Figs. 3a and 3b) on the computing device being used by the operator. The graphic user interface enables the operator to interpret the set of rules from the parking sign and send the set of rules to the zone generation process. [061] As shown in Fig. 3c, the datapoint object No. DP50695 corresponding to this datapoint include two parts with one for the no parking sign and the other one for the restricted parking sign. If the set of rules is determined by or received at the zone generation server 105, the zone generation process further analyses the set of rules and determines that the zone between the datapoint No. DP50694 representing the Area Start and the no stopping sign in the datapoint No. DP50695 is a no stopping zone.

[062] The zone generation process further generates a first data record (as shown in Fig. 3d, particularly, No. ZoneO) to define the parking zone between the datapoint No. DP50694 and the datapoint No. DP50695 and the set of rules associated with the parking zone.

[063] On the other hand, the 2-hour parking sign in the image DP50695 indicates that parking is allowed on the right-hand side of the sign every day from 8:00am to 7:00pm for up to 2 hours and a ticket is required unless the driver is holding a permit for area 20, as shown in the right part of the datapoint object DP50695 in Fig. 3c. After interpreting the 2-hour parking sign in the image DP50695, the zone generation process continues to interpret the image DP50696.

[064] As shown in Fig. 3b, the image DP50696 include two parking signs, a 2-hour parking sign on the left hand side and a no parking sign on the right hand side. The zone generation process determines from the 2-hour parking sign that parking is allowed on the left-hand side of the sign every day from 8:00am to 7:00pm for up to 2 hours and a ticket is required unless the driver is holding a permit for area 20. As shown in Fig. 3c, the datapoint object No. DP50696 corresponding to this datapoint include two parts with one for the restricted parking sign and the other one for the no parking sign. Given the interpretation of the 2- hour parking sign in the previous image DP50695, the zone generation process determines the zone between the datapoint No. DP50695 and the datapoint No. DP50696 is a zone where parking is allowed every day from 8:00am to 7:00pm for up to 2 hours and a ticket is required unless the driver is holding a permit for area 20. The zone generation process further generates a second data record (as shown in Fig. 3d, particularly, No. Zonel) to define the parking zone between the datapoint No. DP50695 and the datapoint No. DP50696 and the set of rules associated with the parking zone.

[065] In another example, the zone generation process checks if the rules associated a parking sign (for example, the 2-hour parking sign in the image DP50695) are consistent with the rules associated with a corresponding parking sign (for example, the 2-hour parking sign in the image DP50696) to verify the validity of recognition or determination of the parking rules associated with the parking signs. In a further example, the zone generation process combines a first parking zone of the parking zones and a second parking zones of the parking zones to a single parking zone if the parking rules associated with the first parking zone are identical with the parking rules associated with the second parking zone and the first parking zone is adjacent to the second parking zone.

[066] This way, the zone generation server 105 processes each image captured on the street and generates data records to define the parking zones and rules associated with the parking zones. Fig. 3d illustrates one or more example data records defining the parking zones in according with the present disclosure.

[067] The zone generation server 105 then sends the one or more data records to the parking zone identification server 110 to store the one or more data records in the parking zone identification server 110.

Parking Zone Identification Server 110

[068] Fig. 4 illustrates a method 400 performed by the parking zone identification server 1 10 to assist the user with parking a vehicle.

[069] The parking zone identification server 110 can be a computer server and includes a database. The parking zone identification server 1 10 is capable of storing the data records received from the zone generation server 105 in the database and identifying one or more data records that meet a set of requirements in response to a request.

[070] The method 400 receives 410 from the parking query device 115 or the computing device 107 (e.g., the user device 107 shown in Figs. 5a and 5b) associated with the user a request to identify a desired parking zone to park the vehicle. The request also includes a set of requirements for the desired parking zone. As an example, the request is a structured query that can be directly used to search the database for the desired parking zone. As another example, the request is a voice command and the method 400 further applies a voice recognition process to the voice command to determine the set of requirements for the desired parking zone. As a further example, the request is a natural language command. For example, the request can be "Show me all disabled zones near me", "Where is free parking at 9pm tonight", "Where can I park for 20 minutes?", "On Sunday at 2pm, where can I park for 3 hours for free?", or "Near 100 Harris Street in Pyrmont, show me where I can park for 15 minutes". In this case, the method 400 applies a natural language understanding process to the natural language command to determine the set of requirements for the desired parking zone.

[071] Then the method 400 identifies 420 from the database one or more candidate parking zones, wherein the set of parking rules associated with each of the one or more candidate parking zones meets the set of requirements for the desired parking zone.

[072] The method 400 sends 430 candidate parking zone information in relation to the one or more candidate parking zones to the parking query device 1 15 or the computing device 107 to assist the user with parking the vehicle in one of the candidate parking zones. The parking information in relation to the one or more candidate parking zones comprises one or more of an audio direction, a visual direction, and a textual direction. As shown in Fig. 5b, the parking query device 115 or the user device 107 presents a map and one or more indications that represent the one or more candidate parking zones.

[073] The set of requirements for the desired parking zone comprises one or more of the following:

a location of the desired parking zone;

an available time of the desired parking zone;

a duration of the desired parking zone;

a parking fee rate of the desired parking zone;

a jurisdiction of the desired parking zone;

reservation for persons with disabilities;

loading only;

unrestricted parking;

car share parking only;

a type of a vehicle;

a condition on a driver's license;

permit holder only;

a user profile, the user profile including the age of the user, a driver license number, a plate number of the vehicle, parking permit information, payment information. [074] The set of parking rules associated with each of the one or more candidate parking zones comprises one or more of the following:

a location of the candidate parking zone;

an available period of the candidate parking zone;

an unavailable period of the candidate parking zone;

a duration of the candidate parking zone;

a parking fee rate of the candidate parking zone;

reservation for persons with disabilities;

a jurisdiction of the candidate parking zone;

tow away;

a street sweeping period;

loading only;

unrestricted parking;

no parking;

no stopping;

bus stop only;

car share parking only;

permit holder exemption;

permit holder only;

availability status of the candidate parking zone;

occupancy status of the candidate parking zone;

other attributes that may designate special entitlements or rights for a subset of users;

restrictions based on the user profile, including no parking for a vehicle with an even or odd plate number on certain days, no parking for a vehicle with a plate number ending with a certain digit on certain days.

[075] The method 400 also determines a cost estimate for parking the vehicle based on the set of requirements for the desired parking zone and the set of rules associated with the candidate parking zone and sends the cost estimate to the computing device associated with the user. This way the user will know how much it is going to cost.

Parking Query Device 115

[076] As shown in Fig. 5a, the user uses the parking query device 1 15 or the user device 107 associated with the user to send the above request to the parking zone identification server 1 10 in order to identify a desired parking zone to park the vehicle. In this example, the request is a natural language command, "parking at noon tomorrow". The default location is the current location of the user device 107, which is Harris Street in this example. The request is sent from the user device 107 to the parking zone identification server 110 via the communication network 102. In response to the request, the parking zone identification server 110 identifies one or more candidate parking zones on or near Harris Street that meet the requirements, and sends the candidate parking zone information in relation to the one or more candidate parking zones to the parking query device 115 or the use device 107. The parking query device 115 or the user device 107 include a screen and is configured to present on the screen a map and one or more indications that represent the one or more candidate parking zones. As shown in Fig. 5b, the dark solid lines representing the one or more candidate parking zones are shown in the map. Further, parking zone information in relation to one of the candidate parking zones is also shown, i.e., "1 P metered parking $4.70 per hour 8:00am - 6:00pm". This way, the user or driver knows where to park his or her vehicle at noon tomorrow and how much it is going to cost.

[077] Using the parking assistance method and system as described above, the user is able to use the parking query device 115 or the use device 107 to send the request to the parking zone identification server 110 to identify the desired parking zone before the vehicle arrives at the desired parking zone. The method and system identify the one or more candidate parking zones that meet the requirements for the desired parking zone and sends the candidate parking zone information to the parking query device 1 15 or the use device 107 being used by the user for the user to select one of the parking zones to park the vehicle. This way, the user will not miss the desired parking zone while driving and does not need to interpret the parking rules when in the parking zone. Therefore, the method and system reduce the time for the user to find the desired parking zone and to decide if it is eligible to park the vehicle in the parking zone. As a result, traffic congestion may be alleviated and traffic accidents may be avoided.

[078] The terminology used herein is for the purpose of describing particular embodiments only and is not intended to be limiting of the invention. As used herein, the singular articles "a", "an" and "the" are intended to include the plural forms as well, unless the context clearly indicates otherwise and thus are used herein to refer to one or to more than one (i.e. to "at least one") of the grammatical object of the article. By way of example, the phrase "an element" refers to one element or more than one element.

[079] As used herein, unless otherwise specified the use of the ordinal adjectives "first", "second", "third", etc., to describe a common object, merely indicate that different instances of like objects are being referred to, and are not intended to imply that the objects so described must be in a given sequence, either temporally, spatially, in ranking, or in any other manner.

[080] Throughout this specification, unless the context requires otherwise, the words "comprise", "comprises" and "comprising" will be understood to imply the inclusion of a stated step or element or group of steps or elements but not the exclusion of any other step or element or group of steps or elements.

[081] Any one of the terms: including or which includes or that includes as used herein is also an open term that also means including at least the elements/features that follow the term, but not excluding others. Thus, including is synonymous with and means comprising.

Industrial Applicability

[082] It is apparent from the above, that the arrangements described are applicable to the vehicle navigation industry.