EP1909245A1 - Suivi en temps réel de véhicule mobile sans fil et systèmes de notification et procédés associés - Google Patents

Suivi en temps réel de véhicule mobile sans fil et systèmes de notification et procédés associés Download PDF

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Publication number
EP1909245A1
EP1909245A1 EP08001074A EP08001074A EP1909245A1 EP 1909245 A1 EP1909245 A1 EP 1909245A1 EP 08001074 A EP08001074 A EP 08001074A EP 08001074 A EP08001074 A EP 08001074A EP 1909245 A1 EP1909245 A1 EP 1909245A1
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EP
European Patent Office
Prior art keywords
vehicle
receiving
time
bus
information
Prior art date
Legal status (The legal status is an assumption and is not a legal conclusion. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation as to the accuracy of the status listed.)
Withdrawn
Application number
EP08001074A
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German (de)
English (en)
Inventor
Josef K. Winkler
Vernon L. Stant
Stephen G. Wilson
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Everyday Wireless Inc
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Everyday Wireless Inc
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Filing date
Publication date
Application filed by Everyday Wireless Inc filed Critical Everyday Wireless Inc
Priority claimed from EP03739829A external-priority patent/EP1483755B1/fr
Publication of EP1909245A1 publication Critical patent/EP1909245A1/fr
Withdrawn legal-status Critical Current

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    • G—PHYSICS
    • G08—SIGNALLING
    • G08G—TRAFFIC CONTROL SYSTEMS
    • G08G1/00—Traffic control systems for road vehicles
    • G08G1/123—Traffic control systems for road vehicles indicating the position of vehicles, e.g. scheduled vehicles; Managing passenger vehicles circulating according to a fixed timetable, e.g. buses, trains, trams
    • G08G1/127—Traffic control systems for road vehicles indicating the position of vehicles, e.g. scheduled vehicles; Managing passenger vehicles circulating according to a fixed timetable, e.g. buses, trains, trams to a central station ; Indicators in a central station

Definitions

  • the present invention relates to systems and methods for notifying passengers of an approaching vehicle and more specifically, the present invention relates to a bus notification system that will provide a passenger with adequate warning of an approaching bus well in advance of its arrival at the bus stop.
  • the present invention also relates to systems and methods for monitoring and mapping a transporting vehicle within a predetermined region, and more particularly systems and methods for real-time monitoring and mapping of the transporting vehicle.
  • Buses can be delayed for numerous reasons including inclement weather, such as fog, snow, ice or extreme cold, which reduces the speed of the bus and thus impedes the arrival of the bus at the planned time.
  • inclement weather such as fog, snow, ice or extreme cold
  • bus mechanical problems, heavy traffic or substitute bus drivers can generate lengthy delays in bus arrival time.
  • many school buses will make several sequential runs to pickup children for different schools such as the high, middle and grade schools for a town. A delay in picking up children in the first run can result in similar or longer delays for subsequent runs.
  • the bus, or other transporting vehicle can be become delayed, misrouted, lost or otherwise go off a given travel route after passengers have boarded the bus for any of a number of reasons including the possibility of a driver intentionally departing from the assigned task and travel route for some unexplained reason.
  • a bus might depart from the assigned travel route or run into vehicle problems after picking up passengers without the dispatching authority becoming aware for sometime afterwards. Because the driver does not provide a warning back to the dispatching authority, such situations are presently identified by someone at the delivery site, for example a school, noticing that a particular bus or vehicle has not arrived well after its expected arrival time or someone notices a bus has broken down and contacts the dispatching authority or police.
  • the responsible authorities typically dispatch another vehicle or the police to locate the missing vehicle, for example by backtracking along the assigned travel route.
  • the responsible authorities would not become aware of this particular situation until sometime after an expected arrival time.
  • the responsible authorities including the police have to perform a wide area search to track down such a vehicle.
  • a bus has traveled significant distances from the designated travel route before responsible law enforcement authorities caught up with the bus.
  • each bus transmitter emits a signal at a unique radio frequency to identify a specific bus.
  • Each receiver is then tuned to the frequency corresponding to said bus transmitter and the length of time between notification and bus arrival is determined by adjusting the receiver's sensitivity control.
  • the notification system is activated.
  • the time to bus arrival is approximated by the strength of the bus transmission signal received at the household.
  • Signal strength may not be an accurate measure of distance in every case because obstructions in the wireless radio frequency path can further reduce the signal strength thereby tricking the distance calculation by the receiver.
  • the reduced signal strength can significantly reduce the time period between notification of bus arrival and the actual arrival of said bus.
  • the bus route includes several streets that are in close proximity requiring the bus to double back to cover said streets; the possibility for premature notification arises.
  • two adjacent school districts use the same radio frequency, false alarms and premature notifications can result from two buses in neighboring districts broadcasting the same radio frequency.
  • a complex advance notification system for alerting passengers when a vehicle is ahead of or behind schedule is disclosed in U.S. Patent 5,400,020 .
  • a vehicle control unit compares the actual time at which the vehicle reaches a predetermined location along the vehicle route against the scheduled arrival time, where the vehicle location is determined by global positioning system (GPS) technology. If there is a discrepancy between the actual and scheduled time values, the vehicle control unit relays the time discrepancy to a base station control unit by wireless communication. The base station control unit notifies each passenger of the change in arrival time by telephone. Thus, arrival time notification only occurs if the vehicle is off schedule. Further, the notification system requires that the telephone line be open and a person present to receive the telephone call. If the passenger is unable to hear the telephone ring such as when the phone is already in use or when the passenger is outside awaiting the arrival of the vehicle, the notification system will fail.
  • GPS global positioning system
  • U.S. Patent 6,006,159 Another complex system for notifying passengers waiting for public transit vehicles of the status of transit vehicles, including expected arrival times of vehicles at transit stops and arrival of connecting transit vehicles is disclosed in U.S. Patent 6,006,159 .
  • the disclosed system determines the location of transit vehicles by using a GPS device.
  • the vehicle location is transmitted to a central facility wherein the central processor generates a master transit table for all vehicles calculating scheduled stops, connections to other transit vehicles and arrival times at each scheduled stop.
  • the master transit table is subsequently broadcast to display devices located throughout the geographic area of the transit system including display devices in vehicles and transit stops.
  • the display device stores the transit table or a subset thereof and displays selected information.
  • the transit table or a subset thereof can be received by portable display means such as pagers, computers or telephones.
  • This transit notification system is appropriate for city or regional public transportation systems where the system involves a large number of passengers who are traveling between any two transit stops within the transit system and a large number of transit vehicles which are traveling on numerous transit routes within.a large geographic area.
  • the central facility must have sufficient resources to process a continuous data feed from each vehicle in the system to form updated transit tables and broadcast the transit table over the entire geographic area of the transit system.
  • This system of notification requires a significant investment of resources in infrastructure development including installation of the central processing center, smart display devices throughout the transit system and vehicle information units in the transit vehicles.
  • the portable display devices disclosed in this patent are capable of displaying arrival information for a vehicle at a selected vehicle stop, but they can not alert a passenger that a vehicle will arrive at said vehicle stop within a predetermined period of time. Frequently, an automated notification process is desirable to alert the passenger that it is time to start the commute.
  • a device capable of alerting such a commuter of the exact time by which to leave for their commute prior to leaving their controlled environment would be ideal.
  • a receiving unit acquiring a RF signal broadcast from a nearby vehicle containing the correct information that is not actually picking up passengers can incorrectly notify passengers of a vehicle arrival at a specified point along the vehicle route.
  • one common passenger pickup technique is to drive all the way to the end of a vehicle route and then commence picking up passengers from the end of the route. This pickup technique poses problems for passengers near the beginning of the route, who are passed by the vehicle traveling in the wrong direction a considerable time before their vehicle actually stops to pick them up.
  • public transportation vehicles frequently stop at each station in both directions along the vehicle route. Incorporation of a direction of travel parameter into the information transmitted from a vehicle would be especially valuable, allowing a receiving unit to only activate an alert mechanism when receiving a transmission from the correct vehicle traveling in a specified direction.
  • Such a notification system also should be less complex, less costly and not require extensive infrastructure as compared to prior art systems. Additionally, such systems and particularly the receivers therefore should be inexpensive and not require highly trained individuals to operate the equipment. Further, it would be desirable for such systems and particularly the receivers therefore to be easily adaptable to relocation of the receivers and/or changes in location of vehicles stopping points.
  • a real-time monitoring or tracking system whereby the location of vehicles such as buses within a given area can be monitored or tracked in real-time so as to be capable of easily and quickly identifying vehicles that may be in trouble or that have significantly departed from the designated travel route. Also, it would be desirable to provide an integrated system that is capable of providing such notification and such real-time monitoring/tracking capabilities.
  • a vehicle arrival notification system that enables passengers to know the location and arrival time of the transporting vehicle before its arrival at a given location (e.g., many minutes in advance).
  • a vehicle locating or tracking system for monitoring and mapping of the location of in-transit transporting vehicles particularly a vehicle locating/ tracking system for doing such monitoring and mapping in real-time.
  • the notification system comprises a transmission apparatus on a vehicle and receiving units at various locations along the vehicle route such as businesses, households, schools, personal vehicles and the like.
  • the transmission apparatus includes subsystems for determining the location of the bus and transmitting a signal including information identifying the vehicle and the current vehicle location.
  • the receiving unit uses the current vehicle location information to determine an estimated time of arrival for the vehicle at a specified location along the vehicle route. More particularly, the receiving unit uses the current vehicle location information with locational information stored in its memory to determine the estimated time of arrival. Preferably, the estimated time of arrival and the distance from the specified location along the vehicle route also is displayed to the passengers or other individuals awaiting the arrival of the transporting vehicle.
  • the receiving unit also is configured so as to provide either an audio or visual alarm that is activated when the receiving unit determined vehicle arrival time is less than an adjustable time threshold.
  • the alarm function also can work off of a distance threshold, where an adjustable distance trigger is set to activate the alarm.
  • the receiving unit determines the distance between the vehicle and the receiving unit with a simple distance calculation and the alarm is triggered when the calculated distance is less than the threshold.
  • the system includes the means to accurately determine the location of the vehicle and the location of any specified vehicle stop so that the distance between the vehicle and the vehicle stop and the corresponding time can be easily determined.
  • Global positioning satellite (GPS) technology generates extremely accurate location coordinates for the transporting vehicle by analysis of signals from a plurality of global positioning satellites.
  • Receiving units within the range of the transmission apparatus' RF signal receive the GPS determined location of the vehicle regardless of the strength of the RF signal, which is used to determine the location of the vehicle with respect to the location of the vehicle stop.
  • the methodology for determining vehicle location according to the present invention is independent of signal strength.
  • a receiving unit can accurately calculate and determine an associated arrival time and the distance between receiving unit and vehicle, thereby providing accurate arrival information.
  • the methodology allows the receiving unit to account for changes in estimated time of arrivals caused by, for example, unexpected delays (e.g., delays caused by inclement weather, road construction or accidents) and/or changes in speed of the vehicle.
  • the receiving unit further includes the means to acquire information about a vehicle by an information acquisition protocol herein referred to as the learn function.
  • the learn function Activating the learn function when a vehicle approaches the vehicle stop causes the receiving unit to acquire information such as vehicle identification information and vehicle location information from the vehicle transmission unit signal until the vehicle arrives at the vehicle stop proximal the location of the receiving unit.
  • a tabulation of such information is made and stored in the receiver memory.
  • Such data acquisition is made for both the transporting vehicle's pick-up and drop-off:
  • a historical log file that includes a time sequence of vehicle location is stored into the receiver's memory so that this data can be later accessed to understand how the vehicle approaches the vehicle stop proximal the location of the receiver.
  • the historical log file includes 20 or more minutes of time entries wherein sequential time entries are separated by a small time increment such as 10-30 seconds, more particularly a time interval of about 10 seconds.
  • the vehicle information acquired by the receiving unit during the learn function is used by the notification system, more particularly each receiving unit of the system along a given travel route, to determine an estimated time of arrival at any given vehicle location on the travel route as well as when to alert passengers that the vehicle is approaching a specific vehicle location/ stop.
  • Additional information is transmitted from the transmitter to the receiving unit at this time, such as time of day information to distinguish AM bus pick-ups from PM bus pick-ups and time of week (e.g., end-of-week) for purposes of conserving battery power of the receiving unit during non-pickup times (e.g., no over weekend pickups).
  • the transmission apparatus further includes the means to electronically store information about the vehicle during operation.
  • a vehicle log file is generated including an entry for each transmitted RF signal such that each entry includes a time mark and the transmitted vehicle location coordinates.
  • Each vehicle log file entry can further include additional information such as vehicle speed.
  • Information stored in a vehicle log file can be downloaded to a PC for use in monitoring vehicle operation. The information contained in the vehicle log files can be used to monitor vehicle operator performance and to determine the validity of passenger complaints regarding vehicle operation. It also is within the scope of the present invention, to capture the vehicle location information that is being periodically transmitted by a moving vehicle at a centralized location for later analysis and evaluation regarding operator performance as well as vehicle running and dispatching.
  • one or more receiving units are disposed at designated locations that are particularly configured and arranged to receive the transmitted vehicle location information for all vehicles that are in-transit in a predetermined area at any given time. These one or more receiving units also are configured and arranged so as to store the transmitted vehicle location information so such information can be retrieved later as well as to provide location information on a real-time basis. In more specific embodiments, such receiving units are configured and arranged so as to process and analyze location information as it is being received to determine if an in-transit vehicle is in trouble (e.g., broken down) or has departed the travel route. The receiving unit further provides an output (e.g., warning signal) to notify of such cases.
  • an output e.g., warning signal
  • the one or more receiving units are operably coupled to a network infrastructure and arranged so as to form a network of receiving units that collectively receive the transmitted vehicle location information from the vehicles that are in transit in any given area. In this way, at least one of the receiving units will receive the transmitted vehicle location information from a given vehicle regardless of its location within the given area. In addition, this provides a mechanism by which a vehicle that has departed from the designated travel route can be located even though it has departed from the designated travel route.
  • Each of the receiving units also are configured and arranged so as to process the received vehicle location information and determine if it is the intended recipient of the received information or if this information should be transmitted onto another receiving unit. If it is determined that the information should be forwarded, the receiving unit addresses and forwards the received information to the appropriate receiving unit via the network infrastructure. For example, the receiving unit that has received the vehicle location information determines the IP address for the appropriate receiving unit and forwards the received information to this IP address via the network infrastructure.
  • data from an antenna going into any networked computer also provides the ability to share information with any remote party.
  • the remote party can be various school personnel working in offices at remote buildings from the base station antenna / computer setup, a bus contractor, or even parents who would want to access a particular bus location for a bus that is getting back late from an extracurricular activity.
  • FIG. 1 an illustrative view of a notification system 100a according to the present invention that is established along a travel path for a transporting vehicle (e.g., bus).
  • a notification system 100a includes a transmission apparatus 160 that is located in a vehicle (e.g., automobile, bus, van, taxi, etc.) and one or more, more particularly a plurality or more, receiving units 120 that are located along the travel route of the vehicle, more particularly located in houses, apartments, households in general, schools, vehicle dispatching locations (e.g., bus dispatch location).
  • a vehicle e.g., automobile, bus, van, taxi, etc.
  • receiving units 120 that are located along the travel route of the vehicle, more particularly located in houses, apartments, households in general, schools, vehicle dispatching locations (e.g., bus dispatch location).
  • two vehicle or bus stops are depicted where two households each having a receiving unit 120 are located proximal each of the bus stops.
  • the depicted number of bus stops and households is for illustration purposes only and the invention is not particularly limited to the illustrative notification system 100a.
  • signals are transmitted from the transmission apparatus 160 in a given vehicle and are received by the receiving units 120 along the travel route for that vehicle. These signals are processed within each receiving unit 120 so as to alert a person when that vehicle is approaching a specified point or stop location on the vehicle's travel route.
  • signals are transmitted from the transmission apparatus 160 on the bus to the two households proximal the first bus stop.
  • the receiving units 120 located in each of these households process these signals as the vehicle approaches and reaches the first bus stop to alert the person (s) in the households of the approaching vehicle. Similarly, the receiving units 120 and each of the two households proximal the second bus stop will process be transmitted signals to provide an indication of the bus approaching the second loss stop.
  • such a notification system 1 00a includes a receiving system at each of the one or more destination/ delivery sites, for example at each school, to receive signals from the transmission apparatus 160 of each vehicle approaching a given destination/ deliver site, which receiving units are hereinafter referred to as a destination/ delivery site receiving system 220. These signals are processed within the destination/ delivery site receiving system 220 to alert the responsible persons at a given destination/ delivery site of an approaching vehicle. For example, in the case of hospital such notification could apprise emergency room personnel of the impending arrival of an ambulance. In the case of a school, such notification would appraise the school's administration of an approaching bus.
  • one destination/ delivery site is illustrated this is not a limitation as it well known that a school district/ school system can comprise a plurality or more of schools.
  • Such a notification system 100a further includes a receiving and monitoring system 320 that is located at one or more locations, such as a central dispatch location, hospitals and schools.
  • the receiving and monitoring system 320 is configured and arranged to receive signals from the transmission apparatus 160 of each vehicle that is in-transit within a given area. These signals are processed with the receiving and monitoring system 320 receiving such signals and the location information for each vehicle is stored therein for later retrieval and analysis.
  • the receiving and monitoring system 320 also is configured and arranged so as to allow real-time analysis of such location information for one or more in-transit vehicles.
  • the receiving and monitoring system is configured and arranged so as to be capable of displaying real-time mapping of one or more in-transit vehicles on a display. As indicated above, it is within the scope of the present invention for a receiving and monitoring system 320 to be located at a destination/ delivery site in lieu of the destination/ delivery site receiving system 220.
  • a notification system 100b according to another aspect of the present invention where the one or more receiving units 120, the destination/delivery site receiving system 210 and the receiving and monitoring system 320 are each interconnected using any one of a number of communication protocols or techniques to each other so as to form a network.
  • the receiving units and the systems 220, 320 are coupled to a communications device or communications link 180 that in turn couples the receiving unit and systems together in accordance with the particular communications technique being employed.
  • the communications link 180 can be a cable modem interconnecting all of the units comprising the network via the Internet so that information being received at any one unit is made available to all of the units comprising the network.
  • the communications network can comprise hard lines, fiber cables and wireless links.
  • the effective range of reception for any given unit or system is effectively increased because of the availability of information provided by signals being received by other units or systems comprising a network.
  • the receiving units 120 in each household, the destination/delivery site receiving system 220 and the receiving and monitoring system 320 are shown as being interconnected to each other.
  • This illustrative embodiment of a notification system according to the present invention shall not be limited to the illustrated embodiment as the network can be made up of any arrangement of one or more of these units/systems 120, 220, 320, such as for example, a network linking the one or more destination/delivery systems 220 to the one or more receiving and monitoring systems 320.
  • FIG. 2A-C there is shown perspective views of exemplary transmission apparatuses 160a,b and a block diagram of a transmission apparatus 160 according to the present invention.
  • reference number 160 is used when making reference to a transmission apparatus in general and not to the specific illustrative embodiments shown in Figs. 2A,B .
  • the perspective views illustrate transmission apparatuses 160a,b having different features and arrangements, however, in either embodiment, the transmission apparatus is configured and arranged to determine the location of the vehicle at any time as it is traveling along a given travel route and for transmitting a signal, more particularly an RF signal, that provides vehicle identification and vehicle location information. More specifically, the transmission apparatus 160 transmits a signal in accordance with a predetermined frequency, cycle or period, where each signal provides such information.
  • the transmission apparatus 160 includes a microprocessor or central processing unit (CPU) 162, a memory 174, a GPS antenna 164, a GPS module 170, a communications module 166, an RF antenna 168, a display 161, buttons 163 and a power supply 172.
  • the communications module 166 comprises any one of a number of devices or circuitry known to those skilled in the art for generating and transmitting an RF signal in a desired frequency band, including analog and digital signals.
  • the devices or circuitry embody spread spectrum signal generation techniques.
  • the communications module 166 comprises a transmitter 166a and a receiver 166b so that the communications module is capable of both transmission and reception of RF signals.
  • the communications module 166 includes a transceiver as is known to those skilled in the art. As hereinafter described, providing the capability of receiving RF signals allows the transmission apparatus 160 to check the transmission frequency band to determine if the channel is clear as well as allowing the transmission apparatus to be remotely updated wirelessly.
  • the communications module 166 is configured and arranged for broadcasting and/or receiving signals in the UHF business band, more specifically a frequency of about 463.7 MHz. Further, the UHF transmitter/ transceiver comprising the communications module 166 has a power output of about 40-45 Watts.
  • the GPS module 170 is any one of a number of devices or circuitry known to those skilled in the art that receives signals from a plurality or more of global positioning satellites (not shown) of a global positioning system (GPS) via a GPS antenna 164. As is known to those skilled in the art, the GPS module 170 determines the location or position of the GPS module using the signals from these GPS satellites and thus, also thereby determines the location or position of the vehicle. This information about vehicle location is communicated from the GPS module 170 to the transmission apparatus CPU 162 for further processing.
  • GPS global positioning system
  • the transmission apparatus CPU 162 comprises any of a number of microprocessors or CPU's known to those skilled in the art that are appropriate for the use and functions as described herein.
  • An applications program also is included for execution in the CPU 162 which application program includes instructions and criteria to control the processes and functionalities of the transmission apparatus 160 including protocols, tasks and functions carried out by the transmission apparatus. More particularly, the application program includes instructions and criteria to receive vehicle location information from the GPS module 170, process such vehicle location information, and to cause the transmission apparatus to transmit one or more signals that include information such as vehicle identification and vehicle location information. As noted above, these one or more signals are generated in accordance with a predetermined frequency, cycle or period. The specifics of such instructions and criteria of the applications program is further discussed below in connection with Figs. 5A-D .
  • the transmission apparatus CPU 162 more specifically the applications program being executed in the transmission apparatus CPU 162, includes instructions and criteria for monitoring the status and operability of the communications module 166. If the transmission apparatus CPU 162 detects a failure or determines that the communications module 166 is not able to fully perform in the intended manner (e.g., transmit and/or receive RF signals), then the CPU outputs a signal activating a malfunction warning light 176 ( Fig. 2B ) and/or provides a warning message on a display 161.
  • a malfunction warning light 176 Fig. 2B
  • the transmission apparatus 160 also includes a memory 174, preferably any one of a number of non-volatile type of memory known to those skilled in the art and which is appropriate for the intended use.
  • the transmission apparatus memory 174 stores configuration information including, for example, information relating to the travel route of the transporting vehicle and in the case of a school bus, such information can include the school district and bus number.
  • the transmission apparatus memory 174 is in addition to the random access memory (RAM) used in connection with the CPU, and such nonvolatile memory includes flash and spindle types of memory.
  • the transmission apparatus memory 174 also can be used to store vehicle location information and a time sequence for later retrieval and use for the above described monitoring and analysis.
  • the transmission apparatus memory 174 is sized so as to be capable of a storing the intended information.
  • the display 161 also can be used to display the vehicle identifier for the transporting vehicle in which the transmission apparatus is located, for example the bus number.
  • the buttons 163 e.g., the enter and up/down buttons
  • the transmission apparatus 160 is configured with a button or switch that once actuated sends out a signal requesting immediate assistance, such as for example from the police because of an unruly passenger or a broken down vehicle (e.g., a disabled bus or ambulance).
  • the transmission apparatus 160 also includes a power supply 172.
  • the power supply 172 comprises the electrical power source of the transporting vehicle. More particularly, the transmission apparatus 160 is wired to the electrical power source of the transporting vehicle such that the transmission apparatus is continuously powered while the ignition switch is in the on or accessory position.
  • the present invention is not limited to this particular form of a power supply and other power supply's as is known to those skilled in the art, including batteries, are contemplated for use with the present invention.
  • a block diagram of a transmission apparatus 160' that further includes a tag reader 165 and in which the CPU 162 is operably coupled to the electric circuitry and/ or electronics 10 of the vehicle.
  • the vehicle passengers are provided with a device or mechanism that can produce an RF, optical image or output signal that uniquely identifies each passenger as they board the vehicle such as a bus.
  • a device or mechanism that can produce an RF, optical image or output signal that uniquely identifies each passenger as they board the vehicle such as a bus.
  • a passive RFID tag that provides an RF signal output when in the presence of an electrical field emitted by a RFID transceiving unit/ card reader.
  • the tag reader 165 is any of a number of devices known to those skilled in the art that is appropriate for use with such a device or mechanism to obtain the RF or audio signal output and optical signal representative of the bar code label or other such optical coding format.
  • the tag reader 165 would be a transceiver that emits an electrical or magnetic field such that a passive tag identification is then received back, thereby identifying the person carrying the tag.
  • the identification system could be RF based or one of a number of known optical scanning devices used in the art for scanning bar code labels and providing an output signal representative thereof.
  • the CPU 162 is electrically and operably coupled to the electrical circuitry or electronics 10 of the vehicle so as to be capable of receiving signals, voltages of currents from such circuitry or electronics representative of a given condition and/ or status of the vehicle.
  • a common practice with school buses is to cause safety lights to blink and/ or cause other devices to be actuated when the bus is stopped to pickup students.
  • motor vehicles are typically provided with four-way or hazard light flashing circuitry that is selectively and manually activated by the driver to provide a visual signal indicating a vehicle that is not normally driving on a highway (e.g., a vehicle that has pulled over into the emergency lane on a highway).
  • the driver of the vehicle could carry an identification tag of their own or a smart card required to start the ignition for the purposes of driver identification. Such identification would provide for the ability to automate driver time cards and payment systems based on start and stop times.
  • the CPU 162 is configured and arranged to monitor such vehicle conditions and/ or signals to determine if they are representative of the particular condition that should be automatically reported back to a central dispatching location or the like via the transmission apparatus 160'. Such configuring and arranging includes providing appropriate interfacing circuitry between the electrical circuitry/electronics 10 of the vehicle and the CPU 162.
  • FIG. 3A-C there is shown perspective views of exemplary receiving units 120a, 120b and a block diagram of a receiving unit 120 according to the present invention.
  • reference number 120 is used when making reference to a receiving unit in general and not to the specific illustrated embodiments shown in Figs. 3A,B .
  • the perspective views illustrate receiving units having different features and arrangements, however, in either embodiment the receiving unit 120a,b is configured and arranged to receive RF signals being transmitted by the transporting vehicle, processing the signals, determining the estimated time of arrival (ETA) of the transporting vehicle to a vehicle stop proximal to the receiving unit, determining the distance the transporting vehicle is from the vehicle stop, displaying the determined ETA and distance, and providing an alarm when one of the ETA or distance is less than a threshold value.
  • the receiving unit 120 also is configured and arranged such that it can learn information needed to carry out the foregoing functions.
  • the receiving units 120 as illustrated in Fig.
  • the receiving unit 120 is used to determine, displaying and provide alarms for the arrival of the bus or other transportation vehicle that is picking up or dropping off school children.
  • the receiving unit 120 includes a microprocessor or central processing unit (CPU) 122, a memory 126, a receiving module 138, an RF antenna 136, an alarm/ speaker 150, a display made up of a plurality of display portions 140,144, one display portion 144 to display the ETA and another display portion 144 to display the distance 140, an I/O port 135 and a power supply 132, These display portions may be positioned so as to be proximal each other as shown in Fig. 3A or separated from each other as is shown in Fig. 3B .
  • the receiving unit 120 also includes one or more switches and/or buttons 133 (e.g., the enter and up/down buttons shown in Fig. 3A ) that allow a user to select various programming functions including the learn function, index through a menu and perform other functionalities associative with the receiving unit operation as more fully described hereinafter.
  • switches and/or buttons 133 e.g., the enter and up/down buttons shown in Fig. 3A )
  • the receiving unit receiving module 138 and RF antenna 136 comprise any one of the number of devices or circuitry known to those skilled in the act for receiving an RF signal in a desired frequency band, including analog and digital signals.
  • the devices or circuitry embody spread spectrum signal generation techniques.
  • the receiving module 138 and RF antenna 136 are configured and arranged to receive signals in the UHF business band, more specifically a frequency of about 463.7 MHz.
  • the RF antenna 136 is illustrated as being integral with the receiving unit 120a in Fig.
  • the RF antenna it is within the scope of the present invention for the RF antenna to be located remote from the receiving unit and to be electrically interconnected to the receiving module 138 using any one of a number of techniques known to those skilled in the art (e.g., interconnected by cables) as is illustrated in Figs. 1A , B . It also is within the scope of the present invention, for the receiving unit 120 to be configured and arranged with an internal antenna and to have a port or connection that would allow the receiving module 138 to be coupled to an external antenna.
  • the receiving unit CPU 122 comprises any of a number of microprocessors or CPU's known to those skilled in the art that are appropriate for the use and functions as described herein.
  • An applications program is also included for execution in the CPU 122 which application program includes instructions and criteria to control the processes and functionalities of the receiving unit 120 including protocols, tasks and functions carried out by the receiving unit. More particularly, the application program includes instructions and criteria to receive vehicle location information from the transmission apparatus 160 of a given vehicle associated with the vehicle travel route and vehicle stop that is proximal the location of the receiving unit and to cause the appropriate information to be displayed and the appropriate alarms to be generated based on the information received from the transmission apparatus. The specifics of such instructions and criteria of the applications program is further discussed below in connection with Figs. 5A-D .
  • the receiving unit CPU 122 includes instructions and criteria for monitoring the status and operability of the receiving unit 120 more particularly the receiver module 138 thereof. If the receiving unit CPU 122 detects a failure or determines that the receiving unit 120 is not able to fully perform in the intended manner (e.g., receive RF signals), then the CPU outputs a signal activating a malfunction warning light and/or providing a message on a display.
  • the intended manner e.g., receive RF signals
  • the receiving unit 120 also includes a memory 126, preferably any one of a non-volatile type of memory known to those skilled in the art and which is appropriate for the intended use.
  • the receiving unit memory 126 stores configuration information including, for example, information relating to the travel route of the transporting vehicle. In the case of a school bus, such information includes the school district and bus number.
  • the receiving unit memory 126 is in addition to the random access memory (RAM) used in connection with the CPU, and such nonvolatile memory includes flash and spindle types of memory.
  • the receiving unit memory 126 also is used to store vehicle location information in a time sequence for retrieval to determine ETAs and the distance between the vehicle and the vehicle stop at a given time.
  • the receiving unit memory 126 also is sized so as to be capable of a storing the intended information.
  • the receiving unit memory 126 further includes information relating to the timing protocol for the transmission apparatus 160, coded information so that the receiving unit can be accessed from a remote location to control the service is in regards to payment or non-payment for the service, storing threshold values for alarming and/or a historical log.
  • the displays comprising the vehicle display portions 140,144 for distance and ETA are any of a number of displays known in the art that display alphanumeric information.
  • the displays are LCD type of displays, however, the present time invention is not particular limited to this type of display.
  • the ETA display portion 144 is configured and arranged to display the estimated time of arrival of the transporting vehicle (e.g., bus) at the vehicle stop proximal the location of the receiving unit 120.
  • the distance display is configured and arranged to display the distance of the transporting vehicle from the vehicle stop while the vehicle is in-transit. Typically, time is displayed in minutes and distance is displayed in miles.
  • the receiving unit 120 can be configured and arranged so that these display portions 140,144 are changed in appearance (e.g., the display blinks) to provide a visual indication of the alarm condition.
  • the receiving unit 120 also includes a power supply 132.
  • the power supply 132 is configured and arranged so that the receiving unit 120 is portable.
  • the power supply 132 comprises one or more batteries.
  • the receiving unit 120 can be configured and arranged to further include an electrical power port or connection 133 that can be electrically interconnected to a transformer connected to an electrical outlet located in the household, business or school so that the receiving unit can be continuously powered without the interruption associated with the replacement of batteries.
  • the present invention is not limited to this particular form of a power supply and other power supplies as is known to those skilled in the art are contemplated for use with the present invention.
  • the receiving units 120 are connected to a communications network so that information can be transmitted amongst the receiving units. More particularly, the receiving units 120 are coupled to the communications network via a communications link 180 (e.g., modem, cable modem, etc.).
  • the receiving unit 120 includes an I/O port or connection 135 which connection couples the receiving unit CPU 122 to the communications link 180 and thus to the communications network.
  • the applications program being executed in the receiving unit CPU 122 also includes instructions and criteria for controlling the reception and transmission of messages to/from any given receiving unit 120.
  • the I/O port or connection 135 is any of a number of ports/ connections known to those skilled in the art including RS-232 and USB type of connections as well as emulating a wireless type of communication interface.
  • a receiving system particularly configured for use at the destination/delivery site for the transporting vehicle hereinafter destination/delivery site receiving system 220.
  • the destination/delivery site receiving system 220 includes a personal computer 230, a receiving unit 120, an RF antenna 136, a display unit 223, and an input device 225.
  • a personal computer 230 includes a personal computer 230, a receiving unit 120, an RF antenna 136, a display unit 223, and an input device 225.
  • Fig. 3C for details regarding receiving unit 120 and the RF antenna 136 not otherwise discussed hereinafter.
  • the RF antenna 136 is remote from the receiving unit 120 which is illustrated in Fig. 1B .
  • the antenna can be co-located in the housing with the other components of the receiving unit 120.
  • the receiving unit 120 is configured to receive and to pass all of the received messages onto the personal computer 230 via the receiving unit I/O port 135.
  • the use of a receiving unit 120 as a communication device shall not be construed as a limitation as it is with the scope of the present invention to configure and arrange the system 220 so as to have stand-alone communications that interface directly with the personal computer.
  • the personal computer includes a microprocessor or CPU 232 that comprises any of a number of microprocessors or CPU's known to those skilled in the art that are appropriate for the use and functions as described herein.
  • An applications program is also included for execution in the CPU 232 which application program includes instructions and criteria to control the processes and functionalities of this receiving system 220 including protocols, tasks and functions carried out by the system. More particularly, the application program includes instructions and criteria to receive vehicle location information from the transmission apparatus 160 for any vehicle that will be arriving at the destination/delivery site, to cause the appropriate information to be displayed and to cause the appropriate alarms to be generated based on the information received from the transmission apparatus.
  • the applications program When the destination/ delivery site receiving system 220 is interconnected to a communications network for data/ information sharing, the applications program further includes instructions and criteria for receiving data/ information via the communications network and integrating such information/ data with that being received directly from the transmission apparatus 160 as well as controlling the transmission of data/ information into the communications network.
  • the specifics of such instructions and criteria of the applications program is further discussed below in connection with Figs. 5A-E .
  • the CPU 232 more specifically the applications program being executed in the CPU 232, includes instructions and criteria for monitoring the status and operability of the receiving unit 120. If the destination/delivery site receiving unit CPU 232 detects a failure or determines that the receiving unit is not able to fully perform in the intended manner (e.g., receive RF signals and/or passes them along), then the CPU outputs a signal activating a malfunction warning light and/or providing a message on a display.
  • An input device 225 is operably coupled to the CPU 232 so as to allow a user to select functions, types of displays to be shown, and to input configuration information such as the vehicle identification for vehicles arriving at the destination/delivery site.
  • Such an input device 225 includes but is not limited to keyboards and/or mouses.
  • the display 223 is any of a number of display devices known to those skilled in the art including, but not limited to, CRT, LCD and plasma types of displays that are otherwise appropriate for the intended use.
  • the display 223 is operably coupled to the CPU 232 such that vehicle identification, vehicle ETA and vehicle distance information is displayed and updated by the CPU as each location information packet/message is received from an in-transit transporting vehicle.
  • the display 223 is of the type that is capable of providing the mapping displays shown in Figs. 7A , B .
  • the personal computer 230 also includes a storage device 231 to store configuration information including, for example, information relating to the travel route of each transporting vehicle that would be arriving at the destination/delivery site for dropping off passengers or picking up passengers.
  • configuration information including, for example, information relating to the travel route of each transporting vehicle that would be arriving at the destination/delivery site for dropping off passengers or picking up passengers.
  • information includes the school district and bus number for each bus that would be arriving at the school to drop students off for school or at the end of a school day to pick-up students to bring them home.
  • the storage device 231 is used and sized to store vehicle location information for each vehicle arriving at the destination/ delivery site in a time sequence for retrieval to determine ETAs and the distance between the vehicle and a given destination/ delivery site at a given time.
  • the storage device 231 further includes information relating to the timing protocol for the transmission apparatus 160, the location or positional information (e.g., GPS coordinates) for the destination/delivery site, storing threshold values for alarming and/or a historical log.
  • the storage device 231 is any of a number of devices or combination of devices known to those skilled in the art that is appropriate for the intended use including magnetic hard drives, nonvolatile memory (e.g., spindle or flash) or a combination thereof.
  • the storage device 231 is in addition to the random access memory (RAM) used in connection with the CPU 232.
  • the storage device 231 includes a short-term storage such as nonvolatile memory, and long-term storage such as a magnetic hard drive, so that information and/or data being acquired on the fly is temporarily stored in the short-term storage and later transferred or written to the long-term storage by the CPU 232.
  • a receiving and monitoring/ tracking computer system 320 is particularly configured for use at any of a number locations including a central dispatching location (see Fig. 1A ) for all the vehicles that are in-transit in an area/region or any one or more of the destination/delivery sites ( Fig. 1A ) with a designated area/ region.
  • the receiving and monitoring/ tracking computer system 320 includes a microprocessor or central processing unit (CPU) 322, a storage device 231, a receiving module 138, an RF antenna 136, a display unit 223, an I/O port 135, an input device 225 and an alarm 327.
  • CPU central processing unit
  • the RF antenna 136 is remote from the receiving module 138 which is illustrated in Fig. 1B .
  • the antenna can be co-located in the housing with the other components of the receiving unit.
  • this device is sized and configured so as to be capable of storing information being acquired by the receiving and monitoring unit 320 for monitoring and later use and off line analysis of data/information.
  • the receiving and monitoring system CPU 322 comprises any of a number of microprocessors or CPU's known to those skilled in the art that are appropriate for the use and functions as described herein.
  • An applications program is also included for execution in the CPU 322 which application program includes instructions and criteria to control the processes and functionalities of this receiving system 320 including protocols, tasks and functions carried out by this receiving system. More particularly, the application program includes instructions and criteria to receive vehicle location information from the transmission apparatus 160 for any vehicle in-transit in a given area being covered by a given receiving and monitoring system; to cause the appropriate information to be displayed and to cause the appropriate alarms to be generated based on the information received from the transmission apparatus on each in-transit vehicle.
  • the application program includes instructions and criteria for real-time mapping of the travel route for one or more in-transit vehicles, displaying such real-time mapping, and/or providing alarms in cases where the real-time mapping indicates that the vehicle may be exhibiting mechanical problems or has substantially deviated from the designated travel route.
  • the applications program further includes instructions and criteria for receiving data/ information via the communications network and integrating such information/ data with that being received directly from the transmission apparatus 160 as well as controlling the transmission of data/ information into the communications network. The specifics of such instructions and criteria of the applications program is further discussed below in connection with Figs. 5A-F .
  • the receiving and monitoring system CPU 322 more specifically the applications program being executed in the receiving system CPU 322, includes instructions and criteria for monitoring the status and operability of the receiving and monitoring unit receiver module 138. If the receiving and monitoring system CPU 322 detects a failure or determines that the receiver module 138 is not able to fully perform in the intended manner (e.g., receive RF signals), then the CPU outputs a signal activating a malfunction warning light and/or providing a message on a display.
  • the alarm 327 is any of a number of visual and/or auditory alarms known to those skilled in the art that are appropriate for the intended use.
  • the receiving and monitoring system 320 can be used to analyze off-line the location and time information that has been acquired and stored in the storage device 231. Such analysis can be used to evaluate driver performance as well as optimizing and selecting travel routes as well as modifying travel routes to account for changes in road conditions, such as for example road construction.
  • the application program being executed the receiving and monitoring system CPU 322 includes instructions and criteria for performing such analysis.
  • a vehicle notification and/or vehicle location systems can be best understood from the following discussion and with reference to Figs. 1 and 4-7 .
  • Figs. 2 and 3 for features and details of the transmission apparatus 160, the receiving unit 120, the destination/ delivery site receiving system 220 and the receiving and monitoring system 320 not otherwise shown or described in Figs. 4-7 .
  • a combined vehicle notification and vehicle location system this shall not be construed as a limitation as it is within the scope of the present invention for a system to be configured and arranged for vehicle notification or for vehicle location/mapping.
  • Fig. 5A a flow diagram that illustrates an exemplary process for transmitting information from the transmission apparatus 160 in a vehicle to the receiving unit 120 located in a household, business, school or other appropriate location.
  • the transmission apparatus 160 is initialized, step 500.
  • the transmission apparatus 160 is initialized so the appropriate information is provided and stored in the memory 174 for later use in determining vehicle position/location and/or for transmitting information.
  • Such initialization can be accomplished using any of a number of techniques known to those skilled in the art, including but not limited to, manually, wireless transmission, a transmission pendant that is selectively, electrically connected to the transmission apparatus, smart cards, or electrically connecting a personal computer to the transmission apparatus.
  • the transmission apparatus 160 could include instructions to automatically contact the dispatch base station to automatically start synchronization/ initialization after certain conditions are met (e.g., vehicle is started and put into gear).
  • the transmission apparatus memory 174 is provided information that identifies the vehicle which is traveling along a given travel route at a given time. In the case of a school bus, such information would be the school district and bus number. Also, other information such as whether the bus is the AM pick-up or the PM drop-off, whether that day is the last day of the school week, or that the receiver time needs to be adjusted for daylight savings is inputted into the transmission apparatus memory 174. Such other information would be transmitted along with any positional information so as to update the receiving unit 120, destination/delivery site receiving system 220 or the receiving and monitoring system 320 so that these units/systems can modify their operations.
  • each of these receiving units/systems knows which bus it should be looking for (e.g., the morning or afternoon bus) or whether the bus will be arriving one hour earlier on later than is presently programmed because of a daylight savings time change.
  • the receiving unit also knows whether a weekend is coming so the receiver can shut down and conserve power when such receiving units include power supplies having limited and predetermined capacities (e.g., battery power supplies).
  • vehicle transmissions are controlled so that they occur at predetermined times and also in accordance with a pre-established protocol or timing plan.
  • the transmission apparatus memory 174 is provided the periodic time interval for transmission of the vehicle position information (e.g., 10-30 second time interval).
  • the transmission apparatus memory is provided with a particular time slot having a predetermined duration that repeats every 10-30 seconds, more specifically repeats every 10 seconds.
  • the transmission apparatus memory 174 also is provided with the information needed to implement any additional pre-established protocol or timing plan which further defines specific transmission times within the periodic time interval.
  • the transmission apparatus 160 for each vehicle also sets its internal clock or time to correspond to GPS time. In this way, the clocks of each transmission apparatus 160 that are in motion and transmitting signals containing vehicle location information are synchronized with each other. Consequently, the potential for signal or message collisions being transmitted from different vehicles is essentially eliminated while providing or maintaining the capability for making large numbers of signal transmissions within a relatively short time period.
  • the CPU 162 periodically adjusts the time clock for a transmission apparatus based on GPS time to maintain synchronization among all mobile/ in-transit units.
  • time slotting a pre-established protocol or timing plan, hereinafter referred to as time slotting, is established to define specific time slots, where each time slot is allocated for the transmission of information from a given vehicle.
  • Time slotting offers a number of advantageous benefits particularly when the application involves school buses. For example the same time intervals for nonadjacent school districts can be reused much like in a cellular network. For example, school district 3, 8 and 13 would be nonadjacent school districts and thus, buses could transmit during the same time interval (e.g., interval 3).
  • time slots throughout all of the school districts of a given city or town to be defined and established so that time slots are uniquely assigned throughout so that two buses or vehicles do not interfere, collide or transmit a signal at the same time.
  • a time slot with duration of 10-20 milliseconds is allocated for transmission of vehicle location/ identification information for each vehicle comprising all of the vehicles that can be in transit at any given time. For example, a time slot is assigned to each vehicle number. Also, such a time slot is periodically repeated every 10 to 30 seconds for each vehicle. In this way, for example, for a 20 millisecond time slot, 500 vehicles can transmit signals within a 10 second interval or 1500 vehicles can transmit signals within a 30 second interval without the potential for signal collision.
  • time slotting provides a mechanism that can be used for power management of the receiving unit 120.
  • the receiving module 138 can be powered up only at those times when a transmission would be sent off by the transmission apparatus 160.
  • a receiving unit 120 that has been properly initialized can establish a time reference for controlling the operation of the receiving module 138 for any transmission received from any bus.
  • the time slotting methodology minimizes the potential for signal collision or interference at the receiving unit level.
  • time slotting embodiment is best understood with reference to the following exemplary discussion. Assume that a bus location transmission is to be made every 10 seconds and that each 10-second time period is broken up into a certain number of time intervals, for example five equally spaced time intervals of two seconds each and that each of these 5 intervals is further subdivided into 200 time slots. This would provide 1000 time slots for each 10-second time period (i.e., 5 intervals * 200 time slots), where each time slot would be about 0.01 sec. in duration (i.e., time slot duration-TSD).
  • the transmission apparatus memory 174 for each bus is updated as part of the initialization process to include the school district number (SDN) and the bus number (BN). Using this information the transmission apparatus CPU 162 calculates its time slot.
  • SDN school district number
  • BN bus number
  • DTI remainder SDN / total number of intervals w / in transmission cycle
  • TFT DTI * TNTS + BN * TSD
  • TNTS is the total number of time slots per time interval.
  • bus number 43 in school district 13 had 6.4300 seconds during each 10 second time period.
  • such calculation of the time for transmission is performed as a part of the process for initializing the transmission apparatus.
  • the location of the transporting vehicle/bus is determined using GPS satellites and the location of the transporting vehicle is defined in terms of longitude and latitude. In order to achieve location accuracy of 20 feet or less, the transmission message packet would have to allocate approximately 64 bits for longitude and latitude.
  • a grid coordinate system is established to define the location of the transporting vehicles.
  • the transmission apparatus receives its coordinates in terms of GPS determined degrees of latitude in longitude and converts these GPS coordinates to grid coordinates based on the central location reference before transmitting such information to the receiving units.
  • central grid coordinates are established in the center of the geographical region in which the transporting vehicles (e.g., buses) will be operating.
  • the central grid coordinates are at the location of the centralized bus depot.
  • Grid latitude 2048 + round * 69 * 4096 * center lat - bus Lat / 15
  • Grid longitude 2048 + round * 53 * 4096 * bus long - center long / 15 * rounded to an integer
  • the transporting vehicle e.g., bus
  • the transmission apparatus GPS module 170 obtains GPS location information from the GPS system, step 504. Using this GPS longitude and latitude information, the transmission apparatus CPU 162, determines the position of the vehicle in the form that it should be transmitted in.
  • the GPS location e.g., degrees longitude and latitude
  • a grid coordinate system is used to define a location of the transporting vehicle.
  • the transmission apparatus CPU 170 using the grid coordinate system information in the transmission apparatus memory 174 during initialization, converts the GPS longitude and latitudes into the grid coordinate longitude and latitude using the conversion formulas.
  • said acquiring (step 504) and determining (step 506) are sequenced so as to be performed closer to the scheduled time for transmission.
  • the transmission apparatus CPU 162 also determines if it is time to make a transmission of the message packet, step 508. In other words, the CPU 162 determines if the criterion established for when a given transporting vehicle should transmit a message has been satisfied. For the time slotting embodiment described above, and using the information provided in the transmission apparatus memory 174, the CPU 162 determines if the time corresponds to the time for the time slot assigned to a given vehicle. If it is not the right time (NO, step 508), then the process continues. As also indicated above, in further embodiments, the time or clock of the transmission apparatus 160 for at least each vehicle in transit is synchronized using GPS time obtained from the GPS signals.
  • the transmission apparatus CPU 162 If it is the right time (YES, step 508) then the transmission apparatus CPU 162 generates the message packet to be transmitted, step 510.
  • the transmission message packet includes a preamble, the school district number, the bus number, latitude, longitude, time of day information (AM/PM), day of week information (weekend coming), daylight savings information, and error detection information (e.g., CRC, check sum, etc.).
  • the latitude and longitude information provided is that appropriate for the locational method being implemented (i.e., degrees or grid coordinates).
  • the protocol before transmitting a message also includes checking the communications channel or pre-designated RF frequency for signal transmission to determine if that channel/frequency is clear, step 512. More particularly, the transceiver or receiver 166b of the communications module 166 is used to monitor this channel or frequency to determine if there is another signal been transmitted at the time the message packet is to be transmitted. If the channel is determined to be clear (YES, step 512) then the transmission apparatus 160 transmits the message, step 514.
  • step 512 If it is determined that the channel/ frequency is not clear (NO, step 512), then the message packet is not transmitted by the transmission apparatus s 160 and the transmission apparatus CPU 162 skips the present transmission cycle, step 516. Thereafter, the process continues with the generation of the next signal/ message packet at the appropriate time to call, in particular performing steps 504-512.
  • the time clocks for each transmission apparatus is preferably synchronized using GPS time, which is accurate on the order of nanoseconds, the potential for same time transmissions that could occur because of drifting clocks is essentially avoided.
  • the transmission apparatus 160 is continuously powered and thus generates signals/ messages packets as long as the transporting vehicle is in operation. As such, if the transporting vehicle is in operation (YES, step 518) and after the signal/ message packet of the present transmission signal has been sent (step 514), then the process continues with the generation of the next signal/ message packet at the appropriate time to call, in particular performing steps 504-512. If the transporting vehicle is no longer in operation, such as when the ignition is turned off, and thus has completed its operational cycle (YES, step 518), then the process is ended, step 520 and no further signals/ message packets representative of the location of the transporting vehicle are transmitted.
  • the transmission apparatus CPU 162 makes an evaluation to determine if the transporting vehicle has completed the travel route, or the designated task as a means for determining if the operational cycle is completed, step 518. In other words, the CPU 162 makes a determination to see if the transporting vehicle has completed its task (e.g., arriving at the destination/delivery site) or whether it is still in transit along the travel route. If the vehicle is still in transit then the transmission apparatus CPU 162 determines that the operational cycle is not complete (NO, step 518) and the process described in steps 504-512 is repeated.
  • the transmission apparatus CPU determines that the operational cycle is complete (YES, step 518) and the transmission process is ended, step 520. Thereafter, the transmission apparatus 160 of the transporting vehicle could be reinitialized so that it could perform another task, for example travel along a different travel route to pick-up a different group of passengers.
  • one or more receiving units 120 are located proximal each vehicle stop and these one or more receiving units are each configured and arranged to receive transmissions from the in-transit transport vehicle and to process the information contained in these transmissions so as to provide indications on estimated time of arrival in distance from the vehicle stop.
  • These receiving units 120 are typically remote from the destination/ delivery site, the central dispatch for the vehicles and/or the yard or location the vehicles are dispatched from.
  • the receiving unit Before a receiving unit 120 can function as a receiving unit in the notification/ vehicle location system, the receiving unit must be configured and arranged so that it can identify the transporting vehicle that is traveling along the travel route and also know the location of its vehicle stop (i.e., the stop that is proximal to the receiving unit). There is shown in Fig.
  • 5B a flow diagram illustrating the process for initializing the receiving units 120 according to the present invention so that the receiving unit can learn the information needed to function properly within the notification/ vehicle location system.
  • the following describes the learning process with reference to a bus, it should be recognized that the following procedure is adaptable so as to learn information for any type of transporting vehicle.
  • the user activates the learning program functions of the receiving unit, step 600.
  • the user activates the learning program functions a predetermined time in advance of the expected time of arrival of the bus and the bus stop.
  • the user actuates a button or switch so as to activate a program menu and scrolls through the menu using the appropriate button(s) 133 on the receiving unit to locate the learning mode function. The user selects this learning mode and continues with the learning process.
  • the user selects the particular time of day for the bus that is to be later identified during this process, step 602. In other words, the user indicates whether this is the AM bus or the PM bus to distinguish between the bus that is used for picking up and the one for dropping off.
  • the user also inputs the school bus number or the vehicle identification, step 604. From this information, the receiving unit 120 can determine if a signal that it is receiving, is for the particular bus involved with the learning process and later if the signal that is been received is for the particular bus the person is awaiting.
  • the receiving unit 120 listens for messages from the particular bus and once such messages are being received, the receiving unit and the learning process proceeds to the data/information acquisition stage of the learning process. Specifically, the receiving unit 120 receives each message, step 606 and evaluates the received message to determine if it is a message from the bus involved with the learning process. If it is such a message, the receiving unit CPU 122 processes the received message and writes information to the learn table, step 608. Consequently, the learn table contains the times (i.e., the time the message was heard) and the location coordinates of the bus. Typically system reception has a range of approximately 5-7 miles, though terrain and other variables affecting RF transmissions. It should be recognized that this is the range in the case where there is direct transmission to the receiving unit 120 from a given transmission apparatus.
  • the receiving unit 120 is connected to a communications network such as that shown in Fig. 1B so as to form a network of receiving units (e.g., a wide area network), the reception range of any given receiving unit can be in effect extended or increased when such signals are received by other receiving units of the network which are in turn communicated to other receiving units of the network via a communications link 180.
  • each receiving unit of the network transmits the received message into the communication network so that is available to all of the receiving units connected to the communication network, step 609 (YES or NO, step 607).
  • the receiving unit 120 determines the device or apparatus where the received message should be transmitted to as well as the network address for such device or apparatus and then transmits the received message to the network address for such device or apparatus.
  • that device or apparatus when it receives such message as part of the message evaluation process also checks to see if the message transmitted by the network was already received by such device or apparatus, such as by means of the RF receiver connected thereto. In such case, such device or apparatus does not process the duplicative or repetitive message(s) further. If it is determined that the message communicated via the network is not duplicative or repetitive, then such device or apparatus processes the message as if it were received via the RF receiver.
  • each receiving unit of the network initially and periodically communicates over the network to determine a synchronization time and to adjust the time or clock for the receiving unit so as to thereby synchronize the time or clocks of all of the receiving units of the network.
  • each CPU connects via the communications network to a website of the world-wide web which website provides a time signal such as that provided for example by an atomic clock. In this way, the timing of messages being received and transmitted via the network can be used to determine if the received message is a duplicative or repetitive message.
  • step 612 The date or acquisition process of steps 606 - 608 continues until the bus arrives at the bus stop, step 610.
  • the data collection process is stop, step 612.
  • the user actuates a key or switch to indicate that the bus has arrived at the bus stop.
  • the receiving unit CPU 122 back calculates to determine how long the bus took to arrive at the bus stop from a particular bus message entry in the learn data table. This is simply done by subtracting the time for a particular bus message entry from the time when the bus arrived at the bus stop. By doing this, an associative ETA time can then be stored in the data table for each bus message entry row.
  • the data table completion process is best understood in the following example and also with reference to the abbreviated data table shown in Fig. 4 .
  • the bus was six miles from the bus stop when the first message was received from the bus. Because the bus automatically transmits location messages every 10 seconds, a new row entry in the data table is created every 10 seconds. Let's also assume that the bus travels an average speed of 10 mph to get to the bus stop, so it will take the bus about thirty-six minutes to arrive at the bus stop from the transmission of the first message. As a result, there will be 216 rows in the data table, as is shown in the abbreviated data table illustrated in Fig. 4 .
  • the user can set alarms, step 614.
  • An alarm should be set for the estimated number of minutes the user wishes to be notified prior to the bus arrival.
  • This information is typically stored in the receiving unit memory 126 and is accessed later by the receiving unit CPU 122 in the process of evaluating whether to actuate the alarm.
  • the receiving unit 120 is configured and arranged so that deal on that the alarm sounds for predetermined period of time (e.g. one minute) and then is shutoff.
  • step 616 the user determines if the learning process for all buses has been completed. If not (NO, step 616) the foregoing learning process is repeated for the next bus until the learning process is done for each bus the user wishes to track (YES, step 616), whereupon the learning process is ended, step 620. Consequently, there should be a learn data table stored in the receiving unit memory 126 for each bus. Because the bus approaches are likely to be different, it is likely that the learn tables for each bus also will be different.
  • the above-described learning process allows the manufacturer to avoid factory setups or reprogramming associated with bus route logistics. By allowing the user to have the receiving unit 120 learn its bus, the manufacturer does not have to be involved with bus routes changes, children changing busses or households moving within the same town.
  • the learn function also provides a mechanism to generate the data necessary for developing and providing ETA's for a bus as it approaches the bus stop.
  • Figs. 5C-D there is shown a flow diagram of the process employed by the receiving unit 120 in determining estimated time of arrivals for each given vehicle along a travel route.
  • the following describes the process using the transmission time slotting technique described above, it should be recognized that the following process is adaptable for use with other forms for controlling the timing of signal transmission and/or reception.
  • the receiving unit is initialized, step 700.
  • Such initialization mainly comprises performing the learning operation described in connection with Fig. 5B as hereinabove described.
  • the receiving unit 120 is configured and arranged so as to determine the time slot that has been assigned to each of the transporting vehicles, step 702. Reference also should be made to the foregoing discussion, regarding the technique for determining a time slot and communication of same to the receiving unit.
  • step 703. If the receiving unit 120 is connected to a power source that can supply energy continuously such that the receiver module 138 is continuously powered, (YES, step 703) then steps 704 and 706 are skipped and the process proceeds directly to step 708. If the power source has limited resources (e.g., batteries) and power management techniques are employed (NO, step 703) then the receiving unit 120 and more specifically the receiving unit CPU 122 continuously checks to see if it is time for the transmission apparatus 160 to transmit a transmission message packet, step 704.
  • the power source has limited resources (e.g., batteries) and power management techniques are employed (NO, step 703) then the receiving unit 120 and more specifically the receiving unit CPU 122 continuously checks to see if it is time for the transmission apparatus 160 to transmit a transmission message packet, step 704.
  • step 704 If it is time for a signal to be transmitted (YES, step 704), then the receiving unit receiver module 138 is powered up so that it can receive the transmitted signal at the appropriate time, step 706. If it is not time for a signal to be transmitted (NO, step 704), the receiving unit receiver module 138 remains powered down and the receiving unit 120 continues the checking process to see if it is time for a signal to be sent.
  • the receiving unit 120 is configured and arranged so that it is mobile and is flexible for placement, in particular so the user can take the receiving unit with them to the bus stop while performing the learning process. Because the receiving unit is principally powered by batteries providing such mobility and flexibility, a power management routine to minimize the amount of time the receiver is powered up except at those appropriate times when a message is expected to be received from the vehicle or bus. In this way, power consumption is minimize and battery life extended. For example, since the bus message is 0.025 sec. or less, and buses only transmit once about every 10 seconds, the receiving unit receiver module 138 need only be on about 0.25 percent of the time. In practice, the on time can be further reduced by keeping the receiver module 138 turned off during evenings and weekends or at other times where messages are not to be transmitted.
  • step 706 the message packet from the transporting vehicle is received by the receiving unit 120 and the receiving unit CPU 122 evaluates the received message to determine if it is a message from the bus that the receiving unit expects to receive a message from, step 607. If it is that bus, then the message packet and information contained therein is processed by the receiving unit, more particularly the receiving unit CPU 122, steps 708, 710. More specifically, the receiving unit CPU 122 processes the transmitted vehicle location information (e.g., latitude and longitude grid information) so as to determine an estimated time of arrival (ETA) and a distance, and once determined the ETA and distance associated with the current message is displayed by the receiving unit, steps 712, 714.
  • ETA estimated time of arrival
  • an algorithm is employed to determine and display the ETA information.
  • the algorithm is based on the premise that the bus behaves similarly each day and also that the time it takes the bus to get to the bus stop from a particular location also should be similar each day.
  • the algorithm compares the current position information in the message with the position data in the learn table. The data is compared and a point from the learned data that best fits the location information of the current message is identified and the ETA minutes associated with this point of the learn data table is displayed and used as the ETA for the current message. In other words, if the locations do not match exactly the algorithm determines the position in the learn table that best represents the location of the vehicle at the time of transmission.
  • the ETA being displayed at any given time is the number of minutes the vehicle should take to get from a given point to the desired location based on historical information acquired for example, during the learning process of the time it took for the vehicle previously to travel from the given point or a best fit position for the given point to the desired location.
  • This algorithm is beneficial in that if a bus is stuck in traffic, and even though the learned data it is comparing against did not, the ETA time displayed will not continue to count down.
  • the ETA will move down faster than that in the learn table as the bus comes upon better fit coordinates that have lower ETA times associated with it.
  • the algorithm is updated every time a new location coordinate is reached, so the algorithm is especially flexible in counting down slower or faster to maintain accurate ETA time. In this way, the system can easily and quickly adjust ETAs based on actual driving conditions without having to know or access the particular impact of such driving conditions on the travel speed and thus travel time of the vehicle.
  • the algorithm is further modified to provide a mechanism for dealing with buses that loop around and double back on coordinates, for dealing with buses that bypass pickup points to each one and of their route, instead of picking children up on the way back, and for handling detours that are sometimes taken if roads are closed or if traffic problems are encountered.
  • narrow windows are viewed in the learning table. For example, the first message heard from a bus in the morning is assumed to best match with the first row entry in the learning table. To ensure that this is the best fit, other learned entries around this point are also viewed. Whichever point is determined to be the best fit (i.e., based on the shortest distance between the current message location and those stored in the learn table) is stored as the current index point.
  • the next row entry in the learned table is assumed to be the best fit, and points around it are examined to be the best fit.
  • a recover algorithm is employed. The recover routine is called when the distance between learn points in the current bus location exceeds a certain distance (i.e., points not matched well) or if the data trends start to exhibit irregular patterns.
  • ETA algorithm is best understood with reference to the following discussion when viewed with the table provided in Fig. 6 , where relevant indicator entries in the data table and columns indicate new bus message coordinates received.
  • the black boxes show the various narrow windows that are examined and a highlighted cell shows a best fit (closest distance).
  • a diagonal trend is seen, where a perfect match of the learned data and the current bus data would exhibit a perfect diagonal. If the algorithm trend falls to far off of this diagonal, then the recovery routine is called too.
  • the distance associated with the current bus message is calculated using the stored bus stop location information of the bus stop and the location information provided from the bus message.
  • the following example illustrates the calculational process to calculate distance when the above described grid coordinate system is used.
  • Distance 15 * sq . root ⁇ bus lat grid - ref lat grid 2 + bus long grid - ref long grid 2 / 4096
  • each receiving unit of the network transmits the received message into the communication network so that is available to all of the receiving units and/or systems connected to the communication network, step 711 (YES or NO, step 709).
  • the receiving unit determines the device or apparatus where the received message should be transmitted to as well as the network address for such device or apparatus and then transmits the received message to the network address for such device or apparatus.
  • the receiving module 122 is being powered up only at those times when a message is expected to be transmitted by a specific bus, then the message being transmitted into the communication network may only be that coming from the specific bus the given receiving unit is tracking.
  • the receiving unit 120 determines the device or apparatus where the received message should be transmitted to as well as the network address for such device or apparatus and then transmits the received message to the network address for such device or apparatus. If it is determined that the message communicated via the network is not duplicative or repetitive, then such device or apparatus processes the message as if it were received via the RF receiver.
  • each receiving unit of the network initially and periodically communicates over the network to determine a synchronization time and to adjust the time or clock for the receiving unit so as to thereby synchronize the time or clocks of all of the receiving units of the network.
  • each CPU connects via the communications network to a website of the world-wide web which website provides a time signal such as that provided for example by an atomic clock. In this way, the timing of messages being received and transmitted via the network can be used to determine if the received message is a duplicative or repetitive message.
  • the receiving unit CPU 122 After determining the distance and ETA (steps 712, 714), the receiving unit CPU 122 evaluates either or both of the determined information to determine if an alarm threshold has been reached, step 716. If the threshold criterion is satisfied (YES, step 716) an alarm is set, step 718. As indicated above, the alarm can be either a visual or auditory alarm. After setting the alarm or if the threshold criterion is not satisfied (NO, step 716), the receiving unit CPU 122 determines if the bus is at the location of the bus stop, step 720.
  • step 720 If the bus is at the bus stop (YES, step 720) and the receiving unit 120 is not being continuously powered (NO, step 703), then the receiving module 138 is powered down and the receiving unit proceeds to determine if it is the call time for the next bus. In other words, the process returns to step 704.
  • step 720 If the bus is not at the bus stop (NO, step 720) and the receiving unit 120 is not being continuously powered (NO, step 703'), then the receiving module 138 is powered down, step 722, and the receiving unit proceeds to determine if it is the call time for the next bus. If the bus is not at the bus stop (NO, step 720) and the receiving unit is continuously powered (YES, step 703'), then the process returns to step 708. In this way, the receiving unit can receive and transmit any messages it receives from other buses via the communications network while awaiting the arrival of the call time for the next bus.
  • Fig. 5E there is shown a flow diagram of the process employed by the destination/ delivery site receiving system 220 in determining estimated time of arrivals and other information for each vehicle that is to arrive at the destination/ delivery site.
  • the destination/delivery site receiving system 220 is typically continuously powered and thus is capable of receiving transmissions from any bus at any time. It is within the scope of the present invention, however, for this unit to be configured and arranged so as to be capable of receiving transmissions during those times when a transmission is to be made by a vehicle that is arriving at the destination/ delivery site and to be powered down and such other times.
  • the receiving system is initialized, step 800.
  • Such initialization mainly comprises performing the learning operation described in connection with Fig. 5B as hereinabove described. However, it is not necessary for the unit to learn the location of the stop as the location of the destination/delivery site can be predetermined and inputted into the destination/delivery site receiving system 220. Reference also should be made to the discussion regarding steps 708, 712, 710, 714 of Figs. 5C-D , for further details regarding steps 802, 804, 806 of Fig. 5E .
  • the computer's CPU 232 After determining the vehicle identification, ETA and distance, the computer's CPU 232 causes this information to be displayed on the display unit 223 and also for such information to be stored in the computer's storage device 231 as hereinabove described, steps 808, 810.
  • the computer's CPU 232 In the case where the destination/delivery site receiving system 220 is connected to a communications network such as that shown in Fig. 1B so as to form a network of receiving units and/or systems (e.g., a wide area network), the computer's CPU 232 also causes each received message to be transmitted into the communication network so that each message is available to all of the other receiving units/systems connected to the communication network, step 812. See also the discussion above regarding step 711 of Fig.
  • the computer's CPU 232 also can be configured and arranged so as to be able to take all of the locational information for one or more buses and to map the travel route of these one or more buses. Further, such mapping can be displayed on the display unit 223 such as that shown in Figs. 7A , B .
  • a vehicle locating or tracking system that monitors, tracks and/or maps the location of in-transit vehicles, more particularly a system in which such monitoring and tracking is done in or essentially in real-time.
  • the operation of such a real-time tracking, monitoring and mapping system, methodology and applications program embodying such a methodology can be best understood with reference to the following discussion when taken in connection with Fig. 5F and Figs. 1A , B and Fig. 3E .
  • Fig. 5F there is shown a flow diagram of the process employed by the receiving and monitoring system 320 according to the present invention.
  • This particular receiving system is more particularly configured and arranged to receive transmissions from in-transit vehicles so as to locate each of these vehicles for monitoring vehicle movement and, in more particular embodiments, performing a real-time mapping of vehicle movement as well as determining if such movement indicates an abnormal condition.
  • the receiving and monitoring system 320 is typically continuously powered and thus, is capable of receiving transmissions from any vehicle/ bus at any time. It is within the scope of the present invention, however, for this unit to be configured and arranged so as to be capable of being selectively powered.
  • the receiving system is initialized, step 900.
  • Such initialization mainly comprises performing the learning operation described in connection with Fig. 5B as hereinabove described. However, it is not necessary for the unit to learn the location of a stop as the receiving and monitoring system is monitoring vehicle movement in general. Also, and as indicated above, the location of destination/delivery sites can be predetermined and inputted into the receiving and monitoring system 320 so that the arrival time (ETA) of each vehicle at the destination/delivery site can be easily determined, as hereinabove described.
  • ETA arrival time
  • the receiving and monitoring system CPU 322 receives a message packet from the transmission apparatus 160 and uses the location information provided in these message packets to determine where the vehicle is located in a predetermined area, step 920, which determination can be quickly and easily displayed.
  • the stream of message packets being received from the transmission apparatus of each vehicle is used by the CPU 322 to map out and/ or determine the travel path/route of each in-transit vehicle within the predetermined area.
  • this tracking, monitoring and mapping is performed in real time.
  • a track or travel route for the vehicle is overlaid onto a map of the local area so a user can determine what street the vehicle is on.
  • Fig. 7A an exemplary screen display illustrating such mapping of all vehicles in a given area and an exemplary screen display illustrating such mapping of a single vehicle is shown in Fig. 7B .
  • the receiving and monitoring system CPU 322 includes instructions and criteria for evaluating vehicle location, the determined distance and/or ETA of any in-transit vehicle to identify abnormal conditions.
  • a safe travel area is set and/ or defined about the travel route for a given vehicle in which the vehicle can depart from the normal travel route because of road construction, car accidents and the like while also setting a travel limit beyond which vehicle travel should not normally occur.
  • the receiving and monitoring system CPU 322 evaluates the location information being transmitted by each in-transit vehicle to determine the real-time position of the vehicle with respect to the travel route and the safe travel area about the travel route being traveled, step 930.
  • the CPU 322 further evaluates the real-time position to determine if the real-time position of the vehicle is within or outside the safe travel region, step 932. If the vehicle is within the safe travel area (NO, step 932), the CPU monitoring and evaluation process hereinabove described is continued, step 950. However, if the vehicle is determined to be outside the safe travel area, an alarm is set, step 934. This alarm can be visual or auditory in form. In this way, a vehicle departure from the normal travel route that might be an indicator of a potential problem can be identified in some cases well before the vehicle ETA at a destination/ delivery site would have run. In addition, the real-time monitoring and locating capabilities of the system can be used to assist the responsible authorities or police to catch up to the vehicle.
  • criteria is set to limit the amount of time a vehicle will be allowed to remain at rest (i.e., not moving) so as to provide an indication of the potential mechanical problem or other traffic condition causing the vehicle to be delayed.
  • the receiving and monitoring system CPU 322 evaluates the determined distance and ETA of the present and preceding transmission cycles to see if there has been no change, to determine how long the vehicle has not moved and to determine if this amount of time exceeds the established criteria, steps 940, 942.
  • the CPU 322 evaluates the message packets to determine if a vehicle stop signal is outputted by the transmission apparatus and to determine if the stop signal being outputted exceeds the established criteria, steps 941, 942. As indicated above ( Fig.
  • the transmission apparatus CPU 162 is operably coupled to the vehicle electrical circuitry and/ or electronics to monitor signals, voltages and/or currents thereof to determine a vehicle status or condition, such as for example, the activation of the lighting or other mechanisms associated with stoppage of a vehicle (e.g., emergency flashers).
  • a vehicle status or condition such as for example, the activation of the lighting or other mechanisms associated with stoppage of a vehicle (e.g., emergency flashers).
  • step 942 If the criteria is not exceeded (NO, step 942) then the monitoring and evaluating process as described above continues, step 950. If the criteria is met or exceeded (YES, step 942) then another alarm is set, step 944. In this way potential vehicular problems can be identified before the vehicle ETA at a destination/ delivery site would have run. In addition, the real-time monitoring and locating capabilities of the system provide a mechanism to identify the location of the vehicle that is stopped for the responsible authorities or police being dispatched.
  • Fig. 5G a flow diagram illustrating the process for transmitting non-location information from the bus/ vehicle to the destination/ delivery site receiving system 220 or the receiving and monitoring system 320.
  • information unrelated to the location of the vehicle is obtained or available at the vehicle level and is preferably transmitted in manner so as to not interfere with the transmission of location information.
  • This methodology can be best understood from the following exemplary embodiment taken in conjunction with Fig. 5G .
  • vehicle passengers such as students, are provided with a device or mechanism that can produce an RF or optical image or output signal that uniquely identifies each passenger as they board the vehicle such as a school bus.
  • a device or mechanism is a passive RFID tag that provides an RF signature upon entering an electrical field emitted by an RFID transceiving unit/ card reader.
  • a tag, label or other plastic or paper structure containing a bar code form of label that can be read by an optical scanning type of device.
  • the tag reader 165 is any of a number of devices known to those skilled in the art that is appropriate for use with such a device or mechanism to obtain the RF or audio signal output and optical signal representative of the bar code label or other such optical coding format.
  • the tag reader 165 would be a transceiver that emits an electrical or magnetic field such that a passive tag identification is then received back, thereby identifying the person carrying the tag.
  • the identification system could be RF based or one of a number of known optical scanning devices used in the art for scanning bar code labels and providing an output signal representative thereof
  • step 1000 when the vehicle arrives at a passenger pick-up point, such as a school bus stop ( Fig. 1A ) the device or mechanism provided to the passengers (hereinafter passenger tag) is read by the tag reader 165 ( Fig. 2D ), Step 1002.
  • the transmission apparatus CPU 162 takes the read information and stores this information for transmission, Step 1004.
  • the passenger is a student and the information being read uniquely identifies the student boarding the school bus.
  • the CPU 162 determines if it is time to make a transmission of vehicle location information, Step 1006. In other words, the CPU determines if it is the time slot for the given transmission apparatus. If it is time to make such a transmission (YES, Step 1006) the CPU 162 continues the process and is limited to reading tags 1002. If it is not time to make such a transmission, and there is stored information, the CPU 162 changes the transmission frequency of the transmitter 166a so that any transmission therefrom occur on a transmission frequency that is different from the frequency on which vehicle location information is transmitted, Step 1008.
  • the CPU 162 retrieves the stored information and transmits the stored information, Step 1010. In particular, the CPU 162 transmits the information at a time that is different from the time vehicle location information is transmitted. For example, if the time slot for the vehicle occurs in the first 2 seconds of a 10 second time interval, the non-location information is transmitted sometime after 2 seconds. After sending each information packet, the CPU 162 determines if all of the information has been transmitted, Step 1012. If all of the information has been transmitted (YES, Step 1012), the process continues by reading additional passenger tags.
  • the CPU 162 again determines if it is time to make another vehicle location transmission, Step 1014. If not, the CPU 162 causes the next packet of information to be transmitted. 1f it is time for such a transmission, the CPU 162 switches the transmitter frequency back to the frequency for outputting vehicle location information.
  • the time interval for transmission e.g., the 10 second time interval
  • transmission of non-location information from time slots located in a prior segment is controlled so as to occur only in the time segment that immediately follows.
  • Figs. 1A , B illustrate the receiving and monitoring foregoing describes the receiving and monitoring system 320 as being located at a central dispatch location this shall not be construed as limiting the tracking, monitoring and/or mapping system, related methodology and applications program of the present invention.
  • the tracking, monitoring, mapping and/or alarm functionalities of such a system it is within the scope of the present invention for the tracking, monitoring, mapping and/or alarm functionalities of such a system to be incorporated into and embodied in the destination/ delivery site receiving system 220 at each destination/ delivery sites. In this way, the real-time tracking and monitoring of in-transit vehicles is performed at the location where the vehicle is expected to arrive and thus such tracking and monitoring is in effect distributed through out the entire vehicle transportation system.
  • FIG. 1C there is shown an illustrative view of a tracking and monitoring system 400 of yet another embodiment in which a plurality of receiving units are distributed throughout the transportation system and arranged so as to provide a distributive communications network for receiving the vehicle location information messages from any in-transit vehicle with a predetermined area.
  • Each of these receiving units are operably and communicatively coupled to a communications infrastructure, embodying wireless and/ or non-wireless communication techniques.
  • the CPU 122 of each of the receiving units includes an applications program that controls the receipt of such vehicle location information messages or other information, determines the device/ apparatus/ system to which the received information should be directed and the network associated address for such a device/ apparatus/ system and transmits the received information thereto.
  • the device/ apparatus/ system to which the information is directed including the above-described destination/ delivery site receiving system 220 configured and arranged so as to include tracking, monitoring and/ or mapping capability and/ or a receiving and monitoring system 320 processes the received information as herein described.
  • the information communicated via the communications network is evaluated on receipt to determine if it is duplicative or repetitive with another received message communicated via the network or received directly via the receiver.
  • messages that are not duplicative or repetitive are processed as if the message had been received directly from the vehicle transmission apparatus.
  • vehicle log files are downloaded from the vehicle transmission apparatus to a personal computer (PC) and include data on where the corresponding vehicle has been and the speed of the vehicle along its route.
  • the PC includes the means to process the information included in a vehicle log file to generate a corresponding vehicle track plot wherein the location and speed of the bus at each vehicle log file entry is transferred to a map or graphical representation of the vehicle route.
  • a symbol or alphanumerical character marks vehicle location.
  • Vehicle speed is expressed graphically according to a specified legend by either coloring, shading or otherwise marking the location symbols or alphanumerical characters with the appropriate marking from the speed legend.
  • a circle graphically represents the vehicle location for each vehicle log file entry and vehicle speed is represented by grayscale shading the corresponding location circle according to the "Speed in m.p.h.” legend.
  • several vehicles can be displayed in one vehicle track plot whereby each vehicle is identified by different marker morphologies.
  • a website can provide a central location for assisting with the distribution of information regarding vehicle operations wherein the website includes integrated informational screens displaying vehicle log files and vehicle track plots corresponding to individual vehicle route numbers and dates. Passengers and vehicle operators can access information included on the website to conveniently monitor vehicle activities.
  • the website can also allow bus operators to provide passengers with estimated delay times for bus routes.
  • the website is then linked to a toll-free number so users can easily access the information. This website function is particularly important when a receiver fails to go off in the expected time period for a bus pickup whereby the parents can call the toll-free number or access the website to investigate the delay.
  • this notification system has many other applications that include, but are not limited to the following examples.
  • Emergency rescue situations wherein a disabled vehicle or individual activates a transmitter to assist search efforts by rescue parties.
  • Parents can generate a car track plot of where a car equipped with a transmitter has been and at what speeds it was monitor the driving habits of their children.
  • Rental car companies can equip their cars with transmitters to facilitate locating rental cars in parking lots and to provide advanced notification of a rental car return.
EP08001074A 2002-02-14 2003-02-14 Suivi en temps réel de véhicule mobile sans fil et systèmes de notification et procédés associés Withdrawn EP1909245A1 (fr)

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CN103971534A (zh) * 2014-05-28 2014-08-06 苏州数字地图网络科技有限公司 一种公交实时到站提醒的方法及系统
CN110533904A (zh) * 2019-02-01 2019-12-03 大连理工大学 基于车联网的无人驾驶公交门控系统、装置及方法

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