US20110202393A1 - Integrated system and method for car pooling using smart cards, gps, gprs, active poster and near field communication devices - Google Patents

Integrated system and method for car pooling using smart cards, gps, gprs, active poster and near field communication devices Download PDF

Info

Publication number
US20110202393A1
US20110202393A1 US12/908,912 US90891210A US2011202393A1 US 20110202393 A1 US20110202393 A1 US 20110202393A1 US 90891210 A US90891210 A US 90891210A US 2011202393 A1 US2011202393 A1 US 2011202393A1
Authority
US
United States
Prior art keywords
vehicle
user
active poster
host computer
journey
Prior art date
Legal status (The legal status is an assumption and is not a legal conclusion. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation as to the accuracy of the status listed.)
Abandoned
Application number
US12/908,912
Inventor
Sunny Ramaswamy Dewakar
Hemanth Kashyap Karri
Kishor Dynandeo Narkhede
Parveen Kumar Chaudhary
Current Assignee (The listed assignees may be inaccurate. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation or warranty as to the accuracy of the list.)
CELLULAR EXPRESS Inc dba XIUS-BCGI
XIUS CORP FKA CELLULAR EXPRESS Inc
Cellular Express Inc
Original Assignee
Cellular Express Inc
Priority date (The priority date is an assumption and is not a legal conclusion. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation as to the accuracy of the date listed.)
Filing date
Publication date
Application filed by Cellular Express Inc filed Critical Cellular Express Inc
Priority to US12/908,912 priority Critical patent/US20110202393A1/en
Assigned to CELLULAR EXPRESS, INC., DBA XIUS-BCGI reassignment CELLULAR EXPRESS, INC., DBA XIUS-BCGI ASSIGNMENT OF ASSIGNORS INTEREST (SEE DOCUMENT FOR DETAILS). Assignors: CHAUDHARY, PARVEEN KUMAR, DEWAKAR, SUNNY RAMASWAMY, KARRI, HEMANTH KASHYAP, NARKHEDE, KISHOR DYNANDEO
Assigned to XIUS CORP. FKA CELLULAR EXPRESS, INC. reassignment XIUS CORP. FKA CELLULAR EXPRESS, INC. ASSIGNMENT OF ASSIGNORS INTEREST (SEE DOCUMENT FOR DETAILS). Assignors: FERNANDEZ, ROCKY ANTHONY
Publication of US20110202393A1 publication Critical patent/US20110202393A1/en
Abandoned legal-status Critical Current

Links

Images

Classifications

    • G—PHYSICS
    • G06—COMPUTING; CALCULATING OR COUNTING
    • G06Q—INFORMATION AND COMMUNICATION TECHNOLOGY [ICT] SPECIALLY ADAPTED FOR ADMINISTRATIVE, COMMERCIAL, FINANCIAL, MANAGERIAL OR SUPERVISORY PURPOSES; SYSTEMS OR METHODS SPECIALLY ADAPTED FOR ADMINISTRATIVE, COMMERCIAL, FINANCIAL, MANAGERIAL OR SUPERVISORY PURPOSES, NOT OTHERWISE PROVIDED FOR
    • G06Q20/00—Payment architectures, schemes or protocols
    • G06Q20/30—Payment architectures, schemes or protocols characterised by the use of specific devices or networks
    • G06Q20/32—Payment architectures, schemes or protocols characterised by the use of specific devices or networks using wireless devices
    • G06Q20/327—Short range or proximity payments by means of M-devices
    • G06Q20/3278—RFID or NFC payments by means of M-devices
    • G—PHYSICS
    • G06—COMPUTING; CALCULATING OR COUNTING
    • G06Q—INFORMATION AND COMMUNICATION TECHNOLOGY [ICT] SPECIALLY ADAPTED FOR ADMINISTRATIVE, COMMERCIAL, FINANCIAL, MANAGERIAL OR SUPERVISORY PURPOSES; SYSTEMS OR METHODS SPECIALLY ADAPTED FOR ADMINISTRATIVE, COMMERCIAL, FINANCIAL, MANAGERIAL OR SUPERVISORY PURPOSES, NOT OTHERWISE PROVIDED FOR
    • G06Q20/00—Payment architectures, schemes or protocols
    • G06Q20/08—Payment architectures
    • G06Q20/10—Payment architectures specially adapted for electronic funds transfer [EFT] systems; specially adapted for home banking systems
    • G06Q20/102—Bill distribution or payments
    • G—PHYSICS
    • G06—COMPUTING; CALCULATING OR COUNTING
    • G06Q—INFORMATION AND COMMUNICATION TECHNOLOGY [ICT] SPECIALLY ADAPTED FOR ADMINISTRATIVE, COMMERCIAL, FINANCIAL, MANAGERIAL OR SUPERVISORY PURPOSES; SYSTEMS OR METHODS SPECIALLY ADAPTED FOR ADMINISTRATIVE, COMMERCIAL, FINANCIAL, MANAGERIAL OR SUPERVISORY PURPOSES, NOT OTHERWISE PROVIDED FOR
    • G06Q20/00—Payment architectures, schemes or protocols
    • G06Q20/08—Payment architectures
    • G06Q20/10—Payment architectures specially adapted for electronic funds transfer [EFT] systems; specially adapted for home banking systems
    • G06Q20/105—Payment architectures specially adapted for electronic funds transfer [EFT] systems; specially adapted for home banking systems involving programming of a portable memory device, e.g. IC cards, "electronic purses"
    • G—PHYSICS
    • G06—COMPUTING; CALCULATING OR COUNTING
    • G06Q—INFORMATION AND COMMUNICATION TECHNOLOGY [ICT] SPECIALLY ADAPTED FOR ADMINISTRATIVE, COMMERCIAL, FINANCIAL, MANAGERIAL OR SUPERVISORY PURPOSES; SYSTEMS OR METHODS SPECIALLY ADAPTED FOR ADMINISTRATIVE, COMMERCIAL, FINANCIAL, MANAGERIAL OR SUPERVISORY PURPOSES, NOT OTHERWISE PROVIDED FOR
    • G06Q20/00—Payment architectures, schemes or protocols
    • G06Q20/08—Payment architectures
    • G06Q20/20—Point-of-sale [POS] network systems
    • G06Q20/202—Interconnection or interaction of plural electronic cash registers [ECR] or to host computer, e.g. network details, transfer of information from host to ECR or from ECR to ECR
    • G—PHYSICS
    • G06—COMPUTING; CALCULATING OR COUNTING
    • G06Q—INFORMATION AND COMMUNICATION TECHNOLOGY [ICT] SPECIALLY ADAPTED FOR ADMINISTRATIVE, COMMERCIAL, FINANCIAL, MANAGERIAL OR SUPERVISORY PURPOSES; SYSTEMS OR METHODS SPECIALLY ADAPTED FOR ADMINISTRATIVE, COMMERCIAL, FINANCIAL, MANAGERIAL OR SUPERVISORY PURPOSES, NOT OTHERWISE PROVIDED FOR
    • G06Q20/00—Payment architectures, schemes or protocols
    • G06Q20/30—Payment architectures, schemes or protocols characterised by the use of specific devices or networks
    • G06Q20/32—Payment architectures, schemes or protocols characterised by the use of specific devices or networks using wireless devices
    • G06Q20/322—Aspects of commerce using mobile devices [M-devices]
    • G06Q20/3223—Realising banking transactions through M-devices
    • G—PHYSICS
    • G06—COMPUTING; CALCULATING OR COUNTING
    • G06Q—INFORMATION AND COMMUNICATION TECHNOLOGY [ICT] SPECIALLY ADAPTED FOR ADMINISTRATIVE, COMMERCIAL, FINANCIAL, MANAGERIAL OR SUPERVISORY PURPOSES; SYSTEMS OR METHODS SPECIALLY ADAPTED FOR ADMINISTRATIVE, COMMERCIAL, FINANCIAL, MANAGERIAL OR SUPERVISORY PURPOSES, NOT OTHERWISE PROVIDED FOR
    • G06Q20/00—Payment architectures, schemes or protocols
    • G06Q20/30—Payment architectures, schemes or protocols characterised by the use of specific devices or networks
    • G06Q20/32—Payment architectures, schemes or protocols characterised by the use of specific devices or networks using wireless devices
    • G06Q20/325—Payment architectures, schemes or protocols characterised by the use of specific devices or networks using wireless devices using wireless networks
    • G—PHYSICS
    • G06—COMPUTING; CALCULATING OR COUNTING
    • G06Q—INFORMATION AND COMMUNICATION TECHNOLOGY [ICT] SPECIALLY ADAPTED FOR ADMINISTRATIVE, COMMERCIAL, FINANCIAL, MANAGERIAL OR SUPERVISORY PURPOSES; SYSTEMS OR METHODS SPECIALLY ADAPTED FOR ADMINISTRATIVE, COMMERCIAL, FINANCIAL, MANAGERIAL OR SUPERVISORY PURPOSES, NOT OTHERWISE PROVIDED FOR
    • G06Q30/00—Commerce
    • G06Q30/06—Buying, selling or leasing transactions
    • G06Q30/0601—Electronic shopping [e-shopping]
    • H—ELECTRICITY
    • H04—ELECTRIC COMMUNICATION TECHNIQUE
    • H04W—WIRELESS COMMUNICATION NETWORKS
    • H04W4/00—Services specially adapted for wireless communication networks; Facilities therefor
    • H04W4/80—Services using short range communication, e.g. near-field communication [NFC], radio-frequency identification [RFID] or low energy communication

Definitions

  • the Present invention relates to a method and integrated system for efficient management of car pooling using Smart Cards, GPS, GPRS, near field communication devices, and active poster technology. More particularly, disclosed is a method and integrated system of car pooling which provides a simple and practical solution which facilitates and encourages car owners to share their cars with other car owners, thereby resulting in fewer numbers of cars on the city roads.
  • Active Poster A ‘touch-n-display unit’ that enables mobile subscribers with CL SIMs or other types of RFID units in their handsets or (in the case of standalone RFID units) carried separately, to conduct mobile transactions like prepaid recharge, bill payment, etc.
  • the Active Poster technology is present in the vehicle with an in-vehicle GPS/AVL unit.
  • AP/PS Unit or AP/GSM/AVL Unit: The unit or units which are present in the vehicle which combine the Active Poster technology with GPS/AVL capability.
  • AVL Automatic Vehicle Location which is based on Global Positioning System to track distance traveled and monitors the location of the Car.
  • CL SIM/(U) SIM/R-UIM one of the embodiments of the invention refers to: (a) SIM-2G/2.5 GSM/GPRS/EDGE networks, a SIM compatible with 2G or 2G and 2.5 G networks, which uses one or both of GPRS or EDGE networks; or (b) (U) SIM-3G WCDMA: A SIM which uses the CDMA network, and may be compatible with 3G or both 3 and 4G networks; or (c) R-UIM-CDMA 1x/1RTT & CDMA EV-DO, another type of CDMA-compatible SIM, used in phones compatible with both GSM and CDMA networks.
  • Smart Card Reader Device which reads the device ID of the Smart Card and transmits the device ID to the AP.
  • the device ID is registered with the associated User's account in the Host Computer.
  • Central Agency Central office, where the administration of the PCCS is located. Typically the Host Computer would be located at the Central Agency.
  • Seeker A person who shares the journey with the owner.
  • GPS Global positioning system, the well-known system to allow mobile devices to determine their location.
  • GPS or GPS/AVL unit In-vehicle device which incorporates GPS and AVL technology, as known in the art.
  • GPRS General Packet Radio Service
  • Internet through SIM card allows mobile devices to access the Internet
  • Host Computer The computer system containing the PCCS-specific logic which contains or can access the User accounts and account values (“points” as described in Section 5) and other logic to enable the carpooling functions described.
  • PCCS Pan City Carpool System described in this Application and introduced in Section 4.
  • Seeker A person who shares the journey with the Giver using the car pooling system described in this Application.
  • CL SIM Compact Disc
  • RFID wafer or standard RFID or NFC enabled card, which contains a device ID which is associated with the User's account in the Host Computer.
  • the AVL device uses GPS to track distance traveled and monitors the location of the vehicle.
  • the AVL unit could use other available technologies to ascertain location such as cell tower triangulation.
  • MRTS mass rapid transit system
  • Traffic congestion has several impacts, the main ones being:
  • This invention proposes a Pan-City Carpool System (PCCS) to reduce traffic congestion and vehicular pollution.
  • PCCS Pan-City Carpool System
  • the PCCS supplements the public transport system and provides significant diversification benefit against any disruption in public transport due to a terrorist attack or labor unrest.
  • PCCS system described here can be implemented in any large urban area of the world where cars are used as a major mode of transport.
  • the road space saved from cars can be utilized to deploy additional buses, thereby strengthening the MRTS.
  • the invention saves wear and tear on vehicles and also reduces driving stress for motorists.
  • the invention also offers social/economical networking opportunities to participants.
  • the pressure on the city government to widen roads, construct more parking lots, and increase costly MRTS capacity would also decrease.
  • the Federal government also benefits in terms of reduced oil subsidies (if applicable) and reduced oil imports.
  • the place and time of gathering in the morning as well as in the evening is also predetermined.
  • Each member benefits as he/she plies his/her car for just one day in a week but receives car transport for all five days.
  • a partner not possessing a car shares fuel expenses with other partners.
  • PCCS Pan-City Carpool System
  • Unreasonable consistency demand The micro carpool expects its members to have a rigid and repetitive travel plan every day, because both in morning and evening, the pool car would be available only at a predetermined place and time. If any member has a change in his/her schedule on a particular day because of any official/social/personal commitment, he/she has to arrange for an alternate mode of transport. The member who on a particular day has his/her turn to ply the car feels particularly compelled to not change his travel schedule on that day, as any such change will put other members to a lot of inconvenience.
  • a carpool partner may reasonably have travel needs during day time for which his ‘work-home’ carpool offers no assistance. Similarly, a carpool partner who has a different-from-regular travel destination on some days gets no help from his rigid carpool. Little wonder that people who have changing destinations or day-time travel needs (such as marketing/audit/inspection personnel) do not participate in a carpool.
  • the proposed PCCS suffers from none of the above limitations/drawbacks/shortcomings of the ‘micro’ carpool.
  • the PCCS is based on a “many-to-many” barter and dynamic matching concept, wherein a member (playing the role of a Seeker) can take a ride from any other member (who is playing the role of a Giver) and return the ride to any member, not necessarily to the same member from whom the ride was availed.
  • This flexible arrangement places MCCS within an entirely different paradigm from a Micro Carpool, and significantly increases the chance of making successful ride-sharing matches.
  • the present invention enables the following functionality.
  • a typical city resident commuting to work in his car usually drives about 60-100 kilometer per day, or 2000 kilometers in a month.
  • PCCS By participating in PCCS, he can reasonably save at least 50% of his driving, or 1000 kilometers in a month.
  • Intangible benefits to Users reduced driving stress, social networking opportunities, etc.
  • gains to society in terms of reduced pollution, travel time are also present.
  • the present invention provides a simple and practicable method to facilitate and encourage car owners to share their cars with other car owners, thereby resulting in fewer numbers of cars plying city roads.
  • private cars are causing traffic congestion by inefficiently using the limited road space—the cars are typically carrying only one to two commuters against a capacity of 5 or more (a low 20 to 40% capacity utilization).
  • the present invention treats the available spare capacity in cars as an opportunity to provide a transport solution—whereby 3-4 motorists, instead of traveling in separate cars, accommodate themselves in one car, especially during peak hours.
  • the invention aims to increase the capacity utilization (also called load factor) of cars to 60-80% and in the process take at least 50% cars off the road.
  • the present invention integrates various technologies thereby incorporating a new methodology for car pooling using GPS, GPRS, Active Poster technology, smart card technology, a software application and near field communication devices, which working together allow the Car Pool Administration team to:
  • FIG. 1 illustrates a the system architecture, generic relationships and roles in connection with the invention.
  • FIG. 2 illustrates schematically an overview of the management of the PCCS by the Central Agency.
  • FIGS. 3-14 illustrate the options of a User for accessing the Internet interface for the Active Poster enabled functionality PCCS.
  • FIG. 3 illustrates the front page for the PCCS User interface.
  • FIG. 4 illustrates the User Management page for the PCCS User interface.
  • FIG. 5 illustrates the Pool Grouping according to one embodiment of the invention.
  • FIG. 6 illustrates View Profile and Vehicle Tracking according to one embodiment of the invention.
  • FIG. 8 illustrates the Car Pooling page enabled in PCCS according to one embodiment of the invention.
  • FIG. 9 illustrates the Accessories page.
  • FIG. 10 illustrates the Mall Services page in PCCS according to one embodiment of the invention.
  • FIG. 11 illustrates the Multimedia page in PCCS according to one embodiment of the invention
  • FIG. 12 illustrates the Value Added Services page in PCCS according to one embodiment of the invention.
  • FIG. 13 illustrates the Brightness page in PCCS according to one embodiment of the invention.
  • FIG. 14 illustrates the Panic page in PCCS according to one embodiment of the invention.
  • FIG. 15-18 illustrate process flow diagrams for the functioning of illustrative use cases for Carpooling and other Active-Poster-enabled options for the User.
  • the present invention deals with a method for, and the integration and management of, a pan-city car pool system (PCCS) in any urban area or city for tracking the boarding and alighting of passengers, the monitoring of cars, the assigning of trips, and for billing the end customer/commuter using GPS, GPRS, RFID, Smart Cards, Active Posters, etc
  • PCCS pan-city car pool system
  • a GPS based Online Automatic Vehicle Location (AVL) device in each vehicle called the Vehicle Mounted Unit (VMU) to track distance travelled and monitor the location of the vehicle.
  • VMU Vehicle Mounted Unit
  • This is a standard vehicle mounted GPS based AVL unit available in the commercial market. It is however further customized per the specifications for and requirements of the PCCS.
  • the GPS/AVL unit is specifically customized to incorporate Active Poster technology.
  • the Active Poster technology is further customized to allow the tracking and management or carpool rides involving Users (Givers and Seekers) in connection with the PCCS.
  • the AVL/GPS/AP also known as the VMU
  • the AVL/GPS/AP is installed in a central location within the passenger compartment of the car so that Users can easily swipe their Smart Cards. The driver can also help the back passengers swipe the card.
  • a remote pad (wireless pad) can be enabled as described below.
  • Smart Cards distributed to the Users which provide secure and trusted transactions.
  • These Smart Cards can be used in the mobile handsets with two contactless system arrangements. The first is with Near Field Communication enabled mobile handsets and secondly with Contactless SIM (Dual-architecture) for existing handsets without NFC.
  • Smart Cards may be incorporated into standalone RFID-enabled wafers or NFC enabled smart cards which are known in the art.
  • a proximity enabled Contactless Smart Card Reader to track boarding and alighting of Users.
  • the invention uses front-end certified contactless card readers, which are commercially available and typically adapted for different operating environments like retail, self service, transportation, leisure and corporate campuses/business parks. These readers are capable of interfacing with various application specific equipments like POS terminals, vending machines, copiers, pay phones, parking meters, electronically controlled gates/turnstiles, etc.
  • the Smart Card Reader in this invention in one embodiment, refers to NFC (near field communication) technology being used in a “hand held remote” device at which Users tap (bring into close proximity) their access Smart Card's.
  • the hand held remote device is merely a remote wireless (or even wired) pad in the vehicle which is in communication with the in-vehicle AP/GPS VMU.
  • Users can “swipe” their Smart Cards where the reader is enabled with a swipe device.
  • the connection between the smart card and the smart card reader is NFC or via a swipe depending on the method enabled.
  • the connection between the Smart Card Reader and the GPS/AP may be hardwired, or using a wireless method such as NFC or other wireless method as is known in the art.
  • an RF Transmitter which is coupled via NFC or RF to the AVL/GPS/AP unit, which is part of a wireless User input and display pad (wirelsss pad), for use inside the vehicle, and this is used to communicate with the RF Receiver that which part of the AVL/GPS/AP car pooling unit.
  • the Smart Card Reader and wireless pad user interface functions can be combined into a single device as described above, but that need not be configured this way. Both the Smart Card Reader function as well as the user interface could be incorporated directly onto the GPS/AP unit, or one or both functions can be moved to a remote-but-still-in-vehicle wireless pad or Smart Card Reader unit as described above. Interface between the Smart Card and the Smart Card Reader is via an NFC communication session between the Smart Card and the Smart Card Reader, or, alternatively, it can be done via a card swipe, if the Smart Card Reader is equipped with a card swipe reader. References to “tapping” a Smart Card indicate bringing the card into sufficiently close proximity with the NFC receiving device.
  • the AVL/GPS unit will either incorporate or have alongside or otherwise be in communication with Active Poster (AP) technology for viewing various services offered to the registered PCCS Users and interacting online
  • the AP is a ‘touch-n-display unit’, which includes a terminal device (such as a wireless pad as described above) where users with Smart Cards can tap on, swipe, (or otherwise bring their Smart Cards into close proximity with) the AP-technology enabled device to carry out a transaction for a telecom or non-telecom application they have registered for and activated by their MNO, carpooling service provider or other service provider, as enabled by the Host Computer.
  • the Smart Card may be in the Users' mobile handset, or it may be a standalone RFID device consisting of a wafer or smart card enabled with an RFID device.
  • the Active Poster previously described in the '696 Application is made up of a thin, lightweight touch enabled 6′′/8′′/9.7′′/10′′ sized e-Paper, display or slim touch screen LCD display, printed RFID antenna and short range radio module encapsulated in a PET polymer substrate, to resemble a single poster.
  • the Active Poster in the embodiments described as part of the present invention is mounted in the car, either as part of or alongside or in communication with the AVL/GPS unit, is primarily a “Navigation Device/GPS” with a special software application residing on it, making the device function like an Active Poster enabling mobile commerce or merchandise transactions.
  • the AP uses GPRS connectivity (or other suitable session, communication or networking connectivity as known in the art) to connect bilaterally to the Central Agency servers (Host Computer) as well as 3rd party payment gateways.
  • the AP is able to request a confirmation from the User, such confirmation to be entered via the Users' mobile handset or other mobile device, and communicated either by NFC to the AP or via telecommunications directly back to the Host Computer (for example via SMS), in order to prompt for an additional security layer in the form of a pass code to be entered by the User into the User's handset.
  • the confirmation request may be relayed by the Host Computer to the AP (for example via GPRS) and then by the AP to the handset via NFC, or it may be relayed by the Host Computer to the mobile Handset via for example GSM or CDMA standard telecom signaling or GPRS data session, or CDMA telecom signaling as applicable.
  • the confirmation response is entered by the User into the User's mobile handset, and may be relayed by the mobile handset to the AP via NFC, and by the AP to the Host Computer via GPRS, or it may be relayed by the mobile handset to the Host Computer via above described methods. Communications from the Host compute to the mobile handset may be in fact performed as known in the art via the User's MNO infrastructure.
  • the Host Computer is networked with such infrastructure.
  • Another component of the present invention is a set of Central Agency functions. These include software and maps at the control room servers for monitoring the vehicle locations, creating member (User) cards, tracking the swipes of the cards and forwarding the card usage by car pool members to the billing system.
  • PCCS uses application software which has been developed in order to perform the functions of the present invention.
  • the software applications have been created using XML, Java and Java Servelet, for the control room software.
  • a fleet management panel to enter vehicle data, documentation data and other normal use cases.
  • a tracking panel which is used to track vehicles, creates a trip for a vehicle, closes a trip for a vehicle and in general tracks vehicle schedule adherence.
  • a link from this panel opens the vehicle tracking view, which is both text based and map based. One can see the vehicle move on the map.
  • a number of reports can be generated using the application as described below:
  • a GIS search tool which allows the central agency or control room to determine the nearest tracked vehicle to a known location.
  • a swipe tracking tool to get the passenger entry and exit points thereby calculating the distance.
  • Map viewer tools which allow you to see a vehicle position on a map.
  • Each tracker/dispatcher will have a phone connection. This is the nerve center of the entire system from an operations point of view.
  • the Central Agency or the control room may have a Virtual Private Network connection to the hosted server (Host Computer).
  • control room/call center is set up to monitor this and take requests from the commuters.
  • the IT architecture of control room requires at least one external static IP available for the Proxy Server so that all the VMUs communicate with this static IP.
  • the present invention harnesses the power of people for their collective as well as individual benefit. At the present technology levels, it works as follows in the case of a typical city (“PanCity”):
  • the Active Poster technology is a key component of the present invention.
  • a mobile commerce transaction can be undertaken in a vehicle for a purchased number of miles, using stored value credits as is known in the art for wireless prepaid systems.
  • the AP is replaced with a unit including similar functions and different appearances and is either incorporated within or works alongside and coupled with an AVL/GPS unit in the vehicle.
  • This is a “thick AP” embodiment, in the sense that the AP hardware technology, and not the User's mobile handset, communicates the carpool transaction to the Host Computer.
  • the PCCS may utilize either a NFC enabled wafer or a CL SIM enabled handset, or a Smart Card with NFC capability similar to that of a NFC enabled wafer.
  • the Smart Card may be in communication with the Smart Card Reader via a card swipe unit built into the Smart Card Reader.
  • Selection of the transaction is optionally via a wireless pad which is separate from the AP (GPS) unit, the latter being hard-mounted to the vehicle.
  • the wireless pad however can simply be thought of as an extension to the AP, which can be more easily operated from the back seat of the vehicle.
  • the AP gives the users high flexibility of vehicle tracking, online shopping, E-recharge etc. using a device located within the car.
  • the invention includes use of in-vehicle GPS hardware to perform vehicle location, Also, it includes suitable telecommunications capability for communications between the AP/GPS unit and the Central Agency/Host Computer, for example GSM, GPRS, or CDMA.
  • GSM Global System for Mobile communications
  • GPRS Global System for Mobile communications
  • CDMA Code Division Multiple Access
  • the invention may also include the use of, (i) Smart Card authentication via prompted pin entry (or yes/no acknowledgement for security) and (ii) display on the GPS/AP unit screen of a picture of the Seeker, both (i) and (ii) triggered by tapping the smart card onto the NFC-enabled GPS/AP unit, or on the NFC-enabled wireless pad, or, via swiping the Smart Card on a card swipe reader affixed to the wireless pad or the GPS/AP unit.
  • the foregoing are enabled in order to provide security for car owners.
  • the main screen When the AP device is turned on; on successful establishment of GPRS connection, the main screen is displayed.
  • the following features are accessible from the main screen:
  • Route info contains the following information about Ad Hoc Journey routes and Fixed Journey routes:
  • the user details of forward and reverse journey are displayed based on the choice.
  • Skip Carpool It facilitates Giver/Seeker to skip carpooling. Giver/Seeker can choose the duration during which he would not be available for carpooling. A calendar object is provided to choose the dates between which the Giver/Seeker would like to skip carpooling,
  • Plan Ad Hoc Journey In Plan Ad Hoc Journey, Giver can plan an Ad Hoc Journey .This page provides for entry of From Location and Landmark, To Location and Landmark and Date of Journey.
  • Dinning Out gives a list of restaurants located in the city
  • E-Payment Standard m-commerce payment transaction, for example recharge prepaid account, pay postpaid or utility account.
  • FastFood Triggers an application allowing food purchase from nearby restaurants.
  • the present invention has seven icons in a multimedia feature on the Active Poster, which are as follows:
  • VAS Value Added Services
  • Panic When User clicks on the Panic icon, it will open the panic page.
  • a distress signal is sent to the backend component of the Host Computer which would trigger an SMS message to the Central Agency pool manager and concerned authorities.
  • a log is registered in the backend component of the Host Computer and a confirmation SMS is sent to appropriate Giver/Seeker.
  • the present invention with all its embodiments and methodology using software applications helps the Central Agency or the control room in the administration and management of PCCS by efficiently locating cars at any given time, tracking the car pool member entry and exit time and distance traveled, assigning the nearest car to any car pool member on request, informing the car owners about the daily usage statistics, billing the car pool members based on the usage once monthly, providing an Internet view to registered individual customers/passengers in this transit system on their own billing and usage statistics.

Landscapes

  • Business, Economics & Management (AREA)
  • Accounting & Taxation (AREA)
  • Engineering & Computer Science (AREA)
  • Finance (AREA)
  • General Physics & Mathematics (AREA)
  • Theoretical Computer Science (AREA)
  • Strategic Management (AREA)
  • Physics & Mathematics (AREA)
  • General Business, Economics & Management (AREA)
  • Computer Networks & Wireless Communication (AREA)
  • Economics (AREA)
  • Development Economics (AREA)
  • Marketing (AREA)
  • Signal Processing (AREA)
  • Telephonic Communication Services (AREA)
  • Management, Administration, Business Operations System, And Electronic Commerce (AREA)
  • Telephone Function (AREA)

Abstract

A method, integrated system and in-vehicle Active Poster for processing mobile touch transactions including carpooling transactions. The integration includes a near field contactless or swipe smart card or other portable identification device which may be standalone, affixed to, or part of a mobile or hand held portable wireless communication device, a touch sensitive Active Poster also with swipe or near field contactless communication capability and also incorporating or in communication with GPS or other vehicle location services capability for the vehicle, a car pool management or other service provider's system and application and a host computer with networking capability.

Description

    1. CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS
  • This application is a Continuation in Part (CIP) of U.S. Non-Provisional Patent Application Ser.. No. 12/705,696, filed on Feb. 15, 2010, which is hereby incorporated by reference in its entirety for all purposes.
    • 2. FIELD OF INVENTION
  • The Present invention relates to a method and integrated system for efficient management of car pooling using Smart Cards, GPS, GPRS, near field communication devices, and active poster technology. More particularly, disclosed is a method and integrated system of car pooling which provides a simple and practical solution which facilitates and encourages car owners to share their cars with other car owners, thereby resulting in fewer numbers of cars on the city roads.
    • 3. DEFINITIONS, ABBREVIATIONS AND ACRONYMS
  • Active Poster: A ‘touch-n-display unit’ that enables mobile subscribers with CL SIMs or other types of RFID units in their handsets or (in the case of standalone RFID units) carried separately, to conduct mobile transactions like prepaid recharge, bill payment, etc. In the present invention the Active Poster technology is present in the vehicle with an in-vehicle GPS/AVL unit.
  • AP/PS Unit, or AP/GSM/AVL Unit: The unit or units which are present in the vehicle which combine the Active Poster technology with GPS/AVL capability.
  • AVL. Automatic Vehicle Location which is based on Global Positioning System to track distance traveled and monitors the location of the Car.
  • CL SIM Dual Chip Architecture: a ‘SIM Card’ form factor with an external antenna attached to two unused SIM contacts that works with existing handsets.
  • CL SIM/(U) SIM/R-UIM: one of the embodiments of the invention refers to: (a) SIM-2G/2.5 GSM/GPRS/EDGE networks, a SIM compatible with 2G or 2G and 2.5 G networks, which uses one or both of GPRS or EDGE networks; or (b) (U) SIM-3G WCDMA: A SIM which uses the CDMA network, and may be compatible with 3G or both 3 and 4G networks; or (c) R-UIM-CDMA 1x/1RTT & CDMA EV-DO, another type of CDMA-compatible SIM, used in phones compatible with both GSM and CDMA networks.
  • Card Reader or Smart Card Reader: Device which reads the device ID of the Smart Card and transmits the device ID to the AP. The device ID is registered with the associated User's account in the Host Computer.
  • Central Agency: Central office, where the administration of the PCCS is located. Typically the Host Computer would be located at the Central Agency.
  • Giver: A person who owns a car and uses his or her car to give a ride to a Seeker.
  • Seeker: A person who shares the journey with the owner.
  • GPS: Global positioning system, the well-known system to allow mobile devices to determine their location.
  • GPS or GPS/AVL unit: In-vehicle device which incorporates GPS and AVL technology, as known in the art.
  • GPRS: General Packet Radio Service; Internet through SIM card—allows mobile devices to access the Internet
  • Host Computer: The computer system containing the PCCS-specific logic which contains or can access the User accounts and account values (“points” as described in Section 5) and other logic to enable the carpooling functions described.
  • PCCS: Pan City Carpool System described in this Application and introduced in Section 4.
  • Seeker: A person who shares the journey with the Giver using the car pooling system described in this Application.
  • Smart Card: CL SIM, RFID wafer or standard RFID or NFC enabled card, which contains a device ID which is associated with the User's account in the Host Computer.
  • User: Giver or Seeker.
  • Vehicle Mounted Unit: The AVL device, uses GPS to track distance traveled and monitors the location of the vehicle. Alternatively the AVL unit could use other available technologies to ascertain location such as cell tower triangulation.
  • Acronym Meaning
  • AP Active Poster
  • CL SIM Contactless SIM
  • MNO Mobile Network Operator
  • MRTS Mass Rapid Transit System
  • NFC Near Field Communication
  • RF Radio Frequency
  • RFID Radio Frequency Identification Device
  • PCB Printed Circuit Board
    • 4. BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
  • Traffic congestion is among the top problems of big cities, not just in India but in most developed/developing countries. The problem is especially acute in cities which did not plan a mass rapid transit system (MRTS) during early stages of growth, but later have experienced unexpectedly high organic growth, by which time adequate space is not available to widen roads or set up MRTS solutions.
  • Traffic congestion has several impacts, the main ones being:
      • Loss of man hours in traffic snarls;
      • Loss of fuel, burnt in idling and crawling vehicles; and
      • Vehicular pollution.
  • This invention proposes a Pan-City Carpool System (PCCS) to reduce traffic congestion and vehicular pollution. In addition, the PCCS supplements the public transport system and provides significant diversification benefit against any disruption in public transport due to a terrorist attack or labor unrest.
  • The PCCS system described here can be implemented in any large urban area of the world where cars are used as a major mode of transport.
    • Benefits of the Invention.
  • The reduction in the number of cars plying the roads during peak hours, would decongest roads, increase traffic speed, and reduce fuel consumption. Another effect will be to reduce vehicular air pollution due to the combined effect of reduced number of vehicles and increased traffic speed. The road space saved from cars can be utilized to deploy additional buses, thereby strengthening the MRTS.
  • Additionally, the invention saves wear and tear on vehicles and also reduces driving stress for motorists. The invention also offers social/economical networking opportunities to participants. The pressure on the city government to widen roads, construct more parking lots, and increase costly MRTS capacity would also decrease. The Federal government also benefits in terms of reduced oil subsidies (if applicable) and reduced oil imports.
    • Existing Method—2 to 5 Member ‘Micro’ Carpools.
  • Present carpools (called ‘micro’ carpools to highlight the contrast with carpools using the invention as disclosed by and large operate in the following manner:
  • Car owners living in same/nearby/along-the-way localities working in same/nearby/along-the-way offices, having same timings of going to work and coming back, make an arrangement among themselves wherein they bring their cars on different week days by rotation. For example A, B, C, D, and E—five car owners living in Virginia, all working in ‘x’ place in 9.00 a.m. to 5.30 p.m. jobs make an arrangement among themselves as follows:
      • A plies his car on Monday and gives a ride to B, C, D and E while going to work and also while coming back home.
      • B, C, D and E similarly ply their cars, each on different day of the week and give ride to other members also on those days.
      • The turn of each member is pre-fixed and known to other members.
  • The place and time of gathering in the morning as well as in the evening is also predetermined. Each member benefits as he/she plies his/her car for just one day in a week but receives car transport for all five days.
  • A partner not possessing a car, shares fuel expenses with other partners. Similarly, a casual partner, who shares same travel needs once in a while, also shares fuel expenses of other partners proportionate to the travel facility availed.
    • Why the Existing ‘Micro’ Carpools Have Had Only Limited Success.
  • The present system of “microcarpools” has several drawbacks/shortcomings due to which car pooling has remain restricted in its spread, in spite of its significant benefits. As described later in this invention, the Pan-City Carpool System (PCCS) removes the shortcomings of a micropooling by removing its basic requirement of ‘consistent partners’ and thus makes a large-scale adoption of carpooling feasible for average car-owners.
  • The drawbacks/shortcomings of the existing method of micro carpools are as follows:
  • (i) Safety issue: Sharing a car with a stranger with unverified credentials can pose a risk to the life and property of a commuter. Therefore, unless the partners know each other well, they are hesitant to join a carpool.
  • (ii) It is difficult to find reliable partners with consistently matching travel needs: The present system requires someone interested in setting up a micro car-pool to find about 3 to 4 car-pool partners who:
  • a) are reliable in all respects;
  • b) have consistent and matching travel needs;
  • c) live in same/nearby/along-the-way localities;
  • d) have their work destination in same/nearby/along-the-way localities on a consistent basis; and
  • e) have timings of going to work as well as of coming back from work, which match with each other on a consistent basis.
  • The difficulty in finding such suitable partners is considerable and insurmountable for most people, especially because urban residents have limited social interactions outside of work situations. Only car owners who work in big organizations may be able to find suitable partners living in their locality and working in their organization, with some help from their HR/CSR departments.
  • There are websites which have been established during the last 3 to 4 years which are trying to set up carpools, but success of these websites has been limited. The carpool websites may never be able to adequately realize the potential of ridesharing, because they are promoting a fundamentally restrictive concept—micro carpools.
  • (iii) Unreasonable consistency demand: The micro carpool expects its members to have a rigid and repetitive travel plan every day, because both in morning and evening, the pool car would be available only at a predetermined place and time. If any member has a change in his/her schedule on a particular day because of any official/social/personal commitment, he/she has to arrange for an alternate mode of transport. The member who on a particular day has his/her turn to ply the car feels particularly compelled to not change his travel schedule on that day, as any such change will put other members to a lot of inconvenience.
  • (iv) No help for ‘during-the-day’ and different-from-regular travel destinations: A carpool partner may reasonably have travel needs during day time for which his ‘work-home’ carpool offers no assistance. Similarly, a carpool partner who has a different-from-regular travel destination on some days gets no help from his rigid carpool. Little wonder that people who have changing destinations or day-time travel needs (such as marketing/audit/inspection personnel) do not participate in a carpool.
  • (v) Feeling shortchanged: Members often end up feeling that they have given more rides than they have availed from other members.
    • The Benefits of the Present Invention.
  • The proposed PCCS suffers from none of the above limitations/drawbacks/shortcomings of the ‘micro’ carpool. The PCCS is based on a “many-to-many” barter and dynamic matching concept, wherein a member (playing the role of a Seeker) can take a ride from any other member (who is playing the role of a Giver) and return the ride to any member, not necessarily to the same member from whom the ride was availed. This flexible arrangement places MCCS within an entirely different paradigm from a Micro Carpool, and significantly increases the chance of making successful ride-sharing matches.
  • Other the above mentioned important benefits of the present invention are as follows:
  • Functionality Enabled. The present invention enables the following functionality.
  • 1. The ability to identify and inform the nearest potential Giver of vehicle requests from Seekers based on the distance from the Seeker;
  • 2. The ability to track the boarding and alighting of Seekers through the swipe of a card, and bill them using the distance traveled using GPS with a low margin of error;
  • 3. The creation of permanent routes and assigning Seekers who desire to use the cars of Givers daily, or, add Seeker passengers based upon calls received on an individual basis; and
  • 4. The ability to track carpooling usage and forward the required information for billing of car pool Users using a debit to the User's prepaid account as a payment method.
    • Fuel Savings.
  • A typical city resident commuting to work in his car, usually drives about 60-100 kilometer per day, or 2000 kilometers in a month. By participating in PCCS, he can reasonably save at least 50% of his driving, or 1000 kilometers in a month. Intangible benefits to Users (reduced driving stress, social networking opportunities, etc.) and gains to society in terms of reduced pollution, travel time are also present.
    • 5. SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
  • The present invention provides a simple and practicable method to facilitate and encourage car owners to share their cars with other car owners, thereby resulting in fewer numbers of cars plying city roads. As commonly experienced by any road user, private cars are causing traffic congestion by inefficiently using the limited road space—the cars are typically carrying only one to two commuters against a capacity of 5 or more (a low 20 to 40% capacity utilization). The present invention however treats the available spare capacity in cars as an opportunity to provide a transport solution—whereby 3-4 motorists, instead of traveling in separate cars, accommodate themselves in one car, especially during peak hours. In other words, the invention aims to increase the capacity utilization (also called load factor) of cars to 60-80% and in the process take at least 50% cars off the road. The present invention integrates various technologies thereby incorporating a new methodology for car pooling using GPS, GPRS, Active Poster technology, smart card technology, a software application and near field communication devices, which working together allow the Car Pool Administration team to:
      • Locate cars at any given time;
      • Track the car pool member (Seeker) entry and exit time and distance traveled;
      • Assign the nearest car to any car pool member (Seeker) on request
      • Inform the car owners (Givers) about their daily usage statistics
      • Bill the car pool members (Users) based on their usage as Givers and Seekers once monthly
      • Provide Internet access to registered individual customers/ passengers (Users) on their own billing and usage statistics.
    6. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
  • FIG. 1 illustrates a the system architecture, generic relationships and roles in connection with the invention.
  • FIG. 2 illustrates schematically an overview of the management of the PCCS by the Central Agency.
  • FIGS. 3-14 illustrate the options of a User for accessing the Internet interface for the Active Poster enabled functionality PCCS.
  • FIG. 3 illustrates the front page for the PCCS User interface.
  • FIG. 4 illustrates the User Management page for the PCCS User interface.
  • FIG. 5 illustrates the Pool Grouping according to one embodiment of the invention.
  • FIG. 6 illustrates View Profile and Vehicle Tracking according to one embodiment of the invention.
  • FIG. 7 illustrates the Main Page for the carpooling functionality enabled in PCCS.
  • FIG. 8 illustrates the Car Pooling page enabled in PCCS according to one embodiment of the invention.
  • FIG. 9 illustrates the Accessories page.
  • FIG. 10 illustrates the Mall Services page in PCCS according to one embodiment of the invention.
  • FIG. 11 illustrates the Multimedia page in PCCS according to one embodiment of the invention
  • FIG. 12 illustrates the Value Added Services page in PCCS according to one embodiment of the invention.
  • FIG. 13 illustrates the Brightness page in PCCS according to one embodiment of the invention.
  • FIG. 14 illustrates the Panic page in PCCS according to one embodiment of the invention.
  • FIG. 15-18 illustrate process flow diagrams for the functioning of illustrative use cases for Carpooling and other Active-Poster-enabled options for the User.
    •  7. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
  • The present invention deals with a method for, and the integration and management of, a pan-city car pool system (PCCS) in any urban area or city for tracking the boarding and alighting of passengers, the monitoring of cars, the assigning of trips, and for billing the end customer/commuter using GPS, GPRS, RFID, Smart Cards, Active Posters, etc
  • The integration, method and implementation of the present invention of a PCCS for management, vehicle tracking and member billing service incorporate the following components:
    • I. Description of the Components. 1. AVL/GPS/AP Unit.
  • A GPS based Online Automatic Vehicle Location (AVL) device in each vehicle called the Vehicle Mounted Unit (VMU) to track distance travelled and monitor the location of the vehicle. This is a standard vehicle mounted GPS based AVL unit available in the commercial market. It is however further customized per the specifications for and requirements of the PCCS. The GPS/AVL unit is specifically customized to incorporate Active Poster technology. The Active Poster technology is further customized to allow the tracking and management or carpool rides involving Users (Givers and Seekers) in connection with the PCCS.
  • The AVL/GPS/AP (also known as the VMU) is installed in a central location within the passenger compartment of the car so that Users can easily swipe their Smart Cards. The driver can also help the back passengers swipe the card.
  • Alternatively, a remote pad (wireless pad) can be enabled as described below.
    • 2. Smart Card and Smart Card Reader.
  • a. Smart Cards.
  • State of art smart card technology is used in the Smart Cards (distributed to the Users) which provide secure and trusted transactions. These Smart Cards can be used in the mobile handsets with two contactless system arrangements. The first is with Near Field Communication enabled mobile handsets and secondly with Contactless SIM (Dual-architecture) for existing handsets without NFC. Alternatively, Smart Cards may be incorporated into standalone RFID-enabled wafers or NFC enabled smart cards which are known in the art.
  • b. Smart Card Reader.
  • A proximity enabled Contactless Smart Card Reader to track boarding and alighting of Users. The invention uses front-end certified contactless card readers, which are commercially available and typically adapted for different operating environments like retail, self service, transportation, leisure and corporate campuses/business parks. These readers are capable of interfacing with various application specific equipments like POS terminals, vending machines, copiers, pay phones, parking meters, electronically controlled gates/turnstiles, etc. The Smart Card Reader in this invention, in one embodiment, refers to NFC (near field communication) technology being used in a “hand held remote” device at which Users tap (bring into close proximity) their access Smart Card's. The hand held remote device is merely a remote wireless (or even wired) pad in the vehicle which is in communication with the in-vehicle AP/GPS VMU. Alternatively, Users can “swipe” their Smart Cards where the reader is enabled with a swipe device. The connection between the smart card and the smart card reader is NFC or via a swipe depending on the method enabled. The connection between the Smart Card Reader and the GPS/AP may be hardwired, or using a wireless method such as NFC or other wireless method as is known in the art.
  • In one embodiment of the invention, an RF Transmitter which is coupled via NFC or RF to the AVL/GPS/AP unit, which is part of a wireless User input and display pad (wirelsss pad), for use inside the vehicle, and this is used to communicate with the RF Receiver that which part of the AVL/GPS/AP car pooling unit. This enables a convenient user interface to perform operations from within the vehicle without all passengers needing to reach over to the dashboard or other single location within the vehicle passenger compartment.
  • The Smart Card Reader and wireless pad user interface functions can be combined into a single device as described above, but that need not be configured this way. Both the Smart Card Reader function as well as the user interface could be incorporated directly onto the GPS/AP unit, or one or both functions can be moved to a remote-but-still-in-vehicle wireless pad or Smart Card Reader unit as described above. Interface between the Smart Card and the Smart Card Reader is via an NFC communication session between the Smart Card and the Smart Card Reader, or, alternatively, it can be done via a card swipe, if the Smart Card Reader is equipped with a card swipe reader. References to “tapping” a Smart Card indicate bringing the card into sufficiently close proximity with the NFC receiving device.
  • 3. AP Technology Incorporated into the AVL/GPS Unit.
  • The AVL/GPS unit will either incorporate or have alongside or otherwise be in communication with Active Poster (AP) technology for viewing various services offered to the registered PCCS Users and interacting online The AP is a ‘touch-n-display unit’, which includes a terminal device (such as a wireless pad as described above) where users with Smart Cards can tap on, swipe, (or otherwise bring their Smart Cards into close proximity with) the AP-technology enabled device to carry out a transaction for a telecom or non-telecom application they have registered for and activated by their MNO, carpooling service provider or other service provider, as enabled by the Host Computer.
  • The Smart Card may be in the Users' mobile handset, or it may be a standalone RFID device consisting of a wafer or smart card enabled with an RFID device.
  • The Active Poster previously described in the '696 Application is made up of a thin, lightweight touch enabled 6″/8″/9.7″/10″ sized e-Paper, display or slim touch screen LCD display, printed RFID antenna and short range radio module encapsulated in a PET polymer substrate, to resemble a single poster.
  • The Active Poster in the embodiments described as part of the present invention, is mounted in the car, either as part of or alongside or in communication with the AVL/GPS unit, is primarily a “Navigation Device/GPS” with a special software application residing on it, making the device function like an Active Poster enabling mobile commerce or merchandise transactions. The AP uses GPRS connectivity (or other suitable session, communication or networking connectivity as known in the art) to connect bilaterally to the Central Agency servers (Host Computer) as well as 3rd party payment gateways.
  • In particular, the AP is able to request a confirmation from the User, such confirmation to be entered via the Users' mobile handset or other mobile device, and communicated either by NFC to the AP or via telecommunications directly back to the Host Computer (for example via SMS), in order to prompt for an additional security layer in the form of a pass code to be entered by the User into the User's handset.
  • The confirmation request may be relayed by the Host Computer to the AP (for example via GPRS) and then by the AP to the handset via NFC, or it may be relayed by the Host Computer to the mobile Handset via for example GSM or CDMA standard telecom signaling or GPRS data session, or CDMA telecom signaling as applicable. The confirmation response is entered by the User into the User's mobile handset, and may be relayed by the mobile handset to the AP via NFC, and by the AP to the Host Computer via GPRS, or it may be relayed by the mobile handset to the Host Computer via above described methods. Communications from the Host compute to the mobile handset may be in fact performed as known in the art via the User's MNO infrastructure. The Host Computer is networked with such infrastructure.
    • 4. Central Agency.
  • Another component of the present invention is a set of Central Agency functions. These include software and maps at the control room servers for monitoring the vehicle locations, creating member (User) cards, tracking the swipes of the cards and forwarding the card usage by car pool members to the billing system.
  • PCCS uses application software which has been developed in order to perform the functions of the present invention. The software applications have been created using XML, Java and Java Servelet, for the control room software.
  • The applications have the following features that meet the requirements of PCCS:
  • a. A fleet management panel to enter vehicle data, documentation data and other normal use cases.
  • b. A tracking panel, which is used to track vehicles, creates a trip for a vehicle, closes a trip for a vehicle and in general tracks vehicle schedule adherence. A link from this panel opens the vehicle tracking view, which is both text based and map based. One can see the vehicle move on the map. A number of reports can be generated using the application as described below:
      • Daily vehicle movement reports in terms of the road, district, and place at periodic intervals;
      • The tracking interval can be set between 30 seconds to 1 min;
      • Trip reports;
      • Vehicle Stoppage exception reports; and
      • Vehicle over-speed exception reports
  • c. A GIS search tool, which allows the central agency or control room to determine the nearest tracked vehicle to a known location.
  • d. A swipe tracking tool to get the passenger entry and exit points thereby calculating the distance.
  • e. Map viewer tools, which allow you to see a vehicle position on a map.
  • Each tracker/dispatcher will have a phone connection. This is the nerve center of the entire system from an operations point of view.
  • The Central Agency or the control room may have a Virtual Private Network connection to the hosted server (Host Computer).
  • The primary purpose of this software and hardware combination is to make the car pool paperless and efficient by making use of cars and reducing the number of vehicles on the roads. A control room/call center is set up to monitor this and take requests from the commuters. The IT architecture of control room requires at least one external static IP available for the Proxy Server so that all the VMUs communicate with this static IP.
    • II. Best Mode of Working the Invention.
  • The method, integration, management and effective execution of procedure of the invention on PCCS car pooling is given below.
  • 1. Overview of User participation. The present invention harnesses the power of people for their collective as well as individual benefit. At the present technology levels, it works as follows in the case of a typical city (“PanCity”):
      • a) All car owners of PanCity desirous of availing a carpool are enrolled as members in a PCCS, subject to verification of their credentials. The assistance of employers/RWAs/police authorities/documentary evidence/attestation by referees is employed to establish credentials.
      • b) All the verified Users may be issued Smart Card based photo IDs, which also works as a credit/debit card to record mileage points (described later).
      • c) Cars of all the Givers are fitted with a ‘contact less’ Card Reader and AP/GPS unit, which can (i) read the Smart Card of a User, (ii) sense location of the car and (iii) transmit this data digitally (with the aid GPRS or of cell phone/trunk radio service providers) to a Central Agency.
      • d) ‘A’, a member of the PCCS may give ride (as a “Giver”) to any of the “Seeker” member(s) of PCCS who have a common/along-the-way travel destination. By giving rides, ‘A’ as Giver earns mileage points at the rate of, say one point per km. Thus for giving 25 kilometer ride to two Seekers, ‘A’ earns 50 mileage points. ‘A’ can thus accrue mileage points by giving rides to Seekers. In return, ‘A’ can redeem the points earned by availing rides as a Seeker from any of the Giver cars on the days of his/her choice.
      • e) The points accrued to ‘A’ can be also used by a family member who holds an ‘Add-on’ User membership Smart Card. This way, ‘A’ may have only one car in the family, but other family member(s) can also enjoy car rides in any of the PCCS member cars.
      • f) The entire arrangement is voluntary and ‘A’ is free to not give/avail rides on days he/she so wishes.
      • g) A Central Agency in communication with the Host Computer registers and matches members' (Users') travel plans and sets up various Users with one another through phone/SMS/internet, on a dynamic basis with the help of computer software. Later on, when the Users know each other well, many may be able to find travel partners without Central Agency help.
      • h) The Central Agency also keeps track of mileage points earned and used by all Users. All PCCS rides are fully logged for enhancing security and for keeping track of mileage points earned/used, as described below:
        • When Seeker ‘A’ takes a ride in the car of a Giver ‘13’, she shows her membership card (via NFC or swipe, depending on the particular system being deployed) to the Smart Card Reader installed in the car of Giver ‘B’. The machine reads the Id. No. of A, the time of start of journey and the location of start of journey (the location is sensed by the machine with the aid of location based services known in the art, for example location by cell-phone tower triangulation, GPS, Trunk Radio service provider or other method). The machine then transmits all three pieces of information and the Id. No. of ‘B’ to the Central agency digitally, from the AVL/GPS/AP unit, through cell phone/trunk radio or any other available technology. The machine gives a beep sound (or any other suitable indication) to indicate successful completion of this transaction. This ensures the genuineness of both ‘A’ and ‘B’ and logs the journey for safety and accounting purposes.
        • On arrival at her destination, ‘A’ again shows her card to the Card Reader, and the Card Reader transmits a message to the AVL/GPS/AP unit and then in turn to the Central agency to mark location and time of end of journey. The Central Agency's computer thus has complete record of the journey, for enhanced safety and security of members and for computing mileage points. Based on kilometers traveled, the Central Agency's computer (Host Computer) credits ‘B’ and debits ‘A’ for the PCCS ride.
        • At the end of every month, all the members are sent an electronic/paper statement giving a summary of points earned, points used, and balance points available, relative to their participation in PCCS.
    III. Integration of Active Poster in the Method of PCCS Car Pooling.
  • The Active Poster technology is a key component of the present invention.
  • In the AP carpool embodiment, a mobile commerce transaction can be undertaken in a vehicle for a purchased number of miles, using stored value credits as is known in the art for wireless prepaid systems. The AP is replaced with a unit including similar functions and different appearances and is either incorporated within or works alongside and coupled with an AVL/GPS unit in the vehicle. This is a “thick AP” embodiment, in the sense that the AP hardware technology, and not the User's mobile handset, communicates the carpool transaction to the Host Computer. For a Smart Card, the PCCS may utilize either a NFC enabled wafer or a CL SIM enabled handset, or a Smart Card with NFC capability similar to that of a NFC enabled wafer. Alternatively, the Smart Card may be in communication with the Smart Card Reader via a card swipe unit built into the Smart Card Reader.
  • Selection of the transaction is optionally via a wireless pad which is separate from the AP (GPS) unit, the latter being hard-mounted to the vehicle. The wireless pad however can simply be thought of as an extension to the AP, which can be more easily operated from the back seat of the vehicle. The AP gives the users high flexibility of vehicle tracking, online shopping, E-recharge etc. using a device located within the car.
  • The invention includes use of in-vehicle GPS hardware to perform vehicle location, Also, it includes suitable telecommunications capability for communications between the AP/GPS unit and the Central Agency/Host Computer, for example GSM, GPRS, or CDMA.
  • The invention may also include the use of, (i) Smart Card authentication via prompted pin entry (or yes/no acknowledgement for security) and (ii) display on the GPS/AP unit screen of a picture of the Seeker, both (i) and (ii) triggered by tapping the smart card onto the NFC-enabled GPS/AP unit, or on the NFC-enabled wireless pad, or, via swiping the Smart Card on a card swipe reader affixed to the wireless pad or the GPS/AP unit. The foregoing are enabled in order to provide security for car owners.
  • When the AP device is turned on; on successful establishment of GPRS connection, the main screen is displayed. The following features are accessible from the main screen:
      • 1. Carpooling
      • 2. Services
      • 3. Accessories
      • 4. Multimedia
      • 5. Value Added Services (VAS)
      • 6. Settings
      • 7. Navigation
      • 8. Panic
  • 1. Carpooling. When the user clicks on the car pooling icon in the main page, he is redirected to the Carpooling form where he would be able to see six more options:
      • i) Start/End journey. The Giver chooses forward or reverse journey and clicks on the submit button. The page is redirected to a “Tap Form”. The User taps his smart card on the RF pad which is also the Smart Card Reader. On successful authentication, the page is redirected to the authentication form where the User has to enter his 4 digit password which is linked to his Smart Card on the Host Computer. Dual authentication is provided to overcome the security threat for lost cards. On successful authentication and authorization, the carpooling is started.
      • The GPS locations are continuously sent to the Host Computer database and thus the tracking of the vehicle and distance calculation is initialized.
      • The distance between 2 pairs of latitude and longitude coordinates is calculated in the backend component of the Host Computer (using a JAVA program), and stored in the database component of the Host Computer.
      • When the Giver/Seeker swipes (or taps) his or her Smart Card to authenticate, the user identification number (UID) of the Smart Card, IMEI number of the GPS/AP device and latitude and longitude of the current location are sent to the Host Computer from the GPS/AP unit via GPRS and stored in the database for calculating the distance travelled.
      • When a Seeker reaches the destination, he is expected to swipe (or tap, as enabled) the Smart Card to end the journey. Once he swipes (or taps) the Smart Card, the current location, Smart Card UID, and the device IMEI are stored in the data base. Once the journey is ended, distance travelled is calculated and so are the points consumed. These points are deducted from the Seeker's account and are added to the Giver's account.
      • An SMS bearing the information, distance travelled, points deducted and balance points, is sent to the Seeker.
  • ii) Route info. Route info contains the following information about Ad Hoc Journey routes and Fixed Journey routes:
      • a) Start location
      • b) End location
      • c) Start landmark
      • d) End land mark
  • This is the route that the Giver has to follow in order to pick up all of the Seekers who have been assigned to the defined route.
  • iii). My Fixed Group. Contains the following user details:
      • a) Name
      • b) Contact number
      • c) Start location
      • d) End location
  • It also contains a radio button for selection of forward and reverse journey user details. The user details of forward and reverse journey are displayed based on the choice.
  • iv). Skip Carpool. It facilitates Giver/Seeker to skip carpooling. Giver/Seeker can choose the duration during which he would not be available for carpooling. A calendar object is provided to choose the dates between which the Giver/Seeker would like to skip carpooling,
  • v). Connect to Maps. On clicking this picture box, a map is displayed on the screen along with the route which the Giver has to follow.
  • vi). Plan Ad Hoc Journey. In Plan Ad Hoc Journey, Giver can plan an Ad Hoc Journey .This page provides for entry of From Location and Landmark, To Location and Landmark and Date of Journey.
  • 2. Services.
  • Services are different services offered to the Givers/Seekers which they can avail while commuting.
  • i) Dinning Out: gives a list of restaurants located in the city;
  • ii) Shopping: gives a list of shopping malls in the city;
  • iii) E-Mall;
  • iv) Mall Services: when user clicks on the Mall services icon, a small description regarding the outlet is displayed. On clicking on the Continue button on right bottom of the page, a Product page with thumbnails of the products along with their prices are displayed on the screen.
  • v) News Updates:
  • vi) E-Payment: Standard m-commerce payment transaction, for example recharge prepaid account, pay postpaid or utility account.
  • vii) Stock Market: Stock market information.
  • viii) FastFood: Triggers an application allowing food purchase from nearby restaurants.
  • Once the products to be purchased are finalized, Giver/Seeker clicks on the submit button which redirects to a page where a summary of products selected is displayed, along with the total amount to be paid.
  • On User confirmation, a text box to enter the address of delivery is displayed. Giver/Seeker enters the address and clicks on the submit button which would redirect to a “Confirm Form” where the User has to tap his smart card to confirm the purchase. On successful authentication, a web payment gateway is called and displayed on the screen. Giver/Seeker is expected to enter credit card details to complete the transaction. On successful completion, the transaction will be processed and transaction status will be shown to the User in the Confirm Form.
  • 3. Accessories. There are seven kinds of accessories provided:
      • I. Calculator
      • II. Alarm
      • III. Phone Book
      • IV. World Time
      • V. Calendar
      • VI. Notepad
      • VII. Currency Converter
  • 4. Multimedia. The present invention has seven icons in a multimedia feature on the Active Poster, which are as follows:
      • i) Movies: When user clicks on Movies icon, it will display list of all movies present on the device. User can play movies by double clicking on the name of the movie. When giver/seeker clicks on the Movies icon, mediaplayer.exe is called and the playlist of the movies is passed as an argument to it.
      • ii) Music: When user clicks on Music icon, it will display list of all songs. The User can play songs by double clicking on the name of the song. The same media player and process is used to play music files.
      • iii) Games: When user clicks on the Games icon, it will take the User to a games page. He/she can select available games and play the games. Whenever a game icon is clicked, the respective EXE file is called using the Process class; similar to media player execution.
      • iv) My Pictures: When user clicks on the My Pictures icon, it will display the available pictures as thumbnails. Giver/Seeker can choose a desired image to enlarge the same; in the new enlarged screen, they can either click on the slide show button to see a slide show or use the front/back button to manually change an image. To close the enlarged view and get back to the thumbnails, Giver/Seeker would click on the close button.
  • 5. Value Added Services (VAS). Giver/Seeker can recharge their mobile device prepaid stored value account or download a new ring back tone or ring tone from this menu. On clicking the VAS icon, there are two options shown on the screen:
      • i) Ring Tones: In this section of the application, Giver/Seeker uses the RF pad to do the transactions or browse through the options. Giver/Seeker uses the arrow buttons on the RF pad to browse through the options and presses on confirm button on the RF pad to confirm the choice. On choosing Ring Tones, thumbnails of available ring tones are displayed. On making an appropriate choice using the RF pad, the “code” of the selected ring tone is sent to the Host Computer. An SMS message is triggered which is sent to the appropriate Giver/Seeker to confirm the action. As described above, the Host Computer may communicate to the MNO and the MNO infrastructure shall initiate this message.
      • ii) Recharge/Bill Payment (mChek): Giver/Seeker would enter mobile number, amount and click on submit button to process the recharge/bill payment. An SMS is triggered which is sent to the appropriate Giver/Seeker to confirm the action. A recharge or bill payment to the User's Prepaid or Post Paid wireless account occurs.
  • 6. Settings. The following settings are available for the Giver to configure:
      • i) Brightness: on clicking the brightness icon, a pop up appears on the screen; giver can reduce or increase the brightness using the “−” and “+” buttons respectively.
      • ii) Volume Control. on clicking the brightness icon, a pop up appears on the screen; giver can reduce or increase the volume using the “−” and “+” buttons respectively.
      • iii) Disable key click sounds. User can enable/disable the key click sounds using this option.
  • 7. Navigation. A map windows pops up on the screen using which Giver/Seeker can search and navigate to any desired location, using GPS technology as is known in the art. When Giver/Seeker clicks on the Navigation icon, map EXE is called using the process class.
  • 8. Panic. When User clicks on the Panic icon, it will open the panic page.
      • There are several options on the Panic page. User can click on an appropriate option to raise an alert as follows:
        • Emergency Alert to MCCS Central Agency
        • Car Breakdown
        • Fire
        • Police
        • Ambulance
  • Once the User clicks on an option, a distress signal is sent to the backend component of the Host Computer which would trigger an SMS message to the Central Agency pool manager and concerned authorities. A log is registered in the backend component of the Host Computer and a confirmation SMS is sent to appropriate Giver/Seeker.
  • The present invention with all its embodiments and methodology using software applications helps the Central Agency or the control room in the administration and management of PCCS by efficiently locating cars at any given time, tracking the car pool member entry and exit time and distance traveled, assigning the nearest car to any car pool member on request, informing the car owners about the daily usage statistics, billing the car pool members based on the usage once monthly, providing an Internet view to registered individual customers/passengers in this transit system on their own billing and usage statistics.

Claims (21)

1. A system for facilitating management and implementation of a car pool management service used by a central agency administering said car pool management service, wherein at least one of a plurality of rider users share a car of one of a plurality of provider users resulting in a commerce transaction in the form of points associated with a journey comprises:
a host computer;
a wireless service provider's network;
a device reader in each participating vehicle of each provider user to track boarding and alighting of rider users;
automatic vehicle location capability for each participating vehicle, including a vehicle mounted unit in each participating vehicle, to track the distance travelled by said rider user and monitor the location said vehicle;
a plurality of communication enabled devices each carried by one of said rider users including said rider user, capable of storing device identification information, which is capable of being received by said device readers when in proximity with said device;
an active poster located in each of said participating vehicles, each active poster in communication with said vehicle location unit in each respective vehicle, and each active poster also in communication with said device reader which is also located in said respective vehicle, and each active poster also in communication with said host computer over said wireless provider's network, for viewing various services offered and interacting on line, including a user interface and means such as buttons or a touch screen by which a user can input information into the active poster;
a carpooling service provider including at least capability enabling computer generated maps used at a central agency and including communication with said host computer, said host computer including or in communication with a users database including said rider users and said provider users, and used at least for monitoring vehicle locations, and associating said device identification information with a user account, and associating said vehicles with respective provider users' accounts, and tracking activity including receiving device identification received by said device readers;
wherein the system uses said device reader and active poster to identify the rider user by reading said device information when said device is brought into proximity with said device reader, and said active poster unit sending said device identification information to said host computer, where said host computer is in communication with said computer database where said device identification information is associated with said user's account with said car pool management service provider,
wherein an indication of the start of said journey and location of said vehicle at said start of said journey and information sufficient to identify said vehicle as a vehicle of said provider user is also transmitted to said host computer by said active poster,
and wherein said host computer identifies said rider user and said vehicle and said corresponding provider user, from correspondences within said database,
and wherein upon the end of said journey said rider user again brings said device in proximity to said device reader, and said reader communicates said device identification information to said active poster, and said active poster communicates with said host computer including an indication of the end of said journey and the location of said vehicle at said end of said journey;
and wherein said host computer creates a record of said journey, credits said provider user account with said carpooling service provider with a value associated with said journey and debits from the account of said rider user a value associated with said journey.
2. The system of claim 1, where the device is a smart card enabled with near field communication capability, and said device reader is capable of receiving near field communications.
3. The system of claim 1, where the device is a swipe card, and said device reader is capable of reading information encoded onto said swipe card.
4. The system of claim 1, where the device is a mobile handset equipped with a near field enabled contactless SIM, and said device reader is capable of receiving near field communications.
5. The system of claim 1, where the value associated with said journey is based on the calculated mileage of said journey.
6. The system of claim 1, where in the vehicle location system uses at least one of GPS, GPRS or cell tower triangulation for tracking the location of said vehicle.
7. The system of claim 1, where additionally the Host Computer sends an SMS or other type message to a mobile communications unit of said rider user, requesting acknowledgement of said transaction or a returned passcode associated with said user's account with said car pool management service provider.
8. The system of claim 1, where additionally the Host Computer sends an acknowledgement request to said rider user, via said active poster unit, requesting acknowledgement of said transaction or a returned passcode associated with said user's account with said car pool management service provider.
9. The system of claim 1, where additionally the function of device reader is carried out using a device separated from said active poster unit, located in said vehicle, but in wired or wireless communication with said active poster unit.
10. The system of claim 1, where additionally said active poster user interface and input means are provided using a device separated from said active poster unit, located in said vehicle, but in wired or wireless communication with said active poster unit.
11. The system of claim 1, where the capabilities of claim 9 and claim 10 are combined into a single device separate from said active poster unit, but in wired or wireless communication with said active poster.
12. A method for a car pool management service, wherein at least one of a plurality of rider users share a car of one of a plurality of provider users resulting in a commerce transaction in the form of points associated with a journey including:
placing a device reader in each participating vehicle of each provider user to track boarding and alighting of rider users;
placing automatic vehicle location capability in each participating vehicle, including a vehicle mounted unit in each participating vehicle, to track the distance travelled by said rider user and monitor the location said vehicle;
issuing a plurality of communication enabled devices each carried by one of said rider users including said rider user, each such device capable of storing device identification information, which is capable of being received by said device readers when in proximity with said device;
placing an active poster in each of said participating vehicles, each active poster in communication with said vehicle location unit in each respective vehicle, and each active poster also in communication with said device reader which is also located in said respective vehicle, and each active poster also in communication a common host computer over a wireless provider's network, for viewing various services offered and interacting on line, and each active poster including a user interface and means such as buttons or a touch screen by which a user can input information into the active poster;
said car pool management service provider using software capability including at least computer generated maps used at a central agency and including at least communication with said host computer, said host computer including or in communication with a users database including information corresponding to said rider users and said provider users, and used at least for monitoring vehicle locations, and associating said device identification information with a respective user account, and associating said vehicles with a respective provider user accounts, and tracking activity including receiving device identification received by said device readers;
said device reader and active poster identify said rider user by reading said device information when said device is brought into proximity with said device reader, and said active poster unit sends said device identification information to said host computer, where said host computer is in communication with said computer database where said device identification information is associated with said user's account with said car pool management service provider, and an indication of the start of said journey and location of said vehicle at said start of said journey and information sufficient to identify said vehicle as a vehicle of said provider user in said database is also transmitted to said host computer by said active poster,
and upon the end of said journey said rider user again brings said device in proximity to said device reader, and said reader communicates said device identification information to said active poster, and said active poster communicates with said host computer to generate and store records relating to the time and location of the end of said journey;
and said host computer creates a record of said journey, credits said provider user account with said carpooling service provider with a value associated with said journey and debits from the account of said rider user a value associated with said journey.
13. The method of claim 12, where the device is a smart card enabled with near field communication capability, and said device reader is capable of receiving near field communications.
14. The method of claim 12, where the device is a swipe card, and said device reader is capable of reading information encoded onto said swipe card.
15. The method of claim 12, where the device is a mobile handset equipped with a near field enabled contactless SIM, and said device reader is capable of receiving near field communications.
16. The method of claim 12, where the value associated with said journey is based on the calculated mileage of said journey.
17. The method of claim 12, where in the vehicle location system uses at least one of GPS, GPRS or cell tower triangulation for tracking the location of said vehicle.
18. The method of claim 12, where additionally the Host Computer sends an SMS or other type message to a mobile communications unit of said rider user, requesting acknowledgement of said transaction or a passcode associated with said user' s account with said carpooling service provider.
19. The method of claim 12, where additionally the function of device reader is carried out using a device separated from said active poster unit, located in said vehicle, but in wired or wireless communication with said active poster unit.
20. The method of claim 12, where additionally said active poster user interface and input means are provided using a device separated from said active poster unit, located in said vehicle, but in wired or wireless communication with said active poster unit.
21. The method of claim 12, where the capabilities of claim 19 and claim 20 are combined into a single device separate from said active poster unit, but in wired or wireless communication with said active poster.
US12/908,912 2010-02-15 2010-10-21 Integrated system and method for car pooling using smart cards, gps, gprs, active poster and near field communication devices Abandoned US20110202393A1 (en)

Priority Applications (1)

Application Number Priority Date Filing Date Title
US12/908,912 US20110202393A1 (en) 2010-02-15 2010-10-21 Integrated system and method for car pooling using smart cards, gps, gprs, active poster and near field communication devices

Applications Claiming Priority (2)

Application Number Priority Date Filing Date Title
US12/705,696 US9092772B2 (en) 2009-02-16 2010-02-15 Integrated system and method for enabling mobile commerce transactions using “contactless identity modules in mobile handsets”
US12/908,912 US20110202393A1 (en) 2010-02-15 2010-10-21 Integrated system and method for car pooling using smart cards, gps, gprs, active poster and near field communication devices

Related Parent Applications (1)

Application Number Title Priority Date Filing Date
US12/705,696 Continuation-In-Part US9092772B2 (en) 2009-02-16 2010-02-15 Integrated system and method for enabling mobile commerce transactions using “contactless identity modules in mobile handsets”

Publications (1)

Publication Number Publication Date
US20110202393A1 true US20110202393A1 (en) 2011-08-18

Family

ID=44370287

Family Applications (4)

Application Number Title Priority Date Filing Date
US12/705,696 Expired - Fee Related US9092772B2 (en) 2009-02-16 2010-02-15 Integrated system and method for enabling mobile commerce transactions using “contactless identity modules in mobile handsets”
US12/899,714 Expired - Fee Related US9349124B2 (en) 2010-02-15 2010-10-07 Integrated system and method for enabling mobile commerce transactions using active posters and contactless identity modules
US12/908,912 Abandoned US20110202393A1 (en) 2010-02-15 2010-10-21 Integrated system and method for car pooling using smart cards, gps, gprs, active poster and near field communication devices
US15/131,236 Abandoned US20170103381A1 (en) 2010-02-15 2016-04-18 Integrated System and Method For Enabling Mobile Commerce Transactions Using Active Posters and Contactless Identity Modules

Family Applications Before (2)

Application Number Title Priority Date Filing Date
US12/705,696 Expired - Fee Related US9092772B2 (en) 2009-02-16 2010-02-15 Integrated system and method for enabling mobile commerce transactions using “contactless identity modules in mobile handsets”
US12/899,714 Expired - Fee Related US9349124B2 (en) 2010-02-15 2010-10-07 Integrated system and method for enabling mobile commerce transactions using active posters and contactless identity modules

Family Applications After (1)

Application Number Title Priority Date Filing Date
US15/131,236 Abandoned US20170103381A1 (en) 2010-02-15 2016-04-18 Integrated System and Method For Enabling Mobile Commerce Transactions Using Active Posters and Contactless Identity Modules

Country Status (2)

Country Link
US (4) US9092772B2 (en)
WO (2) WO2011100001A1 (en)

Cited By (44)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
US20110213629A1 (en) * 2010-03-01 2011-09-01 Shelby Clark Car sharing
US20120253654A1 (en) * 2011-03-30 2012-10-04 National Tsing Hua University Carpool arranger and method of operation
US20130054281A1 (en) * 2011-08-28 2013-02-28 GreenMiles Technologies LLC Methods and systems for rideshare
US20130073349A1 (en) * 2011-09-19 2013-03-21 Bayerische Motoren Werke Aktiengesellschaft Method for the Computer Aided Management of Vehicles
FR2985068A1 (en) * 2011-12-23 2013-06-28 France Telecom Data processing method for determining value of e.g. price of taxi trajectory, associated with user, involves utilizing data to determine value of parameter of trajectory associated with user of vehicle in response to instruction
US20130297387A1 (en) * 2012-05-01 2013-11-07 Joseph Michael Systems and methods for monitoring, managing, and facilitating communications and/or transactions relating to transportation infrastructure utilization
US20140084052A1 (en) * 2012-09-26 2014-03-27 Bank Of America Corporation Self-Service Device Servicing Utilizing a Hardware Database
ITRM20130219A1 (en) * 2013-04-12 2014-10-13 Mauro Pepe REGISTRATION, IDENTIFICATION AND PAYMENT SYSTEM OF THE INSURANCE COVER OF A VEHICLE WITH A PREPAID AND / OR RECHARGEABLE CREDIT.
US8880240B2 (en) 2012-11-19 2014-11-04 GM Global Technology Operations LLC Methods of controlling vehicle interfaces using device motion and near field communications
ITRM20130349A1 (en) * 2013-06-18 2014-12-19 Aci Informatica Spa <<<< INTEGRATED "CAR POOLING" SYSTEM AS AN INSTRUMENT FOR THE INCENTIVATION OF SUSTAINABLE MOBILITY, IN PARTICULAR FOR APPLICATIONS IN THE COMPANY >>>>.
WO2014182930A3 (en) * 2013-05-09 2015-01-29 Otsuka America Pharmaceutical, Inc. Systems and methods for administering health care systems
US20150235477A1 (en) * 2014-02-19 2015-08-20 Swyft Technologies Inc. Automatic Wireless Transportation Monitoring and Transactions for Mobile Devices
WO2015200328A1 (en) * 2014-06-23 2015-12-30 Dabble Apps, LLC Ridesharing system and method
US9373201B2 (en) 2012-05-23 2016-06-21 Enterprise Holdings, Inc. Rental/car-share vehicle access and management system and method
US9499128B2 (en) 2013-03-14 2016-11-22 The Crawford Group, Inc. Mobile device-enhanced user selection of specific rental vehicles for a rental vehicle reservation
US20170032357A1 (en) * 2014-04-02 2017-02-02 Fidesmo Ab Linking payment to secure downloading of application data
US9679475B1 (en) 2016-04-05 2017-06-13 Conduent Business Services, Llc System and method for smart, rational and collaborative location tracking for trip planners
CN107430756A (en) * 2015-02-26 2017-12-01 连股份有限公司 The program of calculation server, communication terminal and communication terminal
US20180053277A1 (en) * 2016-03-08 2018-02-22 Beijing Didi Infinity Technology And Development Co., Ltd. Systems and methods for carpooling
US9911169B1 (en) * 2013-09-20 2018-03-06 Geotoll, Inc. Method and apparatus for sharing toll charges among several toll service subscribers
US20180131767A1 (en) * 2016-11-07 2018-05-10 Ford Global Technologies, Llc Autonomous vehicle management
US9992021B1 (en) 2013-03-14 2018-06-05 GoTenna, Inc. System and method for private and point-to-point communication between computing devices
US9996831B2 (en) * 2009-11-25 2018-06-12 Cubic Corporation Mobile wireless payment and access
EP3460690A1 (en) * 2017-09-22 2019-03-27 Sensormatic Electronics LLC Use of identity and access management for service provisioning
EP3460692A1 (en) * 2017-09-22 2019-03-27 Sensormatic Electronics LLC Identity management for implementing vehicle access and operation management
EP3460693A1 (en) * 2017-09-22 2019-03-27 Sensormatic Electronics LLC Methods and apparatus for implementing identity and asset sharing management
EP3460691A1 (en) * 2017-09-22 2019-03-27 Sensormatic Electronics LLC Methods and apparatus for management of intrusion detection systems using verified identity
US10252461B2 (en) * 2017-03-27 2019-04-09 International Business Machines Corporation Cognitive-based driving anomaly detection based on spatio-temporal landscape-specific driving models
US10332162B1 (en) * 2013-09-30 2019-06-25 Square, Inc. Using wireless beacons for transit systems
US10373215B2 (en) * 2013-11-12 2019-08-06 Geotoll, Inc. Method and apparatus for determining a road usage charge
US10373151B1 (en) 2012-11-20 2019-08-06 Square, Inc. Multiple merchants in cardless payment transactions and multiple customers in cardless payment transactions
US10464489B2 (en) * 2015-10-22 2019-11-05 Gentex Corporation Integrated vehicle communication system and method
US10515489B2 (en) 2012-05-23 2019-12-24 Enterprise Holdings, Inc. Rental/car-share vehicle access and management system and method
WO2020028106A1 (en) * 2018-08-03 2020-02-06 Gracenote, Inc. Audio playout report for ride-sharing session
US10560808B2 (en) 2013-07-23 2020-02-11 Square, Inc. Computing distances of devices
US10783531B2 (en) 2012-03-16 2020-09-22 Square, Inc. Cardless payment transactions based on geographic locations of user devices
US10885522B1 (en) 2013-02-08 2021-01-05 Square, Inc. Updating merchant location for cardless payment transactions
US20210090199A1 (en) * 2016-02-17 2021-03-25 Justin Andrew Frankert System for arranging transportation services and associated methods
US11030428B2 (en) * 2016-06-17 2021-06-08 Gentex Corporation Systems and methods for universal toll module
US11276253B2 (en) * 2016-04-05 2022-03-15 Affin As Present invention concerns a system for controlling traffic
US11449854B1 (en) 2012-10-29 2022-09-20 Block, Inc. Establishing consent for cardless transactions using short-range transmission
US11587146B1 (en) 2013-11-13 2023-02-21 Block, Inc. Wireless beacon shopping experience
US11676425B2 (en) 2018-03-08 2023-06-13 Geotoll, Inc. System and method for speech recognition for occupancy detection in high occupancy toll applications
US20230289686A1 (en) * 2020-05-27 2023-09-14 Nissan Motor Co., Ltd. Carpooling support method, carpooling support device, and carpooling support system

Families Citing this family (79)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
US20080278286A1 (en) * 2004-06-29 2008-11-13 Antti Takaluoma Communication Method, System and User Terminal
US10296874B1 (en) 2007-12-17 2019-05-21 American Express Travel Related Services Company, Inc. System and method for preventing unauthorized access to financial accounts
US8326221B2 (en) 2009-02-09 2012-12-04 Apple Inc. Portable electronic device with proximity-based content synchronization
US8346210B2 (en) * 2009-02-27 2013-01-01 Nokia Corporation Method and apparatus for managing services using bearer tags
US8593255B2 (en) * 2009-04-24 2013-11-26 Nokia Corporation Method and apparatus for providing user interaction via transponders
US9396603B2 (en) * 2009-05-22 2016-07-19 Nokia Technologies Oy Method and apparatus for managing services using reusable bearer tags
US10977965B2 (en) 2010-01-29 2021-04-13 Avery Dennison Retail Information Services, Llc Smart sign box using electronic interactions
WO2011094384A1 (en) 2010-01-29 2011-08-04 Avery Dennison Corporation Smart sign box using electronic interactions
US8331981B2 (en) * 2010-02-27 2012-12-11 Daren Lewis Mobile device for enhanced connectivity
WO2011123176A1 (en) * 2010-04-01 2011-10-06 M3 Technology Solutions Llc Cash management system and method
EP2378451B1 (en) * 2010-04-19 2018-07-04 Vodafone Holding GmbH User authentication in a tag-based service
US20130006782A1 (en) * 2011-01-03 2013-01-03 Aron Schwarzkopf Apparatus and systems of a computerized bill presenter system
WO2012093773A2 (en) * 2011-01-04 2012-07-12 에이큐 주식회사 System for providing advertisement information
US9098865B2 (en) * 2011-04-07 2015-08-04 Facebook, Inc. Ultrasonic near-field communication
US10949844B2 (en) 2011-05-09 2021-03-16 Intuit Inc. Processing electronic payment involving mobile communication device
US8544729B2 (en) 2011-06-24 2013-10-01 American Express Travel Related Services Company, Inc. Systems and methods for gesture-based interaction with computer systems
US8978975B2 (en) * 2011-07-18 2015-03-17 Accullink, Inc. Systems and methods for authenticating near field communcation financial transactions
US20130054337A1 (en) * 2011-08-22 2013-02-28 American Express Travel Related Services Company, Inc. Methods and systems for contactless payments for online ecommerce checkout
US8714439B2 (en) 2011-08-22 2014-05-06 American Express Travel Related Services Company, Inc. Methods and systems for contactless payments at a merchant
WO2013033522A1 (en) 2011-09-01 2013-03-07 Avery Dennison Corporation Apparatus, system and method for consumer tracking
US9390414B2 (en) 2011-09-18 2016-07-12 Google Inc. One-click offline buying
JP2015502595A (en) * 2011-10-24 2015-01-22 リップル リゾート メディア インコーポレイテッド RFID tag communication application for facilities
US8630908B2 (en) 2011-11-02 2014-01-14 Avery Dennison Corporation Distributed point of sale, electronic article surveillance, and product information system, apparatus and method
DE202012100620U1 (en) 2011-11-22 2012-06-13 Square, Inc. System for processing cardless payment transactions
US9129281B2 (en) 2012-02-06 2015-09-08 Visa International Service Association Automated contactless access device location system and method
US8949974B2 (en) * 2012-05-11 2015-02-03 Tyfone, Inc. Mobile device with password protected desktop screen
US20140052613A1 (en) 2012-08-17 2014-02-20 Square, Inc., A Delaware Corporation Systems and methods for providing gratuities to merchants
WO2014039089A1 (en) 2012-09-10 2014-03-13 Avery Dennison Corporation Method for preventing unauthorized diversion of nfc tags
US9792035B2 (en) * 2012-10-09 2017-10-17 Mastercard International Incorporated System and method for payment using a mobile device
EP3214572B1 (en) 2012-10-18 2020-01-29 Avery Dennison Corporation System and apparatus for nfc security
US9767329B2 (en) 2012-11-19 2017-09-19 Avery Dennison Retail Information Services, Llc NFC tags with proximity detection
KR101496212B1 (en) * 2013-03-28 2015-02-27 주식회사 투게더 The data transmiting apparatus for recording visiting data of a wireless communication device
US9232350B2 (en) 2013-07-02 2016-01-05 Fortis Riders Acquisition Corporation Mobile application using facilitating dedicated communication between specific users
CN105612544A (en) * 2013-07-17 2016-05-25 谷歌公司 Systems, methods, and computer program products for reporting contactless transaction data
US10319013B2 (en) 2013-10-28 2019-06-11 Square, Inc. Electronic ordering system
US11803841B1 (en) 2013-10-29 2023-10-31 Block, Inc. Discovery and communication using direct radio signal communication
WO2015065402A1 (en) 2013-10-30 2015-05-07 Bodhi Technology Ventures Llc Displaying relevant use interface objects
GB2522184A (en) * 2013-12-03 2015-07-22 Vodafone Ip Licensing Ltd Top-Up
US10026083B1 (en) 2014-05-11 2018-07-17 Square, Inc. Tab for a venue
US10482461B2 (en) 2014-05-29 2019-11-19 Apple Inc. User interface for payments
WO2016036552A1 (en) 2014-09-02 2016-03-10 Apple Inc. User interactions for a mapping application
CN104503611B (en) * 2014-12-09 2017-12-22 深圳市海富莱电子有限公司 A kind of Multifunctional touching integrated circuit, chip and touch screen terminal
CN105592403B (en) * 2014-12-29 2020-03-31 中国银联股份有限公司 NFC-based communication device and method
WO2016129863A1 (en) * 2015-02-12 2016-08-18 Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd. Payment processing method and electronic device supporting the same
US11107047B2 (en) 2015-02-27 2021-08-31 Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd. Electronic device providing electronic payment function and operating method thereof
KR102460459B1 (en) 2015-02-27 2022-10-28 삼성전자주식회사 Method and apparatus for providing card service using electronic device
KR101682880B1 (en) * 2015-03-19 2016-12-20 현대자동차주식회사 Vehicle and remote vehicle manipulating system comprising the same
US9940637B2 (en) 2015-06-05 2018-04-10 Apple Inc. User interface for loyalty accounts and private label accounts
US20160358133A1 (en) 2015-06-05 2016-12-08 Apple Inc. User interface for loyalty accounts and private label accounts for a wearable device
JP2018525720A (en) * 2015-06-30 2018-09-06 ビザ インターナショナル サービス アソシエーション Dynamic portable communication system
KR102453705B1 (en) * 2015-09-25 2022-10-11 삼성전자주식회사 Operation Method of Payment Device for Selectively Enabling Payment Function According to Validity of Host
US11227277B2 (en) * 2015-12-22 2022-01-18 Intel Corporation Facilitating smart geo-fencing-based payment transactions
US10621581B2 (en) 2016-06-11 2020-04-14 Apple Inc. User interface for transactions
CN114693289A (en) 2016-06-11 2022-07-01 苹果公司 User interface for transactions
US11580608B2 (en) 2016-06-12 2023-02-14 Apple Inc. Managing contact information for communication applications
KR102550591B1 (en) 2016-06-14 2023-07-04 삼성전자주식회사 A method for connecting a subscriber identity module in an electronic device and the electronic device thereof
US9842330B1 (en) 2016-09-06 2017-12-12 Apple Inc. User interfaces for stored-value accounts
US10860199B2 (en) 2016-09-23 2020-12-08 Apple Inc. Dynamically adjusting touch hysteresis based on contextual data
US10909263B2 (en) 2017-01-06 2021-02-02 International Business Machines Corporation Utilizing a mnemonic for communicating sensitive data
KR102389678B1 (en) 2017-09-09 2022-04-21 애플 인크. Implementation of biometric authentication
KR102185854B1 (en) 2017-09-09 2020-12-02 애플 인크. Implementation of biometric authentication
US11012555B2 (en) 2017-11-20 2021-05-18 International Business Machines Corporation Non-verbal sensitive data authentication
DK179992B1 (en) 2018-05-07 2020-01-14 Apple Inc. Visning af brugergrænseflader associeret med fysiske aktiviteter
US11100498B2 (en) 2018-06-03 2021-08-24 Apple Inc. User interfaces for transfer accounts
KR20240024294A (en) 2018-06-03 2024-02-23 애플 인크. User interfaces for transfer accounts
US10657505B2 (en) * 2018-07-26 2020-05-19 Clover Network, Inc. Dual mode payment and display system
US11328352B2 (en) 2019-03-24 2022-05-10 Apple Inc. User interfaces for managing an account
US10795527B1 (en) * 2019-04-26 2020-10-06 Capital One Services, Llc Systems and methods configured to provide the improved real time user experience involving mobile computing devices, a back-end server and NFC-coupled interactive posters including encryption, network operation and/or other features
DK201970530A1 (en) 2019-05-06 2021-01-28 Apple Inc Avatar integration with multiple applications
CN113490969A (en) * 2019-05-15 2021-10-08 K·库拉科夫斯基 Method for registering users in a predefined area and system for implementing the method
US11477609B2 (en) 2019-06-01 2022-10-18 Apple Inc. User interfaces for location-related communications
US11481094B2 (en) 2019-06-01 2022-10-25 Apple Inc. User interfaces for location-related communications
EP3748614B1 (en) * 2019-06-03 2024-08-07 Nxp B.V. Interactive poster
CN114365073A (en) 2019-09-29 2022-04-15 苹果公司 Account management user interface
US11169830B2 (en) 2019-09-29 2021-11-09 Apple Inc. Account management user interfaces
US11232440B2 (en) 2019-10-29 2022-01-25 Clover Network, Llc Dual device point of sale system using short-range wireless connection
US10846493B1 (en) * 2020-03-23 2020-11-24 Capital One Services, Llc Devices and methods for providing emergency information using a payment card
DE102021107950A1 (en) * 2020-05-28 2021-12-02 Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co., Ltd. METHOD FOR MANUFACTURING SEMICONDUCTOR COMPONENTS WITH DIFFERENT ARCHITECTURES AND SEMICONDUCTOR COMPONENTS MANUFACTURED THEREOF
US11334893B1 (en) 2020-12-09 2022-05-17 Bank Of America Corporation Intelligent cash handling

Citations (9)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
US5920057A (en) * 1993-06-22 1999-07-06 Vos Verkehrs-Optimierungs-System Gmbh & Co. Kg Process and device for measuring the occupancy in passenger transportation means
US20040049424A1 (en) * 2002-06-21 2004-03-11 Murray Thomas A. System and method for facilitating ridesharing
US20050179563A1 (en) * 2005-03-14 2005-08-18 Kelley Kalon L. Motor vehicle occupancy signaling system
US20060015394A1 (en) * 2004-07-15 2006-01-19 Sorensen Roger G Licensed driver detection for high occupancy toll lane qualification
US7375648B1 (en) * 2004-10-28 2008-05-20 Efkon Usa, Inc. Vehicle occupancy identification system
US20090018902A1 (en) * 2007-07-09 2009-01-15 Jannine Miller Commuter credits system and method
US20100106567A1 (en) * 2008-10-16 2010-04-29 Mcnew Justin Paul System and method for electronic toll collection based on vehicle load
US20100161392A1 (en) * 2008-12-22 2010-06-24 International Business Machines Corporation Variable rate travel fee based upon vehicle occupancy
US20100201505A1 (en) * 2007-07-10 2010-08-12 Souroush Honary Occupancy Declaration/Verification For Passenger Transport Conveyances

Family Cites Families (33)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
FI99071C (en) * 1995-02-15 1997-09-25 Nokia Mobile Phones Ltd Procedure for use of applications in a mobile telephone as well as a mobile telephone
IL134741A (en) * 2000-02-27 2003-11-23 Adamtech Ltd Mobile transaction system and method
CA2345857A1 (en) * 2001-05-01 2002-11-01 Eric Meunier System and method for automating a vehicle rental process
US9031880B2 (en) * 2001-07-10 2015-05-12 Iii Holdings 1, Llc Systems and methods for non-traditional payment using biometric data
US20050160003A1 (en) * 2001-07-10 2005-07-21 American Express Travel Related Services Company, Inc. System and method for incenting rfid transaction device usage at a merchant location
US7784684B2 (en) * 2002-08-08 2010-08-31 Fujitsu Limited Wireless computer wallet for physical point of sale (POS) transactions
US7597250B2 (en) * 2003-11-17 2009-10-06 Dpd Patent Trust Ltd. RFID reader with multiple interfaces
US8700729B2 (en) 2005-01-21 2014-04-15 Robin Dua Method and apparatus for managing credentials through a wireless network
ES2714179T3 (en) * 2005-03-07 2019-05-27 Nokia Technologies Oy Method and mobile terminal device that includes smart card module and near field communications media
GB0507285D0 (en) * 2005-04-11 2005-05-18 Innovision Res & Tech Plc Nfc enabled high-speed data
US8019365B2 (en) * 2005-12-31 2011-09-13 Michelle Fisher Conducting a payment using a secure element and SMS
US20070203850A1 (en) * 2006-02-15 2007-08-30 Sapphire Mobile Systems, Inc. Multifactor authentication system
US8117445B2 (en) 2006-12-20 2012-02-14 Spansion Llc Near field communication, security and non-volatile memory integrated sub-system for embedded portable applications
US8386259B2 (en) * 2006-12-28 2013-02-26 Intel Corporation Voice interface to NFC applications
US20080228393A1 (en) * 2007-01-10 2008-09-18 Pieter Geelen Navigation device and method
GB0700968D0 (en) * 2007-01-18 2007-02-28 Glue4 Technologles Ltd Communication system
US8548908B2 (en) * 2007-04-11 2013-10-01 First Data Corporation Mobile commerce infrastructure systems and methods
US8121942B2 (en) * 2007-06-25 2012-02-21 Visa U.S.A. Inc. Systems and methods for secure and transparent cardless transactions
US20090037326A1 (en) 2007-07-30 2009-02-05 Sriram Chitti Virtual Card Selector for a Portable Electronic Device
US20090037284A1 (en) 2007-07-31 2009-02-05 First Data Corporation Point of sale system with ability to remotely update firmware
US7889100B2 (en) * 2007-08-14 2011-02-15 International Business Machines Corporation Water friend or foe system for global vessel identification and tracking
US9292850B2 (en) * 2007-09-10 2016-03-22 Visa U.S.A. Inc. Host capture
US20090069049A1 (en) * 2007-09-12 2009-03-12 Devicefidelity, Inc. Interfacing transaction cards with host devices
US8565723B2 (en) * 2007-10-17 2013-10-22 First Data Corporation Onetime passwords for mobile wallets
US9349127B2 (en) * 2007-11-29 2016-05-24 Visa Usa Inc. Serial number and payment data based payment card processing
US9391789B2 (en) * 2007-12-14 2016-07-12 Qualcomm Incorporated Method and system for multi-level distribution information cache management in a mobile environment
US20090192935A1 (en) * 2008-01-30 2009-07-30 Kent Griffin One step near field communication transactions
US8756161B2 (en) * 2008-02-11 2014-06-17 Accenture Global Services Limited Customer initiated payment method using mobile device
US9008616B2 (en) * 2011-08-19 2015-04-14 Google Inc. Point of sale processing initiated by a single tap
US9595058B2 (en) * 2013-04-29 2017-03-14 Cellco Partnership Near-field communication (NFC)-based retail experience using a retail kiosk or mobile device
US20140331131A1 (en) * 2013-05-02 2014-11-06 Autumn Brandy DeSellem Accessible Self-Service Kiosk
AU2015301818B2 (en) * 2014-08-11 2019-08-29 Cubic Corporation Smart ticketing in fare collection systems
US20160098692A1 (en) * 2014-10-03 2016-04-07 Bank Of America Corporation Method for processing transaction statement inquiries via an atm

Patent Citations (9)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
US5920057A (en) * 1993-06-22 1999-07-06 Vos Verkehrs-Optimierungs-System Gmbh & Co. Kg Process and device for measuring the occupancy in passenger transportation means
US20040049424A1 (en) * 2002-06-21 2004-03-11 Murray Thomas A. System and method for facilitating ridesharing
US20060015394A1 (en) * 2004-07-15 2006-01-19 Sorensen Roger G Licensed driver detection for high occupancy toll lane qualification
US7375648B1 (en) * 2004-10-28 2008-05-20 Efkon Usa, Inc. Vehicle occupancy identification system
US20050179563A1 (en) * 2005-03-14 2005-08-18 Kelley Kalon L. Motor vehicle occupancy signaling system
US20090018902A1 (en) * 2007-07-09 2009-01-15 Jannine Miller Commuter credits system and method
US20100201505A1 (en) * 2007-07-10 2010-08-12 Souroush Honary Occupancy Declaration/Verification For Passenger Transport Conveyances
US20100106567A1 (en) * 2008-10-16 2010-04-29 Mcnew Justin Paul System and method for electronic toll collection based on vehicle load
US20100161392A1 (en) * 2008-12-22 2010-06-24 International Business Machines Corporation Variable rate travel fee based upon vehicle occupancy

Cited By (68)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
US9996831B2 (en) * 2009-11-25 2018-06-12 Cubic Corporation Mobile wireless payment and access
US20120330696A1 (en) * 2010-03-01 2012-12-27 Shelby Clark Car Sharing
US20110213629A1 (en) * 2010-03-01 2011-09-01 Shelby Clark Car sharing
US20120253654A1 (en) * 2011-03-30 2012-10-04 National Tsing Hua University Carpool arranger and method of operation
US20130054281A1 (en) * 2011-08-28 2013-02-28 GreenMiles Technologies LLC Methods and systems for rideshare
US20130073349A1 (en) * 2011-09-19 2013-03-21 Bayerische Motoren Werke Aktiengesellschaft Method for the Computer Aided Management of Vehicles
FR2985068A1 (en) * 2011-12-23 2013-06-28 France Telecom Data processing method for determining value of e.g. price of taxi trajectory, associated with user, involves utilizing data to determine value of parameter of trajectory associated with user of vehicle in response to instruction
US10783531B2 (en) 2012-03-16 2020-09-22 Square, Inc. Cardless payment transactions based on geographic locations of user devices
US20130297387A1 (en) * 2012-05-01 2013-11-07 Joseph Michael Systems and methods for monitoring, managing, and facilitating communications and/or transactions relating to transportation infrastructure utilization
US9373201B2 (en) 2012-05-23 2016-06-21 Enterprise Holdings, Inc. Rental/car-share vehicle access and management system and method
US10515489B2 (en) 2012-05-23 2019-12-24 Enterprise Holdings, Inc. Rental/car-share vehicle access and management system and method
US11037375B2 (en) 2012-05-23 2021-06-15 Enterprise Holdings, Inc. Rental/car-share vehicle access and management system and method
US9710975B2 (en) 2012-05-23 2017-07-18 Enterprise Holdings, Inc. Rental/car-share vehicle access and management system and method
US11694481B2 (en) 2012-05-23 2023-07-04 Enterprise Holdings, Inc. Rental/car-share vehicle access and management system and method
US8794513B2 (en) * 2012-09-26 2014-08-05 Bank Of America Corporation Self-service device servicing utilizing a hardware database
US20140084052A1 (en) * 2012-09-26 2014-03-27 Bank Of America Corporation Self-Service Device Servicing Utilizing a Hardware Database
US11449854B1 (en) 2012-10-29 2022-09-20 Block, Inc. Establishing consent for cardless transactions using short-range transmission
US8880240B2 (en) 2012-11-19 2014-11-04 GM Global Technology Operations LLC Methods of controlling vehicle interfaces using device motion and near field communications
US10373151B1 (en) 2012-11-20 2019-08-06 Square, Inc. Multiple merchants in cardless payment transactions and multiple customers in cardless payment transactions
US10885522B1 (en) 2013-02-08 2021-01-05 Square, Inc. Updating merchant location for cardless payment transactions
US10059304B2 (en) 2013-03-14 2018-08-28 Enterprise Holdings, Inc. Method and apparatus for driver's license analysis to support rental vehicle transactions
US10899315B2 (en) 2013-03-14 2021-01-26 The Crawford Group, Inc. Mobile device-enhanced user selection of specific rental vehicles for a rental vehicle reservation
US10308219B2 (en) 2013-03-14 2019-06-04 The Crawford Group, Inc. Smart key emulation for vehicles
US10850705B2 (en) 2013-03-14 2020-12-01 The Crawford Group, Inc. Smart key emulation for vehicles
US11697393B2 (en) 2013-03-14 2023-07-11 The Crawford Group, Inc. Mobile device-enhanced rental vehicle returns
US9992021B1 (en) 2013-03-14 2018-06-05 GoTenna, Inc. System and method for private and point-to-point communication between computing devices
US9499128B2 (en) 2013-03-14 2016-11-22 The Crawford Group, Inc. Mobile device-enhanced user selection of specific rental vehicles for a rental vehicle reservation
US10549721B2 (en) 2013-03-14 2020-02-04 The Crawford Group, Inc. Mobile device-enhanced rental vehicle returns
US11833997B2 (en) 2013-03-14 2023-12-05 The Crawford Group, Inc. Mobile device-enhanced pickups for rental vehicle transactions
US9701281B2 (en) 2013-03-14 2017-07-11 The Crawford Group, Inc. Smart key emulation for vehicles
ITRM20130219A1 (en) * 2013-04-12 2014-10-13 Mauro Pepe REGISTRATION, IDENTIFICATION AND PAYMENT SYSTEM OF THE INSURANCE COVER OF A VEHICLE WITH A PREPAID AND / OR RECHARGEABLE CREDIT.
WO2014182930A3 (en) * 2013-05-09 2015-01-29 Otsuka America Pharmaceutical, Inc. Systems and methods for administering health care systems
ITRM20130349A1 (en) * 2013-06-18 2014-12-19 Aci Informatica Spa <<<< INTEGRATED "CAR POOLING" SYSTEM AS AN INSTRUMENT FOR THE INCENTIVATION OF SUSTAINABLE MOBILITY, IN PARTICULAR FOR APPLICATIONS IN THE COMPANY >>>>.
US10560808B2 (en) 2013-07-23 2020-02-11 Square, Inc. Computing distances of devices
US9911169B1 (en) * 2013-09-20 2018-03-06 Geotoll, Inc. Method and apparatus for sharing toll charges among several toll service subscribers
US10332162B1 (en) * 2013-09-30 2019-06-25 Square, Inc. Using wireless beacons for transit systems
US10373215B2 (en) * 2013-11-12 2019-08-06 Geotoll, Inc. Method and apparatus for determining a road usage charge
US11587146B1 (en) 2013-11-13 2023-02-21 Block, Inc. Wireless beacon shopping experience
US20150235477A1 (en) * 2014-02-19 2015-08-20 Swyft Technologies Inc. Automatic Wireless Transportation Monitoring and Transactions for Mobile Devices
US20170032357A1 (en) * 2014-04-02 2017-02-02 Fidesmo Ab Linking payment to secure downloading of application data
US11176535B2 (en) * 2014-04-02 2021-11-16 Fidesmo Ab Linking payment to secure downloading of application data
US11775954B2 (en) 2014-04-02 2023-10-03 Fidesmo Ab Linking payment to secure downloading of application data
WO2015200328A1 (en) * 2014-06-23 2015-12-30 Dabble Apps, LLC Ridesharing system and method
CN107430756A (en) * 2015-02-26 2017-12-01 连股份有限公司 The program of calculation server, communication terminal and communication terminal
US11521429B2 (en) 2015-02-26 2022-12-06 Line Corporation Information processing method and non-transitory computer-readable storage medium
US10464489B2 (en) * 2015-10-22 2019-11-05 Gentex Corporation Integrated vehicle communication system and method
US20210090199A1 (en) * 2016-02-17 2021-03-25 Justin Andrew Frankert System for arranging transportation services and associated methods
US20180053277A1 (en) * 2016-03-08 2018-02-22 Beijing Didi Infinity Technology And Development Co., Ltd. Systems and methods for carpooling
US9679475B1 (en) 2016-04-05 2017-06-13 Conduent Business Services, Llc System and method for smart, rational and collaborative location tracking for trip planners
US11276253B2 (en) * 2016-04-05 2022-03-15 Affin As Present invention concerns a system for controlling traffic
US11030428B2 (en) * 2016-06-17 2021-06-08 Gentex Corporation Systems and methods for universal toll module
US20180131767A1 (en) * 2016-11-07 2018-05-10 Ford Global Technologies, Llc Autonomous vehicle management
US10252461B2 (en) * 2017-03-27 2019-04-09 International Business Machines Corporation Cognitive-based driving anomaly detection based on spatio-temporal landscape-specific driving models
EP3460692A1 (en) * 2017-09-22 2019-03-27 Sensormatic Electronics LLC Identity management for implementing vehicle access and operation management
EP3460693A1 (en) * 2017-09-22 2019-03-27 Sensormatic Electronics LLC Methods and apparatus for implementing identity and asset sharing management
US10829088B2 (en) 2017-09-22 2020-11-10 Sensormatic Electronics, LLC Identity management for implementing vehicle access and operation management
EP3460690A1 (en) * 2017-09-22 2019-03-27 Sensormatic Electronics LLC Use of identity and access management for service provisioning
EP3460691A1 (en) * 2017-09-22 2019-03-27 Sensormatic Electronics LLC Methods and apparatus for management of intrusion detection systems using verified identity
US11055802B2 (en) 2017-09-22 2021-07-06 Sensormatic Electronics, LLC Methods and apparatus for implementing identity and asset sharing management
US10896586B2 (en) 2017-09-22 2021-01-19 Sensormatic Electronics, LLC Methods and apparatus for management of intrusion detection systems using verified identity
US11645593B2 (en) 2017-09-22 2023-05-09 Johnson Controls Tyco IP Holdings LLP Use of identity and access management for service provisioning
US11676425B2 (en) 2018-03-08 2023-06-13 Geotoll, Inc. System and method for speech recognition for occupancy detection in high occupancy toll applications
WO2020028106A1 (en) * 2018-08-03 2020-02-06 Gracenote, Inc. Audio playout report for ride-sharing session
US11581011B2 (en) 2018-08-03 2023-02-14 Gracenote, Inc. Audio playout report for ride-sharing session
US10997985B2 (en) 2018-08-03 2021-05-04 Gracenote, Inc. Audio playout report for ride-sharing session
US11837250B2 (en) 2018-08-03 2023-12-05 Gracenote, Inc. Audio playout report for ride-sharing session
US11348600B2 (en) 2018-08-03 2022-05-31 Gracenote, Inc. Audio playout report for ride-sharing session
US20230289686A1 (en) * 2020-05-27 2023-09-14 Nissan Motor Co., Ltd. Carpooling support method, carpooling support device, and carpooling support system

Also Published As

Publication number Publication date
US9349124B2 (en) 2016-05-24
WO2011100005A1 (en) 2011-08-18
WO2011100001A1 (en) 2011-08-18
US9092772B2 (en) 2015-07-28
US20170103381A1 (en) 2017-04-13
US20100216396A1 (en) 2010-08-26
US20110202417A1 (en) 2011-08-18

Similar Documents

Publication Publication Date Title
US20110202393A1 (en) Integrated system and method for car pooling using smart cards, gps, gprs, active poster and near field communication devices
US11574542B2 (en) Systems and methods for providing safety for drivers and riders in a shared transport system
Shaheen et al. Smartphone applications to influence travel choices: practices and policies
Dial Autonomous dial-a-ride transit introductory overview
KR101139340B1 (en) Proxy driving system using location based service of smart phone and method for managing the same
CN102088680B (en) Wired and wireless sensing network-based universal mobile communication system
US20020055872A1 (en) User services and information management system and method
US20160027307A1 (en) Short-term automobile rentals in a geo-spatial environment
US20140172727A1 (en) Short-term automobile rentals in a geo-spatial environment
US20100088026A1 (en) Location-aware selection of public transportation
US20080018730A1 (en) For-hire vehicle interactive communication systems and methods thereof
US20090192851A1 (en) Location-Based Transportation Management
US9928745B2 (en) System and method for pairing passengers and in-vehicle equipment
CN110533272B (en) Service system for receiving and delivering
Woetzel et al. Smart city solutions: What drives citizen adoption around the globe
US20190303809A1 (en) Passenger and vehicle-for-hire trip information sharing system
GB2534273A (en) System and method for pairing passengers and in-vehicle equipment
KR20130131547A (en) Operating system with a unique number, and its methods of operation

Legal Events

Date Code Title Description
AS Assignment

Owner name: CELLULAR EXPRESS, INC., DBA XIUS-BCGI, MASSACHUSET

Free format text: ASSIGNMENT OF ASSIGNORS INTEREST;ASSIGNORS:DEWAKAR, SUNNY RAMASWAMY;CHAUDHARY, PARVEEN KUMAR;NARKHEDE, KISHOR DYNANDEO;AND OTHERS;REEL/FRAME:025180/0812

Effective date: 20101021

AS Assignment

Owner name: XIUS CORP. FKA CELLULAR EXPRESS, INC., MASSACHUSET

Free format text: ASSIGNMENT OF ASSIGNORS INTEREST;ASSIGNOR:FERNANDEZ, ROCKY ANTHONY;REEL/FRAME:026224/0937

Effective date: 20110502

STCB Information on status: application discontinuation

Free format text: ABANDONED -- FAILURE TO RESPOND TO AN OFFICE ACTION