“Autonomous Vehicle Automatic Parking” in Patent Application Approval Process (USPTO 20230053773): State Farm Mutual Automobile Insurance Company
2023 MAR 09 (NewsRx) -- By a
This patent application is assigned to
The following quote was obtained by the news editors from the background information supplied by the inventors: “Vehicles are typically operated by a human vehicle operator who controls both steering and motive controls. Operator error, inattention, inexperience, misuse, or distraction leads to many vehicle accidents each year, resulting in injury and damage. Autonomous or semi-autonomous vehicles augment vehicle operators’ information or replace vehicle operators’ control commands to operate the vehicle in whole or part with computer systems based upon information from sensors within the vehicle.
“Vehicle or automobile insurance exists to provide financial protection against physical damage and/or bodily injury resulting from traffic accidents and against liability that could arise therefrom. Typically, a customer purchases a vehicle insurance policy for a policy rate having a specified term. In exchange for payments from the insured customer, the insurer pays for damages to the insured which are caused by covered perils, acts, or events as specified by the language of the insurance policy. The payments from the insured are generally referred to as “premiums,” and typically are paid on behalf of the insured over time at periodic intervals. An insurance policy may remain “in-force” while premium payments are made during the term or length of coverage of the policy as indicated in the policy. An insurance policy may “lapse” (or have a status or state of “lapsed”), for example, when premium payments are not being paid or if the insured or the insurer cancels the policy.
“Premiums may be typically determined based upon a selected level of insurance coverage, location of vehicle operation, vehicle model, and characteristics or demographics of the vehicle operator. The characteristics of a vehicle operator that affect premiums may include age, years operating vehicles of the same class, prior incidents involving vehicle operation, and losses reported by the vehicle operator to the insurer or a previous insurer. Past and current premium determination methods do not, however, account for use of autonomous vehicle operating features. The present embodiments may, inter alia, alleviate this and/or other drawbacks associated with conventional techniques.”
In addition to the background information obtained for this patent application, NewsRx journalists also obtained the inventors’ summary information for this patent application: “The present embodiments may be related to autonomous or semi-autonomous vehicle functionality, including driverless operation, accident avoidance, or collision warning systems. These autonomous vehicle operation features may either assist the vehicle operator to more safely or efficiently operate a vehicle or may take full control of vehicle operation under some or all circumstances. The present embodiments may also facilitate risk assessment and premium determination for vehicle insurance policies covering vehicles with autonomous operation features. For instance, a consumer may opt-in to a rewards program that rewards them, such as in the form of insurance discounts, for affirmatively sharing data related to their vehicles and/or autonomous features with an insurance provider.
“In accordance with the described embodiments, the disclosure herein generally addresses systems and methods for enhancing vehicle operation safety of an autonomous or semi-autonomous vehicle, which may include one or more sensors. A computer associated with the vehicle (such as an on-board computer, mobile device, or server communicatively connected to the vehicle) may (1) determine that an environmental condition presents a hazard to the vehicle; (2) determine that the vehicle is parked in an unprotected location (such as an unroofed area) (3) determine a protected location to park the vehicle; (4) and/or cause the vehicle to travel automatically to the protected location under the operation of one or more autonomous operation features. In some embodiments, the environmental condition may be a weather condition, such as precipitation or wind. The determination that an environmental condition presents a hazard to the vehicle may be based upon an indication of the environmental condition may be received from an external data source, which indication may be received through a communication component and/or via a network. In some embodiments, the computer may further (5) receive an indication of travel of the vehicle to the protected location and/or (6) adjust one or more costs associated with an insurance policy associated with the vehicle based upon the received indication of travel of the vehicle to the protected location.
“In further embodiments, the computer may cause the vehicle to travel automatically to the protected location by causing a motor or engine of the vehicle to automatically start, determining a route from the unprotected location to the protected location, causing the vehicle to drive itself along the determined route to the protected location using the one or more autonomous operation features, and/or causing the vehicle to park at a suitable position at the protected location. The one or more autonomous operation features may include the following: steering, accelerating, braking, parking, pedestrian detection, artificial intelligence, a navigation system, a positioning system, and/or remote vehicle location determination.
“In accordance with additional described embodiments, the disclosure herein further generally addresses further systems and methods for enhancing vehicle operation safety of an autonomous or semi-autonomous vehicle, which may include one or more sensors. A computer associated with the vehicle (such as an on-board computer, mobile device, or server communicatively connected to the vehicle) may (1) determine a preferred parking spot for the vehicle; (2) determine a route to the preferred parking spot from a driver drop off point; and/or (3) cause the autonomous or semi-autonomous vehicle to travel from the driver drop off point to the preferred parking spot following the route controlled by one or more autonomous operation features. The preferred parking spot may be a covered parking spot, a parking spot in a parking structure, and/or a parking spot in a residential garage. The one or more autonomous operation features may be related to one or more of the following: steering, accelerating, braking, monitoring blind spots, presenting a collision warning, adaptive cruise control, parking, driver alertness monitoring, driver responsiveness monitoring, pedestrian detection, artificial intelligence, a back-up system, a navigation system, a positioning system, a security system, an anti-hacking measure, a theft prevention system, and/or remote vehicle location determination.
“In some embodiments, the computer may further adjust one or more costs associated with an insurance policy associated with the vehicle based upon the vehicle traveling to the preferred parking spot controlled by the one or more autonomous operation features. The one or more costs associated with the insurance policy may include a premium, a rate, a reward program benefit, a reward program point, and/or a discount.
“In further embodiments, the computer may further receive a request for the vehicle to return to the driver drop off point, and/or cause the vehicle to return from the preferred parking spot to the driver drop off point controlled by one or more autonomous operation features. This may include causing a motor or engine of the vehicle to automatically start, determining a return route from the preferred parking spot to the driver drop off point, and/or causing the vehicle to drive itself along the determined return route to the driver drop off point using the one or more autonomous operation features. The request for the vehicle to return to the driver drop off point may, in some embodiments, be received from a mobile device associated with a vehicle operator via a wireless communication network.
“In each of the embodiments or aspects described above, the methods may be provided in corresponding computer systems including at least one or more processors and a non-transitory program memory coupled to the one or more processors and storing executable instructions. The computer systems may further include or be communicatively connected to one or more sensors, communication components or devices, or other equipment as described herein. In yet another aspect, a tangible, non-transitory computer-readable medium storing instructions corresponding to each of the embodiments or aspects described above may be provided. Each of the methods or executable instructions of the computer systems or computer-readable media may include additional, fewer, or alternate actions, including those discussed elsewhere herein.”
The claims supplied by the inventors are:
“1-20. (canceled)
“21. A computer-implemented method of enhancing safe vehicle operation, the method comprising: determining, by one or more processors, a drop off point is associated with a vehicle environment having a high risk of vehicle theft or damage; receiving, at one or more processors via a communication network, a message from a parking facility remote from the drop off point, wherein the message includes information indicating availability of two or more parking spaces within the parking facility; determining, by one or more processors, a preferred parking spot for an autonomous or semi-autonomous vehicle from among the two or more parking spaces indicated in the received message based at least in part upon the preferred parking spot being associated with a lower risk of vehicle theft or damage than the drop off point; determining, by one or more processors, a route to the parking facility and the preferred parking spot; and causing, by one or more processors, the autonomous or semi-autonomous vehicle to travel to the parking facility and the preferred parking spot following the route controlled by one or more autonomous operation features.
“22. The computer-implemented method of claim 21, the method further comprising: receiving, at one or more processors, a user preference for one or more of the following types of parking spots: a covered parking spot, a parking spot in a parking structure, or a parking spot in a residential garage.
“23. The computer-implemented method of claim 21, the method further comprising: adjusting, by the remote server, one or more costs associated with an insurance policy associated with the autonomous or semi-autonomous vehicle based upon an indication of autonomous travel of the autonomous or semi-autonomous vehicle to the preferred parking spot.
“24. The computer-implemented method of claim 23, wherein the one or more costs associated with the insurance policy include at least one of: a premium, a rate, a reward program benefit, a reward program point, or a discount.
“25. The computer-implemented method of claim 21, further comprising: receiving, by one or more processors, a request for the autonomous or semi-autonomous vehicle to return to a driver drop off point; and causing, by one or more processors, the autonomous or semi-autonomous vehicle to return from the preferred parking spot to the driver drop off point controlled by one or more autonomous operation features.
“26. The computer-implemented method of claim 25, wherein causing the autonomous or semi-autonomous vehicle to return from the preferred parking spot to the driver drop off point includes: causing a motor or engine of the autonomous or semi-autonomous vehicle to automatically start; determining a return route from the preferred parking spot to the driver drop off point; and causing the autonomous or semi-autonomous vehicle to drive itself along the determined return route to the driver drop off point using the one or more autonomous operation features.
“27. The computer-implemented method of claim 25, wherein the request is received from a mobile device associated with a vehicle operator via a wireless communication network.
“28. The computer-implemented method of claim 21, wherein the one or more autonomous operation features of the autonomous or semi-autonomous vehicle is related to at least one of the following: steering; accelerating; braking; monitoring blind spots; presenting a collision warning; adaptive cruise control; parking; driver alertness monitoring; driver responsiveness monitoring; pedestrian detection; artificial intelligence; a back-up system; a navigation system; a positioning system; a security system; an anti-hacking measure; a theft prevention system; or remote vehicle location determination.
“29. A computer system for enhancing vehicle operation safety, comprising: one or more processors; one or more communication components communicatively connected to the one or more processors and configured to communicate data via a communication network; one or more sensors communicatively connected to the one or more processors; and a program memory coupled to the one or more processors and storing executable instructions that when executed by the one or more processors cause the computer system to: determine a drop off point is associated with a vehicle environment having a high risk of vehicle theft or damage; receive a message from a parking facility remote from the drop off point via the one or more communication components, wherein the message includes information indicating availability of two or more parking spaces within the parking facility; determine a preferred parking spot for an autonomous or semi-autonomous vehicle from among the two or more parking spaces indicated in the received message based at least in part upon the preferred parking spot being associated with a lower risk of vehicle theft or damage than the drop off point; determine a route to the parking facility and the preferred parking spot; and cause the autonomous or semi-autonomous vehicle to travel to the parking facility and the preferred parking spot following the route controlled by one or more autonomous operation features using the one or more sensors.
“30. The computer system of claim 29, wherein the program memory further includes executable instructions that cause the computer system to: receive a user preference for one or more of the following types of parking spot: a covered parking spot, a parking spot in a parking structure, or a parking spot in a residential garage.
“31. The computer system of claim 29, wherein the program memory further includes executable instructions that cause the computer system to: transmit, via the one or more communication components to a remote server via the communication network, an indication of autonomous travel of the autonomous or semi-autonomous vehicle to the preferred parking spot controlled by the one or more autonomous operation features, wherein the indication is configured to cause the remote server to adjust one or more costs associated with an insurance policy associated with the autonomous or semi-autonomous vehicle based upon the indication.
“32. The computer system of claim 29, wherein the program memory further includes executable instructions that cause the computer system to: receive a request to the autonomous or semi-autonomous vehicle to return to a driver drop off point; and cause the autonomous or semi-autonomous vehicle to return from the preferred parking spot to the driver drop off point controlled by one or more autonomous operation features.
“33. The computer system of claim 32, wherein the executable instructions that cause the autonomous or semi-autonomous vehicle to return from the preferred parking spot to the driver drop off point include executable instructions that cause the computer system to: cause a motor or engine of the autonomous or semi-autonomous vehicle to automatically start; determine a return route from the preferred parking spot to the driver drop off point; and cause the autonomous or semi-autonomous vehicle to drive itself along the determined return route to the driver drop off point using the one or more autonomous operation features.
“34. The computer system of claim 32, further comprising a communication component communicatively connected to the one or more processors, wherein the request is received by the communication component from a mobile device associated with a vehicle operator via a wireless communication network.
“35. A tangible, non-transitory computer-readable medium storing executable instructions for enhancing vehicle operation safety that, when executed by at least one processor of a computer system, cause the computer system to: determine a drop off point is associated with a vehicle environment having a high risk of vehicle theft or damage; receive a message from a parking facility remote from the drop off point via a communication network, wherein the message includes information indicating availability of two or more parking spaces within the parking facility; determine a preferred parking spot for an autonomous or semi-autonomous vehicle from among the two or more parking spaces indicated in the received message based at least in part upon the preferred parking spot being associated with a lower risk of vehicle theft or damage than the drop off point; determine a route to the parking facility and the preferred parking spot; and cause the autonomous or semi-autonomous vehicle to travel to the parking facility and the preferred parking spot following the route controlled by one or more autonomous operation features.
“36. The tangible, non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 35, further comprising executable instructions that cause the computer system to: receive a request to the autonomous or semi-autonomous vehicle to return to a driver drop off point; and cause the autonomous or semi-autonomous vehicle to return from the preferred parking spot to the driver drop off point controlled by one or more autonomous operation features.
“37. The tangible, non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 36, wherein the executable instructions that cause the autonomous or semi-autonomous vehicle to return from the preferred parking spot to the driver drop off point include executable instructions that cause the computer system to: cause a motor or engine of the autonomous or semi-autonomous vehicle to automatically start; determine a return route from the preferred parking spot to the driver drop off point; and cause the autonomous or semi-autonomous vehicle to drive itself along the determined return route to the driver drop off point using the one or more autonomous operation features.”
There are additional claims. Please visit full patent to read further.
URL and more information on this patent application, see: Bennett, Shawn C.; Binion, Todd;
(Our reports deliver fact-based news of research and discoveries from around the world.)
Patent Issued for Machine learning models for diagnosis suspecting (USPTO 11587678): Clover Health
Some Flood Victims Could Get Fast Relief Under a New Pilot Program
Advisor News
- Is there a mismatch between advisor marketing and consumer preferences?
- State health plan users may see premium increases under SC House budget proposal
- Advisor: SEC trying to ambush my defense on bad annuity sales charges
- Partner split: Grant Cardone and Gary Brecka swap charges in dueling lawsuits
- 4 things every federal worker should do to safeguard their benefits
More Advisor NewsAnnuity News
Health/Employee Benefits News
- President of Insurance Brokerage Firm and CEO of Marketing Company Charged in $161M Affordable Care Act Enrollment Fraud Scheme
- STATEHOUSE: Senate Republicans approve limiting health insurance program for Hoosiers
- State health plan users may see premium increases under SC House budget proposal
- Senate Republicans approve limits on health insurance program
- Health agents ‘optimistic’ as a new administration takes charge
More Health/Employee Benefits NewsLife Insurance News
- Whole life vs. term life: The great debate
- Prudential launches OneLeave
- Annual financial and audit reports – JPMORGAN CHASE & CO.
- Conning research: Insurers must be flexible in the 2025
- AM Best Places Credit Ratings of Banner Life Insurance Company and William Penn Life Insurance Company of New York Under Review With Developing Implications
More Life Insurance News