IP Library Granted Patent US 12,535,328
Granted Patent B2
US 12,535,328 · App. 18/471,486 · Granted Jan 27, 2026

Systems and methods for facilitating users to board a vehicle

Inventors: Oliver Lei (Windsor, CA); Mahmoud Yousef Ghannam (Canton, MI); Somak Datta Gupta (Novi, MI)
G01C21/3492G01C21/3438H04W4/021H04W4/40H04W4/46
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Quick Facts
Patent No.
US 12,535,328
App. No.
18/471,486
Granted
Jan 27, 2026
Kind
B2
Abstract

A vehicle including a transceiver, a human-machine interface (HMI) and a processor is disclosed. The transceiver may be configured to receive information associated with a pick-up point of a user and a real-time geolocation of a user device associated with the user. The processor may be configured to obtain the information associated with the pick-up point from the transceiver, and determine that a predefined condition may be met based on the information associated with the pick-up point. The processor may further obtain the real-time geolocation responsive to determining that the predefined condition may be met. The processor may then output the real-time geolocation on the HMI.

Claims (25)

1 . A first vehicle comprising:

a transceiver configured to receive information associated with a single pick-up point for both of a first user and a second user and a first real-time geolocation of a first device associated with the first user and a second real-time geolocation of a second device associated with the second user;

a human-machine interface (HMI) of the first vehicle configured to display the first real-time geolocation and the second real-time geolocation; and

a processor communicatively coupled with the transceiver and the HMI of the first vehicle, wherein the processor is configured to:

obtain the information associated with the pick-up point from the transceiver;

determine that a predefined condition is met based on the information associated with the pick-up point;

obtain the first real-time geolocation responsive to determining that the predefined condition is met;

output the first real-time geolocation and the second real-time geolocation on the HMI of the first vehicle;

determine, based on the second real-time geolocation, that the second device is located outside of a first predefined distance of the pick-up point;

autonomously drive, by the first vehicle, away from the pick-up point based on determining that the second device is located outside of the first predefined distance of the pick-up point;

stop output of the second real-time geolocation on the HMI of the first vehicle responsive to determining that the first vehicle has driven a second predefined distance away from the pick-up point; and

transmit the first real-time geolocation to a second vehicle in proximity to the pick-up point, responsive to obtaining the first real-time geolocation,

wherein the second vehicle presents the first real-time geolocation on an HMI of the second vehicle to allow the second vehicle to be maneuvered to allow the second user to reach the first vehicle.

2 . The first vehicle of claim 1 , wherein the information associated with the pick-up point comprises at least one of a pick-up point location, a scheduled vehicle arrival time at the pick-up point, and a scheduled vehicle departure time from the pick-up point.

3 . The first vehicle of claim 2 , wherein the predefined condition is met when the first vehicle is located within a third predefined distance of the pick-up point location.

4 . The first vehicle of claim 2 , wherein the predefined condition is met when a difference between the scheduled vehicle arrival time and a current time is less than a predefined time threshold.

5 . The first vehicle of claim 4 , wherein the processor is further configured to:

determine that the current time is equivalent to the scheduled vehicle departure time;

determine that the first device associated with the first user is located less than the first predefined distance away from the pick-up point based on the pick-up point location and the first real-time geolocation; and

output a notification to the HMI of the first vehicle responsive to determining that the first device associated with the first user is located less than the first predefined distance away from the pick-up point.

6 . The first vehicle of claim 1 , wherein the processor transmits the first real-time geolocation to the second vehicle via vehicle-to-vehicle (V2V) communication.

7 . The first vehicle of claim 1 further comprising a telematics control unit configured to determine a real-time vehicle geolocation.

8 . The first vehicle of claim 7 , wherein the processor is further configured to:

obtain the real-time vehicle geolocation from the telematics control unit; and

transmit the real-time vehicle geolocation to the second vehicle.

Assignments (1)
ASSIGNMENT OF ASSIGNOR'S INTEREST Recorded Sep 28, 2023
From: LEI, OLIVER; GHANNAM, MAHMOUD YOUSEF; DATTA GUPTA, SOMAK
To: FORD GLOBAL TECHNOLOGIES, LLC
Reel/Frame 065059/0035 →
Continuity (1)
Related Publication 20250102312A1 · Mar 27, 2025
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