Rental/car-share vehicle access and management system and method

• US 8,768,565 B2
• Filed: 03/14/2013
• Issued: 07/01/2014
• Est. Priority Date: 05/23/2012
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Enterprise Holdings Incorporated (Jack Taylor Family Voting Trust U A D 4 14 99)
• Original Assignee: Enterprise Holdings Incorporated (Jack Taylor Family Voting Trust U A D 4 14 99)
• Inventors: Jefferies, James E., DeMay, Rod W., Lachinyan, Gurgen L.
• Primary Examiner(s): FREJD, RUSSELL WARREN
• Application Number:
  US13/830,754
• Publication Number:
  US 20130317693A1
• Time in Patent Office: 474 Days
• Field of Search: 701/29.1, 701/29.6, 701/31.4, 701/31.5, 701/31.9, 701 321- 325, 701/32.7, 705/307
• US Class Current: 701/32.7
• CPC Class Codes: B60R 25/045 by limiting or cutting the electrical supply to the propulsion unit
• CPC Class Codes: B60R 25/2018 Central base unlocks or authorises unlocking
• CPC Class Codes: B60R 25/24 using electronic identifiers containing a code not memorised by the user
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0645 Rental transactions; Leasing transactions
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 50/40 Business processes related to the transportation industry shipping G06Q10/083
• CPC Class Codes: G07B 15/00 Arrangements or apparatus for collecting fares, tolls or entrance fees at one or more control points handling coins or valuable papers, e.g. banknotes, G07D; apparatus for vending or hiring articles or services activated by coins, credit cards, paper currency or the like G07F7/00, G07F17/00
• CPC Class Codes: G07C 5/008 communicating information to a remotely located station transmission systems for measured values G08C
• CPC Class Codes: G07C 5/0808 Diagnosing performance data testing of vehicles G01M17/00; testing of electrical installation on vehicles G01R31/005
• CPC Class Codes: G07C 9/00571 operated by interacting with a central unit
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 12/77 Graphical identity

Abstract

A rental/car-share (RCS) vehicle access and management system and method, in some embodiments, utilizes barcodes, QR codes (or NFC/RFID), GPS, and a mobile app coupled with a wireless network to enable customers to bypass the reservation desk and pickup and drop off reserved RCS vehicles using a mobile phone, tablet or laptop. The QR code, RFID, or NFC communication with the mobile application allows for identification of the vehicle by a mobile application, which, if authorized, can access the vehicle via a temporary access code issued by remote servers. The remote servers and/or mobile application communicates with a control module that plugs into the on-board diagnostics module of the rental/car-share (RCS) vehicle and includes a host processing unit with a processor, an accelerometer, data storage, a GPS with internal GPS antenna; a wireless modem with internal antenna, and CAN bus transceivers connected with the processor, and a USB programmable interface.

Claims

1. A method of installing a rental vehicle control module, the method comprising:

beginning installation, by positioning a control module within a vehicle, the control module having a unique identifier and configured to receive, through a wireless network, information configured to trigger the transmittal by the control module of a command over a controller area network (CAN) bus within the vehicle, the unique identifier having been associated in a remote computing system with the installer, the vehicle comprising at least one on-board diagnostics unit and a locking and unlocking device configured to be triggered by a lock command or an unlock command transmitted over the CAN bus;

electronically connecting the control module to the on-board diagnostics unit;

electronically connecting the control module to the CAN bus;

prior to any user or installer sending remote instructions via cellular communications to the control module, receiving, from the control module, via direct wireless communication distinct from cellular communication, by a mobile computing device, a first identifier, the first identifier corresponding to the unique identifier of the control module;

prior to any user or installer sending remote instructions via cellular communications to the control module, receiving, from the control module, via direct wireless communication distinct from cellular communication, by the mobile computing device, a second identifier, the second identifier uniquely identifying the vehicle; and

finalizing installation, by sending, using the mobile computing device, association information to the remote computing system, the association information comprising at least the first identifier and the second identifier, the association information enabling the computer system to associate the control module with the vehicle, and, in response to sendin the association information to the remote computing system receiving on the mobile device, an indication that the computer system has successfully associated the control module with the vehicle;

said method performed without directly connecting the control module to the locking mechanism of the vehicle.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the direct wireless communication comprises near-field communication.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein the direct wireless communication comprises a QR code scan.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein electronically connecting the control module to the on-board diagnostics unit comprises connecting the control module to an OBD2 port.

5. The method of claim 1, wherein the direct wireless communication comprises photographing the vehicle'"'"'s license plate or VIN number.

6. The method of claim 5, further comprising:

analyzing a photograph of the vehicle'"'"'s license plate number or VIN number to convert the second identifier.

7. The method of claim 1, further comprising receiving a control module by an installer comprising removing the control module from a second vehicle previously associated with the control module.

8. A non-transitory computer storage medium which stores a client application comprising executable code that directs a mobile computing device to complete an installation process comprising:

prior to completing installation of a vehicle control module within a vehicle;

receiving input instructing the mobile computing device to initiate collection of identification information for a vehicle control module and a vehicle;

receiving, via non-cellular direct wireless communication, a first indicator corresponding to an identifier of the vehicle control module;

storing a representation of the identifier of the vehicle control module in memory;

receiving, via non-cellular direct wireless communication, a second indicator corresponding to an identifier of the vehicle;

storing a representation of the identifier of the vehicle in memory; and

completing installation of the vehicle control module within the vehicle by transmitting, over a wireless network, to a remote computing system, association information configured to instruct the remote computing system to associate the identifier of the vehicle with the identifier of the vehicle control module, the association information comprising the representation of the identifier of the vehicle control module and the representation of the identifier of the vehicle.

9. The non-transitory computer storage medium of claim 8, wherein the non-cellular direct wireless communication comprises near-field communication.

10. The non-transitory computer storage medium of claim 8, wherein the non-cellular direct wireless communication comprises a QR code scan.

11. The non-transitory computer storage medium of claim 8, wherein the non-cellular direct wireless communication comprises RFID communication.

12. The non-transitory computer storage medium of claim 8, wherein receiving the second indicator corresponding to the identifier for the vehicle comprises receiving, via near field communication or RFID input, the second indicator from the vehicle control module.

13. The non-transitory computer storage medium of claim 8, wherein the request to associate the identifier for the vehicle control module with the identifier for the vehicle in the remote computing system further comprises a second request to disassociate the identifier for the vehicle control module from a second identifier for a vehicle.

14. The non-transitory computer storage medium of claim 8, wherein the second identifier of the vehicle comprises an identifier extracted from a photograph of the vehicle'"'"'s license plate or VIN number.

15. A self-configuring vehicle control module, the vehicle control module comprising:

one or more processors,

a GPS chip set, the GPS chip set electronically connected with a first antenna, and in communication with the one or more processors;

a wireless modem, the wireless modem in communication with the one or more processors, and connected to a second antenna, the wireless modem able to communicate over a cellular network;

an accelerometer, the accelerometer in communication with the one or more processors;

an electronic communications port configured to communicate with an on-board diagnostics unit;

one or more controller area network (CAN) bus transceivers, the CAN bus transceivers in communication with the one or more processors and configured to communicate with a controller area network; and

a data storage unit, the data storage unit in communication with the one or more processors, the data storage unit comprising non-transitory computer storage comprising code executable by the one or more processors, the executable code configured to;

in response to detection of ignition on or vehicle start, receive, over the electronic communications port configured to communicate with the on board diagnostics unit, a vehicle identification number, the vehicle identification number able to uniquely determine a vehicle that the control module is installed in a corresponding vehicle type for the vehicle the control module is installed in and a set of particular control instructions for automating one or more vehicle functionalities within the vehicle type;

determine that the set of particular control instructions for automating one or more vehicle functionalities within the vehicle type are not locally stored within a mapping table within the control module;

transmitting a request, via the wireless modem, to a remote computer system, the request comprising the vehicle identification number, the request configured to inquire for configuration information for the vehicle control module, the configuration information comprising the set of particular control instructions for automating one or more vehicle functionalities within the vehicle type;

receiving and storing, in the data storage unit, first configuration information associated with the vehicle from the remote computer system, the first configuration information comprising the set of particular control instructions configured to instruct the vehicle to perform the one or more vehicle functionalities within the vehicle type; and

receiving and storing, in the data storage unit, second configuration information distinct from the first configuration information associated with the vehicle from the remote computer system, the configuration information indicating which controller area network (CAN) bus transceivers can be, for the vehicle type, selectively used to transmit the set of particular control instructions for automating one or more vehicle functionalities within the vehicle type.

16. The self-configuring control module of claim 15, where the set of particular control instructions comprise one or more executable instructions of a processor.

17. The self-configuring vehicle control module of claim 15, where the set of particular control instructions comprise one or more communications patterns to be transmitted via the selectively used CAN bus transceivers.

18. The self-configuring vehicle control module of claim 15, wherein the executable code is further configured to:

detect, based on input from the GPS chipset, whether the vehicle has exited a specific geographic region and transmit said detection to the remote computer system.

19. The self-configuring vehicle control module of claim 15, wherein the executable code is further configured to:

detect, based on input from the accelerometer, whether the vehicle has been in a collision.

20. The self-configuring vehicle control module of claim 15, wherein the executable code is further configured to:

transmit, via wireless network, trip summary information to the remote computer system such that the remote computer system may transmit to a mobile device a message comprising the location of a fuel station reachable by the vehicle based on the vehicle'"'"'s current fuel level, if the current fuel level associated with the vehicle is less than the fuel level required to reach the final destination.