Method for requesting transportation services

• US 9,094,787 B2
• Filed: 03/06/2012
• Issued: 07/28/2015
• Est. Priority Date: 01/03/2008
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: LYFT Incorporated
• Original Assignee: Airsmobile Inc.
• Inventors: Hall, John H., Lubeck, Olaf M.
• Primary Examiner(s): TRAN, CONGVAN
• Application Number:
  US13/413,492
• Publication Number:
  US 20120225671A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,239 Days
• Field of Search: 455/456.1, 455/456.2, 455/67.11, 455/404.2, 455/407, 455/414.2, 455/456.3, 455/457, 705/5, 705/6, 705/7.11, 705/7.12
• US Class Current: 1/1
• 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

A method for safely and efficiently requesting transportation services through the use of mobile communications devices capable of geographic location is described. Individual and package transportation may be provided. 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 by a computer system for managing a transportation service, comprising:

receiving, from a wireless mobile device of a requester, a request for a transportation service, wherein the request includes a geographic location of the wireless mobile device that was determined by the wireless mobile device;

transmitting to wireless mobile devices of a plurality of transportation providers the request for the transportation service including the geographic location of the wireless mobile device of the requester prior to selection of any one of the plurality of transportation providers;

receiving a first confirmation to provide the transportation service from the wireless mobile device of each of a set of one or more of the plurality of transportation providers;

automatically selecting as a selected transportation provider one of the set of transportation providers;

transmitting to the wireless mobile device of each of the set of transportation providers a notification indicating whether that transportation provider was selected; and

transmitting to the wireless mobile device of the requester a second confirmation that the transportation service has been arranged to be provided by the selected transportation provider.

2. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

receiving a second request for a transportation service from a second wireless mobile device of a second requester, wherein the second request includes an identifier of a geographic location of the second wireless mobile device that was determined by the second wireless mobile device;

wherein the transmitting the request includes transmitting the second request to the wireless mobile device of a first one of the plurality of transportation providers so that the first transportation provider can choose which of the request and the second request to satisfy without being instructed by any dispatch component; and

wherein the receiving the first confirmation includes receiving the first confirmation from the first transportation provider after the first transportation provider chooses the request over the second request.

3. The method of claim 2, wherein the transmission of the request and the second request causes the display of both the request and the second request on a geographical map on the wireless mobile device of the first transportation provider so that the first transportation provider can choose which of the request and the second request to satisfy.

4. The method of claim 1, further comprising receiving most recent geographic locations from the wireless mobile devices of the plurality of transportation providers so that the movement of the plurality of transportation providers is tracked.

5. The method of claim 4, wherein the transmitting the request is responsive to the receiving of the most recent geographic locations of the plurality of transportation providers.

6. The method of claim 4, further comprising transmitting the most recent geographic locations of the plurality of transportation providers to the wireless mobile device of the requester.

7. The method of claim 1, wherein the plurality of transportation providers are capable of servicing the request.

8. The method of claim 1, wherein the automatically selecting and the transmitting the notification are performed following the receiving the first confirmation and independent of any further input from the wireless mobile device of the requester subsequent to the receiving the request and independent of any further input from the wireless mobile devices of each of the set of one or more transportation provider subsequent to the receiving the first confirmation.

9. The method of claim 1, wherein the request further includes an identifier of the requester, and wherein the method further comprises transmitting the identifier of the requester to the wireless mobile device of the selected transportation provider for communication with the requester.

10. The method of claim 1, wherein the transmitting the second confirmation includes transmitting the second confirmation including an identifier of the selected transportation provider to the wireless mobile device of the requester for communication with the selected transportation provider.

11. The method of claim 1, wherein the automatically selecting is based at least in part on a transit time or on a distance between the geographic location of the wireless mobile device of the selected transportation provider and the geographic location of the wireless mobile device of the requester.

12. The method of claim 1, further comprising receiving most recent geographic locations from the wireless mobile device of the requester so that the movement of the requester is tracked.

13. A method by a computer system for managing a transportation service, comprising:

receiving at the computer system most recent geographic locations from each wireless mobile device of a plurality of transportation providers, the wireless mobile devices of the plurality of transportation providers having location determination capability and software for enabling the device to communicate information with the computer system over a network;

receiving at the computer system a request from a requester using a wireless mobile device having software capable of communicating information to the computer system over the network, and capable of determining a geographic location of that wireless mobile device, wherein the request includes a geographic location of the requester'"'"'s wireless mobile device that was determined by that wireless mobile device, and wherein the request is for transportation of the requester;

transmitting, in response to the most recent geographic locations, the request to each of the wireless mobile devices of the plurality of transportation providers, wherein the transmitting of the request is prior to selection of any one of the plurality of transportation providers;

receiving a first confirmation to provide the transportation service from the wireless mobile device of each of a set of one or more of the plurality of transportation providers;

automatically selecting as a selected transportation provider one of the set of transportation providers;

transmitting to the wireless mobile device of each of the set of transportation providers a notification indicating of whether that transportation provider was selected; and

transmitting to the wireless mobile device of the requester a second confirmation that the requested transportation has been arranged to be provided by the selected transportation provider, wherein the second confirmation includes an identifier of the selected transportation provider for communication with the selected transportation provider.

14. The method of claim 13, wherein the network is the Internet.