Systems and methods for providing a unified transportation service

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-11756145-B2
Application number	US-202016933021-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Jul 20, 2020
Priority date	Jul 20, 2020
Publication date	Sep 12, 2023
Grant date	Sep 12, 2023

Abstract

The disclosure pertains to providing a unified transportation service by use of a primary vehicle and secondary vehicles that are transported in the primary vehicle. In an exemplary method, a passenger uses an application provided in a smartphone to enter a trip destination. The smartphone may then be paired with a smartphone carried by a driver of the primary vehicle. The driver's smartphone tracks the movement of the primary vehicle towards the trip destination. Various factors, such as traffic delays or congestion, may occur enroute. If so, the primary vehicle stops at an intermediate location and the application in the passenger's smartphone automatically offers the passenger, the use of a secondary vehicle. If the offer is accepted, the passenger's smartphone is paired with an identification tag attached to an assigned secondary vehicle and the passenger may remove the secondary vehicle from the primary vehicle for travelling to his/her trip destination.

First claim

That which is claimed is:

1. A method comprising:
entering, into a first communication device, a trip destination;
pairing the first communication device with a second communication device that is located in a primary vehicle;
detecting, by at least the second communication device, that the primary vehicle has traveled to an intermediate location;
determining, by an inventory management system in communication with the first communication device and the second communication device, an inventory of one or more secondary vehicles being transported in the primary vehicle;
providing, in the first communication device, a message to indicate an availability of one of the one or more secondary vehicles that is transported in the primary vehicle for use to travel from the intermediate location to the trip destination, wherein the availability of the one of the one or more secondary vehicles is based on the inventory of the one or more secondary vehicles being transported in the primary vehicle;
determining whether an offer to use the one of the one or more secondary vehicles has been accepted;
removing the one of the one or more secondary vehicles from the primary vehicle;
determining, via an imaging device, whether the one of the one or more secondary vehicles has been removed from the primary vehicle; and,
responsive to the determination of whether the one of the one or more secondary vehicles has been removed from the primary vehicle, updating, by the inventory management system, the inventory of the one or more secondary vehicles being transported in the primary vehicle.

2. The method of claim 1 , wherein the message is provided in response to a condition that provides a motivation to use the one of the one or more secondary vehicles to travel from the intermediate location to the trip destination.

3. The method of claim 2 , wherein the condition that provides the motivation is one of a traffic congestion, a traffic accident, the trip destination being located in a no-vehicle zone, or a request made by a passenger of the primary vehicle.

4. The method of claim 3 , wherein the first communication device is a first smartphone carried by a passenger of the primary vehicle, and the second communication device is one of a second smartphone carried by a driver of the primary vehicle or a computer mounted in the primary vehicle, the method further comprising:
determining whether the offer to use the one of the one or more secondary vehicles has been accepted by the passenger of the primary vehicle;
responsive to the determination that the offer to use the one of the one or more secondary vehicles has been accepted by the passenger of the primary vehicle, assigning the one of the one or more secondary vehicles to the passenger of the primary vehicle;
pairing the first smartphone with an identification tag attached to the one of the one or more secondary vehicles, wherein the identification tag comprises a bar code or an NFC tag; and
determining that the one of the one or more secondary vehicles has been removed from the primary vehicle at the intermediate location.

5. The method of claim 1 , wherein the intermediate location is located at a predefined distance from the trip destination.

6. The method of claim 5 , wherein the predefined distance is defined at least in part based on a capability of the one of the one or more secondary vehicles to transport a passenger of the primary vehicle from the intermediate location to the trip destination and a capability of the passenger of the primary vehicle to operate the secondary vehicle.

7. A method comprising:
transporting, in a primary vehicle, one or more secondary vehicles comprising a first secondary vehicle;
determining a condition that provides a motivation for a first passenger of the primary vehicle to use the first secondary vehicle to travel from an intermediate location to a trip destination;
determining, by an inventory management system in communication with a first communication device of the first passenger, an inventory of the one or more secondary vehicles being transported in the primary vehicle;
providing, in the first communication device, a first message to indicate an availability of the first secondary vehicle for use by the first passenger to travel from the intermediate location to the trip destination, wherein the availability of the first secondary vehicle is based on the inventory of the one or more secondary vehicles being transported in the primary vehicle;
determining whether an offer to use the first secondary vehicle has been accepted;
removing the first secondary vehicle from the primary vehicle;
determining, via an imaging device, whether the first secondary vehicle has been removed from the primary vehicle; and,
responsive to the determination of whether the first secondary vehicles has been removed from the primary vehicle, updating, by the inventory management system, the inventory of the one or more secondary vehicles being transported in the primary vehicle.

8. The method of claim 7 , wherein the condition that provides the motivation is one of a traffic congestion, a traffic accident, or the trip destination being located in a no-vehicle zone.

9. The method of claim 8 , wherein the first communication device is a first smartphone carried by the first passenger, wherein the first message is displayed on the first smartphone, and wherein the method further comprises:
entering, by the first passenger of the primary vehicle, into an application that is provided in the first smartphone, a request to travel in the primary vehicle to the trip destination; and
automatically providing, in the first smartphone, when the primary vehicle reaches the intermediate location, the first message to indicate the availability of the first secondary vehicle for use by the first passenger to travel from the intermediate location to the trip destination.

10. The method of claim 9 , further comprising:
determining that the first passenger has one of accepted the offer to use the first secondary vehicle or declined the offer to use the first secondary vehicle.

11. The method of claim 10 , wherein the intermediate location is located at a predefined distance from the trip destination, the predefined distance defined at least in part based on a capability of the first secondary vehicle to transport the first passenger from the intermediate location to the trip destination and a capability of the passenger of the primary vehicle to operate the secondary vehicle.

12. The method of claim 8 , wherein the one or more secondary vehicles further comprise a second secondary vehicle, the method further comprising:
transporting, in the primary vehicle, the second secondary vehicle; and
providing, in a second communication device of a second passenger of the primary vehicle, a second message to indicate an availability of the second secondary vehicle for use by the second passenger to travel from the intermediate location to the trip destination.

13. The method of claim 12 , wherein the first communication device is a first smartphone carried by the first passenger and the second communication device is a second smartphone carried by the second passenger, and wherein the first message is displayed on the first smartphone carried by the first passenger and the second message is displayed on the second smartphone carried by the second passenger.

14. The method of claim 13 , further comprising:
determining whether the offer to use the first secondary vehicle has been accepted by the first passenger of the primary vehicle;
responsive to the determination that the offer to use

Assignees

• Ford Global Tech Llc

Inventors

• Semple Carlton

Classifications

• G06Q10/0283

  for travel seating · CPC title

• G06Q10/021

  Re-booking existing reservations · CPC title

• B62D47/00 Primary

  Motor vehicles or trailers predominantly for carrying passengers (superstructures B62D31/00) · CPC title

• B60P3/07

  for carrying road vehicles · CPC title

• H04M1/72406

  by software upgrading or downloading · CPC title