# US 11,451,384 B2 · Vehicle access systems and methods > Agents: this data is available as JSON from the patentgrep API and MCP server — see https://patentgrep.com/llms.txt - Number: US 11,451,384 B2 - Document ID: US11451384B2 - Status: Granted - Kind: B2 - Application number: 16/280,315 - Filed: 2019-02-20 - Published: 2020-01-16 - Granted: 2022-09-20 - Earliest claimed: 2015-11-09 - Assignees: Dealerware, LLC - Applicants: Dealerware, LLC - Inventors: Allen Darnell; Matt McMillan - Web page: https://patentgrep.com/patent/US11451384B2 ## CPC - H04L 9/0866: {involving user or device identifiers, e.g. serial number, physical or biometrical information, DNA, hand-signature or measurable physical characteristics} - G06Q 10/02: Reservations, e.g. for tickets, services or events - G06Q 10/021: {Re-booking existing reservations} - G06Q 50/40: Business processes related to the transportation industry (shipping G06Q10/083) - G07B 15/00: Arrangements or apparatus for collecting fares, tolls or entrance fees at one or more control points (handling coins or valuable papers, e.g. banknotes, G07D; apparatus for vending or hiring articles or services activated by coins, credit cards, paper currency or the like G07F7/00, G07F17/00) - G07C 5/008: {communicating information to a remotely located station (transmission systems for measured values G08C)} - G07C 9/38: with central registration - H04L 9/3234: {involving additional secure or trusted devices, e.g. TPM, smartcard, USB or software token (network architectures or network communication protocols for supporting authentication of entities using an additional device in a packet data network H04L63/0853)} - H04L 9/3297: {involving time stamps, e.g. generation of time stamps} - H04L 12/40: Bus networks - H04L 63/061: {for key exchange, e.g. in peer-to-peer networks (cryptographic mechanisms or cryptographic arrangements for key agreement H04L9/0838)} - H04L 63/0876: {based on the identity of the terminal or configuration, e.g. MAC address, hardware or software configuration or device fingerprint} - H04L 63/10: {for controlling access to devices or network resources} - H04L 67/12: specially adapted for proprietary or special-purpose networking environments, e.g. medical networks, sensor networks, networks in vehicles or remote metering networks - H04W 4/029: Location-based management or tracking services - H04W 4/40: for vehicles, e.g. vehicle-to-pedestrians [V2P] - H04W 4/44: for communication between vehicles and infrastructures, e.g. vehicle-to-cloud [V2C] or vehicle-to-home [V2H] - H04W 12/041: Key generation or derivation - H04W 12/084: using delegated authorisation, e.g. open authorisation [OAuth] protocol - G06Q 2220/00: Business processing using cryptography - H04L 2012/40215: {Controller Area Network CAN} - H04L 2012/40273: {the transportation system being a vehicle} - H04L 2209/84: Vehicles - H04W 12/04: Key management, e.g. using generic bootstrapping architecture [GBA] - H04W 12/08: Access security - H04L: TRANSMISSION OF DIGITAL INFORMATION, e.g. TELEGRAPHIC COMMUNICATION (arrangements common to telegraphic and telephonic communication H04M) - 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 - G07B: TICKET-ISSUING APPARATUS; FARE-REGISTERING APPARATUS; FRANKING APPARATUS - G07C: TIME OR ATTENDANCE REGISTERS; REGISTERING OR INDICATING THE WORKING OF MACHINES; GENERATING RANDOM NUMBERS; VOTING OR LOTTERY APPARATUS; ARRANGEMENTS, SYSTEMS OR APPARATUS FOR CHECKING NOT PROVIDED FOR ELSEWHERE - H04W: WIRELESS COMMUNICATION NETWORKS (broadcast communication H04H; communication systems using wireless links for non-selective communication, e.g. wireless extensions H04M1/72) ## Abstract Systems, devices, and methods for controlling access to vehicles in rental, loaner, shared-use, and other vehicle fleets. Some of the present systems, devices, and methods use encrypted virtual keys that can be relayed to a vehicle computing device via a user's mobile device. Such virtual keys can be command-specific such that successful use of a virtual key results execution of a predetermined command or group of commands, and further commands require one or more additional virtual keys with the additional commands. Others of the present systems, devices, and methods provide tools: for provisioning or initial pairing of vehicle computing devices with corresponding vehicles, identifying and permitting a user to select locally available vehicles, prompting vehicle computing devices to retrieve pending commands from a server, and/or various other functions described in this disclosure. ## Claims ### Claim 1 A mobile computing device comprising: a transceiver; a memory storing one or more instructions; and a processor coupled to the memory and configured to execute the one or more instructions to cause the processor to: receive, via the transceiver of the mobile computing device, from each transportation device of a plurality of transportation devices within a communication range of the transceiver, state information of the corresponding transportation device; receive, from a server associated with a management system corresponding to the plurality of transportation devices, one or more virtual keys associated with at least some of the plurality of transportation devices; receive a selection input indicating a first transportation device of the plurality of transportation devices from a filtered list of a subset of the plurality of transportation devices that are associated with the one or more virtual keys; and initiate transmission of an indication of the selection input to the server. ### Claim 2 (depends on 1) The mobile computing device of claim 1, where the transceiver is configured to communicate with the plurality of transportation devices in accordance with a Bluetooth protocol or a Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE) protocol to receive the state information of the corresponding transportation device. ### Claim 3 (depends on 1) The mobile computing device of claim 1, further comprising a network interface configured to communicate with the server via a network, where the transceiver is configured to directly communicate with the plurality of transportation devices. ### Claim 4 (depends on 1) The mobile computing device of claim 1, where the transceiver is configured to receive the state information directly from the plurality of transportation devices. ### Claim 5 (depends on 1) The mobile computing device of claim 1, where the state information indicates a reservation availability state of the corresponding transportation device, and where the reservation availability state includes an available state and an unavailable state, and at least one of the plurality of transportation devices is in an unavailable state. ### Claim 6 (depends on 1) The mobile computing device of claim 1, where execution of the one or more instructions further causes the processor to initiate display of an indication of each of the plurality of transportation devices based on validation of a request for access to a transportation device. ### Claim 7 (depends on 6) The mobile computing device of claim 6, where execution of the one or more instructions further causes the processor to: receive the request for access from the server, the request for access associated with a reservation for a user associated with the mobile computing device; receive an indication of confirmation of the reservation from the server; and validate the request for access based on receipt of the indication. ### Claim 8 (depends on 6) The mobile computing device of claim 6, where execution of the one or more instructions further causes the processor to: receive the request for access from the server, the request for access associated with a reservation for a user associated with the mobile computing device; initiate transmission of a query to the server for confirmation of the reservation; receive a confirmation message from the server based on transmission of the query; and validate the request for access based on receipt of the confirmation message. ### Claim 9 (depends on 1) The mobile computing device of claim 1, where execution of the one or more instructions further causes the processor to: for each transportation device of the plurality of transportation devices, determine whether the state information of the corresponding transportation device corresponds to an unavailable reservation state; and prepare the filtered list by filtering a list of the plurality of transportation devices to remove at least one transportation device associated with the unavailable reservation state. ### Claim 10 (depends on 1) The mobile computing device of claim 1, where execution of the one or more instructions further causes the processor to: receive, from the server, a first virtual key for the first transportation device; and initiate transmission, via the transceiver, of the first virtual key to the first transportation device. ### Claim 11 (depends on 1) The mobile computing device of claim 1, where execution of the one or more instructions further causes the processor to: prepare the filtered list by filtering a list of the plurality of transportation devices to remove at least one transportation device for which a virtual key is not received. ### Claim 12 A method comprising: receiving, via a transceiver of a mobile computing device, from each transportation device of a plurality of transportation devices within a communication range of the transceiver, state information of the corresponding transportation device; receiving, from a server associated with a management system corresponding to the plurality of transportation devices, one or more virtual keys associated with at least some of the plurality of transportation devices; receiving, at the mobile computing device, a selection input indicating a first transportation device of the plurality of transportation devices from a filtered list of a subset of the plurality of transportation devices that are associated with the one or more virtual keys; and transmitting an indication of the selection input to the server. ### Claim 13 (depends on 12) The method of claim 12, where the state information indicates a reservation availability state of the corresponding transportation device. ### Claim 14 (depends on 12) The method of claim 12, where the transceiver comprises a point-to-point transceiver. ### Claim 15 (depends on 12) The method of claim 12, further comprising: receiving a request for access to the first transportation device, the request for access associated with a reservation for a user associated with the mobile computing device; receiving an indication of confirmation of the reservation from server; validating the request for access based on receipt of the indication; and displaying an indication of each of the plurality of transportation devices based on validation of the request for access. ### Claim 16 (depends on 12) The method of claim 12, further comprising: receiving a request for access to the first transportation device, the request for access associated with a reservation for a user associated with the mobile computing device; transmitting a query to the server for confirmation of the reservation; receiving a confirmation message from the server based on transmission of the query; validating the request for access based on receipt of the confirmation message; and displaying an indication of each of the plurality of transportation devices based on validation of the request for access. ### Claim 17 (depends on 12) The method of claim 12, further comprising: determining whether to remove at least one transportation device from a list of the plurality of transportation devices based on at least one reservation availability state corresponding to the at least one transportation device; and displaying the list of the plurality of transportation devices based on the determination. ### Claim 18 A mobile device comprising: a transceiver; a memory storing one or more instructions; and a processor coupled to the memory and configured to execute the one or more instructions to cause the processor to: receive, from a server associated with a transportation device management system, one or more virtual keys associated with reserving at least one transportation device; perform a scan for one or more transportation devices within a communication range of the transceiver; receive, via the transceiver from each transportation device of the one or more transportation devices, state information of the corresponding transportation device; determine whether to remove a transportation device from a list of the one or more transportation devices based on a determination whether one of the one or more virtual keys is associated with the transportation device or a determination whether the transportation device is associated with an unavailable state; and initiate display of the list of the one or more transportation devices without the transportation device based on a determination to remove the transportation device. ### Claim 19 (depends on 18) The mobile device of claim 18, where execution of the one or more instructions further cause the processor to: receive a selection input indicating a first transportation device included in the displayed list; and initiate transmission, via the transceiver to the first transportation device, of a first virtual key of the one or more virtual keys, the first virtual key associated with the first transportation device. ### Claim 20 (depends on 19) The mobile device of claim 19, where the one or more virtual keys include a plurality of virtual keys, and where execution of the one or more instructions further cause the processor to, based on successful transmission of the first virtual key, delete at least one virtual key of the plurality of virtual keys.