Vehicle sharing system and method for allocating vehicles based on state of charge

A method for allocating one or more vehicles from a fleet of electrically powered vehicles to one or more users, wherein each vehicle has a state of charge (SOC) at any given time, the method comprising:

• sensing the SOC and vehicle location for each vehicle;
• transmitting the SOC and vehicle location information to a computer system at a central station;
• tracking the SOC and the vehicle location information at the computer system;
• processing at the computer system the vehicle location information for a vehicle due to arrive at a port to provide an estimated arrival time of the vehicle at the port;
• defining a vehicle search group for each port including vehicles at the port, vehicles having estimated arrival times at the port within a predetermined time interval, and including into the vehicle search group of a port vehicles that are located at a charging facility at the port and have a charging time period due to expire within a predefined time period;
• receiving a travel request from a user;
• selecting a group of one or more vehicles from the vehicle search group in response to vehicle charge levels and based on the vehicle location information, each selected vehicle having an SOC sufficient to meet the travel request;
• and
• allocating a vehicle having a highest SOC in the group for the user.

A method for allocating one or more vehicles from a fleet of electric powered vehicles to one or more users, each vehicle having a state of charge (SOC) at any given time and a charging rate dependent upon the SOC, wherein a plot of the SOC of the vehicle being charged versus time defines a generally linear region below an SOC level and a nonlinear region above the SOC level, the method comprising:

• sensing the SOC and vehicle location for each vehicle;
• transmitting the SOC and vehicle location information to a computer system at a central station;
• tracking the SOC and the vehicle location information at the computer system;
• processing at the computer system the vehicle location information for a vehicle due to arrive at a port to provide an estimated arrival time of the vehicle at the port;
• defining a vehicle sere group for each port including vehicles at the port, vehicles having estimated arrival times at the port within a predetermined time interval, and including into the vehicle search group of a port vehicles that are located at a charging facility at the port and have a charging time period due to expire within a predefined time period;
• receiving a travel request from a user;
• selecting a group of one or more vehicles from the vehicle search group in response to vehicle charge levels and based on the vehicle location information, each selected vehicle having an SOC sufficient to meet the travel request from the user;
• and
• allocating to the user a vehicle within the group having an SOC above the SOC level;
• and
• in response to no vehicles within the group have an SOC above the SOC level, allocating a vehicle within the group having a highs SOC for the user.

A vehicle allocation system for allocating one or more vehicles from a fleet of electrically powered vehicles to one or more users, wherein each vehicle has a state of charge (SOC) at any given time, the vehicle allocation system comprising:

• one or more ports at geographically remote locations relative to each other, each port having a user interface terminal for receiving a travel request from a user;
• a computer system in communication with at least one user interface terminal and programmed
• for processing the SOC information;
• for including vehicles at a port and vehicles having estimated arrival time at the port with in predetermined time interval in a vehicle search group of a port;
• for including vehicles in the vehicle search group of a port vehicles that are located at a charging facility at the port and have a charging time period due to expire within a predefined time period;
• and
• in response to a travel request received from a user at a port, for selecting a group of one or more vehicles from the vehicle search group of the port based on vehicle location information, where each selected vehicle has an SOC sufficient to meet the travel request from the user, and for allocating a vehicle having a highest SOC in the group for the user;
• wherein said computer system includes a tracking system that provides said vehicle location information and the SOC information corresponding to the location of each vehicle;
• a sensor associated with and installed on each vehicle for sensing the state of charge of the associated vehicle;
• and
• a wireless communication unit associated with and installed on each vehicle and operatively coupled to the sensor on the associated vehicle for transmitting state of charge information corresponding to a state of charge sensed by the sensor.