System and method of inventory management and marketing for vehicles

• US 9,911,151 B1
• Filed: 05/28/2014
• Issued: 03/06/2018
• Est. Priority Date: 06/06/2013
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Autonation Holding Corp.
• Original Assignee: Autonation Holding Corp.
• Inventors: Gordon, RonMcCrea, Regalado, Mayra
• Primary Examiner(s): Allen, William J
• Application Number:
  US14/288,586
• Time in Patent Office: 1,378 Days
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/08 Logistics, e.g. warehousing, loading or distribution; Inventory or stock management
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/00 Payment architectures, schemes or protocols apparatus for performing or posting payment transactions G07F7/08, G07F19/00; electronic cash registers G07G1/12
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/203 Inventory monitoring
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0623 Item investigation
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0639 Item locations
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0643 Graphical representation of items or shoppers

Abstract

A system includes location detectors and a server. The location detectors are supported by respective vehicles that are for sale on a dealership lot. Each detector detects its location and wirelessly transmits location data indicating the location. The server receives the transmitted location data from each detector, and maintains a database of each vehicle'"'"'s location in accordance with associated detector'"'"'s location. The server receives selection criteria from a mobile communication device. The server selects a vehicle from among the vehicles based on the selection criteria. The server transmits the location of the selected vehicle to the communication device.

Claims

1. A system comprising:

location detectors supported by respective vehicles that are for sale on a dealership lot, each detector being configured to detect its location and to wirelessly transmit location data indicating the location; and

a server configured to;

receive the transmitted location data from each detector,

maintain a database of each vehicle'"'"'s location in accordance with associated detector'"'"'s location,

receive from a mobile communication device, selection criteria,

select, based on the selection criteria, a vehicle from among the vehicles, and

transmit the location and a picture of the selected vehicle to the communication device for simultaneous display, wherein the transmitted location of the vehicle includes a parking space identifier associated with a parking space in a parking lot where the selected vehicle is currently parked;

a software application configured to be executed by the mobile communication device, the software application configured to periodically transmit location data indicating a current location of the mobile communication device to the server;

wherein the server is further configured to;

automatically select a new selected vehicle based on the periodically transmitted location data, wherein the server automatically selects the new selected vehicle based on the periodically transmitted location data indicating at least one of;

(i) that a user of the mobile communication device has been standing in a parking lot aisle where the newly selected vehicle is parked for more than a threshold period of time;

(ii) that a user of the mobile communication device has moved from a parking lot aisle to a particular parking space associated with the newly selected vehicle; and

,

(iii) that the mobile communication device is inside the newly selected vehicle.

2. The system of claim 1 wherein the selection criterion comprises at least one of price, model and color.

3. The system of claim 1 wherein the mobile communication device is a smart phone.

4. The system of claim 1 further comprising a software application configured to be executed by the mobile communication device to:

display an image of the vehicles; and

display, on the image, an indication of which of the displayed vehicles is the selected vehicle.

5. The system of claim 4 wherein the image is captured by a camera of the communication device.

6. The system of claim 4 wherein the image is computer-generated by the server.

7. The system of claim 4 wherein the indication is a marking that is displayed on the screen adjacent the selected vehicle and that moves, on the screen, in unison with movement of the vehicle on the screen as field of vision of the image on the screen changes.

8. The system of claim 1 further comprising a software application configured to be executed by the mobile communication device to:

capture an image of a subset of the vehicles that does not include the selected vehicle using a camera of the communication device;

display the image of the subset of the vehicles that does not include the selected vehicle;

determining a current location of the communication device based on the subset of vehicles in the image; and

display, on the image, an indication of a direction where the selected vehicle is located based on the determined location of the communication device.

9. The system of claim 8 wherein the image is computer-generated by the server.

10. The system of claim 1 wherein the system includes, adjacent the vehicles, a sign that contains a QR code for downloading the application to the communication device.

11. The system of claim 1 wherein the user input includes an image captured by the communication device of one of the vehicles, and the selecting includes identifying, based on the image, which of the vehicles the image is of.

12. The system of claim 11 wherein the server and the application are configured to display, on the captured image, descriptive information about the identified vehicle.

13. The system of claim 12 wherein the descriptive information includes price.

14. The system of claim 1 wherein the detecting of the location is based on GPS.

15. The system of claim 1 wherein the transmitting of the position data is through a cellular network.

16. The system of claim 1 wherein the communication device is configured to transmit its location to the server, and wherein the server is configured to monitor which of the vehicles is near the communication device and to control the communication device to display the model and price of a vehicle determined to be near the communication device vehicle.

17. The system of claim 1 wherein each location detector is configured to be connected to an on-board diagnostics (OBD) port of the respective vehicle, and to receive the vehicle'"'"'s vehicle identification number (VIN) through the OBD port, and to transmit the VIN when transmitting the vehicle'"'"'s location.

18. The system of claim 17 wherein the location detector is configured to be powered through the OBD port.

19. The system of claim 1 wherein the server is configured to use the received location data to track inventory of the vehicles.