Personal storage for shared vehicles

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-9829885-B2
Application number	US-201514944684-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Nov 18, 2015
Priority date	Nov 18, 2015
Publication date	Nov 28, 2017
Grant date	Nov 28, 2017

Abstract

Arrangements relating to personal storage with shared vehicles are described. A shared vehicle, a user device, a storage computing system, and/or a storage depot can be communicatively linked. A storage request can be sent from one of the computing systems. One or more storage parameters can be determined, and storage instructions can be sent based on the determined storage parameters. The storage instructions can provide routing instructions to a vehicle and loading instructions to a storage depot. Storage depots can automatically transfer storage compartments between storage space and a vehicle through the use of robotics. Systems and methods described herein can be implemented with shared autonomous vehicles.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1. A method of managing personal storage for a shared autonomous vehicle, the method comprising:
receiving, by one or more computing devices, a storage request and a user destination request from a user device, the storage request including identification information for at least one of a user and an associated storage compartment, and the user destination request including a user destination and a user pick up location, the user destination and the user pick up location having different locations;
responsive to receiving the storage request, determining one or more storage parameters, the one or more storage parameters including a storage depot, the storage depot being located at a different location than that of the user destination and the user pick up location;
determining one or more storage instructions based on the determined one or more storage parameters, the storage instructions including instructions to move the associated storage compartment from a storage space to the shared autonomous vehicle;
causing the shared autonomous vehicle to be autonomously moved to the storage depot based on the one or more storage parameters;
causing the associated storage compartment to be moved from the storage space to the shared autonomous vehicle based on the storage instructions; and
causing the shared autonomous vehicle to be autonomously moved to the user destination.

2. The method of claim 1 , wherein the storage instructions further include a location of the storage depot and the method further includes sending the determined one or more storage instructions to the shared autonomous vehicle.

3. The method of claim 2 , wherein the storage instructions further include a time in which the shared autonomous vehicle should be moved to the storage depot.

4. The method of claim 1 , further including the step of:
causing the shared autonomous vehicle to be autonomously moved to a location of the user after the causing of the storage compartment to be moved from the storage space to the shared autonomous vehicle.

5. The method of claim 1 , wherein the storage parameters further include a particular storage space within the storage depot for storage of the storage compartment.

6. The method of claim 1 , further including the step of:
sending the determined one or more storage instructions to a computing system at the storage depot, the computing system at the storage depot communicatively linked to one or more robots.

7. The method of claim 6 , wherein the causing the storage compartment to be moved from the storage space to the shared autonomous vehicle includes causing the one or more robots to move the storage compartment from the storage space to the shared autonomous vehicle.

8. The method of claim 7 , further including the step of:
adjusting at least one of a vehicle window and a vehicle door to allow the one or more robots access to the storage compartment.

9. A system for managing personal storage for a shared autonomous vehicle, the system comprising:
one or more processors communicatively linked to at least one remote computing system at a storage depot, the one or more processors being programmed to initiate executable operations comprising:
responsive to receiving a storage request from a user device including identification information for at least one of a user and an associated storage compartment, determining one or more storage parameters, the one or more storage parameters including a storage depot;
determining one or more storage instructions based on the determined one or more storage parameters, the storage instructions including instructions to move the associated storage compartment from a storage space to an autonomous vehicle;
causing the shared autonomous vehicle to be autonomously moved to the storage depot based on the one or more storage parameters;
causing the associated storage compartment to be moved from the storage space to the shared autonomous vehicle based on the storage instructions; and
responsive to receiving a user destination request from the user device, the user destination request including a user destination and a user pick up location, causing the shared autonomous vehicle to be autonomously moved to the user destination,
wherein the storage depot, the user destination, and the user pick up location are all at different locations.

10. The system of claim 9 , wherein the one or more processors includes a processor of the shared autonomous vehicle.

11. The system of claim 9 , wherein the one or more processors includes a cloud-based processor.

12. The system of claim 9 , further including one or more robots, the one or more robots being configured to move the storage compartment to be moved from the storage space to the shared autonomous vehicle in response to the executable operations initiated by the one or more processors.

13. A method of managing personal storage for a shared autonomous vehicle, the method comprising:
receiving, by one or more computing devices, a storage request and a user destination request from a user device, the storage request including identification information for at least one of a user and an associated storage compartment, and the user destination request including a user destination and a user pick up location, the user destination and the user pick up location having different locations;
responsive to receiving the storage request, determining one or more storage parameters, the one or more storage parameters including a storage depot, the storage depot being located at a different location than that of the user destination and the user pick up location;
determining one or more storage instructions based on the determined one or more storage parameters, the storage instructions including instructions to move the associated storage compartment from the shared autonomous vehicle to a storage space;
causing the shared autonomous vehicle to be autonomously moved to the storage depot based on the one or more storage parameters;
causing the associated storage compartment to be moved from the shared autonomous vehicle to the storage space based on the storage instructions; and
causing the shared autonomous vehicle to be autonomously moved to the user destination.

14. The method of claim 13 , wherein the storage instructions further include a location of the storage depot and the method further includes sending the determined one or more storage instructions to the shared autonomous vehicle.

15. The method of claim 13 , wherein the storage instructions further include a time in which the shared autonomous vehicle should be routed to the storage depot.

16. The method of claim 13 , further including the step of:
causing the shared autonomous vehicle to be autonomously moved to a location of the user after the causing the storage compartment to be moved from the storage space to the shared autonomous vehicle.

17. The method of claim 13 , wherein the storage parameters further include a particular storage space within the storage depot for storage of the storage compartment.

18. The method of claim 13 , wherein the causing the storage compartment to be moved from the shared autonomous vehicle to the storage space includes causing one or more robots to move the storage compartment from the shared autonomous vehicle to the storage space.

19. The method of claim 18 , further including the step of:
adjusting at least one of a vehicle window and a vehicle door to allow the one or more robots access to the storage compartment.

Assignees

• Toyota Eng & Mfg North America

Inventors

• James Michael R

Classifications

• G06Q10/00

  Administration; Management · CPC title

• B60R7/00

  Stowing or holding appliances inside vehicle primarily intended for personal property smaller than suit-cases, e.g. travelling articles, or maps (for radio sets, television sets, telephones or the like, mounting of cameras operative during drive, tools, or spare parts B60R11/00; for receptacles for refuse, food, beverages, cigarettes B60N) · CPC title

• G06Q2240/00

  Transportation facility access, e.g. fares, tolls or parking · CPC title

• G06Q10/08

  Logistics, e.g. warehousing, loading or distribution; Inventory or stock management · CPC title

• G05D1/0088 Primary

  characterized by the autonomous decision making process, e.g. artificial intelligence, predefined behaviours (using knowledge based models G06N5/00) · CPC title