Patent Grant
11697393
The inventors believe that room for improvement exists with respect to how portable computing devices (hereinafter “mobile devices”) are leveraged to support rental vehicle transactions. Toward this end, the inventors disclose various embodiments whereby a wide variety of rental vehicle transactions can be supported by mobile devices in a manner more convenient and efficient to customers.
For example, the inventors disclose an apparatus comprising a mobile device, the mobile device configured to execute a mobile application, the mobile application configured to interact with the mobile device and a remote computer system to perform an automated return administration of a rental vehicle in response to user input.
In accordance with another exemplary aspect, the inventors disclose a method for performing an automated return administration of a rental vehicle, the method comprising (1) receiving input from a mobile device of a driver for the rental vehicle that is indicative of a request to schedule a return for the rental vehicle, (2) in response to the received input, communicating information from a reservation record for the rental vehicle to the driver's mobile device to populate a pre-return graphical user interface (GUI) for display on the driver's mobile device, the GUI being configured to solicit return information from the driver, (3) receiving the solicited return information from the driver's mobile device through the GUI, and (4) storing the received return information in memory in association with the reservation record; and wherein the method steps are performed by a processor.
Further still, the inventors disclose an apparatus for performing an automated return administration of a rental vehicle, the apparatus comprising a processor and a memory, the memory configured to store a reservation record for the rental vehicle, and wherein the processor is configured to (1) receive input from a mobile device of a driver for the rental vehicle that is indicative of a request to schedule a return for the rental vehicle, (2) in response to the received input, communicate information from the reservation record for the rental vehicle to the driver's mobile device to populate a pre-return graphical user interface (GUI) for display on the driver's mobile device, the GUI being configured to solicit return information from the driver, (3) receive the solicited return information from the driver's mobile device through the GUI, and (4) store the received return information in the memory in association with the reservation record.
In accordance with yet another exemplary aspect, the inventors disclose a method for performing an automated return administration of a rental vehicle, the method comprising (1) receiving input from a user via a mobile device, the received input indicative of a request to return a rental vehicle, the rental vehicle corresponding to a rental vehicle transaction, (2) in response to the received input, initiating an automated retrieval of rental vehicle information via a vehicle telematics unit deployed in the rental vehicle, the rental vehicle information comprising a current fuel level for the rental vehicle, (3) providing a graphical user interface (GUI) for display to the user via the mobile device, the GUI configured to display fuel level data relating to the current fuel level retrieved via the vehicle telematics unit, and (4) initiating a closing of the rental vehicle transaction after the GUI has been provided for display to the user via the mobile device, and wherein the method steps are performed by a processor resident in the mobile device.
Further still, the inventors disclose a computer program product comprising a plurality of instructions executable by a processor of a mobile device and resident on a non-transitory computer-readable storage medium, wherein the instructions, upon execution by the mobile device's processor, are configured to cause the mobile device to (1) process input from a user, the input being indicative of a request to return a rental vehicle, the rental vehicle corresponding to a rental vehicle transaction, (2) in response to the processed input, initiate an automated retrieval of rental vehicle information via a vehicle telematics unit deployed in the rental vehicle, the rental vehicle information comprising a current fuel level for the rental vehicle, (3) present a graphical user interface (GUI) to the user, the GUI configured to display fuel level data relating to the current fuel level retrieved via the vehicle telematics unit, and (4) initiate a closing of the rental vehicle transaction after the GUI has been presented to the user.
In accordance with still another exemplary aspect, the inventors disclose a computer program product comprising a plurality of instructions executable by a processor of a mobile device and resident on a non-transitory computer-readable storage medium, wherein the instructions, upon execution by the mobile device's processor, are configured to cause the mobile device to (1) determine whether a customer is currently using a self-rent rental vehicle, (2) in response to a determination that the customer is currently using a self-rent rental vehicle, present a graphical user interface (GUI) to the customer, the GUI configured display a user-selectable option to begin an end reservation process for the self-rent rental vehicle, (3) process input from the customer that is indicative of a selection by the customer of the option to begin the end reservation process, and (4) responsive to the input, present the customer with a plurality of return location options for the self-rental vehicle.
The inventors also disclose how rental vehicles can be configured to support automated self-rental without a need to distribute any keys to renters. With such embodiments, machine-sensible items such as mobile devices can be used to effectively replace the role of keys for rental vehicles, including not only door lock/unlock function but also vehicle ignition function.
The mobile device 102 can be a smart phone (e.g., an iPhone, a Google Android device, a Blackberry device, etc.), tablet computer (e.g., an iPad), or the like. Furthermore, the mobile device 102 can be a position tracking-enabled mobile device. That is, the mobile device 102 can be configured to track its geographic position and communicate data regarding same to other computing devices (e.g., to rental computer system 106). The mobile device preferably employs a touchscreen or the like for interacting with a user. However, it should be understood that any of a variety of data display techniques and data input techniques could be employed by the mobile device. For example, to receive inputs from a user, the mobile device need not necessarily employ a touchscreen—it could also or alternatively employ a keyboard or other mechanisms.
The instructions may further include instructions defining a control program 254. The control program can be configured to provide the primary intelligence for the mobile application 250, including orchestrating the data outgoing to and incoming from the I/O programs 256 (e.g., determining which GUI screens 252 are to be presented to the user).
The network 104 can be any data communications network capable of supporting communications between the rental computer system 106 and mobile devices 102 as well as communications between the rental computer system 106 and rental vehicles 108, wherein at least a portion of the data communication is wireless data communication as shown in
The rental computer system 106 can be a server or collection of servers that are configured to support rental vehicle transaction processing as described herein. The rental computer system 106 can be operated by a rental vehicle service provider such as a rental car company. However, it should be understood that other entities may operate the system.
Additional aspects of the process flows of
It should be understood that the rental vehicle transactions supported by
In this business chain, there are four primary parties—the first is the driver (or customer) whose vehicle becomes disabled (thereby creating a need for a replacement rental vehicle), the second is the purchaser of rental vehicle services who books a rental vehicle reservation on behalf of the driver (typically an insurance company, automobile dealer, etc.), the third is the rental vehicle service provider with which the purchaser books the rental vehicle reservation, and the fourth is the repair facility where the driver's disabled vehicle is repaired.
In a typical replacement rental scenario, a driver whose regular vehicle has become disabled (e.g., the driver has had an accident) notifies the purchaser (e.g., the driver's insurance company) of his/her need for a replacement rental vehicle. The purchaser then books a reservation for a replacement rental vehicle with a rental vehicle service provider. Oftentimes, this reservation is consummated when the driver drops his/her disabled vehicle off at the repair facility. An employee of the rental vehicle service provider who has been notified of the booked reservation will meet the driver at the repair facility to provide the driver with the replacement rental vehicle. At this time, the rental vehicle service provider employee will fill out rental contract paperwork with the driver for the replacement rental vehicle, and if the terms are agreeable to the driver, the driver signs the rental contract paperwork to form a rental contract with the rental vehicle service provider.
Another common scenario is that an employee of the rental vehicle service provider will pick the driver up from the repair facility to take the driver to a nearby rental vehicle branch location. From the rental vehicle branch location, the driver and rental vehicle service provider employee can then fill out the rental contract paperwork to form the rental contract. In either event, once the rental contract paperwork has been filled out and signed, the driver is enabled to pick up his/her replacement rental vehicle.
The inventors have sought to improve the efficiency of this process through intelligent leveraging of mobile devices as described herein (see, for example, the embodiments described in connection with
It should further be understood that the rental vehicles underlying the rental vehicle transactions supported by
1. Assessing Whether a Customer is a Licensed Driver
Rental vehicle service providers desire an ability to determine whether the customer who is to drive a rental vehicle is a licensed driver. That is, does the customer have a valid state driver's license? With conventional rental vehicle transactions, this assessment is made at a rental branch by personnel of a rental vehicle service provider. The customer is asked for his/her driver's license, and the employee of the rental vehicle service provider then makes an assessment as to whether he or she believes the license to be facially valid. However, it is desired for rental vehicle transactions involving self-rent rental vehicles to avoid any customer interaction with employees of a rental vehicle service provider. This raises the question of how to satisfy the desire for reviewing a customer's driver's license while permitting the customer to automate the rental vehicle pickup process.
At step 700, the rental computer system receives a message from the customer's mobile device 102 that includes image data representative of the customer's driver's license. A user can employ the camera feature of a mobile device 102 to generate such image data. The user can also load an image of the driver's license onto the mobile device if desired.
At step 702, the rental computer system analyzes the driver's license image data to assess the validity of the driver's license. This operation may involve extracting text from the driver's license image data to obtain information such as the driver's name, address, and date of birth, the state of issuance for the driver's license, a driver's license number, date of expiration, etc. This operation may also involve extracting the patterns that appear in the image data to determine whether the extracted pattern conforms to the appearance of driver's licenses for a state (or for the state extracted from the license text if applicable). Suitable software from third party vendors that use image processing techniques to analyze the validity of driver's licenses can be used to perform step 702.
If the extracted data from the driver's license fails to pass the conditions governing validity, then at step 704, the rental computer system rejects the customer and sends a notification of the rejection to the customer's mobile device 102. If the extracted data from the driver's license is deemed to pass the conditions governing validity, then at step 706, the rental computer system updates a customer record for the customer to reflect that the customer is licensed to drive a motor vehicle.
While the steps of
Also, it should be understood that the customer record 720 can also include a field that identifies the extracted expiration date for the customer's driver's license. Logic can then be applied to either automatically change the validity flag field 730 when the current date falls after the expiration date or perform an expiration date check to assess validity when the customer later attempts to book a reservation or pick up a rental vehicle.
2. Creating Rental Vehicle Reservations and Supporting Rental Vehicle Pickups
At step 802, the rental computer system retrieves the customer record 720 for the customer identified in the reservation request and checks the license validity flag field 730 in the customer record 720. If the license validity flag field 730 of the customer record indicates that the customer has already proven he or she is a validly licensed driver, then the process flow continues to step 806. If the license validity flag field 730 of the customer record indicates that the customer has not proven he or she is a validly licensed driver, then the process flow continues to step 812. At step 812, the rental computer system prompts the customer to provide an image of his/her driver's license to check validity (for execution of the process flow in
In the example of
If step 806 results in a determination by the rental computer system that a rental vehicle is not available as per the reservation request, then at step 810, the rental computer system rejects the reservation request and notifies the customer re same.
If step 806 results in a determination by the rental computer system that a rental vehicle is available as per the reservation request, then at step 808, the rental computer system creates a rental vehicle reservation for the customer and communicates authorization instructions for the reservation to the reserved rental vehicle to enable automated pickup by the customer.
The wireless I/O component 904 can be configured to communicate wirelessly and bidirectionally with the rental computer system 106. For example, the processor 900 can receive the authorization information from the rental computer system 106 via wireless I/O 904 and store that authorization information in memory 902.
The sensor 906 can be configured to sense the customer's mobile device 102 via techniques such as NFC, RFID, BlueTooth, or the like. The sensor 906 is preferably positioned in a location on the rental vehicle which permits the customer to conveniently position the mobile device 102 nearby.
Vehicle interfaces 908 permit the hardware system 600 to communicate with vehicle subsystems such as the vehicle's system for locking/unlocking doors, the vehicle immobilizer to de-immobilize the vehicle, and/or the vehicle's ignition system to start the vehicle.
At step 1002, the processor checks the authorization record for the rental vehicle in memory 902 to assess whether the customer associated with the mobile device 102 is authorized to pick up the rental vehicle. As indicated, the authorization record can comprise the combination of reservation record 820 and the customer record 720 for the customer associated with the reservation. Thus, the processor 900 can compare the sensed information with the mobile device identifier or customer identifier in the authorization record. If there is match, the processor 900 can conclude that the person bearing the mobile device 102 near the rental vehicle is the same as the customer for the reservation. The processor may also perform further authorization checks such as comparing a current date/time with the start date/time field 828 of the authorization record to assess whether the rental vehicle pickup by the customer is timely.
If the processor 900 determines that all of the authorization conditions are met, then at step 1004, the system can provide the customer with access to the rental vehicle. At minimum, this may involve the processor 900 instructing the vehicle to unlock the doors (via vehicle interface 908). In some embodiments, an ignition device (e.g., key or the like) may be left inside the vehicle for use by the customer once the customer gains access to the vehicle's interior (e.g., locating the ignition device in the glove box or locked compartment accessible via a code provided to the customer). In other embodiments, the system 600 may further instruct the vehicle to de-immobile the immobilizer and/or start the vehicle as described hereinafter. Next, at step 1008, the processor 900 logs the customer's vehicle access in memory 902.
If the processor 900 determines that not all of the authorization conditions are met at step 1002, the system can then reject customer access to the vehicle at step 1006. This may involve leaving the vehicle doors locked and leaving the immobilizer in an immobilizing state.
At step 1102, a similar procedure can be followed to capture a photograph of an identifier for the rental vehicle. For example, a bar code or QR code can be provided on the rental vehicle in a location easily photographed by the customer. The car identifier encoded by the bar code or QR code preferably matches the identifier used for the rental vehicle in field 824 of the reservation records 820.
At step 1104, the processor then determines whether the two photographs are sufficiently close in time to be deemed a contemporaneous pair. For example, the customer can be required to take the two photographs within 60 seconds (or some other time limit) of each other. If not sufficiently close in time, the process flow can return to start. Otherwise, the process flow proceeds to step 1106 where the mobile application instructs the mobile device to communicate the photographs to the rental computer system 106.
At step 1202, the rental computer system extracts relevant information from the driver's license image data to enable validity checking as previously described in connection with step 702 of
At step 1204, the rental computer system extracts the car identifier from the image data for the car identifier. This may involve processing a bar code or QR code image to convert such code to a character string.
At step 1206, the rental computer system analyzes the extracted driver's license data to assess validity (using techniques previously described in connection with step 702 of
At step 1208, the rental computer system retrieves rental transaction data for the customer and/or rental vehicle. The rental computer system can retrieve all reservation records 820 that are keyed to the rental vehicle identified by the extracted car identifier (via field 824 of the reservation records).
In a true walk-up rental situation, there will not be a corresponding reservation record for the customer with respect to the rental vehicle. Thus, in the walk-up scenario, the rental computer system will check at step 1210 for any retrieved rental vehicle reservation records 820 with respect to the rental vehicle that are deemed to overlap with the desired rental by the walk-up customer. If there is no deemed overlap, then at step 1212, the rental computer system will communicate rental authorization information to the rental vehicle identified by the extracted car identifier to permit access and pickup by the customer if the customer has otherwise agreed to all necessary terms and conditions for renting the rental vehicle. Thus, the customer would then be able to access the rental vehicle by placing his/her mobile device 102 near sensor 908 to initiate the process flow of
In a scenario where the customer had a pre-existing reservation, the rental computer system will check at step 1210 for congruence between the retrieved rental vehicle reservation and the information from the customer's mobile device. For example, the rental computer system can check for matches between:
The rental computer system at step 1210 can also check for a match between the current time and the reservation start date/time field 828 of the retrieved reservation record 820. The system can be configured to determine that a time match has occurred if the current time is within a specified tolerance of the time in the reservation start date/time field 828. If the reservation is deemed supported by the extracted information, then the rental computer system can proceed to step 1212 as noted above. Otherwise, the rental computer system can proceed to step 1214 as noted above.
It should be understood that a wide number of variations on the process flows of
Furthermore, while the preceding process flows and descriptions are tailored for embodiments with respect to the rental of self-rent rental vehicles, it should be understood that similar techniques can be used to streamline and improve the rent process for other types of rental vehicles with a reduced role for personnel of a rental car company. For example, in some embodiments, a rental car company may choose to provide an automated key box or other kiosk arrangement at a location where rental vehicles can be picked up, and similar techniques can be employed to determine whether to provide a customer with access to a key for a rental vehicle from the automated key box or kiosk.
3. Exemplary Embodiment for Mobility-Enhanced Replacement Rental Vehicle Reservations
3a. Activating the Replacement Rental Vehicle Reservation
At step 1402, a message is sent to the driver's mobile device 102 to notify the driver that he/she has been authorized to pick up a replacement rental vehicle in accordance with the created replacement rental vehicle reservation. This notification can take the form of an email (see
Upon selection by the driver of the “Activate Priority Pass” button as shown in
At step 1404, the rental computer system receives input from the driver's mobile device 102 that is indicative of a request to activate the replacement rental vehicle reservation. This input may take the form of the activation code entered via the GUI screen of
At step 1410, the rental computer system receives selections from the driver's mobile device that were made with respect to the choice options that had been presented to the driver. These selections may comprise a particular rental vehicle (or particular group of rental vehicles such as a rental vehicle class) and a pickup mode (which as noted above will be an automated pickup mode for the purposes of this example). Next, at step 1412, the rental computer system communicates information about the driver's chosen selections to the mobile device for populating a verification GUI screen on the mobile device.
If the driver verifies the information on the GUI screen of
Another task is for the driver to provide proof that he/she has a valid driver's license.
Step 1418 can involve the rental computer system processing the driver's license information as previously described in connection with
It should be understood that if the rental computer system already recognizes the driver as a validly licensed driver as described in connection with step 802 of
In the event that the rental computer system determines that the driver's license and payment information are valid, then at step 1420, the rental computer system can activate the replacement rental vehicle reservation and update the reservation record 820 for the replacement rental vehicle reservation to reflect the activation. For example, an activation flag field in the reservation record 820 for the replacement rental vehicle reservation can be set to mark the reservation as activated. The rental computer system can also communicate this activation to the driver's mobile device for populating a GUI screen of the mobile application (see
3b. Automated Rental Vehicle Pickup for the Activated Reservation
At step 2402, the mobile application 250 checks whether the replacement rental vehicle reservation has already been activated. This step may involve a communication with the rental computer system to gather this information, although this need not be the case if the mobile device locally stores data indicative of the replacement rental vehicle's activation. If the subject replacement rental vehicle reservation has not been activated, then at step 2408, the mobile application can enter the process flow beginning with
This interaction can be accomplished in any of a number of ways. For example, the mobile application can prompt the user at step 2404 to scan a car identifier such as a bar code or a QR code located on the rental vehicle to confirm that the subject rental vehicle is the rental vehicle corresponding to the activated replacement rental vehicle reservation. If the mobile device locally stores the reservation record 820 for the replacement rental vehicle reservation, this may involve comparing a scanned car identifier with the rental vehicle identifier field 804 of the reservation record 820. If the two match, then the mobile application can perform step 2406 (and unlocking is then contingent on the process flow shown in
Also, optionally, telematics technology deployed on the rental vehicle can be configured to automatically detect information such as the rental vehicle's mileage and fuel level at the time of rental vehicle pickup. This information can be communicated from the rental vehicle to the rental computer system and/or mobile device for storage therein in association with the reservation record.
3c. Returning the Rental Vehicle to Complete the Reservation
As discussed in the above-referenced and incorporated patents and patent applications, the automated reservation management computer system 504 can be configured to detect when repairs have been completed to the driver's ordinary vehicle. When such an event happens, the rental computer system or business partner computer system can send a message to the driver's mobile device notifying him or her of same (step 2800).
At step 2802, the rental computer system receives this completion code from the mobile device, and then retrieves the reservation record for the replacement rental vehicle reservation based on the received completion code (step 2804). At step 2806, the rental computer system communicates pre-return information about the replacement rental vehicle reservation to the mobile device for display thereon.
The GUI screen of
At step 2808, the rental computer system receives this pre-return information from the mobile device, and the rental computer system then stores this information in database 308, preferably appending the pre-return information to the reservation record 820 for the replacement rental vehicle reservation. The rental computer system can also communicate a confirmation of its receipt of the pre-return information to the mobile device for display thereon (see
At step 3510, the mobile application causes the mobile device to display a GUI screen, where this GUI screen is configured to present the driver with return status information (see
The GUI screen also be configured to solicit input from the driver to indicate whether the rental vehicle has experienced any noticeable damage during the rental. If the mobile application receives input from the driver indicative of no such damage at step 3512, then the process flow can proceed to step 3516. If the mobile application receives input from the driver indicative of the existence of such damage at step 3512, then the process flow can proceed to step 3514. At step 3514, the mobile application can cause the mobile device to display one or more GUI screens that are configured to solicit details regarding such damage.
At step 3516, the mobile application then causes the mobile device to communicate information to the rental computer system regarding completion of the replacement rental vehicle reservation. In turn, the rental computer system can update its database so that the reservation record for the replacement rental vehicle reservation has its status changed to “closed” or the like. Furthermore, any damage items noted at step 3514 and communicated at step 3516 can be stored in association with the reservation record. A practitioner may also choose to design the mobile application so that a user can capture images of any vehicle damage to be uploaded to the rental system for storage in association with a record for the rental. Upon completion of the replacement rental vehicle reservation, the rental computer system can also communicate an update to the control hardware 600 of the subject rental vehicle to update its authorization record to remove authorization for the driver with respect to the now closed replacement rental vehicle reservation. In this fashion, the driver can be prevented from re-entering the vehicle after return. Another task for the rental computer system upon completion can be sending an electronic receipt for the rental transaction to the mobile device and/or an email address associated with the driver.
Thus, it can be seen that
4. Exemplary Embodiment for Mobility-Enhanced Rental Program Reservations
Stage 1: The customer downloading the mobile application 250 that supports the operations described herein to his/her mobile device;
Stage 2: The customer enrolling in the rental program via the mobile application to become a registered user (preferably including scanning his/her driver's license to become approved as a validly licensed driver);
Stage 3: The customer creating a rental vehicle reservation with respect to a self-rent rental vehicle via the mobile application;
Stage 4: The customer picking up a self-rent rental vehicle in accordance with the reservation via the mobile application; and
Stage 5: The customer ending the reservation via the mobile application.
The mobile application 250 for the rental service can be downloaded by a customer at Stage 1 in response to any of a number of access paths. For example, the customer may visit a website associated with the rental service and download the mobile application from there. As another example, the customer may receive an email invitation or the like with a selectable link for downloading the mobile application. As yet another example, the mobile application can be downloaded from an “app store” or the like that is accessible via the mobile device. To complete initial registration, the rental computer system can email or a text a message to the customer that provides a unique code, QR code, or URL link, that is selectable by the customer to complete his/her registration as shown in
Also, to become enrolled with the rental program, the rental computer system can obtain information about the customer (e.g., name, address, contact information, etc.) for populating a customer record 720. Such information, can, in part, be obtained from the customer prior to downloading the mobile application. Or, all of such information can be obtained from the customer via the mobile application. For example, at step 3900, the mobile application can cause one or more GUI screens to be displayed on the mobile device to solicit customer information. At step 3902, the mobile application receives the enrollment customer information. At step 3904, the mobile application checks whether all necessary customer enrollment information has been received. If no, it continues to request more information from the customer. If yes, the mobile application proceeds to step 3906.
At step 3906, the mobile application displays one or more GUI screens that guide the customer through a driver's license scanning operation (see
The process flow of
It should be understood that a practitioner may choose to implement Stage 4 in different ways. For example, a practitioner may choose to design the rental pickup process so that the customer need not re-submit a driver's license photograph at the time of pick up if the customer record 720 for the customer in the database 308 already shows the customer as a validly licensed driver. In such a case, the customer would need to only scan the car identifier and communicate the scanner car identifier from his/her mobile device to identify himself/herself to the rental computer system. It should be understood that the communication from the mobile device to the rental computer system can include information for uniquely identifying the customer or customer's mobile device.
As another example, the verification process can be performed locally by the control hardware of the rental vehicle rather than by the rental computer system. Upon creation of the reservation, the rental computer system can be configured to communicate an authorization record to the control hardware 600 of the reserved rental vehicle that is a combination of fields from the reservation 820 and the customer record 720 for the customer associated with the reservation. This authorization record can be stored locally by the rental vehicle for use when verifying the customer during pickup (see
The process flow of
5. Exemplary Rental Vehicle Selection Options
Another feature that can be supported by mobile devices to facilitate the rental process can be a feature whereby customers are able to select particular rental vehicles from among a plurality of rental vehicles for their reservation via their mobile devices. In an exemplary embodiment, this selection process can be performed within a defined time period immediately before the customer arrives at a rental location to pick up a reserved rental vehicle.
Then, at step 4202, the rental computer system communicates the rental vehicle pickup options to the mobile device for populating a GUI screen presented through the mobile application. For example, if the customer has reserved a “full-size” rental vehicle and there are 8 available “full-size” rental vehicles at the pickup location, the rental computer system can communicate data regarding these 8 available “full-size” rental vehicles to the customer's mobile device. The mobile application can then cause the mobile device to display one or more GUI screens (see
Upon customer selection of a presented option, the mobile application can communicate this selection to the rental computer system. Upon receipt of the selection (step 4204), the rental computer system can re-check the selected rental vehicle's availability (step 4206). This step may be necessary to accommodate for a situation where multiple customers are choosing from among pools of vehicles that include the selected vehicle at the same time. That is, while the customer was choosing from among the options, another customer may have rendered an option unavailable. If step 4206 results in a determination that the selected rental vehicle is no longer available, the rental computer system can proceed to step 4208 to send a notification about the unavailability to the customer's mobile device and return to step 4202. If step 4206 results in a determination that the selected rental vehicle is still available, the rental computer system can proceed to step 4210.
At step 4210, the rental computer system places a time-limited hold on the selected rental vehicle in favor of the customer. This action prevents another customer from selecting that rental vehicle for pickup during a specified time period (e.g., 30 minutes). The rental computer system can then communicate a confirmation of this hold to the customer's mobile device for display to the customer (see
Next, at step 4212, the rental computer system checks whether it has received a pickup notification for the selected rental vehicle within the pickup time window. As noted above, this notification can take the form of a message from the selected rental vehicle that the customer has accessed or requested access to the selected rental vehicle (e.g., by placing his/her mobile device near the vehicle sensor 906). If the pickup time window expires before receiving such a notification, the rental computer system at step 4216 can communicate a message to the customer's mobile device informing the customer about the expiration, remove the hold on the selected rental vehicle in the database, and return the customer to a vehicle selection process (see
Thus, the operation of the
Also, other techniques can be used to permit a customer to select any rental vehicle for pickup from a class of reserved rental vehicles in accordance with a rental vehicle reservation. In one example, the customer can be free to place his/her mobile device near the sensor 906 of any rental vehicle he/she chooses. If the chosen vehicle is within the class of rental vehicle defined for the reservation, then the rental computer system can permit customer access for pickup.
As another example in instances where the rental computer system communicates authorization records to the rental vehicles, a process flow such as the one in
Also, it should be understood that one of more of the GUI screens presented to a customer during the vehicle selection process can be configured to solicit from the customer input as to whether the customer would like to upgrade their vehicle selection. For example, if the customer had previously reserved an economy class rental vehicle, but at the time of pickup, the customer is desirous of renting a larger vehicle (such as a full-size class rental vehicle), one or more of the GUI screens presented to the customer can be configured to ask the customer whether he or she would like to change the vehicle class for the transaction. Depending on availability, in response to customer input indicative of a desire to upgrade, the system can identify available rental vehicles at the rental location at the higher class and provide the customer with the ability to select a particular one of those vehicles as described above. Further still, in response to a customer request to upgrade, updated pricing information for the upgrade can be presented to the customer through the GUI screens, and the customer can be prompted to provide input as to whether he or she agrees to any new terms and conditions regarding such upgraded rental (e.g., a new rental rate, etc.).
Furthermore, while the exemplary embodiment of
6. Smart Key Emulation
Equipment 5200 such as control hardware 600 can be installed in the rental vehicle. This equipment can include a sensor 5210, a wireless communication interface 5208, authorization logic 5206, and a smart key emulator 5204. The sensor 5210, wireless communication interface 5208, and authorization logic 5206 can operate as described in connection with
The smart key emulator 5204 can be configured to emulate a conventional smart key upon enablement. Thus, the enabled smart key emulator can communicate with the vehicle's (1) door lock/unlock system 5216 to lock and unlock the vehicle doors, (2) immobilizer 5214 to de-immobilize the vehicle, and (3) ignition system 5212 to permit the de-immobilized vehicle to be started. Thus, by only enabling the smart key emulator 5204 to output the appropriate codes for the vehicle in response to the customer being recognized as the customer who has reserved the rental vehicle as reflected in the authorization records for the rental vehicle, the customer will be able to use his/her proximate item 5250 as if it were a smart key to gain access to the vehicle and enable start/stop of the vehicle's engine using methods previously described herein. Furthermore, it should be understood that the smart key emulator 5204 or other components of the equipment 5200 can also be configured to communicate with the vehicle's data bus via a physical connection to the OBDII or CAN bus port for purposes of data collection (and subsequent communication of the collected data back to the rental system 5202). Examples of data to be collected in this fashion can include vehicle location, vehicle identification number (VIN), fuel levels, mileage/odometer readings, etc.
In a preferred embodiment, the machine-sensible item 5250 is a customer's mobile device 102 (such as a smart phone). However, it should be noted that the machine-sensible 5250 could take other forms, such as an RFID tag or the like.
It should also be understood that a practitioner can choose to make the enable signal a simple “yes/no” binary signal, or alternatively a more complicated signal to reduce the opportunity for theft in the event a criminal attempts to steal the vehicle by breaking in and “hotwiring” a “yes” signal onto the communication link between the authorization logic and the smart key emulator 5204. For example, rather than a “yes/no” binary signal, the enable signal can take the form of a multi-bit code. Still further, the enable signal can be an encrypted signal communicated between the authorization logic 5206 and smart key emulator 5204 that changes over time as is used on many remote access computer systems. Thus, upon concluding that the customer is authorized to access and start the rental vehicle, the authorization logic 5206 can be configured to communicate an encrypted “yes/enable” signal to the smart key emulator 5204. The smart key emulator 5204 can then be configured to decrypt the received encrypted signal and condition the enablement on the decryption revealing that the authorization logic provided a “yes/enable” instruction. As noted, the encryption can be configured to change over time to minimize the risk of hacking.
Also, a protective enclosure can be provided around the authorization logic and smart key emulator to reduce the opportunity for a criminal to access the communication link for hotwiring purposes. For example, they can be deployed together in an integrated circuit.
In another exemplary embodiment where the item 5250 is a mobile device 102, the smart key emulator 5204 can be deployed as part of a mobile application resident on the mobile device rather than within equipment on the car.
It should also be understood that equipment 5200 can be an aftermarket addition to a rental vehicle or it can be part of the original equipment from the manufacturer of the rental vehicle.
When a customer is physically present near the vehicle, a mobile application executing on the customer's mobile device can communicate with the remote rental system, where this communication is effectively a request for that customer to use the subject rental vehicle at the particular time. If the rental system determines that the customer is authorized to rent the rental vehicle, the rental system can communicate a cellular command to equipment to wake up (similarly, in an embodiment employing GPS comparisons to assess physical proximity, the rental system can wake the equipment up to check vehicle location). A presence pulse signal can be initiated, and the processor 5512 of the equipment 5500 can obtain the GPS position of the vehicle from GPS system 5514. The processor 5512 can also actuate a data collection component 5516 to access the vehicle through a port 5530 such as an OBDII port to collect data from the engine control unit (ECU) 5528 such as fuel levels, VIN, odometer readings, etc. This collected data along with the GPS position can then be communicated back to the rental system via wireless radio 5518.
While the present invention has been described above in relation to exemplary embodiments, various modifications may be made thereto that still fall within the invention's scope, as would be recognized by those of ordinary skill in the art. Such modifications to the invention will be recognizable upon review of the teachings herein. As such, the full scope of the present invention is to be defined solely by the appended claims and their legal equivalents.
This patent application is a divisional of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 14/212,339, filed Mar. 14, 2014, entitled “Mobile Device-Enhanced Rental Vehicle Returns”, now U.S. Pat. No. 10,549,721, which (1) claims priority to U.S. provisional patent application Ser. No. 61/784,227, filed Mar. 14, 2013, entitled “Mobile Device-Enhanced Rental Vehicle Transactions”, and (2) is a divisional of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 13/840,711, filed Mar. 15, 2013, entitled “Mobile Device-Enhanced User Selection of Specific Rental Vehicles for a Rental Vehicle Reservation”, now U.S. Pat. No. 9,499,128, which also claims priority to U.S. provisional patent application Ser. No. 61/784,227, filed Mar. 14, 2013, entitled “Mobile Device-Enhanced Rental Vehicle Transactions”, the entire disclosures of each of which are incorporated herein by reference. This patent application is also related to (1) U.S. patent application Ser. No. 14/212,109, filed this same day, entitled “Method and Apparatus for Driver's License Analysis to Support Rental Vehicle Transactions”, now U.S. Pat. No. 10,059,304, (2) U.S. patent application Ser. No. 14/212,220, filed this same day, entitled “Mobile Device-Enhanced Pickups for Rental Vehicle Transactions”, and (3) U.S. patent application Ser. No. 14/212,455, filed this same day, entitled “Smart Key Emulation for Vehicles”, now U.S. Pat. No. 9,701,281.
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