Target addressing system

• US 10,115,308 B2
• Filed: 03/21/2017
• Issued: 10/30/2018
• Est. Priority Date: 03/21/2016
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Uber Technologies, Inc.
• Original Assignee: Uber Technologies, Inc.
• Inventors: Sweeney, Matthew
• Primary Examiner(s): Garcia, Santiago
• Application Number:
  US15/465,003
• Publication Number:
  US 20170270794A1
• Time in Patent Office: 588 Days
• Field of Search: 340142
• CPC Class Codes: G08G 1/005 including pedestrian guidance indicator
• CPC Class Codes: G08G 1/143 inside the vehicles
• CPC Class Codes: G08G 1/146 where the parking area is a limited parking space, e.g. parking garage, restricted space
• CPC Class Codes: G08G 1/147 where the parking area is within an open public zone, e.g. city centre
• CPC Class Codes: G08G 1/148 Management of a network of parking areas
• CPC Class Codes: G08G 1/202 Dispatching vehicles on the basis of a location, e.g. taxi dispatching
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/02 Services making use of location information
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/029 Location-based management or tracking services
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 88/02 Terminal devices

Abstract

Examples include a system and service for addressing users, vehicles, and service providers to targets using multi-segmented routes and/or targets whom are persons.

Claims

1. A method for specifying locations of targets for a transit service, the method being implemented by one or more processors and comprising:

receiving a service request for the transit service from a user;

determining a target location for the service request;

based on the target location, determining, from a virtual stopping space database, a vehicle stopping location that is different than the target location; and

transmitting an instruction set to a vehicle, the instruction set comprising a first instruction identifying the vehicle stopping location for a vehicular portion of the transit service, and a second instruction that specifies a path for a driver of the vehicle from the vehicle stopping location to the target location, the path to be followed by the driver upon parking the vehicle at the vehicle stopping location.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein determining the vehicle stopping location comprises determining at least one parking space that satisfies a criterion for proximity to the target location.

3. The method of claim 2, wherein the target location is within a building, and wherein determining the at least one parking space as the vehicle stopping location is based at least in part on the at least one parking space being within a proximity to a point of ingress into the building.

4. The method of claim 2, wherein determining the vehicle stopping location further comprises selecting the vehicle stopping location from multiple possible parking spaces based at least in part on a predicted availability of the vehicle stopping location.

5. The method of claim 3, further comprising:

selecting the point of ingress from multiple points of ingress into the building based on the target location within the building;

wherein determining the vehicle stopping location is based on the at least one parking space being within the proximity to the selected point of ingress.

6. The method of claim 1, wherein the target location comprises a pickup location for the user.

7. The method of claim 1, wherein the vehicle stopping location comprises a drop-off location for the user.

8. The method of claim 1, wherein the target location is dynamic, so that the target location changes over a duration of time.

9. The method of claim 8, wherein the target location comprises a location of a mobile computing device carried by the user.

10. The method of claim 9, wherein determining the target location comprises communicating with the mobile computing device of the user.

11. The method of claim 1, wherein the second instruction further specifies one or more actions to be performed by the driver, the one or more actions comprising at least one of an elevator selection or a door selection.

12. The method of claim 1, wherein at least one of determining the vehicle stopping location or transmitting the instruction set is structured for a type of service provider.

13. The method of claim 12, wherein the type of service provider comprises an autonomous vehicle.

14. A non-transitory computer readable medium that stores instructions that, when executed by one or more processors of a computer system, cause the computer system to:

receive a service request for a transit service from a user;

determine a target location for the service request;

based on the target location, determine, from a virtual stopping space database, a vehicle stopping location that is different than the target location; and

transmit an instruction set to a vehicle, the instruction set comprising a first instruction identifying the vehicle stopping location for a vehicular portion of the transit service, and a second instruction that specifies a path for a driver of the vehicle from the vehicle stopping location to the target location, the path to be followed by the driver upon parking the vehicle at the vehicle stopping location.

15. The non-transitory computer readable medium of claim 14, wherein the executed instructions cause the computer system to determine the vehicle stopping location by determining at least one parking space that satisfies a criterion for proximity to the target location.

16. The non-transitory computer readable medium of claim 15, wherein the target location is within a building, and wherein the executed instructions cause the computer system to determine the at least one parking space as the vehicle stopping location based at least in part on a proximity to a point of ingress into the building.

17. A computer system comprising:

a memory storing instructions;

one or more processors to access the memory and execute the instructions, causing the computer system to;

receive a service request for a transit service from a user;

determine a target location for the service request;

based on the target location, determine, from a virtual stopping space database, a vehicle stopping location that is different than the target location; and

transmit an instruction set to a vehicle, the instruction set comprising a first instruction identifying the vehicle stopping location for a vehicular portion of the transit service, and a second instruction that specifies a path for a driver of the vehicle from the vehicle stopping location to the target location, the path to be followed by the driver upon parking the vehicle at the vehicle stopping location.