1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates generally to the field of network transaction services. More particularly, the invention relates to an improved system and method for reducing the cost of efficient vehicles.
2. Description of the Related Art
Fuel economy and lower carbon footprints are an increasing concern for automobiles. There are many ways to improve the efficiency of automobiles and other transportation products, but typically they require a significant up-front capital expense. Often these vehicles are inexpensive to operate, but even with quick payback, consumers and businesses are reluctant to purchase these more efficient products.
A better understanding of the present invention can be obtained from the following detailed description in conjunction with the following drawings, in which:
In the following description, for the purposes of explanation, numerous specific details are set forth in order to provide a thorough understanding of the present invention. It will be apparent, however, to one skilled in the art that the present invention may be practiced without some of these specific details. In other instances, well-known structures and devices are shown in block diagram form to avoid obscuring the underlying principles of the present invention.
Embodiments of the present invention include various steps, which will be described below. The steps may be embodied in machine-executable instructions. The instructions can be used to cause a general-purpose or special-purpose processor to perform certain steps. Alternatively, these steps may be performed by specific hardware components that contain hardwired logic for performing the steps, or by any combination of programmed computer components and custom hardware components.
Elements of the present invention may be provided as a machine-readable medium for storing the machine-executable instructions. The machine-readable medium may include, but is not limited to, floppy diskettes, optical disks, CD-ROMs, and magneto-optical disks, ROMs, RAMs, EPROMs, EEPROMs, magnet or optical cards, propagation media or other type of media/machine-readable medium suitable for storing electronic instructions. For example, the present invention may be downloaded as a computer program which may be transferred from a remote computer (e.g., a server) to a requesting computer (e.g., a client) by way of data signals embodied in a carrier wave or other propagation medium via a communication link (e.g., a modem or network connection).
The techniques described below enable consumers to pay lower up-front prices in exchange for slightly higher prices during the operation of the vehicle. While described below for automobiles, these techniques can be applied to any product or service that is characterized by an up-front capital expense and an ongoing service expense such as fuel or electricity. They can also be used when an up-front capital expense is required and a periodic service interaction is required such as regular maintenance. Also note that while the embodiments of the invention described herein describe price premiums to offset up-front capital expense, different embodiments may also be applied to price discounts or surcharges that may be offered for various reasons (e.g. promotion, bulk purchase, affinity marketing, customer loyalty, government mandates, financial instrument such as derivatives).
Elements of the present invention may be included within a client-server based system 100 such as that illustrated in
Servers 110 may include a database (not shown) for storing various types of data. This may include, for example, specific client data (e.g., client account information and client preferences) and/or more general data. The database on servers 110 in one embodiment runs an instance of a Relational Database Management System (RDBMS), such as Microsoft™ SQL-Server, Oracle™ or the like.
A user/client may interact with and receive feedback from servers 110 using various different communication devices and/or protocols. According to one embodiment, a client connects to servers 110 via client software. The client software may include a browser application such as Mozilla Firefox™ or Microsoft Internet Explorer™ on the user's personal computer which communicates to servers 110 via the Hypertext Transfer Protocol (hereinafter “HTTP”). In this embodiment, the servers 110 include Web servers. In other embodiments included within the scope of the invention, clients may communicate with servers 110 via cellular phones and pagers (e.g., in which the necessary transaction software is embedded in a microchip), handheld computing devices, and/or touch-tone telephones.
Servers 110 may also communicate over a larger network (e.g., network 125) to other servers 150-152. Together, the servers 110, 150-152 include program code for performing the steps described below. It should be noted, however, that the underlying principles of the invention are not limited to any particular hardware/software implementation.
Having briefly described an exemplary network architecture which employs various elements of the present invention, a computer system 200 representing exemplary clients 130-135 and/or servers (e.g., servers 110), in which elements of the present invention may be implemented will now be described with reference to
One embodiment of computer system 200 comprises a system bus 220 for communicating information, and a processor 210 coupled to bus 220 for processing information. Computer system 200 further comprises a random access memory (RAM) or other dynamic storage device 225 (referred to herein as main memory), coupled to bus 220 for storing information and instructions to be executed by processor 210. Main memory 225 also may be used for storing temporary variables or other intermediate information during execution of instructions by processor 210. Computer system 200 also may include a read only memory (ROM) and/or other static storage device 226 coupled to bus 220 for storing static information and instructions used by processor 210.
A data storage device 227 such as a magnetic disk or optical disc and its corresponding drive may also be coupled to computer system 200 for storing information and instructions. Computer system 200 can also be coupled to a second I/O bus 250 via an I/O interface 230. A plurality of I/O devices may be coupled to I/O bus 250, including a display device 243, an input device (e.g., an alphanumeric input device 242 and/or a cursor control device 241). For example, video news clips and related information may be presented to the user on the display device 243.
The communication device 240 is for accessing other computers (servers or clients) via a network 125, 140. The communication device 240 may comprise a modem, a network interface card, or other well known interface device, such as those used for coupling to Ethernet, token ring, or other types of networks.
As illustrated in
In one embodiment, the vehicle usage measurement module 307 continually monitors and records vehicle usage data including, but not limited to, miles driven, power consumed, and/or power input to the vehicle. This information is provided to the vehicle functionality interlock module 306 which limits functionality or disables use of the vehicle in certain circumstances (as described herein). Both the vehicle functionality interlock 306 and the vehicle usage measurement module 307 operate under control of the computing module 305. In one embodiment, each of these modules is implemented as software executed on a general purpose processor such as an x86 processor designed by Intel Corporation. However, the underlying principles of the invention are not limited to any particular hardware or software configuration.
In the embodiment shown in
In one embodiment, data is exchanged between each of the systems shown in
Data from the vehicle 301 transmitted via the network interface 308 to the electrical charging or fuel pump 302 includes ID code(s) to indicate the identity of the vehicle being fueled or charged (e.g., the Vehicle Identification Number or other code to uniquely identify the vehicle); status codes; identification data identifying components on the vehicle such as the battery pack; usage and charging data; temperature profile data; and/or driver profile data.
Data from the from the electrical charging or fuel pump station system 302 to the vehicle 301 includes the amount of fuel or electricity which was loaded into the vehicle; the price charged including both the base price at the pump or at the meter as well as the supplement; and/or a special code that enables use of the vehicle for a specific amount of time or miles or other usage metric.
Data from the charging/fueling system 302 to the financier billing system 304 can optionally be intermediated by a charging/fueling billing system 303. Data transmitted from 302 to 304 (alternatively intermediated by 303) may include: identification codes of vehicles charged/fueled; data indicating the amount of electricity/fuel dispensed; identifications of vehicles in disabled/alert status; and information about vehicle characterization.
Data from the charging/fueling billing system 303 to the financier billing system 304 may include: data indicating the location of the charging/fueling station and/or other status information.
An alternative embodiment to having an intermediary 303, is to use the vehicle's GPS or other location technology (not shown) to identify the location of the refueling/recharging site 302. The pump, 302, or the wired/wireless network interface 309, may also include location technology and provide similar information.
In one embodiment, when a user initially purchases an energy-efficient car, the user pays less than the market value for the car. For example, this car, if purchased according to today's system of auto sales, might cost $30,000. Instead, when implementing the embodiments of the invention described herein, the user pays a specified percentage less (e.g., $20,000) for the car. At the time of sale, the user registers her vehicle with the financier billing system 304 which is continuously provided vehicle usage notifications. For example, at home, when the user plugs her car into her home garage outlet, an identification code is transmitted to the financier billing system 304 (e.g., over the user's home wireless/wired Internet connection). At the end of the month, the user receives a bill that charges the user an additional amount as a supplemental car charging payment. When the user stops at a gas station to fill her vehicle, the RF interface in her car and the pump recognizes that she is to pay a supplemental fee for gasoline, so instead of paying $1.75 per gallon, she pays $1.99 per gallon. In one embodiment, an identification code uniquely identifying the vehicle (e.g., a VIN or similar code) is transmitted from the network interface 308 of the vehicle 301 to the network interface 309 of the fuel/charging station system 302, which then forwards the vehicle's identity to the financier billing system 304 or the billing and tracking system 303. The supplemental fee amount is then calculated based on the identity of the vehicle and communicated from the financier billing system 304 or the billing and tracking system 303 to the fuel pump/electrical charging station 302.
In one embodiment, unless the vehicle is registered with the financier billing system 304, it cannot be charged or pumped with gasoline. When the user sells her car, the new owner registers his own credit, home address, and payment information with the financier billing system 304, so he can use the charging system at home and when he travels. If the new owner tries to evade the system by pumping gas from an out-of-network pump, the vehicle reports the abuse to the financier billing system 304, for a warning. If the warnings are ignored, then various steps may be taken such as rendering the vehicle less useful and/or inoperable.
As described above, one way to implement this embodiment of the invention is to use an RF interface 308 that communicates between the vehicle 301 and the financier system 304. This system works regardless of the fueling mode as long as the vehicle is properly outfitted with sensors to detect charging and fuel tank levels.
There are at least three potential types of vehicles that are equipped to take advantage of the embodiments of the invention described herein (although any type of vehicle or capital good may be used):
Each case described below employs slightly different adaptations.
I. Embodiments for all-Electric Vehicles
This system may be especially attractive to field expensive fuel economy technologies such as electric hybrids, advanced diesel, or just used to reduce the cost of buying a car. A significant piece of prior art are payment cards for fuels that bill a third party based on a card presentation (swiping) at the pump and information about the vehicle (ID code, mileage, etc). One embodiment uses a limited number of refueling stations that charge a supplement for refueling. But other embodiments are also contemplated which provide broader access to refueling stations.
This case is challenging because both the electrical and fuel systems may be required. If only one system is implemented, the service provider takes a risk that the price of the alternative power (electricity or fuel) will be lower than the price of the supplemented source of power. On the other hand, having access to charging supplements on both electricity and fuel allows the financier to price the two refueling mode according to the value received rather than the commodity cost of goods.
The solutions for the PHEV case, then, require being able to extract additional payment regardless of the mode of refueling the vehicle.
Alternate power systems using compressed air, compressed natural gas, fuel cell powered by other fuels are likely to start with home or business based fueling stations and so are a sort of hybrid between electric and traditional fuel pumping.
In the cases above its assumed that the economic proposition is one of a gas saving innovation that costs extra in up front capital expense. In addition, the embodiments of the invention may be used to implement other economic interactions. Some other capital expense, for example, may be used. For example, implementing a system of derivatives that helps consumers hedge gasoline costs could be translated to price adjustments at the pump.
There are a number of ideas to provide differential billing for vehicle charging based on factors like time of day and whether the vehicle is willing to provide Vehicle to Grid (V2G) power back to the grid during peak load times. The embodiments described herein may be used as a way to implement such pricing schemes. These embodiments have the advantage of a) being outside the existing utility billing system and so away from the constraints of those systems and b) provide a way to implement such a pricing scheme on a nationwide and worldwide basis without getting the cooperation of every utility in each country (there are about 2,000 utilities in the US alone).
In one embodiment of the invention, a solar panel is installed on a user's home or vehicle at a reduced cost. The solar panel includes sensors and circuitry for actively measuring the amount of solar energy provided to the home or vehicle and a communication interface for communicating this information to the financier billing system 304 or the fuel or efficiency provider billing and tracking system 303. As in prior embodiments, the user is charged a supplemental amount based on the amount of solar energy consumed.
Various different computer “systems” are described above. These systems are represented in
Elements of the present invention may also be provided as a machine-readable medium for storing the machine-executable instructions. The machine-readable medium may include, but is not limited to, floppy diskettes, optical disks, CD-ROMs, and magneto-optical disks, ROMs, RAMs, EPROMs, EEPROMs, magnetic or optical cards, propagation media or other type of media/machine-readable medium suitable for storing electronic instructions. For example, the present invention may be downloaded as a computer program which may be transferred from a remote computer (e.g., a server) to a requesting computer (e.g., a client) by way of data signals embodied in a carrier wave or other propagation medium via a communication link (e.g., a modem or network connection).
Throughout the foregoing description, for the purposes of explanation, numerous specific details were set forth in order to provide a thorough understanding of the invention. It will be apparent, however, to one skilled in the art that the invention may be practiced without some of these specific details. For example, while a client-based implementation is described above, a server-based implementation (or other distributed computing implementation) is also contemplated within the scope of the present invention. Accordingly, the scope and spirit of the invention should be judged in terms of the claims which follow.
This application claims priority to U.S. Provisional Application Ser. No. 61/157,605, filed, Mar. 5, 2009, entitled, “System and Method For Reducing The Cost of Efficient Vehicles”.
Number | Date | Country | |
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61157605 | Mar 2009 | US |