US 12,490,046 B2
System and methods for automatically checking-in a vehicle
Thomas Brady, County Dublin (IE)
Assigned to Tracematics Limited, Dublin (IE)
Filed by Tracematics Limited, Dublin (IE)
Filed on Mar. 8, 2022, as Appl. No. 17/688,953.
Application 17/688,953 is a continuation of application No. 16/480,584, granted, now 11,304,025, previously published as PCT/EP2018/052079, filed on Jan. 29, 2018.
Claims priority of application No. 1701390 (GB), filed on Jan. 27, 2017.
Prior Publication US 2022/0248171 A1, Aug. 4, 2022
Int. Cl. G06Q 10/00 (2023.01); G06Q 10/0631 (2023.01); G06Q 30/0645 (2023.01); G06Q 50/40 (2024.01); G08G 1/00 (2006.01); H04W 4/021 (2018.01); H04W 4/029 (2018.01); H04W 4/40 (2018.01)
CPC H04W 4/021 (2013.01) [G06Q 10/06314 (2013.01); G06Q 30/0645 (2013.01); G06Q 50/40 (2024.01); G08G 1/207 (2013.01); H04W 4/029 (2018.02); H04W 4/40 (2018.02)] 18 Claims
OG exemplary drawing
 
1. A method of automatically checking-in a vehicle upon its return to a station or depot, comprising:
receiving, by a processor in a computing device from a fleet management system, fleet management data that includes a buy-back amount of mileage and a return location for the vehicle;
tracking, by a telematics service provider using an on-board unit of the vehicle, mileage of the vehicle throughout a rental period;
receiving, by the processor, geolocation data collected by the on-board unit of the vehicle;
using, by the processor, the received fleet management data, data collected by the on-board unit of the vehicle, and the received geolocation data to determine whether the vehicle is at the return location, by detecting entry of the vehicle into a geofenced area defining the return location, and whether the vehicle was involved in an impact to the vehicle during a rental period; and
closing, by the processor, a contract associated with the vehicle automatically in response to:
determining that the vehicle has entered into the geofenced area defining the return location based on the received fleet management data and the received geolocation data;
determining a threshold value based on the received buy-back amount of mileage;
determining a total rental mileage for the vehicle based on data collected by the on-board unit of the vehicle;
determining whether the total rental mileage exceeds the determined threshold value; and
triggering an alert in response to determining that the total rental mileage exceeds the determined threshold value and determining that the vehicle was involved in an impact to the vehicle during the rental period.