Mobile device-enhanced user selection of specific rental vehicles for a rental vehicle reservation
First Claim
1. A method of linking wireless mobile computing devices with control hardware in rental vehicles to provide users of the wireless mobile computing devices with automated access to selected rental vehicles for pickup, the method comprising:
- storing a rental vehicle reservation in a database in association with a customer;
storing data about a plurality of rental vehicles in a database, wherein each of a plurality of rental vehicles includes control hardware configured to automate a rental vehicle pickup process, the control hardware comprising (1) a processor, (2) a memory, (3) a wireless I/O component, (4) a sensor, and (5) a vehicle interface;
a server communicating with a wireless mobile computing device used by the customer prior to an initial pickup by the customer of a rental vehicle in accordance with the rental vehicle reservation, wherein the server communicating step comprises;
the server processing the stored rental vehicle data to identify a plurality of specific rental vehicles that are available for pickup based on the stored rental vehicle reservation for the customer;
the server communicating a list of a plurality of the identified specific rental vehicles to the customer'"'"'s wireless mobile computing device for presentation thereon; and
the server receiving a selection of a specific rental vehicle from the list from the customer'"'"'s wireless mobile computing device in response to customer input via the wireless mobile computing device;
the server determining from the database of stored rental vehicle data whether the specific rental vehicle corresponding to the received selection is still available for initial pickup by the customer;
in response to a determination that the specific rental vehicle corresponding to the received selection is still available for initial pickup by the customer, the server (1) placing a time-limited hold on the specific rental vehicle corresponding to the received selection, and (2) communicating a signal to the control hardware in the specific rental vehicle corresponding to the received selection, the signal including authorization information for the customer to pickup that rental vehicle;
the wireless I/O component of the control hardware in the specific rental vehicle corresponding to the received selection receiving the communicated signal from the server;
the processor of the control hardware in the specific rental vehicle corresponding to the received selection interacting with the wireless I/O component and storing the authorization information in the received signal in the memory of the control hardware in the specific rental vehicle corresponding to the received selection;
enforcing the time-limited hold by (1) if a time limit corresponding to the time-limited hold has expired before the customer has picked up the specific rental vehicle corresponding to the received selection, releasing the specific rental vehicle corresponding to the received selection from the time-limited hold, and (2) if a time limit corresponding to the time-limited hold has not yet expired, retaining the time-limited hold with respect to the specific rental vehicle corresponding to the received selection;
the sensor of the control hardware in the specific rental vehicle corresponding to the received selection sensing data corresponding to the customer'"'"'s wireless mobile computing device when the customer'"'"'s wireless mobile computing device is in proximity to the sensor;
the processor of the control hardware in the specific rental vehicle corresponding to the received selection (1) reading the sensed data from the sensor, (2) checking for stored authorization information, (3) determining whether the customer is authorized to pickup the specific rental vehicle corresponding to the received selection based on the sensed data and the stored authorization information, and (4) in response to a determination that the customer is authorized to pickup the specific rental vehicle corresponding to the received selection, sending an access command instruction to the specific rental vehicle corresponding to the received selection via the vehicle interface of the control hardware in the specific rental vehicle corresponding to the received selection; and
actuating at least one member of the group consisting of (1) a door locking/unlocking vehicle subsystem, (2) a vehicle immobilizer subsystem, and (3) a vehicle ignition subsystem in the specific rental vehicle corresponding to the received selection in response to the access command instruction so as to provide the customer with pickup access to the specific rental vehicle corresponding to the received selection during the time-limited hold.
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Accused Products
Abstract
A number of techniques are disclosed for making it more convenient and efficient for customers to conduct various rental vehicle transactions. As an example, a technique for performing an automated pickup of a rental vehicle using a mobile device is disclosed. As another example, a technique for performing an automated return administration of a rental vehicle using a mobile device is disclosed. As another example, a technique for permitting customer to select a particular rental vehicle for a rental vehicle transaction using a mobile device is disclosed. Also disclosed is a technique for permitting a customer to keylessly start a rental vehicle using a machine-sensible item such as his/her mobile device without requiring the customer to possess a smart key.
601 Citations
47 Claims
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1. A method of linking wireless mobile computing devices with control hardware in rental vehicles to provide users of the wireless mobile computing devices with automated access to selected rental vehicles for pickup, the method comprising:
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storing a rental vehicle reservation in a database in association with a customer; storing data about a plurality of rental vehicles in a database, wherein each of a plurality of rental vehicles includes control hardware configured to automate a rental vehicle pickup process, the control hardware comprising (1) a processor, (2) a memory, (3) a wireless I/O component, (4) a sensor, and (5) a vehicle interface; a server communicating with a wireless mobile computing device used by the customer prior to an initial pickup by the customer of a rental vehicle in accordance with the rental vehicle reservation, wherein the server communicating step comprises; the server processing the stored rental vehicle data to identify a plurality of specific rental vehicles that are available for pickup based on the stored rental vehicle reservation for the customer; the server communicating a list of a plurality of the identified specific rental vehicles to the customer'"'"'s wireless mobile computing device for presentation thereon; and the server receiving a selection of a specific rental vehicle from the list from the customer'"'"'s wireless mobile computing device in response to customer input via the wireless mobile computing device; the server determining from the database of stored rental vehicle data whether the specific rental vehicle corresponding to the received selection is still available for initial pickup by the customer; in response to a determination that the specific rental vehicle corresponding to the received selection is still available for initial pickup by the customer, the server (1) placing a time-limited hold on the specific rental vehicle corresponding to the received selection, and (2) communicating a signal to the control hardware in the specific rental vehicle corresponding to the received selection, the signal including authorization information for the customer to pickup that rental vehicle; the wireless I/O component of the control hardware in the specific rental vehicle corresponding to the received selection receiving the communicated signal from the server; the processor of the control hardware in the specific rental vehicle corresponding to the received selection interacting with the wireless I/O component and storing the authorization information in the received signal in the memory of the control hardware in the specific rental vehicle corresponding to the received selection; enforcing the time-limited hold by (1) if a time limit corresponding to the time-limited hold has expired before the customer has picked up the specific rental vehicle corresponding to the received selection, releasing the specific rental vehicle corresponding to the received selection from the time-limited hold, and (2) if a time limit corresponding to the time-limited hold has not yet expired, retaining the time-limited hold with respect to the specific rental vehicle corresponding to the received selection; the sensor of the control hardware in the specific rental vehicle corresponding to the received selection sensing data corresponding to the customer'"'"'s wireless mobile computing device when the customer'"'"'s wireless mobile computing device is in proximity to the sensor; the processor of the control hardware in the specific rental vehicle corresponding to the received selection (1) reading the sensed data from the sensor, (2) checking for stored authorization information, (3) determining whether the customer is authorized to pickup the specific rental vehicle corresponding to the received selection based on the sensed data and the stored authorization information, and (4) in response to a determination that the customer is authorized to pickup the specific rental vehicle corresponding to the received selection, sending an access command instruction to the specific rental vehicle corresponding to the received selection via the vehicle interface of the control hardware in the specific rental vehicle corresponding to the received selection; and actuating at least one member of the group consisting of (1) a door locking/unlocking vehicle subsystem, (2) a vehicle immobilizer subsystem, and (3) a vehicle ignition subsystem in the specific rental vehicle corresponding to the received selection in response to the access command instruction so as to provide the customer with pickup access to the specific rental vehicle corresponding to the received selection during the time-limited hold. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 28)
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20. A system for linking wireless mobile computing devices with control hardware in rental vehicles to provide users of the wireless mobile computing devices with automated access to selected rental vehicles for pickup, the system comprising:
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a plurality of rental vehicles that include control hardware therein, the control hardware for each of the rental vehicles comprising (1) a processor, (2) a memory, (3) a wireless I/O component, (4) a sensor, and (5) a vehicle interface, wherein the wireless I/O component is configured to interface the control hardware with a wireless network, and wherein the vehicle interface is configured to interface the control hardware with at least one member of the group consisting of (i) a door locking/unlocking vehicle subsystem, (ii) a vehicle immobilizer subsystem, and (iii) a vehicle ignition subsystem of the rental vehicle; a plurality of wireless mobile computing devices associated with a plurality of customers; a database in which (1) rental vehicle reservation data for a plurality of the customers is stored, and (2) data about a plurality of the rental vehicles is stored; and a server in cooperation with the database, wherein the server is configured to communicate with (1) the wireless mobile computing devices prior to initial pickups by the customers of rental vehicles in accordance with the rental vehicle reservations and (2) the control hardware in the rental vehicles over a network; wherein the server is configured to (1) access rental vehicle reservation data from the database for a customer in response to input over a network from a wireless mobile computing device associated with the customer, (2) determine a rental vehicle class and a rental vehicle pickup location based on the accessed rental vehicle reservation data, (3) generate a list of specific rental vehicles within the determined rental vehicle class that are available for initial pickup at the rental vehicle pickup location based on the stored rental vehicle data, (4) communicate data representative of the list to the customer'"'"'s wireless mobile computing device for display thereon, (5) receive further input from the customer'"'"'s wireless mobile computing device, wherein the further input is indicative of a selection of a specific rental vehicle from the list, (6) place a time-limited hold on the specific rental vehicle corresponding to the received selection to permit a pickup by the customer of the specific rental vehicle corresponding to the received selection within a specified time window, and (7) communicate a signal to the control hardware in the specific rental vehicle corresponding to the received selection, the signal including authorization information for the customer to pickup that rental vehicle; wherein the wireless I/O component of the control hardware in the specific rental vehicle corresponding to the received selection is configured to receive the communicated signal from the server; wherein the processor of the control hardware in the specific rental vehicle corresponding to the received selection is configured to (1) interact with the wireless I/O component to process dat representative of the received signal, and (2) store the authorization information in the received signal in the memory of the control hardware in the specific rental vehicle corresponding to the received selection; wherein the sensor of the control hardware in the specific rental vehicle corresponding to the received selection is configured to sense data corresponding to the customer'"'"'s wireless mobile computing device when the customer'"'"'s wireless mobile computing device is in proximity to the sensor; and wherein the processor of the control hardware in the specific rental vehicle corresponding to the received selection is further configured to (1) read the sensed data from the sensor, (2) check for stored authorization information, (3) determine whether the customer is authorized to pickup the specific rental vehicle corresponding to the received selection based on the sensed data and the stored authorization information, and (4) in response to a determination that the customer is authorized to pickup the specific rental vehicle corresponding to the received selection, send an access command instruction to the at least one member via the vehicle interface of the control hardware in the specific rental vehicle corresponding to the received selection to thereby actuate the at least one member so as to provide the customer with pickup access to the specific rental vehicle corresponding to the received selection during the time-limited hold. - View Dependent Claims (21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 29, 30, 31, 32, 33, 34, 35, 36, 37, 38)
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39. An apparatus comprising:
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a GPS tracking-enabled wireless mobile computing device configured to interact with a remote server and control hardware in a rental vehicle to support a selection and pickup of a specific rental vehicle in fulfillment of a rental vehicle reservation, the GPS tracking-enabled wireless mobile computing device comprising (1) a processor, (2) a wireless I/O component, (3) a memory, and (4) a display screen, wherein the wireless I/O component is configured to interface the processor with a wireless network, and wherein the memory is configured to store a mobile application configured for execution by the processor; wherein the mobile application, upon execution by the processor, is configured to, (1) cause the wireless I/O component to wirelessly send a current GPS position for the wireless computing device to the remote server, (2) receive data from the remote server via the wireless I/O component, the received data being indicative of a plurality of specific rental vehicles available for pickup by a customer in accordance with a rental vehicle reservation of the customer, (3) generate a graphical user interface (GUI) for display to the customer via the display screen when the current GPS position for the wireless computing device is within a specified distance of a pickup location for the rental vehicle reservation, the GUI being configured to present a list of the available specific rental vehicles, (4) receive a selection of a specific rental vehicle from the list from the customer through the GUI, (5) communicate the selection to the remote server via the wireless I/O component, and (6) generate machine-readable data configured to be read by the control hardware of the specific rental vehicle corresponding to the selection, wherein the machine-readable data is effective, during a specified time window corresponding to a time-limited hold applicable to the specific rental vehicle corresponding to the selection, to cause the control hardware to actuate at least one member of the group consisting of (i) a door locking/unlocking vehicle subsystem, (ii) a vehicle immobilizer subsystem, and (iii) a vehicle ignition subsystem in the specific rental vehicle corresponding to the selection so as to provide the customer with access to the specific rental vehicle corresponding to the selection. - View Dependent Claims (40, 41, 42, 43, 44, 45, 46, 47)
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Specification