# US 10,501,054 B2 · On-demand driver systems and methods

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- Number: US 10,501,054 B2
- Document ID: US10501054B2
- Status: Granted
- Kind: B2
- Application number: 15/198,930
- Filed: 2016-06-30
- Published: 2018-01-04
- Granted: 2019-12-10
- Earliest claimed: 2016-06-30
- Assignees: Ford Global Technologies, LLC
- Applicants: Ford Global Technologies, LLC
- Inventors: Dave A. Herman; David Joseph Orris; Nicholas Scheufler; Nunzio Decia; Stephen Jay Orris
- Web page: https://patentgrep.com/patent/US10501054B2

## CPC

- B60R 25/241: {whereby access privileges are related to the identifiers}
- B60R 25/04: operating on the propulsion system, e.g. engine or drive motor
- B60R 25/102: a signal being sent to a remote location, e.g. a radio signal being transmitted to a police station, a security company or the owner
- G01C 21/3407: {specially adapted for specific applications}
- G01C 21/3423: {Multimodal routing}
- G01C 21/343: {Calculating itineraries (travelling salesman problem G06Q10/04; optimisation of routes G06Q10/047)}
- G01C 21/3676: {Overview of the route on the road map}
- H04L 63/062: {for key distribution, e.g. centrally by trusted party (cryptographic mechanisms or cryptographic arrangements for key distribution involving a central third party H04L9/0819)}
- H04L 67/52: specially adapted for the location of the user terminal
- H04W 4/023: {using mutual or relative location information between multiple location based services [LBS] targets or of distance thresholds}
- H04W 4/029: Location-based management or tracking services
- H04W 12/043: using a trusted network node as an anchor
- G06Q 2240/00: Transportation facility access, e.g. fares, tolls or parking
- H04W 4/40: for vehicles, e.g. vehicle-to-pedestrians [V2P]
- B60R: VEHICLES, VEHICLE FITTINGS, OR VEHICLE PARTS, NOT OTHERWISE PROVIDED FOR
- G01C: MEASURING DISTANCES, LEVELS OR BEARINGS; SURVEYING; NAVIGATION; GYROSCOPIC INSTRUMENTS; PHOTOGRAMMETRY OR VIDEOGRAMMETRY (measuring liquid level G01F; radio navigation, determining distance or velocity by use of propagation effects, e.g. Doppler effects, propagation time, of radio waves, analogous arrangements using other waves G01S)
- H04L: TRANSMISSION OF DIGITAL INFORMATION, e.g. TELEGRAPHIC COMMUNICATION (arrangements common to telegraphic and telephonic communication H04M)
- H04W: WIRELESS COMMUNICATION NETWORKS (broadcast communication H04H; communication systems using wireless links for non-selective communication, e.g. wireless extensions H04M1/72)
- 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

## Abstract

Example on-demand driver (ODD) systems and methods are described herein. An example method includes generating, with an ODD system, a softkey for a vehicle associated with an agreement between a driver-in-need (DIN) and an ODD, monitoring, with the ODD system, a location of an ODD device carried by the ODD, and transmitting, with the ODD system, the softkey to the ODD device when the ODD device is detected as being within a proximity of the vehicle. In the example method, the softkey is used to unlock the vehicle.

## Claims

### Claim 1

A method comprising:
generating, with an on-demand driver (ODD) system, a softkey for a vehicle associated with an agreement between a driver-in-need (DIN) and an ODD, the softkey including an expiration time;
monitoring, with the ODD system, a location of an ODD device carried by the ODD; and
transmitting, with the ODD system, the softkey to the ODD device when the ODD device is detected as being within a proximity of the vehicle, the softkey used to unlock the vehicle, wherein, if the expiration time has been exceed before the softkey is transmitted, the ODD system does not transmit the softkey to the ODD device.

### Claim 2 (depends on 1)

The method of claim 1, wherein the softkey includes an instruction to disable a feature in the vehicle.

### Claim 3 (depends on 1)

The method of claim 1, wherein the softkey is a first softkey, further including:
generating, with the ODD system, a second softkey; and
transmitting, with the ODD system, the second softkey to a DIN device carried by the DIN, the first softkey and the second softkey required to unlock the vehicle.

### Claim 4 (depends on 1)

The method of claim 1 further including:
determining, with the ODD system, a navigation route for the vehicle;
tracking, with the ODD system, a location of the vehicle; and
determining, with the ODD system, whether the vehicle diverts from the navigation route based on the location of the vehicle.

### Claim 5 (depends on 4)

The method of claim 4 further including transmitting, with the ODD system, the navigation route to at least one of the ODD device or the vehicle.

### Claim 6 (depends on 4)

The method of claim 4 further including transmitting, with the ODD system, an alert to a DIN device carried by the DIN if the vehicle diverts from the navigation route.

### Claim 7 (depends on 6)

The method of claim 6 further including transmitting, with the ODD system, an instruction to the vehicle to disable the vehicle based on input from the DIN device.

### Claim 8 (depends on 6)

The method of claim 6 further including notifying, with the ODD system, an authority if the DIN does not respond within a period of time.

### Claim 9 (depends on 4)

The method of claim 4 further including transmitting, with the ODD system, an alert to the vehicle to be displayed via an instrument cluster if the vehicle diverts from the navigation route.

### Claim 10

An apparatus comprising:
an agreement database to store an on-demand driver (ODD) agreement between a driver-in-need (DIN) and an ODD for transportation of a vehicle;
a location monitor to track a location of an ODD device carried by the ODD; and
a softkey manager to:
generate a softkey for starting the vehicle, the softkey including an expiration time; and
transmit the softkey to the ODD device when the ODD device is detected as being within a proximity of the vehicle, wherein, if the expiration time has been exceed before the softkey is transmitted, the softkey manager does not transmit the softkey to the ODD device.

### Claim 11 (depends on 10)

The apparatus of claim 10, wherein the location monitor is to:
determine an instructed route for the vehicle; and
monitor a location of vehicle while the vehicle is driving.

### Claim 12 (depends on 11)

The apparatus of claim 11 further including an alerter to transmit an alert to the DIN if the vehicle travels outside a corridor of the instructed route.

### Claim 13 (depends on 12)

The apparatus of claim 12, wherein the corridor of the instructed route is defined by a radius.

### Claim 14 (depends on 13)

The apparatus of claim 13, wherein the radius is defined by the DIN.

### Claim 15 (depends on 1)

The method of claim 1, further including, prior it to generating the softkey, creating and storing, with the ODD system, a record of the agreement between the DIN and the ODD in which the ODD is to drive the vehicle from a first location to a second location, the agreement based on a request from a DIN device carried by the DIN and an acceptance from the ODD device.

### Claim 16 (depends on 15)

The method of claim 15, wherein the agreement includes an agreed upon price for transporting the vehicle from the first location to the second location.

### Claim 17 (depends on 1)

The method of claim 1, wherein monitoring the location of the ODD device is based on global positioning system (GPS) coordinates of the ODD device.

### Claim 18 (depends on 8)

The method of claim 8, wherein the authority is a local police facility.