System, method and computer readable medium for billing

• US 20070124197A1
• Filed: 09/06/2006
• Published: 05/31/2007
• Est. Priority Date: 09/07/2005
• Status: Abandoned Application

• Current Assignee: Rent A Toll Ltd
• Original Assignee: Rent-A-Toll Limited
• Inventors: Lemon, Debbie, Balachandran, Sarath, Robinson, Benjamin
• Application Number:
  US11/516,376
• Publication Number:
  US 20070124197A1
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 705/13
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/04 Billing or invoicing
• CPC Class Codes: G07B 15/04 comprising devices to free a barrier, turnstile, or the like turnstiles with registering means G07C9/10; coin-freed aspects G07F17/00
• CPC Class Codes: G07B 15/063 using wireless information transmission between the vehicle and a fixed station identification of vehicles G08G

Abstract

A system, method, and computer readable medium for billing comprises receiving, by a toll authority, data related to a tracking device coupled to a rented transport, contemporaneously receiving, by the device from the toll authority, information including at least one of: a direction of travel by the transport, a location of the transport, a price of the toll, a toll gate number, a date, and a time, reading the received information by a reader, sending the read information to a database, matching the sent information with information related to a rental agreement, wherein the rental agreement covers the rented transport, and determining a billing amount based on the matched information

Claims

1. A method for billing, comprising:

receiving, by a toll authority, data related to a tracking device coupled to a rented transport;

contemporaneously receiving, by the device from the toll authority, information including at least one of;

a direction of travel by the transport, a location of the transport, a price of the toll, a toll gate number, a date, and a time;

reading the received information by a reader;

sending the read information to a database;

matching the sent information with information related to a rental agreement, wherein the rental agreement covers the rented transport; and

determining a billing amount based on the matched information.

2. The method of claim 1 comprising receiving the billing amount by a third party entity that initiated the rental agreement.

3. The method of claim 2 comprising modifying the billing amount by the third party entity.

4. The method of claim 3 comprising sending the modified billing amount to at least one of:

an individual operating the transport;

an individual renting the transport;

an entity renting the transport; and

an entity employing the individual.

5. The method of claim 1 comprising storing, by the toll authority, the received data.

6. The method of claim 5 comprising sending, by the toll authority to a toll rental entity, at least one of:

the received data; and

the stored data.

7. The method of claim 6 comprising matching, by the toll rental entity, the at least one of the received data and the stored data with information received from a third party entity.

8. The method of claim 7 comprising determining a billing amount based on the matched information by the toll rental entity.

9. The method of claim 8 comprising sending the billing amount by the toll rental entity to at least one of:

an individual operating the transport;

an individual renting the transport;

an entity renting the transport; and

an entity employing the individual.

10. The method of claim 8 comprising sending the billing amount by the toll rental entity to a third party entity that initiated the rental agreement.

11. The method of claim 10 comprising modifying the billing amount by the third party entity.

12. The method of claim 11 comprising sending the modified billing amount to at least one of:

an individual operating the transport;

an individual renting the transport;

an entity renting the transport; and

an entity employing the individual.

13. The method of claim 1, wherein the tracking device is coupled to the individual.

14. The method of claim 1, wherein the tracking device is integrated with an electronic device belonging to the individual.

15. The method of claim 1, wherein the transport is at least one of:

a car, truck, a motorcycle, a boat, a train, a plane, and a bicycle.

16. A computer readable medium comprising instructions for:

receiving, by a first system, data related to a rented transport that includes a tracking device;

receiving, by the device from the first system, toll usage information;

receiving, by a second system from the device, the toll usage information; and

generating a bill based on the toll usage information.

17. The computer readable medium of claim 16 comprising instructions for resetting, by the second system, the tracking device.

18. The computer readable medium of claim 17, wherein the resetting occurs when at least one of a following action occurs:

the generating of the bill;

the receiving of the toll usage information by the second system;

the receiving of the toll usage information by the tracking device;

an input by the first system;

an output by the first system;

an input by the tracking device;

an output by the tracking device;

an input by the second system; and

an output by the second system.

19. The computer readable medium of claim 16 comprising instructions for generating the bill based on terms of a rental agreement associated with the rented transport.

20. The computer readable medium of claim 16 comprising instructions for generating the bill based on a location of the rented transport.

21. A system for billing, comprising:

a third party entity;

a toll rental entity that receives a request for service from the third party entity, wherein the request includes at least one of;

a rental agreement number;

a toll fee device identifier;

a start date of the service;

a start time of the service;

an end date of the service;

an end time of the service; and

a toll authority that receives a payment from the toll rental entity for the service.

22. The system of claim 21, wherein the toll authority receives the request for the service.

23. A system for billing, comprising:

a third party entity;

a toll fee device that receives a request for service from the third party entity, wherein the request includes at least one of;

a rental agreement number;

a toll fee device identifier;

a start date of the service;

a start time of the service;

an end date of the service;

an end time of the service; and

a toll data database communicably coupled to the toll fee device, wherein the toll data database is refreshed upon receipt of the request.

24. The system of claim 23, wherein the third party entity receives toll data from the toll data database.

25. The system of claim 23 comprising a toll rental entity which may receive an invalid toll fee device identifier from a toll authority.

26. The system of claim 25, wherein the toll rental entity checks the toll data database for valid toll fee device identifiers.

27. The system of claim 26, wherein if the valid toll fee device identifiers are not found, the toll rental entity informs the toll authority, wherein the toll authority then checks other sources to determine at least one of:

an owner, an originator, and an account holder of the toll fee device.

28. The system of claim 25, wherein the toll data database receives toll data from the toll authority.

29. The system of claim 28, wherein the third party entity receives toll data from the toll data database.

30. The system of claim 29, wherein the toll rental entity receives the request from the third party entity.

31. The system of claim 30, wherein the toll authority receives, from the toll rental entity, at least one of:

a payment;

the request; and

the toll data.

32. A method for billing, comprising:

receiving information including at least one of;

a direction of travel by a transport, a location of the transport, a price of a toll, a toll gate number, a date, and a time;

sending the received information to a database;

matching the sent information with information related to a rental agreement, wherein the information related to the rental agreement is stored in the database, and wherein the rental agreement covers the rented transport; and

determining a billing amount based on the matched information.