4.0 BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
It is envisioned that this invention may be enabled in a variety of ways. For example, the invention may be practiced with or without computers. One exemplary system for enabling the invention is presented in FIGS. 1-10.
FIG. 1 is a flow chart that describes one embodiment of the invention
FIG. 2 is a flow chart that describes one embodiment of the invention
FIG. 3 describes an exemplary graphical user interface that may be provided to parkers, owners, and/or other users who accessing the home page of a parking Web Site.
FIG. 4 describes an exemplary graphical user interface that may be provided to owners and/or other users so that the central server may receive a timerange associated with a parking spot of an owner.
FIG. 5 describes an exemplary graphical user interface that may be provided to parkers and/or other users so that the central server may provide a list of available parking spots to a parker.
FIG. 6 describes an exemplary graphical user interface that may be provided to a parker in an E-mail, in order to provide details associated with a reservation and one or more offers to the parker.
FIG. 7 is a general overview of the system. Note that the invention may be enabled with or without the use of computers or electronic equipment. For example, one or more parties may communicate via electronic or non-electronic means. Furthermore, if particular tasks are automated or performed electronically, they may be enabled via software or hardware. In the particular embodiment described in FIG. 3, Parker Device 1 may be a wireless device (e.g. cell phone; communication via voice or text). Parker Device 2 may be a computer or other wired device. Parker Device 3 may be a home telephone. The Third Party Device and Owner Device may be computers. A device may be used for more than one purpose (e.g. Owner Device may sometimes be used as a parker device to rent other parking spots)
FIG. 8 describes the central server
FIG. 9 describes the member database of the central server, which may includes potential and practicing parkers and owners.
FIG. 10 describes the offer database of the central server, which may comprise information associated with third parties and the offers that may be presented.
FIG. 11 describes the reservation database of the central server, which may comprise information associated with each transaction, such as details of the reservation and the offer provided to the parker.
5.0 BENEFITS OF THE INVENTION
Third Parties:
- Offers attract customers to businesses (i.e. to third parties).
- Offers can be targeted to customers based on information associated with them and/or their reservation
Parkers:
- Offers provide valuable offers to parkers who may not be familiar with a neighborhood and local businesses
- Privately owned parking spots, which were previously unavailable, represent a new supply of parking spots.
- Convenient for parkers who need immediate parking
- Convenient for parkers who plan ahead and want to avoid the frustrations of finding public parking and reserving a parking spot in advance
- The addition of an offer-based revenue stream may offset costs and reduce or eliminate fees paid by parkers and owners for the service
Owners:
- The addition of an offer-based revenue stream may offset costs and reduce or eliminate fees paid by parkers and owners for the service
- Provides a hassle-free cash flow to owners whose parking spots are not always occupied.
City:
- Decreases traffic significantly by decreasing the percentage of drivers who are searching for public parking spots.
6.0 DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
6.1 Initiate Membership for a Potential Owner and/or Parker
A potential owner and/or parker may connect to a parking Web Site and then create a user profile with the central server, in one embodiment. The user profile may comprise:
- Name
- Email address, phone number, and home address
- Financial account (facilitating transfer of funds)
- License plate number, make/model/color of car, and driver's license number (for parker)
An owner may or may not also participate by renting parking spots from other owners. In other words, a parker may or may not also participate as an owner.
In one embodiment, the owner may actually be affiliated with the central server. For example, the company that operates the central server may not only connect owners with parkers, but may also offer its own parking spots for reservation by parkers.
6.2 Receive Request to Post Available Parking Spot from an Owner
A post may comprise:
- Location of parking spot
- Timerange of parking spot
- Owner may allow parkers to reserve for any reservation time within this timerange, or owner may restrict reservations to parkers who commit to a significant percentage of the timerange (e.g. 2 hours over 6 months vs. 40 hours/week, every week over 6 months)
- Price of renting parking spot
- Price can be constant ($2/hour) or variable (e.g. $2/hour on weekdays, $1/hour on weekends, $20/hour if Red Sox game or concert/event at Fenway Park)
- Digital picture
- Size of parking spot
- Whether parking spot risks coverage with snow in the event of snowfall
- Minimum member rating of parker who can use parking spot (refer to alternative ideas section)
- Safety of neighborhood
- Type of parking spot (e.g. indoor, outdoor driveway, outdoor parking lot)
The owner may post one or more parking spots.
The price of parking spots may be set, partially influenced, or uncontrolled (e.g. seller sets price) by the central server.
Some of the information that is required from the owner to post a parking spot may be saved or determined by the central server from information provided during membership initiation (e.g. location, safety, size of parking spot). This may improve convenience for the owner by reducing the amount of time it takes to post a parking spot.
The owner and central server may communicate via any known means of communication. For example:
- Internet (e.g. via a graphical user interface on a website)
- Telephone; landline or cell phone (e.g. via call center or voice recognition software)
- Other wireless communication means (e.g. text message)
- Fax
6.3 Receive Request from Parker to Search for a Parking Spot
The parker may be identified (e.g. by a cell phone number or a username and password).
The parker and central server may communicate via any known means of communication. For example:
- Internet (e.g. via a graphical user interface on a website)
- Telephone; landline or cell phone (e.g. via call center or voice recognition software)
- Other wireless communication means (e.g. text message)
- Fax
- Other wired or non-electronic communication
Parking search may be focused or limited by a search filter that is based on one or more of the following:
- Reservation time during which parker desires to rent parking spot
- Reservation time may begin immediately or may be in future.
- Reservation time may be one continuous range or several discontinuous ranges.
- Location (e.g. address of parker's destination, neighborhoods which would be acceptable to park in).
- Price range
- Payment method (e.g. Visa, Credit card number, expiration date)
- Size of parking spot
- If it snows, will parking spot by plowed?
- Safety of neighborhood
- Member rating of owner
- Other parking spot characteristics
In one embodiment, the parker may pre-register with the central server for convenience. Some information of the request for parking may be associated with the parker during membership initiation (e.g. location, safety, size of parking spot, etc.).
In another embodiment, information associated with the request may be automatically determined without direct input from the parker. Technological enhancements like a global positioning system (GPS) or cell phones may be employed to automatically identify appropriate parking spots for parkers who need to park immediately (e.g. a GPS incorporated into the parker's cell phone determines the parker's current location, and the central server locates parking in this location) and/or to more easily provide directions to parkers who are lost.
A parker may search for one or for multiple parking spots for multiple cars (e.g. a college sports team needs parking for 5 cars in Cambridge), or may search for multiple parking spots to fulfill a reservation time for one car (e.g. park at 15 South Street on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday, but park at 39 South Street on Tuesday and Thursday).
6.4 Provide Indication of the Available Parking Spot to Parker
In one embodiment, one or more available parking spots may be provided to the parker by the central server. The parker may refine or modify a search filter to narrow or refocus a search. Then, the central server may provide a second indication of posted available parking spots to parker. Upon finding a suitable parking spot from the set of available parking spots, the parker may request a reservation for the parking spot.
In another embodiment, the central server automatically selects an available parking spot for the parker.
6.5 Book the Reservation
The central server books the reservation. The reservation may span all or only a portion of the timerange of availability of the parking spot. The reservation time associated with the reservation is rendered unavailable for the reserved parking spot. Financial compensation may be transferred to the owner from the parker (or from the central server, but on behalf of the parker).
In one embodiment a receipt or reminder of the reservation may be provided to the owner and/or the parker.
For example, an indication on an owner's personal member webpage or an email confirmation may be automatically sent to the owner, which comprises:
- User name, phone number and/or email address of parker
- License plate number, make, model, and color of parker's car
- Reservation time during which parker has reserved parking spot
- Phone number of a call center that may help mediate potential problems
- Amount of financial compensation due to the owner
Also, for example, an email confirmation, or text message may be automatically sent to a parker, which may comprise:
- User name, phone number, and/or email address of owner
- Reservation time during which parker has reserved parking spot
- Phone number of a call center that may help mediate potential problems (e.g. parker can't find parking spot).
- Amount of financial compensation due to the owner
- Map of neighborhood of parking spot.
- Driving directions to parking spot
- Digital image of parking spot
Financial transfer may occur to compensate the owner for renting the parking spot to the parker. In one embodiment, the central server may accept a percentage of this compensation as a service fee. Compensation may be transferred in several ways (e.g. parker compensates central server and/or central server compensates owner. E.g. parker compensates owner.) Compensation may occur during or after every reservation, or compensation may occur after several transactions (e.g. after owner rents parking spot five times; e.g. once every month).
In one embodiment, it may be verified whether the parker and/or owner abide by the terms of the reservation. Financial transfer may occur only after this verification and/or penalties may be imposed to rectify or minimize problems. Customer care representatives may be available for mediation or rectifying problems (e.g. via call center or email). For example, it may be verified that:
- The parking spot is available for parking as promised. If not, alternative parking may be found for the parker.
- The parker parks in the parking spot only during the reservation time. If not, the parker may be towed.
- Neither the parker nor the owner damage property of the other party. If damage occurs, legal ramifications may result for one of the parties.
In one embodiment, the parker may extend a reservation (e.g. by sending a text message to the central server), and potential conflicts with future parkers in parking spot may be redirected to alternative parking spots.)
6.5.1 Offers
Offers may or may not be provided to parkers. In one embodiment, an offer may be provided on behalf of a third party (e.g. a business that is 1) associated with the central server and 2) is located near the reserved parking spot).
An offer may comprise:
- A benefit provided to the parker (e.g. coupon for free coffee, half-priced lunch, a super-size value meal)
- A service may be provided on the parker's car while car is parked (e.g. auto repair shop may rotate tires or pick up car for oil-change and return to parking spot)
- A benefit may be applied to parking (e.g. parker can park in coffee shop lot for 2 hours if he buys 1 large coffee; e.g. rental time may be extended or price may be discounted if you fulfill offer)
- The offer may or may not be contingent upon fulfilling the terms of a parking reservation
- An advertisement with no benefit provided to the parker
- The offer may be valid with or without restrictions (e.g. only valid during time at which parking spot is being used; e.g. only valid if parker purchases a coffee at a store)
- The parker may receive more than one offer
An offer may be targeted to a parker, based on one or more parameters associated with the parker or reservation. For example:
- Time (e.g. if parking before noon, coffee shop offer is provided, else restaurant offer)
- Location (e.g. Starbucks® offers are only provided to parkers who park within 4 blocks of the business)
- Demographic information of the parker (e.g. bars advertised to parkers over 21 years old)
- A combination of one or more of the parameters
Offers may be provided via, for example:
- Text
- Within a confirmation email
- On a page of a website that a parker or owner has accessed
- Any other means of communication
The third party may or may not compensate the central server in exchange for providing the offer to a parker. If there is compensation, it may be based on, for example:
- A fixed compensation rate ($0.50 per parker) or variable compensation rate (e.g. $1 if parking spot is within 4 blocks of store, but $0.50 if parking spot is more than 4 blocks away)
- Whether the offer is provided to the parker (e.g. in a confirmation email)
- Whether the parker enters the store or fulfills the offer
In one embodiment, no service fee is charged by the central server to the parker or owner. For example, the central server may earn revenue solely from advertising. In another embodiment, revenue is earned by the central server from advertising and/or service fees charged to the parker and/or to the owner.
In one embodiment, the third party is the same party as the parking spot owner. For example, Creamy Donuts rents its parking spots during hours when it is closed, and it offers 1 free donut per month to anyone who rents one of its parking spots.
7.0 ALTERNATIVE IDEAS
7.1 Member Ratings
Parkers and owners (i.e. members) may be rated by other members and/or the central server based upon interactions. The ratings may help establish a sense of responsibility and community among members, as well as identify abusers or dependable members. Member ratings may influence:
- whether an offer is provided (e.g. only parking spots with highly rated owners come with offers, or come with the most attractive offers.)
- which offer is provided
- which parking spots are presented to parkers after a search (e.g. owners' parking spots are provided only if owners have high member ratings. e.g. parkers with high member ratings have access to more parking spots. e.g. parkers and owners may specify that they will only do business with other members who have high ratings.)
Members with high ratings may also earn a benefit, such as free rental hours.
7.2 Frequent Member Program
Similar to rating members (Refer to Section 7.1), members may be distinguished from each other based on how often they rent parking spots and/or provide parking. (e.g. third parties pay central server more per offer if parker frequents area often, since frequent parkers have the potential to spend more money)
7.3 Redistribute Parkers
The central server may provide an offer or subsidize the cost of parking if the parker parks further away from desired location or in a specified parking spot. (e.g. parker wants to go to Kendall Square on Red T line in Cambridge, but parker is offered half-priced parking if he agrees to park in Harvard Square and take the T to Kendall Square.
Although the present invention has been described with respect to particular embodiments thereof, those skilled in the art will note that various substitutions may be made to those embodiments described herein without departing from the spirit and scope of the present invention.
Patent Application
20070290888
