Target addressing system

• US 10,720,056 B2
• Filed: 08/31/2018
• Issued: 07/21/2020
• Est. Priority Date: 03/21/2016
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Uber Technologies, Inc.
• Original Assignee: Uber Technologies, Inc.
• Inventors: Sweeney, Matthew
• Primary Examiner(s): Garcia, Santiago
• Application Number:
  US16/118,916
• Publication Number:
  US 20180374350A1
• Time in Patent Office: 690 Days
• CPC Class Codes: G08G 1/005 including pedestrian guidance indicator
• CPC Class Codes: G08G 1/143 inside the vehicles
• CPC Class Codes: G08G 1/146 where the parking area is a limited parking space, e.g. parking garage, restricted space
• CPC Class Codes: G08G 1/147 where the parking area is within an open public zone, e.g. city centre
• CPC Class Codes: G08G 1/148 Management of a network of parking areas
• CPC Class Codes: G08G 1/202 Dispatching vehicles on the basis of a location, e.g. taxi dispatching
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/02 Services making use of location information
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/029 Location-based management or tracking services
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 88/02 Terminal devices

Abstract

A system can receive requests for services from computing devices of users of s network service. For each of the requests, the system can determine a vehicle stopping location for a driver of a vehicle that is to service the request, and transmit an instruction set to the computing device of the driver. The instruction set can indicate (i) the vehicle stopping location for a vehicular portion of the service, and (ii) a path for the driver from the vehicle stopping location to a target location, where the path is to be followed by the driver upon parking the vehicle at the vehicle stopping location.

Claims

1. A computer system implementing a network service, the computer system comprising:

a network communication interface to communicate, over one or more networks, with (i) computing devices of users of the network service, and (ii) computing devices of drivers of the network service;

one or more processors; and

a memory storing instructions that, when executed by the one or more processors, cause the computer system to;

receive, over the one or more networks, a request for a service from the computing device of a given user of the network service;

based on the request, determine a vehicle stopping location for a driver of a vehicle that is to service the request;

transmit, over the one or more networks, an instruction set to the computing device of the driver, the instruction set indicating (i) the vehicle stopping location for a vehicular portion of the service, and (ii) a path for the driver from the vehicle stopping location to a target location, the path to be followed by the driver upon parking the vehicle at the vehicle stopping location, wherein the target location is within a building; and

wherein the executed instructions further cause the computer system to select a point of ingress from multiple points of ingress into the building based on the target location within the building.

2. The computer system of claim 1, wherein the vehicle stopping location comprises a parking space that satisfies a criterion for proximity to the target location.

3. The computer system of claim 1, wherein the target location corresponds to a current location of the computing device of the given user.

4. The computer system of claim 1, and wherein the executed instructions cause the computer system to determine the vehicle stopping location based, at least in part, on the vehicle stopping location being within a certain proximity to the selected point of ingress into the building.

5. The computer system of claim 1, wherein the executed instructions cause the computer system to determine the vehicle stopping location by (i) predicting an availability of each of a plurality of parking spaces, and (ii) selecting the vehicle stopping location from the plurality of parking spaces based on predicting the availability of each of the plurality of parking spaces.

6. The computer system of claim 1, wherein the target location comprises one of a delivery location, a pick-up location, or a drop-off location for the given user.

7. The computer system of claim 1, wherein the target location comprises a dynamic target location that changes over a duration of time.

8. The computer system of claim 7, wherein the dynamic target location corresponds to a dynamic location of the computing device of the given user.

9. The computer system of claim 7, wherein the executed instructions cause the computer system to determine the dynamic target location through communications, over the one or more networks, with the computing device of the given user.

10. The computer system of claim 1, wherein the instruction set further specifies one or more actions to be performed by the driver.

11. The computer system of claim 10, wherein the one or more actions comprise at least one of an elevator selection or a door selection.

12. A non-transitory computer readable medium storing instructions that, when executed by one or more processors, cause the one or more processors to:

communicate, over one or more networks, with (i) computing devices of users of a network service, and (ii) computing devices of drivers of the network service;

receive, over the one or more networks, a request for a service from the computing device of a given user of the network service;

based on the request, determine a vehicle stopping location for a driver of a vehicle that is to service the request;

transmit, over the one or more networks, an instruction set to the computing device of the driver, the instruction set indicating (i) the vehicle stopping location for a vehicular portion of the service, and (ii) a path for the driver from the vehicle stopping location to a target location, the path to be followed by the driver upon parking the vehicle at the vehicle stopping location, wherein the target location is within a building; and

wherein the executed instructions further cause the one or more processors to select a point of ingress from multiple points of ingress into the building based on the target location within the building.

13. The non-transitory computer readable medium of claim 12, wherein the vehicle stopping location comprises a parking space that satisfies a criterion for proximity to the target location.

14. The non-transitory computer readable medium of claim 12, wherein the target location corresponds to a current location of the computing device of the given user.

15. The non-transitory computer readable medium of claim 12, and wherein the executed instructions cause the one or more processors to determine the vehicle stopping location based, at least in part, on the vehicle stopping location being within a certain proximity to the selected point of ingress into the building.

16. The non-transitory computer readable medium of claim 12, wherein the executed instructions cause the one or more processors to determine the vehicle stopping location by (i) predicting an availability of each of a plurality of parking spaces, and (ii) selecting the vehicle stopping location from the plurality of parking spaces based on predicting the availability of each of the plurality of parking spaces.

17. The non-transitory computer readable medium of claim 12, wherein the target location comprises one of a delivery location, a pick-up location, or a drop-off location for the given user.

18. The non-transitory computer readable medium of claim 12, wherein the target location comprises a dynamic target location that changes over a duration of time.

19. The non-transitory computer readable medium of claim 18, wherein the dynamic target location corresponds to a dynamic location of the computing device of the given user.

20. A method of implementing a network service, the method being performed by one or more processors and comprising:

communicating, over one or more networks, with (i) computing devices of users of the network service, and (ii) computing devices of drivers of the network service;

receiving, over the one or more networks, a request for a service from the computing device of a given user of the network service;

based on the request, determining a vehicle stopping location for a driver of a vehicle that is to service the request;

transmitting, over the one or more networks, an instruction set to the computing device of the driver, the instruction set indicating (i) the vehicle stopping location for a vehicular portion of the service, and (ii) a path for the driver from the vehicle stopping location to a target location, the path to be followed by the driver upon parking the vehicle at the vehicle stopping location, wherein the target location is within a building; and

wherein the one or more processors select a point of ingress from multiple points of ingress into the building based on the target location within the building.