SHARED VEHICLE RENTAL SYSTEM INCLUDING VEHICLE AVAILABILITY DETERMINATION
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Abstract
Techniques and structures are disclosed relating to the rental of vehicles owned by different owners (i.e., a peer to peer vehicle network). Each owner may have his or her own set of rental criteria associated with a particular vehicle. Prospective drivers may have to meet (or choose from) this criteria to be able to rent a vehicle. Drivers may be able to choose a vehicle for rent based on a distance from one or more vehicles (e.g., closer vehicles are displayed higher in search results), price, or other factors. Messages and alerts may be exchanged between a server that implements a vehicle rental system and owner, driver, and/or vehicle computing devices. Location information about the vehicles is collected at the server, and a driver may be able to see the actual location of a vehicle for an upcoming rental. Vehicles may be remotely unlocked so that a driver can use the vehicle with keyless entry.
132 Citations
81 Claims
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1-60. -60. (canceled)
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61. An apparatus usable in a vehicle, comprising:
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a processor; and a memory having instructions stored thereon that are executable by the processor to cause the apparatus to perform operations comprising; receiving reservation information transmitted by a remote computer system, wherein the reservation information includes information specifying an identity of a driver for the vehicle; and causing the vehicle to be unlocked in response to a confirmation of the identity of the driver. - View Dependent Claims (62, 63, 64, 65, 66, 67, 68, 69, 70)
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71. A computer-readable storage medium having instructions stored thereon that are executable to cause a computer system to perform operations comprising:
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receiving reservation information transmitted by a remote computer system, wherein the reservation information includes information specifying an identity of a driver for a vehicle, wherein the computer system is configured to couple to one or more electrical systems of the vehicle; confirming the identity of the driver; and in response to said confirming, causing the vehicle to be locked or unlocked. - View Dependent Claims (72, 73, 74, 75, 76, 77)
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78. A method, comprising:
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receiving reservation information transmitted by a remote computer system, wherein the reservation information is received at a local computer system including a processor and a memory, wherein the reservation information includes information specifying an identity of a driver for a vehicle, and wherein the local computer system is coupled to one or more electrical systems of the vehicle; the local computer system confirming the identity of the driver; and in response to said confirming, the local computer system causing the vehicle to be unlocked. - View Dependent Claims (79, 80)
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81-98. -98. (canceled)
Specification