SYSTEM AND METHODS FOR FACILITATING REAL-TIME CARPOOLING

• US 20150324717A1
• Filed: 12/09/2014
• Published: 11/12/2015
• Est. Priority Date: 05/06/2014
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Uber Technologies, Inc.
• Original Assignee: Elwha LLC (Intellectual Ventures LLC)
• Inventors: Lord, Richard T., Lord, Robert W., Myhrvold, Nathan P., Tegreene, Clarence T.
• Granted Patent: US 9,689,694 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: G01C 21/343 Calculating itineraries, i.e. routes leading from a starting point to a series of categorical destinations using a global route restraint, round trips, touristic trips travelling salesman problem G06Q10/04; optimisation of routes G06Q10/047
• CPC Class Codes: G01C 21/3438 Rendez-vous, i.e. searching a destination where several users can meet, and the routes to this destination for these users; Ride sharing, i.e. searching a route such that at least two users can share a vehicle for at least part of the route
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/06 Resources, workflows, human or project management; Enterprise or organisation planning; Enterprise or organisation modelling
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/06311 Scheduling, planning or task assignment for a person or group
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/063114 Status monitoring or status determination for a person or group
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 50/40 Business processes related to the transportation industry shipping G06Q10/083

Abstract

Computationally implemented methods and systems that are designed for receiving a request for transport of a first end user; selecting, in response to the received request, a transportation vehicle unit that is currently en route to or is currently transporting a second end user for transporting the first end user, the selection of the transportation vehicle unit being based, at least in part, on ascertaining that the transportation vehicle unit is able to accommodate transport of the first end user while transporting the second end user; and transmitting one or more directives that direct the selected transportation vehicle unit to transport the first end user. In addition to the foregoing, other aspects are described in the claims, drawings, and text.

Claims

1-161. -161. (canceled)

162. A system, comprising:

circuitry for selecting, in response to reception of a request for transport of a first end user, a transportation vehicle unit that is currently en route to or is currently transporting a second end user for transporting the first end user, the selection of the transportation vehicle unit being based, at least in part, on ascertaining that the transportation vehicle unit is able to accommodate transport of the first end user while transporting the second end user;

circuitry for transmitting one or more directives that direct the selected transportation vehicle unit to transport the first end user; and

circuitry for transmitting one or more notifications that provide notification that the selected transportation vehicle unit has been selected to transport the first end user.

163. The system of claim 162, wherein said circuitry for selecting, in response to reception of a request for transport of a first end user, a transportation vehicle unit that is currently en route to or is currently transporting a second end user for transporting the first end user, the selection of the transportation vehicle unit being based, at least in part, on ascertaining that the transportation vehicle unit is able to accommodate transport of the first end user while transporting the second end user comprises:

circuitry for selecting the transportation vehicle unit that is currently en route to or is currently transporting a second end user for transporting the first end user in response to electronic reception of a request for transport of a first end user.

171. The system of claim 162, wherein said circuitry for selecting, in response to reception of a request for transport of a first end user, a transportation vehicle unit that is currently en route to or is currently transporting a second end user for transporting the first end user, the selection of the transportation vehicle unit being based, at least in part, on ascertaining that the transportation vehicle unit is able to accommodate transport of the first end user while transporting the second end user comprises:

circuitry for selecting the transportation vehicle unit within a small time window that starts at a point in time when a request is received for transporting the second end user or when the second end user has been secured by the transportation vehicle unit.

175. The system of claim 162, wherein said circuitry for selecting, in response to reception of a request for transport of a first end user, a transportation vehicle unit that is currently en route to or is currently transporting a second end user for transporting the first end user, the selection of the transportation vehicle unit being based, at least in part, on ascertaining that the transportation vehicle unit is able to accommodate transport of the first end user while transporting the second end user comprises:

circuitry for selecting a transportation vehicle unit that is currently en route to transport a second end user for transporting the first end user, the selection being based, at least in part, on ascertainment that the transportation vehicle unit is en route to a second end user rendezvous location to rendezvous with the second end user and that is ascertained to be spatially approaching the second end user rendezvous location.

179. The system of claim 162, wherein said circuitry for selecting, in response to reception of a request for transport of a first end user, a transportation vehicle unit that is currently en route to or is currently transporting a second end user for transporting the first end user, the selection of the transportation vehicle unit being based, at least in part, on ascertaining that the transportation vehicle unit is able to accommodate transport of the first end user while transporting the second end user comprises:

circuitry for selecting a transportation vehicle unit that is currently transporting a second end user for transporting the first end user, the selection being based, at least in part on ascertainment that the transportation vehicle unit is currently transporting the second end user and that is ascertained to be currently located near to a first end user rendezvous location for rendezvousing with the first end user.

180. The system of claim 179, wherein said circuitry for selecting a transportation vehicle unit that is currently transporting a second end user for transporting the first end user, the selection being based, at least in part on ascertainment that the transportation vehicle unit is currently transporting the second end user and that is ascertained to be currently located near to a first end user rendezvous location for rendezvousing with the first end user comprises:

circuitry for selecting a transportation vehicle unit that is currently transporting a second end user for transporting the first end user, the selection being based, at least in part on ascertainment that the transportation vehicle unit is currently transporting the second end user and that is ascertained to be currently located within a predefined maximum distance from a first end user rendezvous location for rendezvousing with the first end user.

182. The system of claim 162, wherein said circuitry for selecting, in response to reception of a request for transport of a first end user, a transportation vehicle unit that is currently en route to or is currently transporting a second end user for transporting the first end user, the selection of the transportation vehicle unit being based, at least in part, on ascertaining that the transportation vehicle unit is able to accommodate transport of the first end user while transporting the second end user comprises:

circuitry for selecting the transportation vehicle unit that is currently en route to or is currently transporting a second end user for transporting the first end user, the selection being based, at least in part on ascertainment that the transportation vehicle unit is currently transporting the second end user and that is ascertained to be currently located at a location that is same as a first end user rendezvous location for rendezvousing with the first end user.

183. The system of claim 162, wherein said circuitry for selecting, in response to reception of a request for transport of a first end user, a transportation vehicle unit that is currently en route to or is currently transporting a second end user for transporting the first end user, the selection of the transportation vehicle unit being based, at least in part, on ascertaining that the transportation vehicle unit is able to accommodate transport of the first end user while transporting the second end user comprises:

circuitry for selecting the transportation vehicle unit for transporting the first end user based, at least in part, on ascertainment that the transportation vehicle unit is to rendezvous with the second end user at a rendezvous location that is ascertained to be the same as the rendezvous location for the first end user.

184. The system of claim 183, wherein said circuitry for selecting the transportation vehicle unit for transporting the first end user based, at least in part, on ascertainment that the transportation vehicle unit is to rendezvous with the second end user at a rendezvous location that is ascertained to be the same as the rendezvous location for the first end user comprises:

circuitry for selecting the transportation vehicle unit for transporting the first end user based further on ascertainment that the first end user and the second end user are to be transported to a single destination location.

186. The system of claim 162, wherein said circuitry for selecting, in response to reception of a request for transport of a first end user, a transportation vehicle unit that is currently en route to or is currently transporting a second end user for transporting the first end user, the selection of the transportation vehicle unit being based, at least in part, on ascertaining that the transportation vehicle unit is able to accommodate transport of the first end user while transporting the second end user comprises:

circuitry for ascertaining that the transportation vehicle unit will be transporting the second end user to a second end user destination location that is near to a first end user destination location of the first end user.

189. The system of claim 162, wherein said circuitry for selecting, in response to reception of a request for transport of a first end user, a transportation vehicle unit that is currently en route to or is currently transporting a second end user for transporting the first end user, the selection of the transportation vehicle unit being based, at least in part, on ascertaining that the transportation vehicle unit is able to accommodate transport of the first end user while transporting the second end user comprises:

circuitry for ascertaining that transport of the first end user by the transportation vehicle unit will not significantly delay transport of the second end user to a second end user destination location.

192. The system of claim 189, wherein said circuitry for ascertaining that transport of the first end user by the transportation vehicle unit will not significantly delay transport of the second end user to a second end user destination location comprises:

circuitry for ascertaining that transport of the first end user by the transportation vehicle unit will not add more than a predefined amount of permitted additional distance for transporting the second end user to a second end user destination location and as a result of transporting the first end user.

194. The system of claim 162, wherein said circuitry for selecting, in response to reception of a request for transport of a first end user, a transportation vehicle unit that is currently en route to or is currently transporting a second end user for transporting the first end user, the selection of the transportation vehicle unit being based, at least in part, on ascertaining that the transportation vehicle unit is able to accommodate transport of the first end user while transporting the second end user comprises:

circuitry for ascertaining that transport of the first end user to a first end user destination location by the transportation vehicle unit will not result in the transportation vehicle unit to have a total number of passenger drop offs that exceed a predefined number of maximum passenger drop offs allowed for the transportation vehicle unit during one trip transporting a group of end users to one or more end user destination locations.

195. The system of claim 162, wherein said circuitry for selecting, in response to reception of a request for transport of a first end user, a transportation vehicle unit that is currently en route to or is currently transporting a second end user for transporting the first end user, the selection of the transportation vehicle unit being based, at least in part, on ascertaining that the transportation vehicle unit is able to accommodate transport of the first end user while transporting the second end user comprises:

circuitry for ascertaining that transport of the first end user to a first end user destination location by the transportation vehicle unit will not result in the transportation vehicle unit to have an amount of passenger drop offs that exceed a predefined number of maximum passenger drop offs allowed for the transportation vehicle unit prior to drop off of the second end user at a second end user destination location.

197. The system of claim 162, wherein said circuitry for selecting, in response to reception of a request for transport of a first end user, a transportation vehicle unit that is currently en route to or is currently transporting a second end user for transporting the first end user, the selection of the transportation vehicle unit being based, at least in part, on ascertaining that the transportation vehicle unit is able to accommodate transport of the first end user while transporting the second end user comprises:

circuitry for ascertaining that transport of the first end user and at least the second end user by the transportation vehicle unit will not result in the transportation vehicle unit to have an amount of passenger drop offs that exceed a predefined number of maximum passenger drop offs allowed for the transportation vehicle unit prior to drop off of the first end user at a first end user destination location.

199. The system of claim 162, wherein said circuitry for selecting, in response to reception of a request for transport of a first end user, a transportation vehicle unit that is currently en route to or is currently transporting a second end user for transporting the first end user, the selection of the transportation vehicle unit being based, at least in part, on ascertaining that the transportation vehicle unit is able to accommodate transport of the first end user while transporting the second end user comprises:

circuitry for selecting the transportation vehicle unit that is currently en route to or is currently transporting a second end user for transporting the first end user only after ascertaining that no non-carpooling vehicle is available for transporting the first end user.

201. The system of claim 162, wherein said circuitry for selecting, in response to reception of a request for transport of a first end user, a transportation vehicle unit that is currently en route to or is currently transporting a second end user for transporting the first end user, the selection of the transportation vehicle unit being based, at least in part, on ascertaining that the transportation vehicle unit is able to accommodate transport of the first end user while transporting the second end user comprises:

circuitry for ranking two or more candidate transportation vehicle units as candidates for transporting the first end user, each of the two or more candidate transportation vehicle units are currently en route to or are currently transporting one or more end users, and the transportation vehicle unit being selected from the two or more candidate transportation vehicle units, the two or more candidate transportation vehicle units being ranked according to their suitability for transporting the first end user.

203. The system of claim 201, wherein said circuitry for selecting the transportation vehicle unit that is currently en route to or is currently transporting a second end user for transporting the first end user including ranking two or more candidate transportation vehicle units as candidates for transporting the first end user, each of the two or more candidate transportation vehicle units are currently en route to or are currently transporting one or more end users, and the transportation vehicle unit being selected from the two or more candidate transportation vehicle units, the two or more candidate transportation vehicle units being ranked according to their suitability for transporting the first end user comprises:

circuitry for ranking the two or more candidate transportation vehicle units based, at least in part, on their efficiency in transporting the first end user and other end users to their end user destination locations.

204. The system of claim 203, wherein said circuitry for ranking the two or more candidate transportation vehicle units based, at least in part, on their efficiency in transporting the first end user and other end users to their end user destination locations comprises:

circuitry for ranking the two or more candidate transportation vehicle units based, at least in part, on the number of passenger drop offs they will each have if each of the candidate transportation vehicle units transport the first end user.

205. The system of claim 203, wherein said circuitry for ranking the two or more candidate transportation vehicle units based, at least in part, on their efficiency in transporting the first end user and other end users to their end user destination locations comprises:

circuitry for ranking the two or more candidate transportation vehicle units based, at least in part, on the distances they will each have to travel to drop off each of their currently assigned passengers and if each of the candidate transportation vehicle units transport the first end user.

207. The system of claim 162, wherein said circuitry for selecting, in response to reception of a request for transport of a first end user, a transportation vehicle unit that is currently en route to or is currently transporting a second end user for transporting the first end user, the selection of the transportation vehicle unit being based, at least in part, on ascertaining that the transportation vehicle unit is able to accommodate transport of the first end user while transporting the second end user comprises:

circuitry for providing a transport rate for transporting the second end user that is discounted as a result, at least in part, of the transportation vehicle unit being assigned to transport the first end user.

208. The system of claim 162, wherein said circuitry for selecting, in response to reception of a request for transport of a first end user, a transportation vehicle unit that is currently en route to or is currently transporting a second end user for transporting the first end user, the selection of the transportation vehicle unit being based, at least in part, on ascertaining that the transportation vehicle unit is able to accommodate transport of the first end user while transporting the second end user comprises:

circuitry for providing a transport rate for transporting the first end user that is a discounted rate for the first end user to be transported by the selected transportation vehicle unit transporting one or more other end users including the second end user, the discounted rate being a rate that has been discounted from a rate that would be charged if the selected transportation vehicle unit was transporting fewer end users.

209. The system of claim 208, wherein said circuitry for providing a transport rate for transporting the first end user that is a discounted rate for the first end user to be transported by the selected transportation vehicle unit transporting one or more other end users including the second end user, the discounted rate being a rate that has been discounted from a rate that would be charged if the selected transportation vehicle unit was transporting fewer end users comprises:

circuitry for providing a transport rate for transporting the first end user that is a discounted rate for the first end user to be transported by the selected transportation vehicle unit transporting one or more other end users including the second end user, the discounted rate being based, at least in part, on the number of passenger drop offs that are scheduled to occur prior to drop off of the first end user at a first end user destination location.

211. The system of claim 162, wherein said circuitry for selecting, in response to reception of a request for transport of a first end user, a transportation vehicle unit that is currently en route to or is currently transporting a second end user for transporting the first end user, the selection of the transportation vehicle unit being based, at least in part, on ascertaining that the transportation vehicle unit is able to accommodate transport of the first end user while transporting the second end user comprises:

circuitry for providing a transport rate for transporting the first end user that is a premium rate for the first end user to be transported by the selected transportation vehicle unit transporting the second end user, the premium rate being a higher rate than a rate that would be charged if the selected transportation vehicle unit was not transporting the second end user.

213. The system of claim 162, wherein said circuitry for transmitting one or more directives that direct the selected transportation vehicle unit to transport the first end user comprises:

circuitry for transmitting the one or more directives electronically to a passenger/vehicle coordinating network system and/or a transport computing device associated with the selected transportation vehicle unit via one or more wireless and/or wired networks.

217. The system of claim 162, wherein said circuitry for transmitting one or more directives that direct the selected transportation vehicle unit to transport the first end user comprises:

circuitry for transmitting transport rate data that indicates at least one transport rate for the first end user being transported by the transportation vehicle unit and that is based, at least in part, on the transportation vehicle unit transporting one or more other end users including the second end user.

218. The system of claim 217, wherein said circuitry for transmitting transport rate data that indicates at least one transport rate for the first end user being transported by the transportation vehicle unit and that is based, at least in part, on the transportation vehicle unit transporting one or more other end users including the second end user comprises:

circuitry for transmitting transport rate data that indicates at least one discounted transport rate for the first end user being transported by the transportation vehicle unit, the discounting of the discounted transport rate being based, at least in part, on the transportation vehicle unit transporting one or more other end users including the second end user.

219. The system of claim 162, wherein said circuitry for transmitting one or more directives that direct the selected transportation vehicle unit to transport the first end user comprises:

circuitry for transmitting transport rate data that indicates transport rate for the second end user and that is based, at least in part, on the transportation vehicle unit transporting the first end user.

220. The system of claim 219, wherein said circuitry for transmitting transport rate data that indicates transport rate for the second end user and that is based, at least in part, on the transportation vehicle unit transporting the first end user comprises:

circuitry for transmitting transport rate data that indicates at least one discounted transport rate for the second end user being transported by the transportation vehicle unit, the discounting of the discounted transport rate being based, at least in part, on the transportation vehicle unit transporting one or more other end users including the first end user.

225. The system of claim 162, wherein said transmitting one or more notifications that provide notification that the selected transportation vehicle unit has been selected to transport the first end user comprises:

circuitry for transmitting to an end user device associated with the second end user at least one notification that provides the notification that the selected transportation vehicle unit has been selected to transport the first end user.

226. The system of claim 225, wherein said circuitry for transmitting to an end user device associated with the second end user at least one notification that provides the notification that the selected transportation vehicle unit has been selected to transport the first end user comprises:

circuitry for transmitting to the end user device associated with the second end user a transport rate data that indicates a transport rate for the second end user that is based, at least in part, on the selected transportation vehicle unit being selected for transporting the first end user.

227. The system of claim 226, wherein said circuitry for transmitting to the end user device associated with the second end user a transport rate data that indicates a transport rate for the second end user that is based, at least in part, on the selected transportation vehicle unit being selected for transporting the first end user comprises:

circuitry for transmitting to the end user device associated with the second end user a transport rate data that indicates a transport rate for the second end user that is a revised version of an original transport rate that was previously provided for the second end user, the revision of the original transport rate being based, at least in part, on the selected transportation vehicle unit being selected for transporting the first end user.

228. The system of claim 225, wherein said circuitry for transmitting to an end user device associated with the second end user at least one notification that provides the notification that the selected transportation vehicle unit has been selected to transport the first end user comprises:

circuitry for transmitting to the end user device associated with the second end user at least one notification that provides an option to reject the transport of the first end user by the selected transportation vehicle unit.

229. The system of claim 162, wherein said transmitting one or more notifications that provide notification that the selected transportation vehicle unit has been selected to transport the first end user comprises:

circuitry for transmitting to an end user device associated with the first end user at least one notification that provides the notification that the selected transportation vehicle unit has been selected to transport the first end user.

230. The system of claim 229, wherein said circuitry for transmitting to an end user device associated with the first end user at least one notification that provides the notification that the selected transportation vehicle unit has been selected to transport the first end user comprises:

circuitry for transmitting to the end user device associated with the first end user a transport rate data that indicates a transport rate for the first end user that is based, at least in part, on the selected transportation vehicle unit transporting the second end user.

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231. A system, comprising:

a transportation vehicle unit selecting module configured to select, in response to receiving a request for transport of a first end user, a transportation vehicle unit that is currently en route to or is currently transporting a second end user for transporting the first end user, the selection of the transportation vehicle unit being based, at least in part, on ascertaining that the transportation vehicle unit is able to accommodate transport of the first end user while transporting the second end user;

a directive transmitting module configured to transmit one or more directives that direct the selected transportation vehicle unit to transport the first end user;

a notification transmitting module configured to transmit one or more notifications that provide notification that the selected transportation vehicle unit has been selected to transport the first end user; and

one or more processors.

232. A network server system, comprising:

a transportation vehicle unit selecting module configured to select, in response to receiving a request for transport of a first end user, a transportation vehicle unit that is currently en route to or is currently transporting a second end user for transporting the first end user, the selection of the transportation vehicle unit being based, at least in part, on ascertaining that the transportation vehicle unit is able to accommodate transport of the first end user while transporting the second end user;

a directive transmitting module configured to transmit one or more directives that direct the selected transportation vehicle unit to transport the first end user;

a notification transmitting module configured to transmit one or more notifications that provide notification that the selected transportation vehicle unit has been selected to transport the first end user;

a memory; and

a network interface.