Apple Patents Method for Locating a Vehicle in a Parking Garage

Apple has filed a patent for a method of locating a vehicle in a parking garage using a portable computer device such as the iPhone.

The iPhone would be able to communicate with a parking system that manages the structure in order to locate your vehicle. Communication between devices can be based on one or multiple connections such as Bluetooth or Bluetooth LE.

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A portable computing device can, while in a parking structure, determine whether a vehicle associated with the portable computing device is currently in a parked state. If the vehicle is currently parked, the portable computing device can request and receive location information from a first set of one or more wireless sensors situated within the parking structure. Based on the received information, the portable computing device can determine a parking location for the vehicle. Thereafter, the portable computing device can be moved away from the parking structure, and subsequently returned.


Upon returning to the parking structure, the portable computing device can request and receive location information from a second set of one or more wireless sensors of the parking structure. The second set of wireless sensors can be situated in an area within the parking structure that is different from the area where first set is situated. Based on the received information, the portable computing device can determine its current location. Thereafter, the portable computing device can use its current location and the previously determined parking location for the vehicle to generate guidance information. The guidance information can be presented to a user in order to direct the user to the vehicle.
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Read More [via AppleInsider]