Mobile Device-Enhanced User Selection of Specific Rental Vehicles for a Rental Vehicle Reservation
First Claim
1. A method comprising:
- permitting a customer with a rental vehicle reservation to select a specific rental vehicle for pickup in response to input from the customer via a mobile computing device associated with the customer.
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Abstract
A number of techniques are disclosed for making it more convenient and efficient for customers to conduct various rental vehicle transactions. As an example, a technique for performing an automated pickup of a rental vehicle using a mobile device is disclosed. As another example, a technique for performing an automated return administration of a rental vehicle using a mobile device is disclosed. As another example, a technique for permitting customer to select a particular rental vehicle for a rental vehicle transaction using a mobile device is disclosed. Also disclosed is a technique for permitting a customer to keylessly start a rental vehicle using a machine-sensible item such as his/her mobile device without requiring the customer to possess a smart key.
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Citations
32 Claims
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1. A method comprising:
permitting a customer with a rental vehicle reservation to select a specific rental vehicle for pickup in response to input from the customer via a mobile computing device associated with the customer. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9)
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10. An apparatus comprising:
a processor configured to (1) access rental vehicle reservation data for a customer in response to input from a remote computer, (2) determine a rental vehicle class and a rental vehicle pickup location based on the accessed rental vehicle reservation data, (3) generate a list of specific rental vehicles within the determined rental vehicle class that are available for pickup at the rental vehicle pickup location, (4) communicate data representative of the list to the remote computer for display thereon, (5) receive further input from the remote computer indicative of a selection of a specific rental vehicle from the list, and (6) place a hold on the specific rental vehicle corresponding to the received selection to permit a pickup by the customer of the specific rental vehicle corresponding to the received selection. - View Dependent Claims (11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16)
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17. An apparatus comprising:
a mobile computing device, the mobile computing device configured to (1) receive data from a remote rental vehicle reservation computer system, the received data being indicative of a plurality of specific rental vehicles available for pickup by a customer in accordance with a rental vehicle reservation of the customer, (2) generate a graphical user interface (GUI) screen for display to the customer, the GUI being configured to present a list of the available specific rental vehicles, (3) receive a selection of a specific rental vehicle from the list from the customer through the GUI screen, and (4) communicate the selection to the remote rental vehicle reservation computer system. - View Dependent Claims (18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24)
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25. A computer program product comprising:
a mobile application comprising a plurality of processor-executable instructions that are resident on a non-transitory computer-readable storage medium, the instructions configured to (1) receive data from a remote rental vehicle reservation computer system, the received data being indicative of a plurality of specific rental vehicles available for pickup by a customer in accordance with a rental vehicle reservation of the customer, (2) generate a graphical user interface (GUI) screen for display to the customer, the GUI being configured to present a list of the available specific rental vehicles, (3) receive a selection of a specific rental vehicle from the list from the customer through the GUI screen, and (4) communicate the selection to the remote rental vehicle reservation computer system. - View Dependent Claims (26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32)
Specification