Patent Issued for Toll payment equipment (USPTO 11468714): Allstate Insurance Company

2022 OCT 27 (NewsRx) -- By a News Reporter-Staff News Editor at Insurance Daily News -- A patent by the inventors Biemer, Edward A. (Eastbourne, GB), Wilson, Thomas J. (Chicago, IL, US), filed on August 9, 2018, was published online on October 11, 2022, according to news reporting originating from Alexandria, Virginia, by NewsRx correspondents.

Patent number 11468714 is assigned to Allstate Insurance Company (Northbrook, Illinois, United States).

The following quote was obtained by the news editors from the background information supplied by the inventors: “Some roads (or highways, bridges, tunnels, etc.) require payments for their use. Such roads are commonly referred to as “toll roads” or “turnpikes” and such payments are commonly referred to as a “toll.” The money accrued from collecting toll payments may be used to maintain the road for which the toll was collected. The toll charged may be based on an amount of distance a vehicle travels on the road, the time of day that a vehicle travels on the road, and the type of vehicle that is traveling on the road (e.g., vehicles with different numbers of axels may be required to pay different tolls). If payment is not made when a vehicle passes a toll, a driver or the vehicle’s owner may be issued a ticket or citation for using the road without paying the toll. The fee associated with such ticket may often be for more than the toll payment that was due.

“Historically, people have been employed to collect tolls at certain points along a road. For example, a person may be stationed in a toll booth at the entrance or exit of a highway to collect the toll payment as a vehicle enters or exits the highway, respectively. Getting through such checkpoints may be frustrating for drivers. For example, drivers may be frustrated with the lines or traffic that may be formed as a result of the time it takes to make toll payments. Drivers may also become frustrated if they do not have the exact change or enough money on hand to pay for the toll.

“To address some of these frustrations, more recently technology has been developed to improve the toll payment process. Some companies or organizations (e.g., EZ Pass) offer a service that allows toll payments to be collected automatically so that the vehicles do not have to stop and/or drivers do not need to pay cash for the toll. A company may provide a customer with a transponder that may be placed in the customer’s vehicle so that when the vehicle is driven through a toll gateway the transponder is detected. Detection of the transponder may cause an account to be automatically charged for the toll.

“This more recent toll payment process may be considered an improvement over the traditional collection process, but is not without disadvantages as well. In some cases, customers may have to pay a fee to acquire the transponder. Also, customers may be charged if they lose the transponder. Further, a customer may have multiple vehicles and may need a transponder in each of their vehicles or may have to remember to move the transponder into their different vehicles. In some cases, customers have been known to forget to put their transponder in their vehicle. Also, customers may not have their transponder with them when they are driving another vehicle, such as a friend’s vehicle, a rental car, etc. Moreover, the customer may have to place the transponder on the windshield or at another inconvenient/distracting spot on the vehicle. In some cases the transponder may not work if it is in, for example, a glove compartment of a vehicle.

“In addition, customers may have to set up the account from which toll payments are deducted. In some cases, this account may be linked with a customer’s bank account so that it is replenished at certain points. Alternatively, a customer may be responsible for manually managing the account and ensuring that the account has enough money in it when the customer’s vehicle goes through a toll checkpoint. If the customer fails to have enough money in the account, the customer may receive a ticket or be charged a surcharge fee (or another extra fee).

“In light of the above, despite advancements in technology, there are still challenges and disadvantages with respect to the toll payment process. Accordingly, new systems, devices, methodologies, and software are desired to facilitate toll payments.”

In addition to the background information obtained for this patent, NewsRx journalists also obtained the inventors’ summary information for this patent: “In light of the foregoing background, the following presents a simplified summary of the present disclosure in order to provide a basic understanding of some aspects of the invention. This summary is not an extensive overview of the invention. It is not intended to identify key or critical elements of the invention or to delineate the scope of the invention. The following summary merely presents some concepts of the invention in a simplified form as a prelude to the more detailed description provided below.

“Aspects of the disclosure address one or more of the issues mentioned above by disclosing methods, computer readable storage media, software, systems, and apparatuses for making a toll payment using toll payment equipment, such as a cellular phone. A phone travelling in a vehicle may communicate with a toll gateway and a computing device at an insurance company to pay the toll due for driving the vehicle through the toll gateway. The phone may send a signal to an insurance company computing device to cause the insurance company computing device to pay an appropriate toll. In some cases, the insurance company may give a customer a discount on the toll. The insurance company may maintain an account for a customer from which toll payments are made. In addition, the insurance company may collect information about the vehicle as it passes through the toll gateway. The insurance company may use this information to determine an insurance-related value, such as an insurance premium.

“Aspects of this disclosure provide a system including a first computing device associated with a first vehicle, wherein the first computing device is configured to send and receive cellular phone calls. The system may also include a toll gateway configured to detect the first vehicle if the first vehicle passes through the toll gateway and communicate with the first computing device. The system may further include an insurance company computing device (which may be a computing device owned or maintained by or for an insurance company) configured to transfer funds from an account associated with the first computing device in response to receiving, from the first computing device or the toll gateway, a signal indicating that the first vehicle passed through the toll gateway. The insurance company computing device may also be configured to receive, from the first computing device or the toll gateway, drive data of the first vehicle while the first vehicle passed through the toll gateway and to determine an insurance related value based on the drive data.

“Aspects of the disclosure also provide the computing devices of the system as well as the computer readable media of those computing devices that store one or more toll equipment programs. Specifically, aspects of the disclosure provide a computing device, including a network interface configured to communicate, via a network, with a mobile computing device and a toll gateway, wherein the mobile computing device is configured for use in cellular phone calls and wherein the toll gateway is configured to detect a vehicle if the vehicle passes through the toll gateway. The computing device may also include at least one processor configured to execute computer-executable instructions stored on computer readable media. The at least one processor may be configured to receive, from the mobile computing device or the toll gateway via the network interface, a signal indicating that the vehicle passed through the toll gateway. The at least one processor may also be configured to, in response to receiving the signal, transmit an electronic payment for a toll associated with the toll gateway. Further, the at least one processor may be configured to receive drive data of the vehicle while the vehicle passed through the toll gateway, and determine an insurance related value (e.g., an insurance premium, an insurance deductible, or a drive score used in determining the insurance premium or the insurance deductible) based on the drive data. In some examples, the processor may access, read, and write data to a particular memory device. The memory device may store computer-executable instructions of one or more toll equipment programs.

“Aspects of the disclosure further provide a method of making toll payments using a mobile computing device (e.g., a phone). The method may include receiving, by a mobile computing device configured for use in cellular phone calls, a beacon signal as the mobile computing device within a vehicle passes through a toll gateway; transmitting, to an insurance company computing device via a cellular backhaul, a signal indicating that the vehicle has passed through the toll gateway; in response to receiving the signal, determining an account associated with the mobile computing device; transferring funds from the account to pay a toll associated with the toll gateway; receiving, from the mobile computing device or the toll gateway, drive data of the vehicle while the vehicle passed through the toll gateway; and determining an insurance related value based on the drive data.”

The claims supplied by the inventors are:

“1. A system, comprising: one or more toll gateway devices located along one or more roads, wherein the one or more toll gateway devices trigger one or more sensors to capture sensor data as one or more vehicles pass within a proximity of the one or more toll gateway devices, and wherein the one or more toll gateway devices determine which sensor data to store and which sensor data to delete; and one or more network computing devices, comprising one or more processors and memory storing instructions that, when executed by the one or more processors, cause the one or more network computing devices to: receive, from a mobile computing device via a cellular backhaul, one or more signals indicating that a vehicle associated with the mobile computing device has passed within the proximity of one or more of the one or more toll gateway devices; identify an account associated with a driver of the vehicle that is associated with the mobile computing device; receive, from the one or more toll gateway devices, a set of the stored sensor data captured as the vehicle passed within the proximity of the one or more indicated toll gateway devices; determine that the set of the stored sensor data indicates a behavior of at least one of the driver or the vehicle when the vehicle is within the proximity of the one or more indicated toll gateway devices; determine a reward based on the behavior indicated by the set of the stored sensor data; and modify the account based on the reward.

“2. The system of claim 1, wherein the account is identified based on the one or more signals received from the mobile computing device, and wherein the instructions, when executed by the one or more processors, cause the one or more network computing devices to transfer funds from the account to pay a toll associated with the one or more indicated toll gateway devices.

“3. The system of claim 1, wherein the sensors include a camera, and wherein the stored sensor data comprises image data of an image of the vehicle captured by the camera when the vehicle is within the proximity of the one or more indicated toll gateway devices.

“4. The system of claim 1, wherein the behavior indicated by the stored sensor data includes a speed of the vehicle when the vehicle is within the proximity of the one or more indicated toll gateway devices, and wherein determining the reward is further based on a risk level associated with the speed of the vehicle when the vehicle is within the proximity of the one or more indicated toll gateway devices.

“5. A method, comprising: receiving, by one or more network computing devices from a mobile computing device via a cellular backhaul, one or more signals indicating that a vehicle associated with the mobile computing device has passed within a proximity of one or more toll gateway devices; identifying, by the one or more network computing devices, an account associated with a driver of the vehicle that is associated with the mobile computing device; receiving, by the one or more network computing devices from the one or more toll gateway devices a set of stored sensor data that the one or more toll gateway devices triggered one or more sensors to capture as the vehicle of the driver passes within the proximity of the one or more toll gateway devices, wherein the one or more toll gateway devices determines which sensor data to store and which sensor data to delete; determining, by the one or more network computing devices, that the set of the stored sensor data indicates a behavior of at least one of the driver or the vehicle when the vehicle is within the proximity of the one or more indicated toll gateway devices; determining, by the one or more network computing devices, a reward based on the behavior indicated by the set of the stored sensor data; and modifying, by the one or more network computing devices, the account associated with the driver based on the reward.

“6. The method of claim 5, wherein the one or more signals sent from the mobile computing device via the cellular backhaul include beacon signals indicating at least one of the one or more toll gateway devices.

“7. The method of claim 5, wherein the one or more signals are sent from the mobile computing device via the cellular backhaul while the mobile computing device is travelling in the vehicle, the method further comprising transmitting, to the mobile computing device, a notification signal indicating that the reward has been applied to the account.

“8. The method of claim 5, wherein the one or more sensors include a camera, wherein the set of the stored sensor data comprises image data of an image of the vehicle captured by the camera when the vehicle is within the proximity of the one or more indicated toll gateway devices, and wherein the indicated behavior corresponds to a drive score of the driver.

“9. The method of claim 5, wherein the behavior indicated by the stored set of the sensor data includes a speed of the vehicle when the vehicle is within the proximity of the one or more indicated toll gateway devices, and further comprising determining, based on the speed, a drive score.

“10. The method of claim 5, further comprising: transmitting, to the mobile computing device via the cellular backhaul, a cellular signal indicating that a toll payment was made.

“11. The method of claim 5, further comprising: transmitting, to the mobile computing device via the cellular backhaul, a cellular signal causing the mobile computing device to play an audible tone to alert the driver that a toll payment was made.

“12. The method of claim 5, further comprising: determining an amount of a toll associated with the one or more indicated toll gateways according to the one or more signals; determining a toll payment system associated with the one or more indicated toll gateways; and based on the determined toll payment system, transferring funds from the account to pay the toll.

“13. The method of claim 5, further comprising: selecting one or more advertisements based on information associated with the driver; and transmitting the one or more advertisements to the mobile computing device.

“14. The method of claim 13, wherein the information associated with the driver includes a setting created by the driver; and wherein determining the reward is further based on the one or more advertisements.

“15. The method of claim 13, wherein the one or more advertisements are transmitted to the mobile computing device to cause the mobile computing device to present the one or more advertisements when the driver is finished with a drive.

“16. The method of claim 5, further comprising: receiving, by the network computing device from a second mobile computing device in the vehicle, a second set of one or more signals indicating the one or more toll gateway devices; and determining that the driver is carpooling with a user of the second mobile computing device, wherein determining the reward is further based on the determination that the driver is carpooling.

“17. The method of claim 5, further comprising: receiving, by the network computing device from a second mobile computing device in the vehicle, a second set of one or more signals indicating the one or more toll gateway devices; and prior to the identifying the account, determining that the driver is carpooling, wherein determining the reward is further based on the determination that the driver is carpooling.

“18. The method of claim 5, further comprising determining that an electronic toll payment was not made to a toll management computing device, associated with the one or more toll gateway devices, wherein the reward is further based on the determination that the electronical toll payment was not paid to the toll management computing device.

“19. A system, comprising: a network interface configured to communicate via a network with a mobile computing device of a driver of a vehicle and one or more toll gateway devices located along one or more roads, wherein the mobile computing device is configured for use in cellular phone calls, wherein the one or more toll gateways are configured to trigger one or more sensors to capture sensor data as a vehicle of the driver passes within a proximity of the one or more toll gateway devices, and wherein the one or more toll gateway devices determine which sensor data to store and which sensor data to delete; and at least one processor coupled to the network interface and in communication with the mobile computing device and the one or more toll gateway devices via the network, wherein the at least one processor is configured to: receive, from the mobile computing device of the driver via a cellular backhaul, one or more signals indicating that the vehicle associated with the mobile computing device has passed within the proximity of one or more of the one or more toll gateway devices; identify an account associated with the driver; receive, from the one or more toll gateway devices, a set of the stored sensor data captured as the vehicle passed within the proximity of the one or more indicated toll gateway devices; determine that the set of the stored sensor data indicates a behavior of at least one driver or the vehicle when the vehicle is within the proximity of the one or more indicated toll gateway devices; determine a reward based on the behavior indicated by the set of the stored sensor data; and modify the account associated with the driver based on the reward.

“20. The system of claim 19, wherein the at least one processor is configured to transmit, to the mobile computing device via the cellular backhaul, a cellular signal comprising a message that indicates a balance of the account and provides an option to add funds to the account.”

URL and more information on this patent, see: Biemer, Edward A. Toll payment equipment. U.S. Patent Number 11468714, filed August 9, 2018, and published online on October 11, 2022. Patent URL: http://patft.uspto.gov/netacgi/nph-Parser?Sect1=PTO1&Sect2=HITOFF&d=PALL&p=1&u=%2Fnetahtml%2FPTO%2Fsrchnum.htm&r=1&f=G&l=50&s1=11468714.PN.&OS=PN/11468714RS=PN/11468714

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