System and Method for Wirelessly Rostering a Vehicle

Abstract

A system and method for wirelessly generating a roster of drivers and passengers in transportation vehicles. A driver's or passenger's smartphone can communicate using short-range communications with the vehicle, or a smartphone in the vehicle, so that the ID associated with the phone can be linked to a vehicle ID, date and time stamped, and stored in a log or database. Any unauthorized person can be refused admittance (by not permitting the vehicle to start or otherwise being denied the right to be a driver or passenger). A downloaded application is used for this purpose. The invention also can include a secure, remote database as well as a mobile device such as a smartphone running the application, a wireless receiver/transmitter in the vehicle, and a wireless communication network such as a cellular network.

We claim: 
     
         1 . A method of automatically generating a roster of drivers and passengers for a particular vehicle comprising:
 establishing communication between a driver or passenger's telephone and the vehicle when the driver or passenger approaches the vehicle;   demanding personal ID information from said driver or passenger;   receiving personal ID information via said communication from the telephone;   verifying the personal ID information with a remote computer accessing a remote database;   prohibiting the driver from driving the vehicle, or the passenger from riding in the vehicle, when the personal ID information is insufficient or incorrect to grant access according to a stored set of access rules.   
     
     
         2 . The method of  claim 1  wherein said communication is short-range wireless communication. 
     
     
         3 . The method of  claim 2  wherein said communication is by BLUETOOTH™. 
     
     
         4 . The method of  claim 1  wherein said personal ID information includes biometric data. 
     
     
         5 . The method of  claim 1  wherein said personal ID information includes a photographic image. 
     
     
         6 . The method of  claim 4  wherein said biometric data is measured in response to said demanding. 
     
     
         7 . The method of  claim 1  wherein said communication with the vehicle is established using a wireless device carried by said driver. 
     
     
         8 . The method of  claim 1  wherein said prohibiting includes disabling said vehicle. 
     
     
         9 . The method of  claim 1  further comprising requiring said driver approaching the vehicle to also take a test showing capability to drive the vehicle. 
     
     
         10 . A system for generating and maintaining a roster of drivers and passengers for a particular vehicle comprising:
 a first, short-range communications system acting in cooperation with a processor in said vehicle, said processor in the vehicle also cooperating with a second communications system adapted to allow communication between said processor and a remote server over a network;   a wireless application comprising executable instructions adapted to be downloaded into a smartphone carried by a driver or passenger, said wireless application executing said instructions on the smartphone adapted to access personal ID data from that smartphone, and wirelessly communicate said personal ID data to the processor in the vehicle when the driver or passenger is in proximity to said vehicle;   said processor in the vehicle configured to communicate the personal ID data over said second communications system to the remote server, and configured to receive from the remote server access authorization to said vehicle;   said processor in the vehicle adapted to either allow or deny access to said vehicle to either the driver or the passenger.   
     
     
         11 . The system of  claim 10  wherein said personal ID data includes biometric data. 
     
     
         12 . The system of  claim 10  wherein said personal ID data includes a photographic image. 
     
     
         13 . The system of  claim 10  wherein said short-range communications is BLUETOOTH™. 
     
     
         14 . The system of  claim 11  wherein said wireless application in the smartphone requires measuring said biometric data before communicating said ID. 
     
     
         15 . The system of  claim 10  wherein said second communications system uses a cellular telephone network. 
     
     
         16 . A method of automatically generating a roster of drivers and passengers for a particular vehicle comprising:
 establishing communication between a driver or passenger's telephone and the vehicle when the driver or passenger approaches the vehicle;   demanding personal ID information from said driver or passenger;   receiving personal ID information via said communication from the telephone;   verifying the personal ID information with a remote computer accessing a remote database;   prohibiting the driver from driving the vehicle, or the passenger from riding in the vehicle, when the personal ID information is insufficient or incorrect to grant access according to a stored set of access rules;   wherein said personal ID information includes biometric data; and,   wherein said prohibiting includes disabling said vehicle.