Case 1:20-cv-01629-UNA Document 1-5 Filed 11/30/20 Page 1 of 10 PageID #: 76
`case lizo'cv'mg'UNA Docurner“1'1lllllillllMlllFllflfilllllllllilllllllll|Ill|lllllllllllfillfillfllll‘3
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`US010748417B1
`
`(12) United States Patent
`Us 10,748,417 B1
`(10) Patent No.:
`Demisse
`(45) Date of Patent:
`*Aug. 18, 2020
`
`(54)
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`(71)
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`(72)
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`(73)
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`VEHICLE IDENTIFICATION SYSTEM
`
`Applicant: RideShare Displays, Inc., Fairfield, NJ
`(US)
`
`Inventor: Dereje M. Demisse, Los Angeles, CA
`(US)
`
`Assignee: RideShare Displays, Inc., Fairfield, NJ
`(US)
`
`(*)
`
`Notice:
`
`Subject to any disclaimer, the term of this
`patent is extended or adjusted under 35
`U.S.C. 154(b) by 0 days.
`
`This patent is subject to a terminal dis-
`claimer.
`
`(21)
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`Appl. No.: 16/731,558
`
`(22)
`
`Filed:
`
`Dec. 31, 2019
`
`USPC ..... 340/425.5, 426.1, 539.1, 539.11, 539.13,
`340/9017905, 933
`See application file for complete search history.
`
`(56)
`
`References Cited
`U.S. PATENT DOCUMENTS
`
`6,356,838 B1
`6,615,046 B1
`6,756,913 B1
`8,635,556 B2
`9,488,494 B2
`9,718,397 B2
`9,892,637 B2
`10,169,987 Bl
`2002/0097193 A1 *
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`3/2002 Paul
`9/2003 Ur
`6/2004 Ayed
`1/2014 Lalancette et 31.
`11/2016 Millspaugh
`8/2017 Kalanick et a1.
`2/2018 Demisse
`1/2019 Demisse
`7/2002 Powers .................. G06Q 30/02
`345/23
`
`4/2003 Takanashi et a1.
`2003/0065556 A1
`4/2004 Ando et a1.
`2004/0076280 A1
`9/2004 Lee
`2004/0177109 A1
`1/2005 Berquist
`2005/0012598 A1
`2006/0276960 A1* 12/2006 Adamczyk ............. G06Q 10/06
`701/516
`
`(63)
`
`(60)
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`(51)
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`(52)
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`(58)
`
`Related U.S. Application Data
`
`Continuation of application No. 16/514,492, filed on
`Jul. 17, 2019, now Pat. No. 10,559,199, which is a
`continuation of application No. 16/ 198,140, filed on
`Nov. 21, 2018, now Pat. No. 10,395,525, which is a
`continuation of application No. 15/860,939, filed on
`Jan. 3, 2018, now Pat. No. 10,169,987, which is a
`continuation of application No. 14/723,049, filed on
`May 27, 2015, now Pat. No. 9,892,637.
`
`Provisional application No. 62/004,753, filed on May
`29, 2014.
`
`Int. Cl.
`
`(Continued)
`Primary Examiner 7 Daryl C Pope
`(74) Attorney, Agent, or Firm 7 Welsh Flaxman & Gitler
`LLC
`
`ABSTRACT
`(57)
`A vehicle identification system includes one or more dis-
`plays associated with a vehicle, a transceiver, and a control-
`ler communicatively coupled to the transceiver. The one or
`more displays are located to be visible from an exterior of
`the vehicle. The controller is adapted to generate a first
`signal
`to be transmitted by the transceiver to a mobile
`communication device associated with a driver of the
`vehicle when it is determined that the vehicle is within a
`
`(2006.01)
`
`G08G 1/017
`U.S. Cl.
`G08G 1/017 (2013 01)
`CPC
`Field 0fClass1ficat10nSearch
`.
`CPC ...................................................... GOSG 1/017
`
`predetermined distance of a specific location. The mobile
`communication device associated with the driver is adapted
`to generate a second signal to be transmitted to the one or
`more displays. The second signal represents an indicator.
`5 Clailns3 4 Drawing Sheets
`
`1€J\K
`
`CONTROLLER
`1E
`
`
`
`TRANSCEIVER
`129
`
`w
`
`
`
`EXHIBIT E
`
`EXHIBIT E
`
`

`

`Case 1:20-cv-01629-UNA Document 1-5 Filed 11/30/20 Page 2 of 10 PageID #: 77
`Case 1:20-cv-01629-UNA Document 1-5 Filed 11/30/20 Page 2 of 10 PageID #: 77
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`US 10,748,417 B1
` Page 2
`
`(56)
`
`References Cited
`U.S. PATENT DOCUMENTS
`
`2012/0127196 A1*
`
`2012/0203599 A1
`2014/0141840 A1*
`
`2019/0009721 A1
`2019/0228643 A1*
`
`* cited by examiner
`
`5/2012 Landry ................... G06F 3/147
`345/619
`
`8/2012 Choi et al.
`5/2014 Pereira, Jr.
`
`.............. G06F 16/95
`455/566
`
`1/2019 Schofield et al.
`7/2019 Demisse ................ G08G1/017
`
`

`

`Case 1:20-cv-01629-UNA Document 1-5 Filed 11/30/20 Page 3 of 10 PageID #: 78
`Case 1:20-cv-01629-UNA Document 1-5 Filed 11/30/20 Page 3 of 10 PageID #: 78
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`U.S. Patent
`
`Aug. 18, 2020
`
`Sheet 1 014
`
`US 10,748,417 B1
`
`CONTROLLER 110
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`Case 1:20-cv-01629-UNA Document 1-5 Filed 11/30/20 Page 4 of 10 PageID #: 79
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`Case 1:20-cv-01629-UNA Document 1-5 Filed 11/30/20 Page 5 of 10 PageID #: 80
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`Case 1:20-cv-01629-UNA Document 1-5 Filed 11/30/20 Page 6 of 10 PageID #: 81
`Case 1:20-cv-01629-UNA Document 1-5 Filed 11/30/20 Page 6 of 10 PageID #: 81
`
`U.S. Patent
`
`Aug. 18, 2020
`
`Sheet 4 0f 4
`
`US 10,748,417 B1
`
`WHEN ET ES SETERMENES FHA? THE VEHECLE ES WETHEN A
`PREDE‘E‘ERMWEB DESTANCE OF THE LQCAWON GE THE USER,
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`
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`
`

`

`Case 1:20-cv-01629-UNA Document 1-5 Filed 11/30/20 Page 7 of 10 PageID #: 82
`Case 1:20-cv-01629-UNA Document 1-5 Filed 11/30/20 Page 7 of 10 PageID #: 82
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`US 10,748,417 B1
`
`1
`VEHICLE IDENTIFICATION SYSTEM
`
`CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED
`APPLICATIONS
`
`The present application claims priority to, and the benefit
`of, US. Provisional Application Ser. No. 62/004,753
`entitled “VEHICLE IDENTIFYING SYSTEM,” filed on
`May 29, 2014, the disclosure of which is herein incorporated
`by reference in its entirety.
`
`STATEMENT RE: FEDERALLY SPONSORED
`RESEARCH/DEVELOPMENT
`
`Not Applicable
`
`BACKGROUND
`
`Technical Field
`
`The present disclosure relates generally to a system and
`method for vehicle identification. More particularly,
`the
`present invention relates to a system adapted to provide an
`indicator on a mobile communication device of a user
`
`having requested a ride service to allow the user to identify
`a vehicle prior to boarding the vehicle.
`
`Related Art
`
`The rapid technological advances in the Internet, mobile
`communications technologies, and social networking have
`opened up opportunities for tech-enabled transportation ser-
`vices that provide on-demand individual transportation. In
`one ride-hailing model, drivers and riders use mobile phones
`connected to a web service to arrange rides. Before riding
`with UBER, for example, customers are required to create
`an account with their personal and payment information, and
`rides can only be requested through the application.
`To varying degrees, on-demand transportation service
`providers employ ideas from social networking, reputation
`systems, and Global Positioning System (GPS) tracking to
`provide service. Although these companies may appear to be
`taxi companies to riders, they are actually dispatching ser-
`vices which serve both riders and drivers.
`
`such as
`Technology-enabled transportation services,
`UBER and LYFT, may help to improve the public’s trans-
`portation options. Expanding the availability of on-demand
`transportation modes and technology-enabled tools may
`give more people the freedom to live “car-free” or “car-
`light” lifestylesiavoiding the cost of owning,
`insuring,
`maintaining and garaging a private vehicle.
`There are numerous barriers that have prevented people
`from using non-driving modes of transportation. Public
`transportation use, for example, is often limited by percep-
`tions of personal security in public transportation travel.
`Rider safety is fundamental to the continued success of
`transportation services, but driver safety has also become an
`issue.
`
`Acontinuing need exists for systems and methods adapted
`for use by transportation services to ensure rider and driver
`security.
`
`BRIEF SUMMARY
`
`According to an aspect of the present disclosure, a vehicle
`identification system is provided. The vehicle identification
`system includes one or more displays associated with a
`
`2
`
`vehicle, a transceiver, and a controller communicatively
`coupled to the transceiver. The one or more displays are
`located to be visible from an exterior of the vehicle. The
`
`controller is adapted to generate a first signal to be trans-
`mitted by the transceiver to a mobile communication device
`associated with a driver of the vehicle when it is determined
`
`that the vehicle is within a predetermined distance of a
`specific location. The mobile communication device asso-
`ciated with the driver is adapted to generate a second signal
`to be transmitted to the one or more displays. The second
`signal represents an indicator.
`According to another aspect of the present disclosure, a
`method of identifying a vehicle dispatched to a location of
`a user having requested a ride from a transportation service
`is provided. The method includes: when it is determined that
`the vehicle is within a predetermined distance of the location
`of the user, generating a notification signal to a mobile
`communication device associated with the driver; generat-
`ing an indicatory signal representing an indicator in response
`to receiving the notification signal; and displaying, on a
`display associated with the vehicle, the indicator based on
`the notification signal. The display is located to be visible on
`the exterior of the vehicle. The method also includes:
`
`displaying the indicator on a mobile communication device
`associated with the user; and identifying the vehicle based
`on appearance of a match, by visual observation of the user,
`between the indicator being displayed on the mobile com-
`munication device associated with the user and the indicator
`
`being displayed on the display associated with the vehicle.
`
`BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
`
`Objects and features of the presently-disclosed systems
`and methods for vehicle identification will become apparent
`to those of ordinary skill in the art when descriptions of
`various embodiments thereof are read with reference to the
`
`accompanying drawings, of which:
`FIG. 1A is a diagrammatic illustration of a system for
`vehicle identification in accordance with an embodiment of
`
`the present disclosure;
`FIG. 1B is a diagrammatic illustration of a system for
`vehicle identification in accordance with another embodi-
`
`ment of the present disclosure;
`FIG. 2 is schematic illustration of the system for vehicle
`identification of FIG. 1A servicing multiple riders in accor-
`dance with an embodiment of the present disclosure; and
`FIG. 3 is a flowchart illustrating a method of identifying
`a vehicle in accordance with an embodiment of the present
`disclosure.
`
`DETAILED DESCRIPTION
`
`Hereinafter, embodiments of a system and method for
`vehicle identification are described with reference to the
`
`accompanying drawings. Like reference numerals may refer
`to similar or identical elements throughout the description of
`the figures.
`This description may use the phrases “in an embodiment,”
`“in embodiments,” “in some embodiments,” or “in other
`embodiments,” which may each refer to one or more of the
`same or different embodiments in accordance with the
`
`present disclosure.
`As used herein, the term “controller” may include any
`type of computing device, computational circuit, or any type
`of processor or processing circuit capable of executing a
`series of instructions that are stored in a memory associated
`with the controller. As it is used herein, “mobile communi-
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`US 10,748,417 B1
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`3
`cation device” generally refers to any portable wireless
`device. In one instance, the mobile communication device
`has one or more processors and memory capability.
`Examples of mobile communication devices include, with-
`out limitation, cellular (cell) and mobile telephones, smart
`mobile telephones, mobile e-mail devices, digital personal
`assistants, etc.
`Various embodiments of the present disclosure provide a
`vehicle identification system adapted to provide an indicator
`on a mobile communication device of a user having
`requested a ride service to allow the user to identify a vehicle
`prior to boarding the vehicle. Various embodiments of the
`presently-disclosed vehicle
`identification systems
`are
`adapted to provide a notification signal for activating a
`driver’s mobile communication device to generate a signal
`representing an indicator, whereby the indicator is displayed
`on a display visible from the exterior of the vehicle. The
`indicator may additionally, or alternatively, be displayed on
`a display associated with an article of clothing (e.g., coat or
`hat) worn by the driver and/or displayed on a remote
`hand-held display device (e.g., tablet computer) held by the
`driver. The presently-disclosed vehicle identification sys-
`tems and methods for vehicle identification may be used in
`coordination with services that use mobile fleets of vehicles
`
`or personnel in a variety of scenarios. Vehicle identification
`systems and methods described herein may be used in
`combination with chauffeured driving services, such as taxi
`cab providers, car sharing and car services (e.g., UBER,
`LYFT, FLYWHEEL), limo services, shuttles (e.g., airport-
`operated shuttle buses, door-to-door shuttles), police dis-
`patch, package delivery services (e.g., UPS, FEDEX, cou-
`riers, drones),
`and/or mobile military units. Vehicle
`identification systems and methods described herein may be
`implemented, in whole or in part, as an application running
`as a standalone program or may be embedded into third-
`party applications, e.g., UBER, LYFT, etc. Embodiments of
`the presently-disclosed vehicle identification system can be
`implemented as software, hardware, firmware or any com-
`bination thereof. Where a component is implemented as
`software, it can be implemented as a standalone program,
`but can also be implemented in other ways, for example as
`part of a larger program, as a plurality of separate programs,
`as a kernel loadable module, as one or more device drivers
`or as one or more statically or dynamically linked libraries.
`Those skilled in the art will readily appreciate that where the
`presently-disclosed vehicle identification system is imple-
`mented in whole or in part in software, the software com-
`ponents thereof may be stored on computer readable media
`as computer program products. Any form of computer
`readable medium may be used in this context, such as
`magnetic or optical storage media. Additionally, software
`portions of the present invention may be instantiated (for
`example as object code or executable images) within the
`memory of any programmable computing device.
`FIG. 1A shows a vehicle identification system 10 in
`accordance with an embodiment of the present disclosure.
`The vehicle identification system 10 includes a controller
`110, a transceiver 120, and one or more displays associated
`with a motor vehicle 20. In the illustrative embodiment
`
`shown in FIG. 1A, a first display 130 is associated with a
`passenger side rear window 21 of a motor vehicle 20, and a
`second display 131 is associated with the front windshield of
`the motor vehicle 20. In some embodiments, the controller
`110 may be a computer network controller or a server. In
`some embodiments, the controller 110 is communicatively
`coupled to the transceiver 120. The transceiver 120 may
`consist of one or more cell phone towers of a tower network.
`
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`It is to be understood that the transceiver 120 may be any
`device capable of wireless communication with a mobile
`communication device 150 associated with the driver D
`and/or a mobile communication device 140 associated with
`
`the user P. For example, the transceiver 120 may consist of
`satellites instead of land-based cell towers.
`
`The vehicle identification system 10 may be adapted to
`generate one or more signals representing an indicator,
`which may be displayable as a “code” (e.g., a text string or
`an alphanumeric string), an icon, or other identifier, on the
`display 130 and on a mobile communication device 140
`associated with the user P to enable the user P to identify the
`vehicle that he/she has requested for a ride service. Although
`one display 130 is shown associated with a passenger side
`rear window 21 of the motor vehicle 20, it is to be under-
`stood that one or more displays 130 may be mounted on or
`otherwise associated with the front windshield, rear shield,
`passenger side front window, passenger side rear window,
`driver side rear window, and/or driver side front window of
`the ride-service vehicle. Those skilled in the art will readily
`appreciate that the display may be disposed on other areas of
`the vehicle, e.g., door and body panels. Display 130 may be
`operatively connected to a receiver. As described in more
`detail below, the vehicle identification system 10 may be
`adapted to generate a first signal that is transmitted via the
`transceiver 120 to a mobile communication device 150
`
`associated with the driver, wherein, in response to receiving
`the first signal, an application on the mobile communication
`device 150 associated with the driver D generates a second
`signal 17 representing an indicator 111 that is transmitted to
`the display 130.
`It is to be understood that the dashed lines indicative of
`
`wireless links between various components of the vehicle
`identification system 10 shown in FIG. 1A and the vehicle
`identification system 11 shown in FIG. 1B are merely
`illustrative and non-limiting examples of wireless connec-
`tions, and that vehicle identification system embodiments of
`the present disclosure may utilize many different configu-
`rations of wireless connections, some with additional, fewer,
`or different links than depicted in FIGS. 1A and 1B. For
`example, in some embodiments, the display 130 may be
`adapted to establish a wireless connection with a mobile
`communication device 140 associated with the user P.
`
`A signal from a mobile communication device 140 of a
`user P may be provided to a taxi cab service, in order to have
`a taxi driver D dispatched to the location of the user P. A
`signal from a user’s mobile communication device 140 may
`be provided to a car service, e.g., the UBER service, in order
`to have a driver from the service dispatched to the location
`of the user P. Those skilled in the art will readily appreciate
`that various different transportation services, e.g., UBER,
`LYFT, limos and any other kind of ride service, may be
`requested by the user P. Once a ride service has been
`requested by the user P, a request may be sent to the user P
`to download an application to the user’s mobile communi-
`cation device 140. The application may be adapted to
`receive an indicatory signal and display an indicator, as
`described in more detail below, and may provide other
`functionality, e.g., a panic button for sending to law enforce-
`ment and/or emergency services providers information
`related to the mobile communication device 140 including
`its location, information about the user P associated with the
`mobile communication device 140, and/or
`information
`recorded by the mobile communication device 140 during
`and subsequent to the time the panic button is activated. It
`is to be understood that although various components are
`illustrated and described above as separate entities, each
`
`

`

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`US 10,748,417 B1
`
`5
`illustrated component represents a collection of functional-
`ities which can be implemented as software, hardware,
`firmware or any combination of these.
`(also
`The controller 110 may generate a first signal
`referred to herein as a “notification signal”) that is trans-
`mitted Via the transceiver 120 to the mobile communication
`device 150 associated with the driver D. In some embodi-
`
`ments, the vehicle identification system 10 is adapted to
`generate a notification signal once the vehicle 20 approaches
`the pickup location, e.g., within a predetermined distance
`based on GPS location. Preferably, the predetermined dis-
`tance is a suitable distance to provide the user P an oppor-
`tunity to view the display 130 as the vehicle 20 approaches
`the pickup location. In an embodiment, the predetermined
`distance is approximately one quarter mile from the pickup
`location. In other embodiments, the vehicle identification
`system 10 may be adapted to generate a notification signal
`once the vehicle 20 arrives at the pickup location.
`In some embodiments, in response to receiving the noti-
`fication signal, an application on the mobile communication
`device 150 associated with the driver D generates a second
`signal 17 (also referred to herein as an “indicatory signal”)
`representing an indicator. The indicatory signal 17 transmit-
`ted by the mobile communication device 150 may be
`received by the display 130 and/or a receiver operatively
`associated therewith. Responsive to receiving the indicatory
`signal 17, the display 130 displays the indicator 111. The
`indicatory signal 17 representative of indicator 111 trans-
`mitted by the driver’s mobile communication device 150
`may additionally, or alternatively, be received by the mobile
`communication device 140 associated with the user P. In
`
`some embodiments, as shown for example in FIG. 1A, a
`second indicatory signal 19 representative of the indicator
`111 is transmitted by the driver’s mobile communication
`device 150 to the mobile communication device 140 asso-
`
`ciated with the user P. Responsive to receiving the indicatory
`signal 19, the mobile communication device 140 displays
`the indicator 111.
`
`FIG. 1B shows a vehicle identification system 11 in
`accordance with an embodiment of the present disclosure.
`The vehicle identification system 11 is similar to the vehicle
`identification system 10 shown in FIG. 1A, except for the
`configuration of the wireless links. As seen in FIG. 1B,
`vehicle identification system 11 is adapted to generate an
`indicatory signal 14 to be transmitted to the mobile com-
`munication device 140 associated with the user P and a
`
`notification signal 15 to be transmitted to the mobile com-
`munication device 150 associated with the driver D. In this
`embodiment, the driver’s mobile communication device 150
`does not communicate with the user’s mobile communica-
`
`tion device 140, being an accommodation for users who
`prefer to communicate directly with the dispatching service,
`rather than the driver D.
`
`In an illustrative example wherein a dispatched vehicle 20
`arrives at the pickup location and waits for the user P who
`requested the ride service, the vehicle 20 may be parked by
`itself or parked among other similar and/or not similar
`vehicles. When the user P who requested the ride service
`approaches the pickup area, in order to locate his/her ride the
`user P need only visually observe a vehicle 20 with the
`display 130 displaying the indicator 111 that is a match to the
`indicator 111 (e.g., A22 shown in FIGS. 1A and 1B) being
`displayed on the user’s mobile communication device 140.
`Once the user P has identified the vehicle 20, the user P may
`be requested to show the indicator 111 displayed on his/her
`mobile communication device 140 to the driver D, e.g., to
`
`6
`allow the driver D to verify that he/she is picking up the
`person who actually requested the ride service.
`In some embodiments, the indicator 111 may be a “code”
`such as an alphanumeric string, e.g., A22, B11, C44, and so
`on. Preferably, the code would not be duplicated in the same
`pickup location. In some embodiments, when the driver D
`turns on the fare meter,
`the code (or other indicator) is
`deleted. If there is a need for the driver D to pick up another
`person, when the driver D approaches the second location
`(or third location, etc.), the vehicle identification system 10
`may generate another notification signal. Alternatively, the
`vehicle identification system 10 may be adapted to allow the
`driver to enter a command on the driver’s mobile commu-
`
`nication device 150 so that another code (or other indicator)
`can be generated for the next rider who is going to share the
`same vehicle. In some embodiments, the vehicle identifica-
`tion system 10 may be adapted to allow the user P who
`originally requested the ride service that was picked up at the
`first location to text the code, or otherwise send the indicator,
`to another person who is going to share the ride.
`It is to be understood that multiple drivers and vehicles
`may be dispatched to the same or different locations, e.g.,
`concurrently or sequentially, and the vehicle identification
`system 10 (and/or the vehicle identification system 11) may
`generate any number of notification signals. In an illustrative
`embodiment of the vehicle identification system 10 shown in
`FIG. 3, four ride service requests VEHICLE REQUEST-A,
`VEHICLE REQUEST-B, VEHICLE REQUEST-C, and
`VEHICLE REQUEST-D are received from four users (also
`referred to herein as “riders”) for pickup. The controller 110
`generates four different notification signals, NOTIFICA-
`TION-A, NOTIFICATION-B, NOTIFICATION-C,
`and
`NOTIFICATION-D, to be transmitted by the transceiver 120
`to a first DRIVER’S MOBILE DEVICE 150A, a second
`DRIVER’S MOBILE DEVICE 150B, a third DRIVER’S
`MOBILE DEVICE 150C,
`and a
`fourth DRIVER’S
`MOBILE DEVICE 150D, respectively.
`As seen in FIG. 2, in response to receiving the NOTIFI-
`CATION-A the first DRIVER’S MOBILE DEVICE 150A
`
`transmits an indicatory signal CODE-A to the DISPLAY
`PANEL 130A,
`in response to receiving the NOTIFICA-
`TION-B the second DRIVER’S MOBILE
`
`10
`
`15
`
`20
`
`25
`
`30
`
`35
`
`40
`
`DEVICE 150B transmits an indicatory signal CODE-B to
`the DISPLAY PANEL 130B, in response to receiving the
`NOTIFICATION-C the
`third DRIVER’S MOBILE
`
`45
`
`DEVICE 150C transmits an indicatory signal CODE-C to
`the DISPLAY PANEL 130C, and in response to receiving
`the NOTIFICATION-D the fourth DRIVER’S MOBILE
`
`DEVICE 150D transmits an indicatory signal CODE-D to
`the DISPLAY PANEL 130D.
`In some embodiments, wherein the vehicle identification
`system 10 is utilized, the first RIDER’S MOBILE DEVICE
`140A may receive the indicatory signal CODE-A from the
`first DRIVER’S MOBILE DEVICE 150A, the second RID-
`ER’S MOBILE DEVICE 140B may receive the indicatory
`signal CODE-B from the second DRIVER’S MOBILE
`DEVICE 150B,
`the third RIDER’S MOBILE DEVICE
`140C may receive the indicatory signal CODE-C from the
`third DRIVER’S MOBILE DEVICE 150C, and the fourth
`RIDER’S MOBILE DEVICE 140D may receive the indica-
`tory signal CODE-D from the fourth DRIVER’S MOBILE
`DEVICE 150D. In other embodiments, wherein the vehicle
`identification system 11 is utilized, an indicatory signal to
`the rider’s mobile communication device may be generated
`by the controller 110.
`FIG. 3 shows a flowchart illustrating a method of iden-
`tifying a vehicle being dispatched to a location of a user
`
`50
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`55
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`60
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`65
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`

`

`Case 1:20-cv-01629-UNA Document 1-5 Filed 11/30/20 Page 10 of 10 PageID #: 85
`Case 1:20-cv-01629—UNA Document 1-5 Filed 11/30/20 Page 10 of 10 PageID #: 85
`
`US 10,748,417 B1
`
`7
`having requested a ride from a transportation service in
`accordance with an embodiment of the present disclosure.
`At block 310, when it is determined that the vehicle 20 is
`within a predetermined distance of the location of the user
`P, a notification signal 15 is generated to a mobile commu-
`nication device 150 associated with the driver D.
`
`At block 320, an indicatory signal 17 representing an
`indicator 111 is generated in response to receiving the
`notification signal 15.
`At block 330, an indicator 111 based on the indicatory
`signal 17 is displayed on a display 130 associated with the
`vehicle 20. The display 130, 131 is located to be visible on
`the exterior of the vehicle 20.
`
`At block 340, the indicator 111 is displayed on a mobile
`communication device 140 associated with the user P.
`At block 350,
`the vehicle 20 is identified based on
`appearance of a match, by visual observation of the user P,
`between the indicator 111 being displayed on the mobile
`communication device 140 associated with the user P and
`
`the indicator 111 being displayed on the display 130, 131
`associated with the vehicle 20.
`
`Although embodiments have been described in detail with
`reference to the accompanying drawings for the purpose of
`illustration and description, it is to be understood that the
`disclosed systems and processes are not to be construed as
`limited thereby. It will be apparent to those of ordinary skill
`in the art that various modifications to the foregoing embodi-
`ments may be made without departing from the scope of the
`disclosure.
`What is claimed is:
`
`1. A vehicle identification system for mobile communi-
`cation device users, comprising:
`a display associated with a vehicle, wherein the display is
`located to be visible from an exterior of the vehicle by
`mobile communication device users;
`
`8
`a controller communicatively coupled to a network and
`configured to, in response to receipt of a ride request
`signal from a mobile communication device of a user in
`a pickup area, generate and transmit a notification
`signal via the network to a mobile communication
`device associated with a driver of the vehicle, and in
`response to the mobile communication device associ-
`ated with the driver of the vehicle receiving the noti-
`fication signal an indicatory signal representing a visual
`indicator is generated and transmitted to the display and
`the mobile communication device of the user, wherein
`the visual indicator is not duplicated in the same pickup
`area.
`
`2. The vehicle identification system for mobile commu-
`nication device users of claim 1, wherein the indicatory
`signal representing the visual
`indicator is generated and
`transmitted from the mobile communication device associ-
`ated with the driver of the vehicle.
`
`3. The vehicle identification system for mobile commu-
`nication device users of claim 1, wherein the indicatory
`signal representing the visual
`indicator is generated and
`transmitted from the controller.
`
`4. The vehicle identification system for mobile commu-
`nication device users of claim 1, wherein the indicatory
`signal representing the visual
`indicator is generated and
`transmitted from the mobile communication device associ-
`
`10
`
`15
`
`20
`
`25
`
`30
`
`ated with the driver of the vehicle to the display and from the
`controller to the mobile communication device of the user.
`
`5. The vehicle identification system for mobile commu-
`nication device users of claim 1, wherein the visual indicator
`is a code, a text string, an alphanumeric string, or an icon.
`*
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