Patent Application
20190228345
The disclosure relates to parking management for vehicle sharing systems and methods.
Vehicle sharing systems allow individuals to rent vehicles, typically for limited periods of time (e.g., per hour rentals). Individuals can make reservations for station-based, round-trip or one-way use of a variety of vehicles, oftentimes located in or around major cities. The shared vehicles, for pickup and return, are usually located at reserved parking spaces identified with permanently mounted signage. The present methods and systems help coordinate use of the vehicle sharing parking spaces during rental periods.
According to a first embodiment, there is provided a method of managing a vehicle sharing system. The method includes the steps of receiving an active vehicle sharing reservation notification, wherein the active vehicle sharing reservation notification indicates that a shared vehicle is to be used; determining a third-party reservation availability, wherein the third-party reservation availability indicates that a vehicle sharing parking space that was occupied by the shared vehicle will be available for a rental period; sending a vehicle sharing parking space availability notification to a third party; and receiving a notification of use of the vehicle sharing parking space during the rental period of the third-party reservation availability.
According to other embodiments, there is provided that of the first embodiment, further including any one or more of the following:
According to a second embodiment, there is provided a method of managing a vehicle sharing system, comprising the steps of: confirming that a shared vehicle has departed from a vehicle sharing parking space; determining a third-party reservation availability, wherein the third-party reservation availability indicates that a vehicle sharing parking space that was occupied by the shared vehicle will be available for a rental period; determining whether the rental period of the third-party reservation availability is greater than a threshold period; when it is determined that the rental period of the third-party reservation availability is greater than the threshold period, sending a vehicle sharing parking space availability notification to a third party; monitoring the vehicle sharing parking space; and reconciling usage of the vehicle sharing parking space between the shared vehicle and the third party.
According to a third embodiment, there is provided a vehicle sharing system, comprising: a shared vehicle; a vehicle sharing parking space; a reservation profile building tool configured to receive an active vehicle sharing reservation notification and build a reservation profile; and a reservation management tool configured to determine a third-party reservation availability that indicates that the vehicle sharing parking space will be available for a rental period, send a vehicle sharing parking space availability notification to a third party so that the third party can use the vehicle sharing parking space during at least a part of the rental period of the shared vehicle, and receive a notification of use of the vehicle shared parking space during the rental period of the third-party reservation availability.
According to other embodiments, there is provided that of the third embodiment, further including any one or more of the following:
Other combinations of features are certainly possible, including combinations of features between various embodiments.
Exemplary embodiments will hereinafter be described in conjunction with the appended drawings, wherein like designations denote like elements, and wherein:
The system and methods below enable more efficient and economical use of parking spaces in a vehicle sharing system. Vehicle sharing systems oftentimes pay for dedicated parking spaces (stations) for shared vehicles. Given that parking in major cities is expensive, optimizing usage of the vehicle sharing parking spaces is desirable and can help increase revenue. Accordingly, when shared vehicles are being used for active reservations, the parking spaces will normally be unoccupied and can potentially be reserved for a specified duration to third party customers needing parking spaces. The systems and methods described herein can help effectively manage the resources of a vehicle sharing system by, in some embodiments, reconciling usage of vehicle sharing parking spaces and may use additional information particular to the shared vehicle driver in order to do so.
With reference to
Shared vehicle 12 is depicted in the illustrated embodiment as a passenger car, but it should be appreciated that any other vehicle including motorcycles, trucks, sports utility vehicles (SUVs), recreational vehicles (RVs), marine vessels, etc., can also be used. Some of the vehicle electronics 28 is shown generally in
Telematics unit 30 is itself a vehicle system module (VSM) and can be implemented as an OEM-installed (embedded) or aftermarket device installed in the shared vehicle that enables wireless voice and/or data communication over wireless carrier system 14 and via wireless networking. This enables the shared vehicle to communicate with the shared vehicle application 24 or a call center 26, other telematics-enabled vehicles, or some other entity or device. The telematics unit preferably uses radio transmissions to establish a communications channel (a voice channel and/or a data channel) with wireless carrier system 14 so that voice and/or data transmissions can be sent and received over the channel. By providing both voice and data communication, telematics unit 30 enables the shared vehicle 12 to offer a number of different features or services including those related to navigation, telephony, emergency assistance, diagnostics, infotainment, etc. Data can be sent either via a data connection, such as via packet data transmission over a data channel, or via a voice channel using techniques known in the art.
According to one embodiment, telematics unit 30 utilizes cellular communication according to either GSM or CDMA standards and thus includes a standard cellular chipset 50 for voice communications like hands-free calling, a wireless modem for data transmission, an electronic processing device 52, one or more digital memory devices 54, and a dual antenna 56. It should be appreciated that the modem can either be implemented through software that is stored in the telematics unit and is executed by processor 52, or it can be a separate hardware component located internal or external to telematics unit 30. The modem can operate using any number of different standards or protocols such as EVDO, CDMA, GPRS, and EDGE. Wireless networking between the vehicle and other networked devices can also be carried out using telematics unit 30. For this purpose, telematics unit 30 can be configured to communicate wirelessly according to one or more wireless protocols, such as any of the IEEE 802.11 protocols, WiMAX, or Bluetooth. When used for packet-switched data communication such as TCP/IP, the telematics unit 30 can be configured with a static IP address or can set up to automatically receive an assigned IP address from another device on the network such as a router or from a network address server.
Processor 52 can be any type of device capable of processing electronic instructions including microprocessors, microcontrollers, host processors, controllers, vehicle communication processors, and application specific integrated circuits (ASICs). It can be a dedicated processor used only for telematics unit 30 or can be shared with other vehicle systems. Processor 52 executes various types of digitally-stored instructions, such as software or firmware programs stored in memory 54, which enable the telematics unit to provide a wide variety of services.
Telematics unit 30 can be used to provide a diverse range of vehicle services that involve wireless communication to and/or from the vehicle. Such services may include transmission of notifications from the vehicle sharing application 24 or the call center 26 regarding the rental of shared vehicle 12 or usage of the vehicle sharing parking space 20, or turn-by-turn directions and other navigation-related services that are provided in conjunction with the GPS-based vehicle navigation module 40, to cite two examples. The above-listed services are by no means an exhaustive list of all of the capabilities of telematics unit 30, but are simply an enumeration of some of the services that the telematics unit is capable of offering. Furthermore, it should be understood that at least some of the aforementioned modules could be implemented in the form of software instructions saved internal or external to telematics unit 30, they could be hardware components located internal or external to telematics unit 30, or they could be integrated and/or shared with each other or with other systems located throughout the vehicle, to cite but a few possibilities. In the event that the modules are implemented as VSMs 42 located external to telematics unit 30, they could utilize vehicle bus 44 to exchange data and commands with the telematics unit.
GPS module 40 is a VSM which receives radio signals from a constellation 60 of GPS satellites. From these signals, the module 40 can determine vehicle position that is used for providing navigation and other position-related services to the vehicle driver or an entity monitoring the position of the shared vehicle 12. Navigation information can be presented on the display 38 (or other display within the vehicle) or can be presented verbally such as is done when supplying turn-by-turn navigation. The navigation services can be provided using a dedicated in-vehicle navigation module (which can be part of GPS module 40), or some or all navigation services can be done via telematics unit 30, wherein the position information is sent to a remote location for purposes of providing the vehicle with navigation maps, map annotations (points of interest, restaurants, etc.), route calculations, and the like. The position information can be supplied to call center 26 or other remote computer system, such as computer 18, for other purposes, such as fleet management and/or reservation management. Also, new or updated map data can be downloaded to the GPS module 40 from the call center 26 via the telematics unit 30.
In addition to GPS module 40, the shared vehicle may include a position sensor 48, which can interact with another position sensor 58 associated with the vehicle sharing parking space 20. The position sensor 48 may be a radio frequency identification (RFID) reader and antenna that interacts with an RFID tag 58. Accordingly, when the RFID tag 58 is within the range of the shared vehicle 12, the RFID reader and antenna 48 associated with the shared vehicle can activate the tag.
The shared vehicle 12 can include other vehicle system modules (VSMs) 42 in the form of electronic hardware components that are located throughout the vehicle and typically receive input from one or more sensors and use the sensed input to perform diagnostic, monitoring, control, reporting and/or other functions. Each of the VSMs 42 is preferably connected by communications bus 44 to the other VSMs, as well as to the telematics unit 30, and can be programmed to run vehicle system and subsystem diagnostic tests. As examples, one VSM 42 can be an engine control module (ECM) that controls various aspects of engine operation such as fuel ignition and ignition timing, and another VSM 42 can be a powertrain control module that regulates operation of one or more components of the vehicle powertrain. As is appreciated by those skilled in the art, the above-mentioned VSMs are only examples of some of the modules that may be used in shared vehicle 12, as numerous others are also possible.
Vehicle electronics 28 also includes a number of vehicle user interfaces that provide vehicle occupants with a means of providing and/or receiving information, including microphone 32, pushbuttons(s) 34, audio system 36, and visual display 38. As used herein, the term ‘vehicle user interface’ broadly includes any suitable form of electronic device, including both hardware and software components, which is located on the vehicle and enables a vehicle user to communicate with or through a component of the vehicle. Various other vehicle user interfaces can also be utilized in conjunction with other VSMs, as the interfaces of
The mobile device 22 of the shared vehicle driver may interact with the shared vehicle 12, such as via the telematics unit 30, or with the wireless carrier system 14. The mobile device 22 can include computer processing capability, a transceiver capable of communicating using a short-range wireless protocol, and a visual mobile device display. The mobile device 22 also includes one or more microprocessors that execute machine code to generate logical output, such as output relating to the shared vehicle application 24. Examples of the mobile device 22 include the iPhone manufactured by Apple and the Galaxy manufactured by Samsung, as well as others. While the mobile device 22 may include the ability to communicate via cellular communications using the wireless carrier system 14, this is not always the case. For instance, Apple manufactures devices such as the various models of the iPad and iPod Touch that include the processing capability, a display, and the ability to communicate over a short-range wireless communication link. However, the iPod Touch™ and some iPads™ do not have cellular communication capabilities. Even so, these and other similar devices may be used or considered a type of wireless device, such as the mobile device 22, for the purposes carrying out one or more steps of the methods described herein.
Wireless carrier system 14 is preferably a cellular telephone system that includes a plurality of cell towers 70 (only one shown), one or more mobile switching centers (MSCs) 72, as well as any other networking components required to connect wireless carrier system 14 with land network 16. Each cell tower 70 includes sending and receiving antennas and a base station, with the base stations from different cell towers being connected to the MSC 72 either directly or via intermediary equipment such as a base station controller. Cellular system 14 can implement any suitable communications technology, including for example, analog technologies such as AMPS, or the newer digital technologies such as CDMA (e.g., CDMA2000) or GSM/GPRS. As will be appreciated by those skilled in the art, various cell tower/base station/MSC arrangements are possible and could be used with wireless system 14. For instance, the base station and cell tower could be co-located at the same site or they could be remotely located from one another, each base station could be responsible for a single cell tower or a single base station could service various cell towers, and various base stations could be coupled to a single MSC, to name but a few of the possible arrangements.
Apart from using wireless carrier system 14, a different wireless carrier system in the form of satellite communication can be used to provide uni-directional or bi-directional communication with the shared vehicle 12. This can be done using one or more communication satellites 62 and an uplink transmitting station 64. Uni-directional communication can be, for example, satellite radio services, wherein programming content (news, music, etc.) is received by transmitting station 64, packaged for upload, and then sent to the satellite 62, which broadcasts the programming to subscribers. Bi-directional communication can be, for example, satellite telephony services using satellite 62 to relay telephone communications between the shared vehicle 12 and station 64. If used, this satellite telephony can be utilized either in addition to or in lieu of wireless carrier system 14.
Land network 16 may be a conventional land-based telecommunications network that is connected to one or more landline telephones and connects wireless carrier system 14 to call center 26. For example, land network 16 may include a public switched telephone network (PSTN) such as that used to provide hardwired telephony, packet-switched data communications, and the Internet infrastructure. One or more segments of land network 16 could be implemented through the use of a standard wired network, a fiber or other optical network, a cable network, power lines, other wireless networks such as wireless local area networks (WLANs), or networks providing broadband wireless access (BWA), or any combination thereof. Furthermore, call center 26 need not be connected via land network 16, but could include wireless telephony equipment so that it can communicate directly with a wireless network, such as wireless carrier system 14.
Computer 18 can be one of a number of computers accessible via a private or public network such as the Internet. Each such computer 18 can be used for one or more purposes, such as a web server accessible by the vehicle via telematics unit 30 and wireless carrier 14. Other such accessible computers 18 can be, for example: a client computer used by the shared vehicle driver or other subscriber for such purposes as accessing or receiving vehicle data or to setting up or configuring subscriber preferences or otherwise controlling shared vehicle features; or a third-party repository to or from which vehicle data or other information is provided, whether by communicating with the shared vehicle 12 or call center 26, or both. A computer 18 can also be used for providing Internet connectivity such as DNS services or as a network address server that uses DHCP or other suitable protocol to assign an IP address to the shared vehicle 12.
Call center 26 is a back-end facility designed to provide the vehicle electronics 28 with a number of different system back-end functions and, according to the exemplary embodiment shown here, generally includes one or more switches 80, servers 82, databases 84, live advisors 86, as well as an automated voice response system (VRS) 88, all of which are known in the art. These various call center components are preferably coupled to one another via a wired or wireless local area network 90. Switch 80, which can be a private branch exchange (PBX) switch, routes incoming signals so that voice transmissions are usually sent to either the live adviser 86 by regular phone or to the automated voice response system 88 using VoIP. The live advisor phone can also use VoIP as indicated by the broken line in
Server 82 may include a software framework for accommodating reservation profile building tool 92 and a reservation management tool 94. While these tools are schematically shown as being separate in
Database 84 may be a vehicle information database that stores information relating to habits of shared vehicle drivers for use with the present systems and methods. Database 84 can store vehicle sharing system account information such as subscriber authentication information, profile records, behavioral patterns, and other information. As with server 82, it is possible for the database 84 to be implemented in other operable fashions, such as a cloud- or web-based system that is not directly related to the call center 26. Further, it is possible for the methods and systems herein to extract vehicle or driver information from a number of discrete databases.
Server 82 and its database 84 may be implemented in a known manner using an electronic processor with non-transitory computer readable memory storing program code that, upon execution by the processor, carries out the methods described herein, and with that same memory or a separate non-transitory computer readable memory used as database 84 to store the data used in the methods described herein, such as shared vehicle driver profiles and reservation profiles, which are described in greater detail below. The server 82 may thus be configured as a special purpose analyzer that includes the reservation profile building tool 92 and the reservation management tool 94, both of which may be implemented using the processor operating under control of the program code to provide a system that carries out some or all of the steps of method 200 described below.
The vehicle sharing system 10 may interact with one or more third parties, such as a third party that operates a third-party vehicle 66 or a third-party parking service 78 that is associated with the vehicle sharing parking space 20. A user of the third-party vehicle 66 may have a mobile device 76, which, similar to the mobile device 22, may include the vehicle sharing application 24. Also, similar to the shared vehicle 12, the third-party vehicle 66 may include a position sensor 68 and/or a GPS module 74 which operate in a similar fashion to the position sensor 48 and the GPS module 40, respectively, of the shared vehicle 12. Accordingly, in one embodiment the position sensor 68 may be an RFID reader configured to interact with the RFID tag 58 associated with the shared parking space 20.
With reference to
The method begins at step 210 with receiving an active vehicle sharing reservation notification. The active vehicle sharing reservation notification indicates that shared vehicle 12 is to be used. The active vehicle sharing reservation may be accomplished via the vehicle sharing application 24 or by any other operable means. For example, a subscriber of the vehicle sharing system 10 may use his or her mobile device 22 to request use of a shared vehicle via the vehicle sharing application 24. The active vehicle sharing reservation notification may be received by the computer 18, the call center 26, or another entity. In some embodiments, the active vehicle sharing reservation notification may be received in response to a station-based, round-trip rental of the shared vehicle 12. However, other rental types are certainly possible, such as one-way sharing where the shared vehicle 12 may be dropped off at an alternate location than the vehicle sharing parking space 20.
Step 220 of the method involves confirming that the shared vehicle 12 has departed from the vehicle sharing parking space 20. This step can be accomplished in a multitude of ways. In one example, the position sensors 48, 58 are used to confirm that the shared vehicle 12 has departed from the vehicle sharing parking space 20. If the position sensor 48 is an RFID reader and position sensor 58 is an RFID tag, an indication that the RFID tag 58 is no longer within range of the RFID reader 48 may indicate that the shared vehicle 12 has departed. In another embodiment, a reading from the GPS module 40 may be used to confirm that the shared vehicle 12 has departed from the vehicle sharing parking space 20. In yet another embodiment, location-based tracking from the mobile device 22 and/or the vehicle sharing application 24 may be used to confirm that the shared vehicle 12 has departed from the vehicle sharing parking space 20. In yet another embodiment, activation of a shared vehicle key fob may confirm that the vehicle 12 has departed from the vehicle sharing parking space 20. In some embodiments, the active vehicle sharing reservation notification may not be sent or received (step 210) until it is confirmed that the shared vehicle 12 has departed from the vehicle sharing parking space 20. Other embodiments are certainly possible.
Step 230 of the method involves building a reservation profile. The reservation profile may provide information relating to a rental period in which the shared parking space 20 will likely be available. The reservation profile may be automatically built as a function of use of the vehicle sharing application 24, or it may be built and/or estimated by a back-end facility, such as through use of the reservation building tool 92 at the call center 26. The reservation profile may contain information relating to the shared driver's identity, the rental period of the shared vehicle 20, whether the rental is round-trip or one-way, etc.
With reference to
Returning to
Step 240 may also include determining whether the rental period of the third-party reservation availability is greater than a threshold period. This may depend on the particularities of the vehicle sharing system 10. For example, if rentals of the shared vehicle are always at least a half hour, it may be determined that the third-party reservation availability is always greater than a threshold period. Accordingly, the step of determining whether the rental period of the third-party reservation availability is greater than a threshold period will not be a separate calculation step performed with every rental, in this embodiment. In other embodiments, a separate determining step may be performed to make sure that the third-party reservation availability is long enough (e.g., greater than a threshold of fifteen minutes, thirty minutes, forty-five minutes, etc.) to allow for a third-party to use the vehicle sharing parking space 20. In one or more embodiments, step 240 may be accomplished by the reservation management tool 94.
Step 250 involves sending a vehicle sharing parking space availability notification. The vehicle sharing parking space availability notification may be sent to one or more third parties to indicate that the vehicle sharing parking space 20 will be available for parking, such as by the third-party vehicle 66, for a certain period, as dictated by the third-party reservation availability. In some embodiments, the vehicle sharing parking space availability may be sent to other subscribers of the vehicle sharing system 10, and may be sent via the vehicle sharing application 24. In this example, after the shared vehicle 12 has departed from the vehicle sharing parking space 20, the vehicle sharing parking space availability notification may be sent to the third party mobile device 76 via the vehicle sharing application 24. The third-party may accept and rent the parking space 20 for the rental period determined by the third-party reservation availability. In other embodiments, the vehicle sharing parking space notification may be sent to a third-party such as the third-party parking service 78. If, for example, the vehicle sharing parking space 20 is located in a parking garage, the third-party parking service 78 may be an operator of the parking garage, who can then allow a third-party vehicle 66 to park in the space. The vehicle sharing parking space availability notification may include a location of the vehicle sharing parking space, a parking maximum duration (which may be based on the third-party reservation availability), and/or a cost of the third-party rental. In one or more embodiments, step 250 may be accomplished by the reservation management tool 94.
Step 260 involves receiving a notification of use of the vehicle sharing parking space. In response to the vehicle sharing parking space availability notification, the system 10 may receive notification of use of the vehicle sharing parking space 20 during the rental period of the third-party reservation availability. For example, once a third party accepts an offer to park the third-party vehicle 66 in the vehicle sharing parking space 20, a notification may be sent to the vehicle sharing application 24 or the reservation management tool 94. In other embodiments, receiving notification of use of the vehicle sharing parking space 20 may occur when a position sensor, such as the RFID tag 58, is read or otherwise activated. This may allow the system 10 to remove or recall the vehicle sharing parking space availability notification, such that other third parties will not be able to accept the offer to park in the vehicle sharing parking space 20. Additionally, the receipt of the notification of use of the vehicle sharing parking space 20 may be accompanied by a parking fee, credit, or some other form of payment for parking at the vehicle sharing parking space during the rental period.
Step 270 involves monitoring the vehicle sharing parking space. In embodiments where the vehicle sharing parking space availability notification is sent to third-parties via an application program on a mobile device, such as via the vehicle sharing application 24 on mobile device 76, the mobile device itself may be used to monitor the vehicle sharing parking space 20. For example, if a third party parks, leaves the vehicle 66, and does not return to the vehicle, it may be determined that the third-party vehicle 66 is still parked in the vehicle sharing parking space 20. In other embodiments, the position sensors 58, 68 may be used to monitor the vehicle sharing parking space 20. For example, if the position sensor 68 on the third-party vehicle 66 is an RFID reader, it may be able to read an RFID tag 58 at the vehicle sharing parking space 20. In yet other embodiments, the monitoring step may be performed by the third-party parking service 78 or some other entity. Other examples are possible.
Step 280 involves reconciling vehicle sharing parking space usage. This step may be necessary in instances where the third-party vehicle 66 is parked in the vehicle sharing parking space 20 when the shared vehicle 12 returns from a rental. Step 280 may include sending a notification to the driver of the shared vehicle 12 that the shared vehicle parking space 20 is unavailable. This notification may include an alternative parking location suggestion instructing the driver of the shared vehicle 12 to park at another vehicle sharing parking space that is available. In some instances, this step may be accomplished by monitoring the position of the shared vehicle 12, such as via the mobile device 22 and/or the GPS module 40. Once the shared vehicle 12 is within some threshold distance (e.g., five miles) and the third-party vehicle 66 is still in the vehicle sharing parking space 20, a notification may be sent to the driver of the shared vehicle 12 that the space is unavailable. It is also possible to use the shared vehicle driver profile in step 280 if it was not accounted for in step 240, to help better predict whether there will be a conflict between the third-party vehicle 66 and the shared vehicle 12.
It is to be understood that the foregoing is a description of one or more embodiments of the invention. The invention is not limited to the particular embodiment(s) disclosed herein, but rather is defined solely by the claims below. Furthermore, the statements contained in the foregoing description relate to particular embodiments and are not to be construed as limitations on the scope of the invention or on the definition of terms used in the claims, except where a term or phrase is expressly defined above. Various other embodiments and various changes and modifications to the disclosed embodiment(s) will become apparent to those skilled in the art. All such other embodiments, changes, and modifications are intended to come within the scope of the appended claims.
As used in this specification and claims, the terms “e.g.,” “for example,” “for instance,” “such as,” and “like,” and the verbs “comprising,” “having,” “including,” and their other verb forms, when used in conjunction with a listing of one or more components or other items, are each to be construed as open-ended, meaning that the listing is not to be considered as excluding other, additional components or items. Other terms are to be construed using their broadest reasonable meaning unless they are used in a context that requires a different interpretation. In addition, the term “and/or” is to be construed as an inclusive or. As an example, the phrase “A, B, and/or C” includes: “A”; “B”; “C”; “A and B”; “A and C”; “B and C”; and “A, B, and C.”
