REQUESTING TRANSPORTATION SERVICES

• US 20170365174A1
• Filed: 08/31/2017
• Published: 12/21/2017
• Est. Priority Date: 01/03/2008
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: LYFT Incorporated
• Original Assignee: Airsmobile Inc.
• Inventors: LUBECK, Olaf Martin, HALL, John H.
• Granted Patent: US 10,123,173 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• CPC Class Codes: G01C 21/3667 Display of a road map G01C21/3614 takes precedence; guidance using 3D or perspective road maps G01C21/3635
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 13/46 Indirect determination of position data
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 19/13 Receivers
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 2013/468 by Triangulation, i.e. two antennas or two sensors determine separately the bearing, direction or angle to a target, whereby with the knowledge of the baseline length, the position data of the target is determined
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 2240/00 Transportation facility access, e.g. fares, tolls or parking
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 50/40 Business processes related to the transportation industry shipping G06Q10/083
• 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
• CPC Class Codes: G08G 1/202 Dispatching vehicles on the basis of a location, e.g. taxi dispatching
• CPC Class Codes: G08G 1/205 Indicating the location of the monitored vehicles as destination, e.g. accidents, stolen, rental
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 2101/65 Telephone numbers
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/55 Push-based network services
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 1/0202 Portable telephone sets, e.g. cordless phones, mobile phones or bar type handsets constructional features of telephone transmitters or receivers, e.g. of speakers or microphones H04M1/03
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 2250/10 including a GPS signal receiver
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/02 Services making use of location information
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/023 using mutual or relative location information between multiple location based services [LBS] targets or of distance thresholds
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/029 Location-based management or tracking services
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/12 Messaging; Mailboxes; Announcements
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 8/22 Processing or transfer of terminal data, e.g. status or physical capabilities
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 8/24 Transfer of terminal data
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 84/042 Public Land Mobile systems, e.g. cellular systems
• CPC Class Codes: H05K 999/99 : dummy group

Abstract

Methods and apparatus are described for safely and efficiently requesting transportation services through the user of mobile communications devices capable of geographic location determination. New customers may be efficiently serviced, and the requester and transportation provider locations may be viewed in real time on the mobile devices.

Claims

1. A method for operating a transportation management system, the method comprising automatically performing, by the transportation management system, operations of:

wirelessly receiving, by the transportation management system, requests for transportation services from wireless mobile devices of transportation requesters;

wirelessly receiving, by the transportation management system, messages from wireless mobile devices of transportation providers, the messages containing information on geographic locations of the transportation providers;

based on the requests and the messages, selecting by the transportation management system, for one or more of the requests, a transportation provider for each request, the transportation provider being selected for servicing the request;

wirelessly sending, by the transportation management system, one or more requests for information, each request for information being sent to one of more of the wireless mobile devices of the transportation requesters and providers;

wirelessly receiving, by the transportation management system, one or more responses to one or more of the requests for information, each response containing information on the geographic location of at least one transportation requester or provider.

2. The method of claim 1 wherein at least one request for information is sent to at least one transportation requester'"'"'s wireless mobile device.

3. The method of claim 2 wherein the response to this at least one request for information contains information on the geographic location of the transportation requester.

4. The method of claim 1 wherein at least one request for information is sent to at least one transportation provider'"'"'s wireless mobile device.

5. The method of claim 4 wherein the response to this at least one request for information contains information on the geographic location of the transportation provider.

6. The method of claim 1 wherein said messages from wireless mobile devices of transportation providers comprise messages that each transportation provider'"'"'s wireless mobile device sends automatically and periodically to the transportation management system.

7. The method of claim 1 wherein the requests for information are sent periodically.

8. The method of claim 1 wherein the operations further comprise:

periodically wirelessly receiving, by the transportation management system, from at least one transportation requester'"'"'s wireless mobile device, a first message periodically sent by the requester'"'"'s wireless mobile device and containing information including the requester'"'"'s most recent location;

wirelessly sending, by the transportation management system, a response to each first message, the response containing information including;

(a) locations of at least some of the transportation providers, and (b) an identity of the transportation provider selected for servicing the requester'"'"'s request for transportation service.

9. The method of claim 8 wherein at least one response to a first message comprises information related to payment for the transportation service.

10. The method of claim 9 wherein the information related to payment comprises service fare.

11. The method of claim 9 wherein information related to payment comprises information on cashless payment.

12. The method of claim 9 wherein information related to payment comprises credit card authorization status.

13. An apparatus comprising a transportation management system configured to automatically perform a method comprising operations of:

wirelessly receiving requests for transportation services from wireless mobile devices of transportation requesters;

wirelessly receiving messages from wireless mobile devices of transportation providers, the messages containing information on geographic locations of the transportation providers;

based on the requests and the messages, selecting, for one or more of the requests, a transportation provider for each request, the transportation provider being selected for servicing the request;

wirelessly sending one or more requests for information, each request for information being sent to one of more of the wireless mobile devices of the transportation requesters and providers;

wirelessly receiving one or more responses to one or more of the requests for information, each response containing information on the geographic location of at least one transportation requester or provider.

14. The apparatus of claim 13 wherein at least one request for information is sent to at least one transportation requester'"'"'s wireless mobile device.

15. The apparatus of claim 14 wherein the response to this at least one request for information contains information on the geographic location of the transportation requester.

16. The apparatus of claim 13 wherein at least one request for information is sent to at least one transportation provider'"'"'s wireless mobile device.

17. The apparatus of claim 16 wherein the response to this at least one request for information contains information on the geographic location of the transportation provider.

18. The apparatus claim 13 wherein said messages from wireless mobile devices of transportation providers comprise messages that each transportation provider'"'"'s wireless mobile device sends automatically and periodically to the transportation management system.

19. The apparatus of claim 13 wherein the requests for information are sent periodically.

20. The apparatus of claim 13 wherein the method further comprises:

periodically wirelessly receiving, by the transportation management system, from at least one transportation requester'"'"'s wireless mobile device, a first message periodically sent by the requester'"'"'s wireless mobile device and containing information including the requester'"'"'s most recent location;

wirelessly sending, by the transportation management system, a response to each first message, the response containing information including;

(a) locations of at least some of the transportation providers, and (b) an identity of the transportation provider selected for servicing the requester'"'"'s request for transportation service.

21. The apparatus of claim 20 wherein at least one response to a first message comprises information related to payment for the transportation service.

22. The apparatus of claim 21 wherein the information related to payment comprises service fare.

23. The apparatus of claim 21 wherein information related to payment comprises information on cashless payment.

24. The apparatus of claim 21 wherein information related to payment comprises credit card authorization status.