Vehicle Rental System and Method

• US 20140149156A1
• Filed: 02/04/2014
• Published: 05/29/2014
• Est. Priority Date: 08/05/2011
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Bayerische Motoren Werke AG
• Original Assignee: Bayerische Motoren Werke AG
• Inventors: SCHROEDER, Astrid
• Granted Patent: US 11,816,601 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 705/5
• CPC Class Codes: E04H 6/426 Parking guides
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/02 Reservations, e.g. for tickets, services or events
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 50/40 Business processes related to the transportation industry shipping G06Q10/083
• CPC Class Codes: G07B 15/02 taking into account a variable factor such as distance or time, e.g. for passenger transport, parking systems or car rental systems G07B15/06 takes precedence; taximeters G07B13/00; parking meters per se G07F17/24; car rental systems per se G07B15/00
• CPC Class Codes: G08G 1/123 indicating the position of vehicles, e.g. scheduled vehicles; Managing passenger vehicles circulating according to a fixed timetable, e.g. buses, trains, tramstransmission of navigation instructions to vehicles G08G1/0968

Abstract

A computerized operation of a vehicle rental system is provided, wherein a number of vehicles is made available to a defined user group for a temporary use period. The vehicles are placed at one or more locations accessible only to the user group, with one or multiple parking spaces reserved for the vehicles in each case. Based on a user input which includes at least one item of data regarding a rental period start and a rental period end of a vehicle, as well as a user ID, a reservation of the vehicle is carried out in a computerized reservation system. A sensor device, which monitors the parking spaces, verifies the presence of the vehicle. The reservation system shows a vehicle, the same being detected by the sensor device as parked in one of the reserved parking spaces prior to the expiration of the rental period end and saved in the reservation system, as available for rental in the reservation system.

Claims

1. A method for computerized operation of a vehicle rental system, the method comprising the acts of:

providing a number of vehicles to a defined user group for a temporary use period;

making the vehicles available in one or multiple locations, which are accessible exclusively to the user group, said locations each having one or multiple parking spaces reserved for the vehicles;

based on a user input, which includes at least one item of data relating to a rental period start and, optionally, a rental period end of a vehicle, as well as a user ID, creating, via a computerized reservation system, a reservation of the vehicle;

verifying, via a sensor device which monitors the parking spaces, the presence of the vehicle;

displaying, via the reservation system, a vehicle as available for rental in the reservation system, said vehicle being detected by the sensor device as parked in one of the reserved parking spaces prior to an expiration of the rental period end saved in the reservation system.

2. The method according to claim 1, wherein the parking spaces are arranged in one or more properties of a community of owners, and only defined individuals of the property are participants in the vehicle rental system for their property.

3. The method according to claim 2, wherein the defined individuals are participants also for a plurality of other properties.

4. The method according to claim 2, wherein the user ID is checked for access to the parking spaces of the property, and access is only granted upon approval of the user ID.

5. The method according to claim 1, wherein the user input is given via a user interface, via which a user is presented with vehicles available for rental by a video display.

6. The method according to claim 5, wherein the user is also presented with further information on the vehicle.

7. The method according to claim 1, wherein free parking spaces are detected by the sensor device and reported to a parking space organizer device of the reservation system, wherein data is transmitted to a user interface integrated into the vehicle, and/or to user interfaces, at the location with the parking spaces, concerning parking spaces which are available.

8. The method according to claim 7, wherein a reservation of an available parking space is carried out by the reservation system based on a user input.

9. The method according to claim 1, wherein a data set is saved in the reservation system for each user ID, said data set comprising a property ID of the property in which the user is a renter and/or resident of the property, the property ID being assigned to the user ID, as well as rights with respect to the user of parking spaces in other properties.

10. The method according to claim 9, wherein, upon the detection of a vehicle of the vehicle rental system at an access control of another property, the rights of a user for said other property are determined using the property ID of the user, and access control is opened or not, for entrance and/or exit of the vehicle into/from the other property according to said rights.

11. The method according to claim 1, wherein, upon detection of a vehicle at the access control of one of the properties of the vehicle reservation system, a check is made using the vehicle ID of the vehicle as to whether said vehicle is a vehicle of a spontaneous vehicle rental system, and if it is, the access control is opened for the entrance of the vehicle into the property.

12. The method according to claim 1, wherein, according to rights assigned to a user ID in the reservation system, information on another user of a reserved vehicle is displayed via the user interface in reaction to an input of a user.

13. The method according to claim 1, wherein personal settings concerning the vehicle based on a user input or chosen by a user in one of the vehicles of the vehicle rental system are saved in a data storage device of the reservation system together with the user ID, and are loaded into the vehicle and activated, when the user uses this or another vehicle of the vehicle rental system.

14. The method according to claim 13, wherein, if there are different types of vehicles, an adaptation of the personal characteristics to the specific details of the vehicle is carried out.

15. The method according to claim 1, wherein the sensor device analyzes a vehicle exterior for a purpose of detecting damage to a returned vehicle, and a computer carries out a comparison of the current data with target data saved for the vehicle and/or with the most recently saved current data.

20. The vehicle rental system according to claim 1, wherein the sensor system is configured to sense analyze a vehicle exterior for detecting damage to a returned vehicle, said sensed data being compared by the reservation system to with target data for the particular vehicle.

16. A vehicle rental system in which a number of vehicles is provided to a defined user group for a temporary use period, the vehicles being made available in one or more locations accessible exclusively to the user group, said locations each having one or more parking spaces reserved for the provided vehicles, wherein the vehicle rental system comprises:

a sensor system operatively configured to monitor the one or more parking spaces reserved for the provided vehicles in order to verify a presence or absence of a vehicle;

a computer-implemented reservation system coupled with the sensor system, the computer-implemented reservation system comprising a processor and memory for storing executable program code segments that;

create a reservation of an available vehicle based on a user input comprising at least one item of data relating to a rental start period and a rental end period of a vehicle, along with a user ID;

outputs for display, a vehicle as being available for rental in the reservation system, said available vehicle having been detected by the sensor system as parked in one of the one or more reserved parking spaces prior to an expiration of the rental end period stored in the reservations system for the vehicle.

17. The vehicle rental system according to claim 16, wherein the computer-implemented reservation system further executes program code that:

checks a user ID for access to the one or more parking spaces arranged in a property; and

only grants access upon approval of the user ID, wherein

the one or more parking spaces are arranged in one or more properties of a community of owners, and only defined individuals of the property are allowed to participate in the vehicle rental system for their property.

18. The vehicle rental system according to claim 16, further comprising:

a user interface by which a user provides the user input; and

wherein a display of the user interface receives the output of the reservation system to inform the user of vehicles available for rental.

19. The vehicle rental system according to claim 16, wherein a data set is saved in the reservation system for each user ID, said data set comprising a property ID of the property in which a user is in the user group of the property, the property ID being assigned to the user ID, along with rights with respect to the user for parking spaces in other properties.