System, method and computer readable medium for billing based on a duration of service period

• US 9,715,703 B2
• Filed: 01/09/2013
• Issued: 07/25/2017
• Est. Priority Date: 10/13/2005
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: American Traffic Solutions Consolidated LLC
• Original Assignee: Ats Tolling Llc (Verra Mobility Corp.)
• Inventors: Lemon, Debbie, Robinson, Benjamin P., Balachandran, Sarath K.
• Primary Examiner(s): Allen, Akiba
• Application Number:
  US13/737,272
• Publication Number:
  US 20130275188A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,658 Days
• Field of Search: 705 13, 705 11, 705 261, 705 40
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/102 Bill distribution or payments
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/14 specially adapted for billing systems
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/28 Pre-payment schemes, e.g. "pay before"
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0284 Time or distance, e.g. usage of parking meters or taximeters
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/04 Billing or invoicing
• CPC Class Codes: G07B 15/02 taking into account a variable factor such as distance or time, e.g. for passenger transport, parking systems or car rental systems G07B15/06 takes precedence; taximeters G07B13/00; parking meters per se G07F17/24; car rental systems per se G07B15/00

Abstract

A system, method, and computer readable medium for billing based on a duration of a service period, comprises sending fleet data from a third party entity to a toll authority via a toll rental entity, matching toll data with the fleet data by the toll authority, if the toll data matches the fleet data: charging an account by the toll authority and sending the matched data to the toll rental entity, determining, by the toll rental entity, if the sent matched data is related to an opt-in for duration based tolling or an opt-out for duration based tolling, if the sent matched data is related to an opt-in for duration based tolling, charging the third party entity for the duration based tolling, and if the sent matched data is related to an opt-out for duration based tolling, applying at least one of: a fee for the duration based tolling, a toll usage amount, a service fee for the duration based tolling, and a service fee for the toll usage.

Claims

1. A method for unlimited toll-utilization, the method comprising:

utilizing a plurality of processors and servers and at least one radio frequency identification (RFID) transponder and at least one RFID reader to complete the following;

providing an unlimited toll-utilization service option to a customer via a third-party entity graphical-user interface module;

responsive to acceptance of the unlimited toll-utilization service option by the customer via the third-party entity graphical-user interface module, enrolling at least one vehicle associated with the customer for the unlimited toll-utilization service by activating a radio frequency identification (RFID) transponder associated with the at least one vehicle for a duration of service, wherein the RFID transponder is configured for RFID communication with an RFID reader equipped at a toll authority;

collecting, by the RFID reader of the toll authority, toll data upon the at least one vehicle using the toll authority;

wirelessly transmitting, by the RFID reader to a toll-rental entity computer, the collected toll data;

wirelessly receiving, by the toll-rental entity computer coupled to a third-party entity computer, information identifying a plurality of vehicles to which the unlimited toll-utilization service option applies;

wirelessly receiving, by the toll-rental entity computer coupled to the third-party entity computer, the toll data collected by the RFID reader;

determining, by the toll-rental entity computer coupled to the third-party entity computer, whether the toll data comprises data identifying the at least one vehicle associated with the customer;

responsive to a positive determination by the toll-rental entity computer, billing the customer via a billing system graphical-user interface;

wherein the information comprises rental-agreement data for a plurality of customers of the third-party entity that have accepted the unlimited toll-utilization service option; and

wherein the unlimited toll-utilization service option allows use of a toll authority, via the activated at least one (RFID) transponder, an unlimited number of times for the duration of service for a subscription fee.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the information comprises fleet data corresponding to a plurality of vehicles operated by a third-party entity.

3. The method of claim 2, wherein the fleet data comprises at least one of:

a license plate number;

a license plate state;

a license state type;

a vehicle identification number;

a vehicle owner information;

a vehicle make;

a vehicle model; and

a vehicle color.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein the subscription fee covers unlimited toll usage by a vehicle of the plurality of vehicles.

5. The method of claim 1, wherein the duration of service comprises:

seconds;

minutes;

hours;

days;

weeks;

months; and

years.

6. The method of claim 1, comprising, responsive to a negative determination, the toll-rental entity billing at least one of:

the third-party entity; and

a customer of the third-party entity that is responsible for a vehicle determined to not be one of the plurality of vehicles.

7. The method of claim 6, wherein the billing comprises charging a fee in the amount of at least one of a fee for the unlimited toll-utilization service option and a toll-usage amount.

8. The method of claim 1, comprising, responsive to a negative determination, the third-party entity billing a customer that is responsible for a vehicle determined to not be one of the plurality of vehicles.

9. The method of claim 1, wherein the third-party entity comprises at least one of:

an entity that rents vehicles;

an entity that leases vehicles; and

an entity that loans vehicles.

10. The method of claim 1, wherein the toll-rental entity is a stand-alone unit from the third-party entity.

11. The method of claim 1, wherein the toll-rental entity comprises a server.

12. The method of claim 1, wherein the toll-rental entity is integrated within the third-party entity.

13. The method of claim 1, wherein the toll data comprises at least one of a toll transaction time and a vehicle license-plate number.

14. The method of claim 1, comprising:

creating a prepaid account between the toll authority and the toll-rental entity; and

forwarding pre-payment of the prepaid account for future toll usage by the plurality of vehicles.

15. The method of claim 1, wherein the billing is performed by the third party entity.

16. A system comprising:

a third-party entity configured to provide an unlimited toll-utilization service option to a customer via a third-party entity graphical-user interface module;

responsive to acceptance of the unlimited toll-utilization service option by the customer via the third-party entity graphical-user interface module, at least one vehicle associated with the customer is enrolled for the unlimited toll-utilization service by activating a radio frequency identification (RFID) transponder associated with the at least one vehicle for a duration of service, wherein the RFID transponder is configured for RFID communication with an RFID reader equipped at a toll authority;

wherein the RFID reader is configured to collect toll data upon the at least one vehicle using the toll authority and wirelessly transmit the collected toll data to a toll-rental entity computer;

the toll-rental entity computer interoperably connected to a third-party entity computer that wirelessly receives information identifying a plurality of vehicles to which the unlimited toll-utilization service option applies;

wherein the toll-rental entity computer wirelessly receives the toll data collected by the RFID reader;

wherein the toll-rental entity computer determines whether the toll data comprises data identifying the at least one vehicle associated with the customer;

responsive to a positive determination by the toll-rental entity computer, a third-party entity billing system graphical-user interface bills the customer;

wherein the information comprises rental-agreement data for a plurality of customers of the third-party entity that have accepted the unlimited toll-utilization service option; and

wherein the unlimited toll-utilization service option allows use of a toll authority, via the activated at least one (RFID) transponder, an unlimited number of times for the duration of service for a subscription fee.

17. A computer-program product comprising a non-transitory computer-usable medium having computer-readable program code embodied therein, the computer-readable program code adapted to be executed to implement a method for unlimited toll-utilization, the method comprising:

utilizing a plurality of processors and servers and at least one radio frequency identification (RFID) transponder and at least one RFID reader to complete the following;

providing an unlimited toll-utilization service option to a customer via a third-party entity graphical-user interface module;

responsive to acceptance of the unlimited toll-utilization service option by the customer via the third-party entity graphical-user interface module, enrolling at least one vehicle associated with the customer for the unlimited toll-utilization service by activating a radio frequency identification (RFID) transponder associated with the at least one vehicle for a duration of service, wherein the RFID transponder is configured for RFID communication with an RFID reader equipped at a toll authority;

collecting, by the RFID reader of the toll authority, toll data upon the at least one vehicle using the toll authority;

wirelessly transmitting, by the RFID reader to a toll-rental entity computer, the collected toll data;

wirelessly receiving, by the toll-rental entity computer coupled to a third-party entity computer, information identifying a plurality of vehicles to which the unlimited toll-utilization service option applies;

wirelessly receiving, by the toll-rental entity computer coupled to the third-party entity computer, the toll data collected by the RFID reader;

determining, by the toll-rental entity computer coupled to the third-party entity computer, whether the toll data comprises data identifying the at least one vehicle associated with the customer;

responsive to a positive determination by the toll-rental entity computer, billing the customer via a billing system graphical-user interface;

wherein the information comprises rental-agreement data for a plurality of customers of the third-party entity that have accepted the unlimited toll-utilization service option; and

wherein the unlimited toll-utilization service option allows use of a toll authority, via the activated at least one (RFID) transponder, an unlimited number of times for the duration of service for a subscription fee.

18. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 17, wherein the subscription fee covers unlimited toll usage by a vehicle of the plurality of vehicles.

19. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 17, comprising, responsive to a negative determination, the toll-rental entity billing at least one of:

the third-party entity; and

a customer of the third-party entity that is responsible for a vehicle determined to not be one of the plurality of vehicles.

20. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 17, wherein the billing is performed by the third party entity.