Systems and Methods for Managing a Vehicle Sharing Facility

• US 20160247095A1
• Filed: 02/24/2016
• Published: 08/25/2016
• Est. Priority Date: 02/24/2015
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Addison Lee Limited (Addison Lee Group Ltd.)
• Original Assignee: Addison Lee Limited (Addison Lee Group Ltd.)
• Inventors: SCICLUNA, Larry, BERNATSKIY, Yuriy
• Granted Patent: US 11,386,359 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/02 Reservations, e.g. for tickets, services or events
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 50/30 Transportation; Communications
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 50/40 Business processes related to the transportation industry shipping G06Q10/083

Abstract

A method and apparatus for managing a networked vehicle resource sharing facility, the method and system provide for:

• • (a) detecting a plurality of inputs corresponding to vehicle booking requests, wherein each of the plurality of vehicle booking requests contains data identifying a drop-off location and a pick-up location that is distinct from the pick-up location of each of the other customers;
  • (b) accessing a data structure containing stored data relating to user authorisations for using the vehicle-sharing facility to verify whether each of the vehicle booking requests relates to a customer authorised to use the vehicle-sharing facility; and
  • for those vehicle booking requests relating to customers identified as being authorised to use the vehicle-sharing facility:
  • (c) automatically selecting customers to share a vehicle and calculating a suggested route for the vehicle using the pick-up location and drop-off locations of the customers and one or more stored vehicle-share criteria.

Claims

1. A method of managing a networked vehicle resource sharing facility, the method comprising:

(a) detecting a plurality of inputs corresponding to vehicle booking requests, wherein each of the plurality of vehicle booking requests contains data identifying a drop-off location and a pick-up location that is distinct from the pick-up location of each of the other customers;

(b) accessing a data structure containing stored data relating to user authorisations for using the vehicle-sharing facility to verify whether each of the vehicle booking requests relates to a customer authorised to use the vehicle-sharing facility; and

for those vehicle booking requests relating to customers identified as being authorised to use the vehicle-sharing facility;

(c) automatically selecting customers to share a vehicle and calculating a suggested route for the vehicle using the pick-up location and drop-off locations of the customers and one or more stored vehicle-share criteria.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein automatically selecting customers to share a vehicle and calculating a suggested route comprises identifying several potential routes, applying a score to each potential route and selecting the route determined to have the best score.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein each customer request contains data specifying the same drop-off location.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein each customer request contains data specifying a drop-off location that is distinct from the drop-off location of each of the other customers.

5. The method of claim 1, further comprising detecting one or more user inputs relating to one or more vehicle-share criteria at a user interface and using these values at (c).

6. The method of claim 5, wherein the vehicle-share criteria comprise data representing a vehicle capacity value.

7. The method of claim 5, wherein the vehicle-share criteria comprise data representing a vehicle number.

8. The method of claim 7, wherein the data representing vehicle number specifies a number of vehicles in each of a plurality of vehicle types.

9. The method of claim 5, wherein the vehicle-share criteria comprise data representing an average speed value.

10. The method of claim 5, wherein the vehicle-share criteria comprise data representing a stop distance.

11. The method of claim 5, wherein the vehicle-share criteria comprise data representing a corridor rule absolute width and/or a corridor rule relative width multiplier.

12. The method of claim 5, wherein the vehicle-share criteria comprise data representing a maximum relative deviation.

13. The method of claim 5, wherein the vehicle-share criteria comprise data representing at least one of the following:

a normal early time value, a maximum early time value, a normal late time value, and a maximum late time value.

14. The method of claim 13, wherein the vehicle-share criteria further comprise data representing at least one of the following:

a before normal early time penalty, an after normal early time penalty, a before normal late time penalty and an after normal late time penalty.

15. The method of claim 5, wherein the vehicle-share criteria comprise data representing an allowed waiting time and optionally a waiting time penalty.

16. The method of claim 1, wherein verifying whether each of the customers is authorised to use the vehicle-sharing facility comprises determining if a customer record is associated with an account having an instruction allowing vehicle share.

17. The method of claim 1, wherein the plurality of vehicle booking requests comprise a request for an autonomous vehicle.

18. A non-transitory computer-readable storage medium having stored thereon computer-readable code, which, when executed by computing apparatus, causes the computing apparatus to perform a method of managing a networked vehicle resource sharing facility, the method comprising:

(a) detecting a plurality of inputs corresponding to vehicle booking requests, wherein each of the plurality of vehicle booking requests contains data identifying a drop-off location and a pick-up location that is distinct from the pick-up location of each of the other customers;

(b) accessing a data structure containing stored data relating to user authorisations for using the vehicle-sharing facility to verify whether each of the vehicle booking requests relates to a customer authorised to use the vehicle-sharing facility; and

for those vehicle booking requests relating to customers identified as being authorised to use the vehicle-sharing facility;

(c) automatically selecting customers to share a vehicle and calculating a suggested route for the vehicle using the pick-up location and drop-off locations of the customers and one or more stored vehicle-share criteria.

19. Apparatus having at least one processor and at least one memory having computer-readable code stored thereon which when executed controls the at least one processor to manage a networked vehicle resource sharing facility by:

(a) detecting a plurality of inputs corresponding to vehicle booking requests, wherein each of the plurality of vehicle booking requests contains data identifying a drop-off location and a pick-up location that is distinct from the pick-up location of each of the other customers;

(b) accessing a data structure containing stored data relating to user authorisations for using the vehicle-sharing facility to verify whether each of the customers is authorised to use the vehicle-sharing facility; and

for those vehicle booking requests relating to customers identified as being authorised to use the vehicle-sharing facility;

(c) automatically selecting customers to share a vehicle and calculating a suggested route for the vehicle using the pick-up location and drop-off locations of the customers and one or more stored vehicle-share criteria.