FIELD OF THE INVENTION

This invention relates to a booking of a ride and/or vehicle. This invention more particularly relates to a booking of a ride and/or vehicle in relation to the proximity of the user.

This invention more particularly relates to allowing or restricting the booking or starting or stopping or powering on or powering off of the ride and/or vehicle.

This invention more particularly relates to the allowing or the restricting or the starting or the stopping or the powering on or off of the ride and/or vehicle through a mobile or a wearable device of the user and if the user is in the proximity of the ride/vehicle and/or location or both.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

There are many inventions that pertain to the booking of vehicles through applications, systems and servers. However, in such inventions the mobile device communicates directly with the vehicle. In such inventions, the distance of the mobile device / wearable device to a designated spot along with its distance from the vehicle does not allow or restrict the booking or release or starting or stopping or powering on or powering off of the vehicle and/or ride.

CN103886775 is a parking reservation system wherein parking sensors are used to detect the parking availability and the communication takes place between the parking space computer and the cloud server. It also helps in detecting a vacant parking space. However, it is a system not based on proximity, as the user is required to go upto the parking space to reserve or to pay.

JP6190852 is a vehicle access control system wherein the user’s wireless device directly communicates with the vehicle. The access control only works when the user’s device is in communication with the vehicle. Also when the reservation is received by the user, the user’s device communicates directly with the vehicle for access to be granted.

US2013/0321178A1 gives options of randomly available vehicles for hire in the vicinity.

EP1398719 grants access to a vehicle based on reservation similar to other reservation systems. Reservation or booking takes place through a computer that is fixed at the location and is authenticated by Short Message Service (SMS). No device is required for reservation there is therefore no need to be in the proximity of the parking spot.

Thus, a need was felt to have a novel mechanism that allows the booking of a ride and/or vehicle only when the user is in proximity of the ride’s location.

OBJECTS OF THE INVENTION

The principal object of the present invention is to develop a system including an application with hardware that allows users to book a ride and/or vehicle if they are in the proximity.

Another object of the present invention is to disallow users who are away from a pickup spot or designated point to book a ride and/or vehicle. This also restricts the user from releasing or stopping the ride and/or vehicle when they are away from the dr op-off spot or designated point and / or during the ride and/or vehicle.

Another main object of the present invention is to maintain a discipline of only booking and releasing the ride and/or vehicle at a designated stand or at a designated point while in proximity of the ride and/or vehicle as well.

The present system includes software / application and hardware which allow and restrict the booking of a ride and/or vehicle or starting and release or stopping or powering on or off on the basis of the proximity of the user to a location and/or a designated point and the ride/vehicle. SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

This invention is a mechanism that relates to a booking of a ride and/or vehicle in relation to the proximity of the user. Also, this invention more particularly relates to allowing or restricting the booking or starting or stopping or powering on or off of the ride and/or vehicle with a phone or mobile device or a wearable device of the user and if the user in in the proximity of the ride and/or vehicle or designated spot.

In the present invention the distance of the user, to allow the booking or starting or stopping or powering on or off can be defined by the detection of a Bluetooth device at the defined location and the Bluetooth device in or on the ride and/or vehicle.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

Figure 1: Concept visualization Figure 2: Pick up communication

Figure 3: Drop Communication

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

In the present invention the system uses a hardware device such as a phone or mobile device or wearable device with Bluetooth / wifi feature, a stationary Bluetooth device (SBD) and / or a vehicle / ride machinery Bluetooth device (VBD) and a system and softwares / applications, to complete the operation, along with a wireless network, which could be WiFi, radio frequency, GSM, etc. to complete the operation.

In the present invention the distance of the user, to allow the booking or starting or stopping or powering on or off can be defined by the detection of a Bluetooth device at the defined location and the Bluetooth device in or on the ride and/or vehicle. The device at the location is called ‘ Stationary Bluetooth device’ (SBD) and is placed at pickup spot or drop stop or at the designated spot.

The Bluetooth device in the vehicle or ride is called ‘Vehicle Bluetooth device’ (VBD) and is fitted within or on the vehicle / ride.

The distance of the user from the ride also allows or restricts the user to start and stop or power on and off the ride and/or vehicle based on the proximity of the user to the ride and/or vehicle, even when they are both away from the pickup spot or drop off stop or at the designated spot.

In the present invention the user can attempt to book a ride and/or vehicle or to start or power on a ride and/or vehicle through the system while the application or system uses the phone or mobile device’s or a wearable device’s Bluetooth to detect the applicable Bluetooth device (SBD or VBD or both) in its vicinity.

In the present invention a vehicle or a ride could mean any such as electric vehicles, road vehicles, locomotives, sea vessels, jet ski, hoverboards, aircrafts, lawn mowers, go-kart, ATVs, UAVs, etc

When the system recognizes the registered stationary Bluetooth device (SBT), it will allow the user to book a ride and/or vehicle.

When the system recognizes the vehicle Bluetooth device (VBD), it will allow the user to start or stop the ride and/or vehicle.

The same principle applies while a user chooses to release or stop the ride and/or vehicle.

In the present invention the system will use the phone or mobile device’s or wearable device’s Bluetooth to detect the registered stationary Bluetooth device (SBD) and the vehicle Bluetooth device (VBD) to ensure that the vehicle can be released. Similarly, for stopping of the ride and/or vehicle the system detects only the vehicle’s Bluetooth device (VBD) to permit the action.

All these allowances in the present invention will depend on the distance defined for the Bluetooth devices at the stand or at any designated point and in or on the ride and/or vehicle as defined and set for each of the devices for example the vehicle Bluetooth device (VBD) could be set to be detected at a maximum distance of one meter or less whereas the stationary Bluetooth device could be set to be detected at five meters or more depending upon line of sight of the user or any other such parameter, based upon the particular application or system (please refer to figure 1).

In the present invention, upon the detection and recognition of the vehicle Bluetooth device (VBD) or / and the stationary Bluetooth device (SBD) by the phone or mobile device or wearable device, the system will validate the devices information, and will allow or restrict the booking / powering on of the vehicle based on permissions set within the system.

This mechanism in the present invention could work with either the phone or mobile device or wearable device detecting the stationary Bluetooth alone, based on the set program of the system or the phone or mobile device or wearable device detecting the vehicle Bluetooth device alone, based on the set program of the system or the phone or mobile device or wearable device detecting both or either of the stationary Bluetooth device (SBD) and /or the vehicle Bluetooth device (VBD) based on the system set up.

In the present invention the system communicates with the telematic or IOT devices or both within or on the ride and/or vehicle through a wireless network via a server and does not directly communicate with the ride and / or vehicle to transmit instructions or commands initiated by the user through the phone or mobile device or wearable device.

In the present invention the instructions or commands could also be set on an automatic trigger based on certain events detected by the pre-set software, where the user of the phone or mobile device or wearable device does not have to initiate the command. For example, the display of a control panel for any ride and/or vehicle should power on only when the operator of the ride (User) is within one meter or less of the panel, such that no other person without the phone or mobile device or wearable device should be able to even attempt to operate or attempt to login to the panel.

In the present invention an alternative arrangement can be achieved by the use of wifi devices, where the range of transmission and detection can be restricted to a desired variable / range / limit. The same result is achieved by interchanging the arrangement of the devices and it could also be made more complex by increasing the number of validation stages, these options are described separately below:

Interchangeability: Although the details, description and examples state a certain arrangement and function of devices, which are: phones, mobile devices or wearable devices, SBD & VBD this does not limit the mechanism, and the devices can be interchanged thereby using either beacons or smart portable devices in either of the locations (stationary location / ride). Thereby even the stationary location can have a phone or mobile device or wearable device instead of a beacon and likewise for the ride and the user can have a beacon instead of a phone or mobile device or wearable device.

Complexity: The complexity and accuracy of the mechanism can be amplified by increasing the number of stages or validations in every scenario, as explained in the example below meant for the booking and release of a ride and / or vehicle:

Pick-up: This is an operation where the phone or mobile device or wearable device detects the stationary Bluetooth device (SBD) and the server then allows the user to book a ride and/or vehicle from that location, if the user is within the range of detection of the stationary Bluetooth device (SBD).

This could be further made accurate or complex by a two stage process, wherein the proximity of the user is first detected to the stationary location by detection of the stationary Bluetooth device (SBD) and then an additional stage of detection of the proximity of the user to the stationary location through the use of a global positioning system (GPS) within the phone or mobile device or wearable device. A three-stage process can be obtained by also adding the detection of the vehicle Bluetooth device (VBD) to the earlier mentioned two stage process.

Drop-off: The similar condition or conditions can be applied during the release or drop of the ride and/or vehicle, thereby ensuring that the ride is released only at a designated spot.

ADVANTAGES OF THE INVENTION

1) The present invention only allows the genuine users to book rides and/or vehicle.

2) The present invention delivers services to users who are already at the point of sale/service.

3) The present invention restricts the misuse of the rides and/or vehicle.

4) The present invention ensures the safety during operations by ensuring that the user is around the ride and/or vehicle.

5) The present invention ensures discipline of parking the rides and/or vehicles in their designated space.

6) The present invention avoids nuisance of randomly parked vehicles.

7) The present invention gives out accurate information regarding the availability of the rides and/or vehicles at the pick-up point or at the designated spot.

8) The present invention provides safety during operations such as theft, unattended access of the user and also the ride.

9) The present invention restricts unauthorized access to a ride and / or vehicle without a registered mobile and/or wearable device.