System for connecting a driver and a rider

• US 10,467,554 B2
• Filed: 03/14/2013
• Issued: 11/05/2019
• Est. Priority Date: 03/14/2013
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: LYFT Incorporated
• Original Assignee: LYFT Incorporated
• Inventors: Yoo, Frank Taehyun, Goldin, Evan, Brannstrom, Sebastian Rolf Johan, Rico, Eduardo Alfio Perez
• Primary Examiner(s): Chen, George
• Application Number:
  US13/828,913
• Publication Number:
  US 20170193404A1
• Time in Patent Office: 2,427 Days
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/02 Reservations, e.g. for tickets, services or events
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/06 Resources, workflows, human or project management; Enterprise or organisation planning; Enterprise or organisation modelling
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/322 Aspects of commerce using mobile devices [M-devices]
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/023 using mutual or relative location information between multiple location based services [LBS] targets or of distance thresholds
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/024 Guidance services
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/025 using location based information parameters

Abstract

A system for connecting a driver and a rider comprises a processor and an interface. The processor is configured to select a driver for a requested ride from the rider. The interface is configured to, in the event that the driver accepts the rider, provide a connect notification to the rider. The connect notification comprises an image associated with the driver, an image associated with the driver'"'"'s car, and an anonymized interface for contacting the driver.

Claims

1. A matching system for connecting a driver and a rider, comprising:

a server computer configured to;

receive a ride request associated with a requestor computing device of the rider, wherein the ride request includes a pick-up location;

determine one or more potential start locations located within a predetermined distance from the pick-up location based on pick-up events associated with the requestor computing device;

determine a weight for each of the one or more potential start locations based on the pick-up events associated with each of the one or more potential start locations, the weight being dependent on a method by which the potential start location was entered into a mobile application for each of the pick-up events, wherein potential start locations with addresses manually entered into the mobile application are weighted more heavily than potential start locations indicated by manual pin placement within the mobile application, and potential start locations indicated by manual pin placement within the mobile application are weighted more heavily than potential start locations determined by GPS information;

select a start location from the one or more potential start locations based on the weight of each of the one or more potential start locations; and

cause a provider computing device associated with the driver to display, within a driver interface, the selected start location.

2. The matching system of claim 1, wherein, in the event that the driver associated with the provider computing device does not accept the ride request, an alternate driver is selected and the selected start location is provide to the alternate driver.

3. The matching system of claim 2, wherein information associated with the alternate driver is provided to the requestor computing device of the rider.

4. The matching system of claim 1, wherein the server computer is further configured to receive an indication of a ride start.

5. The matching system of claim 4, wherein the indication of the ride start comprises a ride start time.

6. The matching system of claim 1, wherein the pick-up location is determined based at least in part on a current location of the rider.

7. The matching system of claim 1, wherein the ride request has an associated destination location.

8. The matching system of claim 1, wherein the ride request has an associated time limit for acceptance.

9. The matching system of claim 1, wherein the server computer is further configured to receive an indication of a ride stop.

10. The matching system of claim 1, wherein the server computer is further configured to provide a notification of a completed ride to the requestor computing device.

11. The matching system of claim 1, wherein an address manually entered into the mobile application comprises an addresses typed into an address field.

12. The matching system of claim 1, wherein the pick-up location includes a present location of the requestor computing device, the present location of the requestor computing device being determined by a GPS component of the requestor computing device.

13. The matching system of claim 1, wherein the pick-up location and the selected start location are both associated with a same postal address and wherein the pick-up location and the selected start location are both associated with different geographic locations.

14. The matching system of claim 1, wherein the server computer is configured to determine the one or more potential start locations by:

determining that the pick-up location is located within a location cluster associated with the pick-up events; and

identifying the one or more potential start locations from potential start locations associated with the pick-up events in the location cluster.

15. The matching system of claim 1, wherein the server computer is further configured to:

determine a current location of the provider computing device associated with the driver;

generate a navigation route from the location of the provider computing device to the selected start location; and

provide the navigation route to the provider computing device for the ride request.

16. The matching system of claim 1, wherein each of the pick-up events includes a location, a time, and an indicator of the method by which the potential start location was entered into the mobile application.

17. The matching system of claim 1, wherein the method by which the potential start location was entered into the mobile application comprises one or more of an address manually entered into the mobile application, a manual pin placement within the mobile application, or a determined location based on GPS information.

18. The matching system of claim 1, wherein the server computer is further configured to determine weights for location clusters, wherein a location cluster comprises a plurality of nearby locations.

19. The matching system of claim 1, wherein the server computer is further configured to:

cause the requestor computing device to display the selected start location within a requestor interface, wherein the requestor interface is further modified to present the selected start location instead of the pick-up location.

20. A method for connecting a driver and a rider, comprising:

receiving, by a matching system, a ride request associated with a requestor computing device of the rider, the ride request including a pick-up location;

determining one or more potential start locations located within a predetermined distance from the pick-up location based on pick-up events associated with the requestor computing device;

determining a weight for each of the one or more potential start locations based on the pick-up events associated with each of the one or more potential start locations, the weight being dependent on a method by which the potential start location was entered into a mobile application for each of the pick-up events, wherein potential start locations with addresses manually entered into the mobile application are weighted more heavily than potential start locations indicated by manual pin placement within the mobile application, and potential start locations indicated by manual pin placement within the mobile application are weighted more heavily than potential start locations determined by GPS information;

selecting a start location from the one or more potential start locations based on the weight of each of the one or more potential start locations; and

causing, by the matching system, a provider computing device associated with the driver to display, within a driver interface, the selected start location.

21. A computer program product for connecting a driver and a rider, the computer program product being embodied in a tangible non-transitory computer readable storage medium and comprising computer instructions for:

receiving a ride request associated with a requestor computing device of the rider, the ride request including a pick-up location;

determining one or more potential start locations located within a predetermined distance from the pick-up location based on pick-up events associated with the requestor computing device;

determining a weight for each of the one or more potential start locations based on the pick-up events associated with each of the one or more potential start locations, the weight being dependent on a method by which the potential start location was entered into a mobile application for each of the pick-up events, wherein potential start locations with addresses manually entered into the mobile application are weighted more heavily than potential start locations indicated by manual pin placement within the mobile application, and potential start locations indicated by manual pin placement within the mobile application are weighted more heavily than potential start locations determined by GPS information;

selecting a start location from the one or more potential start locations based on the weight of each of the one or more potential start locations; and

causing a provider computing device associated with the driver to display, within a driver interface, the selected start location.