WO1989003106A1 - Vehicle location systems - Google Patents

Vehicle location systems Download PDF

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Publication number
WO1989003106A1
WO1989003106A1 PCT/GB1988/000799 GB8800799W WO8903106A1 WO 1989003106 A1 WO1989003106 A1 WO 1989003106A1 GB 8800799 W GB8800799 W GB 8800799W WO 8903106 A1 WO8903106 A1 WO 8903106A1
Authority
WO
WIPO (PCT)
Prior art keywords
vehicle
job
controller
location
message
Prior art date
Application number
PCT/GB1988/000799
Other languages
French (fr)
Inventor
Bev. M. Ewen-Smith
Original Assignee
Spectronics Micro Systems Limited
Priority date (The priority date 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 date listed.)
Filing date
Publication date
Application filed by Spectronics Micro Systems Limited filed Critical Spectronics Micro Systems Limited
Priority to EP88908299A priority Critical patent/EP0389488B1/en
Priority to DE3851539T priority patent/DE3851539T2/en
Publication of WO1989003106A1 publication Critical patent/WO1989003106A1/en

Links

Classifications

    • 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

  • This invention relates to job allocation in an automatic vehicle location system.
  • Automatic vehicle location systems are commonly used to control vehicle operations by Taxi fleets, Distribution Organisations, Emergency Services, etc.
  • Conventional location systems enable a controller to keep track of the location of the vehicles in a fleet and to use this information in allocating a job to a particular vehicle.
  • Information other than the location of a vehicle is usually needed in deciding which vehicle will perform a job. This information will also need to be monitored by the controller.
  • the location information may in some situations need to be continuously monitored. In large vehicle fleets this is not a reasonable proposition if a single radio channel is all that is available for transmission of data. For example, a taxi may move at an average speed of lOm/s. In allocating a.
  • the present invention provides a method of job allocation for an automatic vehicle location system having a controller and a plurality of mobile vehicles with a two-way radio link between the controller and the vehicles , the method comprising the steps of transmitting a message from the controller to the vehicles the message including information about the job location,-comparing at each vehicle the requirements of the job with the status of the vehicle and, if the result of the comparison is such that the vehicle is suitable for the said job, transmitting a response message from the vehicle to the controller.
  • a job allocation system for use with an automatic vehicle location system " comprising a central controller, transmitting means at the controller, receiving means at the controller, a. plurality of mobile vehicles each vehicle including means to receive job request messages from the controller, means to compare the requirements of the requested job with the status of the vehicle, and means to transmit a response message to the controller if the result of the comparison is such that the vehicle is suitable for the job.
  • the invention provides apparatus for use at a mobile vehicle in an automatic vehicle location system comprising means to receive a job request message, means to compare the requirements of the requested job with the status of the vehicle, and means to transmit a response message to the controller if the result of the comparison is that the vehicle is suitable for the job.
  • Various pieces of information are used by the controller of a fleet of vehicles when allocating jobs to specific vehicles. These may include the following:
  • each vehicle in a fleet has a microcomputer to perform all the vehicle location tasks.
  • the microcomputer is used to assess the suitability of the vehicle for a given job or task.
  • the controller of the fleet When the controller of the fleet receives a job request, it will broadcast a data message containing all the information relevant to carrying out that job to all the vehicles in the fleet.
  • the microcomputer at each vehicle assesses the suitability of the vehicle for the job in terms of location, and any other constraints in the data message. If the microcomputer decides that the vehicle is a suitable candidate for the job then it will transmit a response message back to the controller. This message to the controller volunteers the vehicle for the job.
  • the information transmitted from the controller to the vehicles may contain such information as "only those within lOOm need reply", , or "only those with two hours available for the job need reply". These constraints might result in only one or two responses being transmitted and would thus cut down the amount of radio traffic.
  • the effect of interrogating the vehicles in this manner is to create an intelligent distributed database.
  • the time which vehicles take. to respond to an interrogation could be arranged to be proportional to the distance of the vehicle from the location of the job. Once a vehicle in the fleet has volunteered for the job then the other vehicles can be "stood-down" by the controller broadcasting a further message.
  • the system could use a dynamic area window to minimise the number of responses received and thereby maximise the response time.
  • This area window could vary with both time of day and job location. For example, in the west end of London on a Friday night there would be a high concentration of taxis and so a job would be offered only to taxis within a short distance of the job. Conversely, for a job in the east end of London, early on a Sunday morning, a large area would be used to find a taxi suitable for the job.
  • the controller could.be programmed to vary the area window with the time of day or could learn in an adaptive way depending on its success in getting responses.
  • the controller in the above system will normally have a gazeteer of street names against grid squares to enable job locations to be easily identified. Where roads are longer than the vehicle density the gazeteer will not always be satisfactory.
  • the vehicle location system could therefore be adapted to improve the quality of its gazeteer as more jobs are performed. Since the controller knows the address of a job location (e.g. 61 High Street) it can interrogate the vehicle for its exact location when arriving at the job location. This could be stored in memory and used for reference in future calls. Thus a fairly crude gazeteer can be self-refining.
  • the above invention is intended to be of use with any automatic vehicle location system.

Abstract

A vehicle location system comprises a central controller and a plurality of mobile vehicles. The controller transmits job request messages to the mobile vehicles and these messages include information about the location of a job. Each vehicle has a receiver, a transmitter, and a means to compare the requirements of the job with the status of the vehicle. If the result of the comparison is that the vehicle is suitable for the job then it transmits a message back to the controller volunteering it for the job.

Description

VEHICLE LOCATION SYSTEMS • '
This invention relates to job allocation in an automatic vehicle location system.
Automatic vehicle location systems are commonly used to control vehicle operations by Taxi fleets, Distribution Organisations, Emergency Services, etc. Conventional location systems enable a controller to keep track of the location of the vehicles in a fleet and to use this information in allocating a job to a particular vehicle. Information other than the location of a vehicle is usually needed in deciding which vehicle will perform a job. This information will also need to be monitored by the controller. The location information may in some situations need to be continuously monitored. In large vehicle fleets this is not a reasonable proposition if a single radio channel is all that is available for transmission of data. For example, a taxi may move at an average speed of lOm/s. In allocating a. job in a crowded city centre, a precision of as little as lOOm may be needed for the location of a vehicle. Thus a positional update every 10s would be needed from each vehicle in a fleet. This represents much more data than could be accommodated in a single radio data channel.
The present invention provides a method of job allocation for an automatic vehicle location system having a controller and a plurality of mobile vehicles with a two-way radio link between the controller and the vehicles , the method comprising the steps of transmitting a message from the controller to the vehicles the message including information about the job location,-comparing at each vehicle the requirements of the job with the status of the vehicle and, if the result of the comparison is such that the vehicle is suitable for the said job, transmitting a response message from the vehicle to the controller.
In accordance with the invention. there is also provided a job allocation system for use with an automatic vehicle location system " comprising a central controller, transmitting means at the controller, receiving means at the controller, a. plurality of mobile vehicles each vehicle including means to receive job request messages from the controller, means to compare the requirements of the requested job with the status of the vehicle, and means to transmit a response message to the controller if the result of the comparison is such that the vehicle is suitable for the job.
Furthermore, the invention provides apparatus for use at a mobile vehicle in an automatic vehicle location system comprising means to receive a job request message, means to compare the requirements of the requested job with the status of the vehicle, and means to transmit a response message to the controller if the result of the comparison is that the vehicle is suitable for the job.
The invention is now described in more detail by way of example.
Various pieces of information are used by the controller of a fleet of vehicles when allocating jobs to specific vehicles. These may include the following:
1) The type of job and the vehicle and/or crew's ability to perform it;
2) The time when the job Is to be performed and the availability of vehicles; and
3) The location of the job and the distance a vehicle would need to travel to the job.
There may well be other constraints effecting the selection of a vehicle for the job.
In the current invention, each vehicle in a fleet has a microcomputer to perform all the vehicle location tasks. In addition to this, the microcomputer is used to assess the suitability of the vehicle for a given job or task.
When the controller of the fleet receives a job request, it will broadcast a data message containing all the information relevant to carrying out that job to all the vehicles in the fleet. The microcomputer at each vehicle then assesses the suitability of the vehicle for the job in terms of location, and any other constraints in the data message. If the microcomputer decides that the vehicle is a suitable candidate for the job then it will transmit a response message back to the controller. This message to the controller volunteers the vehicle for the job.
The information transmitted from the controller to the vehicles may contain such information as "only those within lOOm need reply",, or "only those with two hours available for the job need reply". These constraints might result in only one or two responses being transmitted and would thus cut down the amount of radio traffic. The effect of interrogating the vehicles in this manner is to create an intelligent distributed database.
There will be instances when there is more than one suitable contender for a job. One method of overcoming this problem would be to re-try the interrogation process at a pseudo-random time interval after finding more than one contender. There are however alternative and more efficient methods. '
Firstly, the time which vehicles take. to respond to an interrogation could be arranged to be proportional to the distance of the vehicle from the location of the job. Once a vehicle in the fleet has volunteered for the job then the other vehicles can be "stood-down" by the controller broadcasting a further message.
Secondly, the system could use a dynamic area window to minimise the number of responses received and thereby maximise the response time. This area window could vary with both time of day and job location. For example, in the west end of London on a Friday night there would be a high concentration of taxis and so a job would be offered only to taxis within a short distance of the job. Conversely, for a job in the east end of London, early on a Sunday morning, a large area would be used to find a taxi suitable for the job. The controller could.be programmed to vary the area window with the time of day or could learn in an adaptive way depending on its success in getting responses.
The controller in the above system will normally have a gazeteer of street names against grid squares to enable job locations to be easily identified. Where roads are longer than the vehicle density the gazeteer will not always be satisfactory. The vehicle location system could therefore be adapted to improve the quality of its gazeteer as more jobs are performed. Since the controller knows the address of a job location (e.g. 61 High Street) it can interrogate the vehicle for its exact location when arriving at the job location. This could be stored in memory and used for reference in future calls. Thus a fairly crude gazeteer can be self-refining.
The above invention is intended to be of use with any automatic vehicle location system.
In a conventional system in which the selection of a vehicle is done centrally, a fleet of 500 vehicles with a position update for each vehicle every 10 seconds would require 3000 messages every minute plus, say, one job allocation per minute. In a system in accordance with the invention the same job could be carried out with 1 offer, 1 acceptance, and 1 job details - a total of three messages.

Claims

1. A method of allocation for an automatic vehicle location system having a controller and a plurality of mobile vehicles with a two-way radio link between the controller and the vehicles, the method comprising the steps of transmitting a message including information about the job location, comparing at each vehicle the requirements of the job with the status of the vehicle and, if the result of the comparison is such that the 'vehicle is suitable for the job, transmitting a response message from the vehicle to the controller.
2. A method according to claim 1, including the step of varying the time taken by a vehicle to transmit a response to a message from the controller in accordance with the distance of the vehicle from the location of the job.
3. A method according to claims 1 or 2, in which. only vehicles within a predetermined area may respond to the message from the controller.
4. A method according to claim 3, in which the predetermined area' is selected by and may be altered by the. controller.
5. A method according to any preceding claim, including the steps of the controller interrogating a vehicle for its exact location on arrival at a job location, the vehicle transmitting its exact location to the controller, and the controller storing the exact location in memory thereby improving the quality of a gazeteer stored in memory.
6. A method substantially as herein described.
7. A job allocation system for use with an automatic vehicle location system, comprising a central controller, transmitting means at the controller, receiving means at the controller, a plurality of mobile vehicles each vehicle including means to receive job request messages from the controller, means to compare the requirements of the job with the status of the vehicle, and means to transmit a response message to the controller if the result of the comparison is that the vehicle is suitable for the job.
8. A system substantially as herein described.
9. Apparatus for use at a mobile vehicle in an automatic vehicle location system comprising means to receive a job request message, means to compare the requirements of the requested job with the status of the vehicle, and means to transmit a response message to the controller if the result of the comparison is that the vehicle is suitable for the job.
10. Apparatus according to claim -9, including means to vary the time taken to transmit a response to a job request message
« in accordance with the distance of the vehicle from the location of the job. ' '
11. Apparatus substantially as herein described.
PCT/GB1988/000799 1987-09-29 1988-09-29 Vehicle location systems WO1989003106A1 (en)

Priority Applications (2)

Application Number Priority Date Filing Date Title
EP88908299A EP0389488B1 (en) 1987-09-29 1988-09-29 Vehicle location systems
DE3851539T DE3851539T2 (en) 1987-09-29 1988-09-29 VEHICLE LOCATION SYSTEM.

Applications Claiming Priority (2)

Application Number Priority Date Filing Date Title
GB8722806 1987-09-29
GB878722806A GB8722806D0 (en) 1987-09-29 1987-09-29 Vehicle location systems

Publications (1)

Publication Number Publication Date
WO1989003106A1 true WO1989003106A1 (en) 1989-04-06

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Family Applications (1)

Application Number Title Priority Date Filing Date
PCT/GB1988/000799 WO1989003106A1 (en) 1987-09-29 1988-09-29 Vehicle location systems

Country Status (5)

Country Link
EP (1) EP0389488B1 (en)
AU (1) AU2484588A (en)
DE (1) DE3851539T2 (en)
GB (1) GB8722806D0 (en)
WO (1) WO1989003106A1 (en)

Cited By (17)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
WO1992010069A1 (en) * 1990-11-27 1992-06-11 Leif Christer Ryden A method and arrangement for connecting selectively a stationary subscriber apparatus to a neighbouring mobile subscriber apparatus with the aid of a telephone switchboard function
WO1994014288A1 (en) * 1992-12-04 1994-06-23 Lew, Helen Method and apparatus for selecting remote stations according to their priorities
FR2703200A1 (en) * 1993-03-26 1994-09-30 Obadia Alain Communications method and installation for a taxi fleet
WO1996013021A1 (en) * 1994-10-19 1996-05-02 Kwik Cab Pty Ltd Remote signalling system
DE19716029A1 (en) * 1997-04-17 1998-10-29 Grundig Ag Order transmission to mobile serving persons
WO1999044186A1 (en) * 1998-02-24 1999-09-02 Shai Jaffe Request dispatch system and method therefor
FR2792131A1 (en) * 1999-04-08 2000-10-13 Saphelec Nearest taxi selection mobile telephone function has mobile station/taxi relative geographic position calculation producing delay relative spacing and central station communicating
US6219555B1 (en) * 1995-10-31 2001-04-17 Jarl Larsson Telecommunications system
AU737282B3 (en) * 2000-11-23 2001-08-16 P & O Ports Limited System and method for matching job orders with job bids
WO2001072078A1 (en) * 2000-03-22 2001-09-27 Oy Waptaxi Ltd Ordering of vehicle, such as taxi, or car pool
WO2002033674A1 (en) * 2000-10-18 2002-04-25 T-Mobile Deutschland Gmbh Method for active transportation management based on cell broadcast
US6437743B1 (en) 1992-12-04 2002-08-20 Yosef Mintz Method and system for mapping and tracking information from a plurality of remote stations
EP1393231A2 (en) * 2001-05-29 2004-03-03 Terion, Inc. Automated exchange for determining availability of assets shareable among entities
FR2845507A1 (en) * 2002-10-04 2004-04-09 Axygest Management of fleet of vehicles with facility to select one vehicle, uses local computation power on each taxi to decide whether taxi is in range of client and to return distance to base station which selects taxi
EP1420599A1 (en) 2000-03-13 2004-05-19 Nokia Corporation Service provision in a communication system
DE102008017806A1 (en) * 2008-04-08 2009-10-15 Müller, Wolfgang Information transmitting and standardized article i.e. transportable pallet, transporting method, involves transporting standardized articles from sender unit to receiver unit by selected order execution unit
US9107031B2 (en) 2000-03-13 2015-08-11 Nokia Technologies Oy Service provision in a communication system

Citations (1)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
EP0242099A2 (en) * 1986-04-09 1987-10-21 Advanced Strategics, Inc. Anti-theft and locating system

Patent Citations (1)

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Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
EP0242099A2 (en) * 1986-04-09 1987-10-21 Advanced Strategics, Inc. Anti-theft and locating system

Non-Patent Citations (2)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Title
PATENT ABSTRACTS OF JAPAN, Vol. 9, No. 220, (E-341); & JP,A,60 079 842, 7 May 1985. *
PATENT ABSTRACTS OF JAPAN, Vol. 9, No. 220, (E-341); & JP,A,60 079 846, 7 May 1985. *

Cited By (25)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
AU658846B2 (en) * 1990-11-27 1995-05-04 Jarlab, Jarl Larsson Ab A method and arrangement for connecting selectively a stationary subscriber apparatus to a neighbouring mobile subscriber apparatus with the aid of a telephone switchboard function
WO1992010069A1 (en) * 1990-11-27 1992-06-11 Leif Christer Ryden A method and arrangement for connecting selectively a stationary subscriber apparatus to a neighbouring mobile subscriber apparatus with the aid of a telephone switchboard function
US5432840A (en) * 1990-11-27 1995-07-11 Ryden; Leif C. Method and arrangement for connecting selectively a stationary subscriber apparatus to a neighboring mobile subscriber apparatus with the aid of a telephone switchboard function
US6734823B2 (en) 1992-12-04 2004-05-11 Yosef Mintz Method and system for mapping and tracking information from a plurality of remote stations
US6437743B1 (en) 1992-12-04 2002-08-20 Yosef Mintz Method and system for mapping and tracking information from a plurality of remote stations
US5532702A (en) * 1992-12-04 1996-07-02 Mintz; Yosef Method and system for obtaining information from a plurality of remote stations
AU689761B2 (en) * 1992-12-04 1998-04-09 Lew, Helen Method and apparatus for selecting remote stations
WO1994014288A1 (en) * 1992-12-04 1994-06-23 Lew, Helen Method and apparatus for selecting remote stations according to their priorities
FR2703200A1 (en) * 1993-03-26 1994-09-30 Obadia Alain Communications method and installation for a taxi fleet
WO1996013021A1 (en) * 1994-10-19 1996-05-02 Kwik Cab Pty Ltd Remote signalling system
US6219555B1 (en) * 1995-10-31 2001-04-17 Jarl Larsson Telecommunications system
DE19716029A1 (en) * 1997-04-17 1998-10-29 Grundig Ag Order transmission to mobile serving persons
DE19716029B4 (en) * 1997-04-17 2007-07-12 Grundig Multimedia B.V. Method and device for the assignment of orders for mobile service providers
WO1999044186A1 (en) * 1998-02-24 1999-09-02 Shai Jaffe Request dispatch system and method therefor
FR2792131A1 (en) * 1999-04-08 2000-10-13 Saphelec Nearest taxi selection mobile telephone function has mobile station/taxi relative geographic position calculation producing delay relative spacing and central station communicating
EP1420599A1 (en) 2000-03-13 2004-05-19 Nokia Corporation Service provision in a communication system
US9107031B2 (en) 2000-03-13 2015-08-11 Nokia Technologies Oy Service provision in a communication system
WO2001072078A1 (en) * 2000-03-22 2001-09-27 Oy Waptaxi Ltd Ordering of vehicle, such as taxi, or car pool
WO2002033674A1 (en) * 2000-10-18 2002-04-25 T-Mobile Deutschland Gmbh Method for active transportation management based on cell broadcast
AU737282B3 (en) * 2000-11-23 2001-08-16 P & O Ports Limited System and method for matching job orders with job bids
EP1393231A2 (en) * 2001-05-29 2004-03-03 Terion, Inc. Automated exchange for determining availability of assets shareable among entities
EP1393231A4 (en) * 2001-05-29 2005-11-02 Terion Inc Automated exchange for determining availability of assets shareable among entities
US7091882B2 (en) 2001-05-29 2006-08-15 Terion, Incorporated Automated exchange for determining availability of assets shareable among entities
FR2845507A1 (en) * 2002-10-04 2004-04-09 Axygest Management of fleet of vehicles with facility to select one vehicle, uses local computation power on each taxi to decide whether taxi is in range of client and to return distance to base station which selects taxi
DE102008017806A1 (en) * 2008-04-08 2009-10-15 Müller, Wolfgang Information transmitting and standardized article i.e. transportable pallet, transporting method, involves transporting standardized articles from sender unit to receiver unit by selected order execution unit

Also Published As

Publication number Publication date
AU2484588A (en) 1989-04-18
DE3851539D1 (en) 1994-10-20
EP0389488B1 (en) 1994-09-14
DE3851539T2 (en) 1995-02-02
GB8722806D0 (en) 1987-11-04
EP0389488A1 (en) 1990-10-03

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