WO2021081965A1

WO2021081965A1 - Systems and methods for automatic vehicle status update on driver app

Info

Publication number: WO2021081965A1
Application number: PCT/CN2019/114902
Authority: WO
Inventors: Tomoya Yamamoto; Dongfeng DAI; Yaping Zhang; Xiaohu Zhang; Yi Liu; Shuyi Wang
Original assignee: Beijing Didi Infinity Technology And Development Co., Ltd.
Priority date: 2019-10-31
Filing date: 2019-10-31
Publication date: 2021-05-06
Also published as: JP2022515685A

Abstract

A system (400) and a method for establishing automatic communication between a driver interface app (490) and an in-vehicle equipment (430, 470) of a vehicle. The systems (400) and methods are based on capturing and interpreting a voltage signal from a cable (420, 480) that is connected to the in-vehicle equipment (430, 470) to obtain and communicate a corresponding vehicle status to the driver interface app (490). The systems (400) in general comprise an interface unit (410) connected to and in communication with the cable (420, 480) connected to the in-vehicle equipment (430, 470), a wireless or a network communication unit (440) for transmitting data to the driver interface app (490); a storage medium (450) storing a set of instructions; and a processor (460) in communication with the storage medium (450) to execute the set of instructions.

Description

SYSTEMS AND METHODS FOR AUTOMATIC VEHICLE STATUS UPDATE ON DRIVER APP

TECHNICAL FIELD

The present disclosure generally relates to systems and methods for establishing automatic communication between a driver interface app and an in-vehicle equipment to simplify driver operation, based on capturing and interpreting a voltage signal from a cable that is connected to the in-vehicle equipment to obtain and communicate a corresponding vehicle status to the driver interface app.

BACKGROUND

On-demand ride hailing vehicles such as taxis are commonly equipped with a set of in-vehicle equipment such as taxi meters and a for-hire indicator. In country such as Japan, in-vehicle equipment such as taxi meters and for-hire indicators are required by national law to be equipped on taxis. During normal business operations, taxi drivers need to operate in-vehicle equipment such as taxi meters to record and reflect the status of each vehicle in a passenger transportation journey. These vehicle statuses are associated with parameters including "for-hire" , "en route" , "in use" , "price hike" , "receiving payment (RP) " , "high speed" , "in return" , "SOS" , etc. Through these parameters, the current status of the vehicle such as idle status, travel status, etc. can be determined.

Driver interface app (the app) has been widely used in ride hailing service vehicles to facilitate the communication between the driver and a service requester who places electronic orders. These apps can be installed in an app bearing device such as an in-vehicle computer, a tablet, a smart phone, a smart watch, or a combination thereof. However, since there is no linkage or communication between the app and existing in-vehicle equipment such as taxi meters and for-hire indicators, the app does not know the current status of the vehicle. Consequently, the app is not capable of reflecting the current status of the vehicle, i.e. if it is busy or idle. If an order request is sent to the driver through the app at an inappropriate time, for example, when the vehicle is busy, it could lead to long response time, low driver acceptance/engagement rate, or even affect the safety of the driver. Providing the app to a driver therefore requires the app to at least support the recording or acquisition of the current status of the vehicle. Since the app and the in-vehicle equipment such as taxi meters are not linked, it is necessary for the driver to manually operate the existing in-vehicle equipment such as taxi meters and for-hire indicators to provide updated status, and then perform "dual operation" by inputting the same information into the app in order to update the current status of the vehicle in the app. This adds extra burden to the driver. For the group of drivers who are seniors, they are not accustomed to operations of touch screens to begin with, the additional burden of manually updating the vehicle status on the app will become especially burdensome for this group. In Japan, for example, current taxi drivers are mainly seniors, the burden outlined above will become especially problematic for these senior drivers in Japan.

In order to solve the above-mentioned problems, it is necessary to automatically link the driver interface app with the existing in-vehicle equipment on the taxi such as the taxi meter to simplify the driver's operation on the app as much as possible. There remains a need to establish automatic communication between a driver interface app and an in-vehicle equipment to simplify driver operation.

SUMMARY

According to a first aspect of the present disclosure, a system for establishing automatic communication between a driver interface app (the app) and an in-vehicle equipment of a vehicle (the equipment) is disclosed. The system comprises an interface unit connected to a cable that is connected to the equipment to receive a voltage signal from the cable that corresponds to an updated status of a vehicle; a wireless or a network communication unit (the communication unit) for transmitting data to a hardware where the app is installed (the app hardware) ; a storage medium storing a set of instructions; and a processor in communication with the storage medium to execute the set of instructions to: convert the voltage signal received by the interface unit into an electrical level signal and encapsulate it into a data packet; and broadcast the encapsulated data packet via the wireless or network communication unit. In some embodiments, the interface unit is physically connected to the cable. In other embodiments, the interface unit is wirelessly connected to the cable. In some embodiments, the communication unit is a wireless communication element including Bluetooth, Wi-Fi, RF radio frequency identification, ultrasonic waves, mobile network, or a combination thereof. In one embodiment, the communication unit is a Beacon Bluetooth unit. In some embodiments, the equipment is at least one of a taxi meter, a for-hire indicator, a roof light, and wipers. In one embodiment, the equipment is a taxi meter linked to a for-hire indicator. In some embodiments, each equipment is physically connected to its own cable and each of the cable is in communication with the system. In some embodyments, each equipment has its own voltage signal and an electrical level signal corresponding to each voltage signal. In some embodiments, the app hardware is at least one of a computer, a tablet, a smart phone, a smart watch, or a combination thereof.

According to a second aspect of the present disclosure, a method for using a system to establish automatic communication between a driver interface app (the app) and an in-vehicle equipment of a vehicle is displayed. The system comprises an interface unit connected to and in communication with a cable connected to the equipment; a wireless or a network communication unit (the communication unit) for transmitting data to a hardware where the app is installed (the app hardware) ; a storage medium storing a set of instructions; and a processor in communication with the storage medium to execute the set of instructions. The method comprises the steps of receiving a voltage signal from the cable that corresponds to an updated status of the vehicle; converting the voltage signal into an electrical level signal and encapsulate it into a data packet; and broadcasting the encapsulated data packet via the wireless or network communication unit. In some embodiments, the method further comprises connecting the system to the cable. In some embodiments, the method further comprises establishing communication between the system and the app hardware to transmit the data packet to the app hardware where it is parsed into an electronic level signal to be read by the app to obtain an updated status of the vehicle. In some embodiments, the method further comprises updating a graphic display on the app based on the updated status of the vehicle. In some embodiments, the communication unit is a wireless communication element including Bluetooth, Wi-Fi, RF radio frequency identification, ultrasonic waves, mobile network, a combination thereof; the equipment is at least one of a taxi meter, fa or-hire indicator, a roof light, and wipers; and the app hardware is at least one of a computer, a tablet, a smart phone, a smart watch, or a combination thereof. In some embodiments, each equipment is physically connected to its own cable and each of the cable is in communication with the system and wherein each equipment has its own voltage signal and an electrical level signal corresponding to each voltage signal, and the method further comprises: receiving voltage signals from each cable; converting the voltage signals into its corresponding electrical level signal and encapsulate them into data packets; broadcasting the encapsulated data packets via the wireless or network communication unit; receiving the data packets and parsing the data packets into electronic level signals to be read by the app to obtain the updated status of the vehicle; and updating a graphic display on the app based on the updated status of the vehicle.

According to a third aspect of the present disclosure, a non-transitory readable medium (the medium) of an electronic system, storing a set of instructions for establishing automatic communication between a driver interface app (the app) and an in-vehicle equipment of a vehicle is disclosed. The electronic system comprises: an interface unit connected to and in communication with a cable connected to the equipment; a wireless or a network communication unit (the communication unit) for transmitting data to a hardware where the app is installed (the app hardware) ; the medium; and a processor in communication with the medium to execute the set of instructions. When the set of instructions is executed by the processor, the system performs a method that comprises the steps of receiving a voltage signal from the cable that corresponds to an updated status of the vehicle; converting the voltage signal into an electrical level signal and encapsulate it into a data packet; and broadcasting the encapsulated data packet via the wireless or network communication unit. In some embodiments, the method further comprises connecting the system to the cable. In some embodiments, the method further comprises establishing communication between the system and the app hardware to transmit the data packet the app hardware where it is parsed into an electronic level signal to be read by the app to obtain the updated status of the vehicle. In some embodiments, the method further comprises updating a graphic display on the app based on the updated status of the vehicle.

In some embodiments, the communication unit is a wireless communication element including Bluetooth, Wi-Fi, RF radio frequency identification, ultrasonic waves, mobile network, a combination thereof; the equipment is at least one of a taxi meter, a for-hire indicator, a roof light, and wipers; and the app hardware is at least one of a computer, a tablet, a smart phone, a smart watch, or a combination thereof. In some embodiments, each equipment is physically connected to its own cable and each of the cable is in communication with the system and wherein each equipment has its own voltage signal and an electrical level signal corresponding to each voltage signal and the method further comprises receiving voltage signals from each cable; converting the voltage signals into its corresponding electrical level signal and encapsulate them into data packets; broadcasting the encapsulated data packets via the wireless or network communication unit; receiving the data packets and parsing the data packets into electronic level signals to be read by the app to obtain the updated status of the vehicle; and updating a graphic display on the app to reflect the updated status of the vehicle.

Additional features will be set forth in part in the description which follows, and in part will become apparent to those skilled in the art upon examination of the following and the accompanying drawings or may be learned by production or operation of the examples. The features of the present disclosure may be realized and attained by practice or use of various aspects of the methodologies, instrumentalities and combinations set forth in the detailed examples discussed below.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The present disclosure is further described in terms of example embodiments. These example embodiments are described in detail with reference to the drawings. The drawings are not to scale. These embodiments are non-limiting example embodiments, in which like reference numerals represent similar structures throughout the several views of the drawings, and wherein:

FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram illustrating the systems and methods disclosed herein integrated into a ride hailing service platform; in accordance with aspects of the present specification;

FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram illustrating components of a computing device; in accordance with aspects of the present specification;

FIG. 3 is a schematic diagram illustrating hardware and/or software components of a computing device; in accordance with aspects of the present specification;

FIG. 4 is a schematic diagram illustrating a system disclosed herein providing automatic communication between the in-vehicle equipment and the driver interface app; in accordance with aspects of the present specification;

FIG. 5 is a flow chart illustrating the process of providing automatic communication between the in-vehicle equipment and the driver interface app; in accordance with aspects of the present specification;

FIG. 6 is a schematic diagram illustrating various voltage signals transmitted via cables connecting an in-vehicle equipment and a for-hire indicator to provide various corresponding status updates; in accordance with aspects of the present specification;

FIG. 7 is a schematic diagram illustrating voltage signals and their corresponding electrical level signals transmitted via a cable connecting an in-vehicle equipment and a for-hire indicator to provide corresponding status updates; in accordance with aspects of the present specification;

FIG. 8A is a schematic diagram illustrating a graphic display of the driver interface app is automatically updated based on a status update provide by the system 400; in accordance with aspects of the present specification;

FIG. 8B is a schematic diagram illustrating the updated graphic display of the driver interface app of FIG. 8A is automatically further updated based on a status update provide by the system 400; in accordance with aspects of the present specification;

FIG. 9 is a schematic diagram illustrating a series of updated graphic displays of the driver interface app during the execution of a service order received on the driver interface app; in accordance with aspects of the present specification.

FIG. 10 is a schematic diagram illustrating a series of updated graphic displays of the driver interface app during the execution of a service order received through traditional taxi hailing; in accordance with aspects of the present specification.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

The following description is presented to enable any person skilled in the art to make and use the present disclosure and is provided in the context of a particular application and its requirements. Various modifications to the disclosed embodiments will be readily apparent to those skilled in the art, and the general principles defined herein may be applied to other embodiments and applications without departing from the spirit and scope of the present disclosure. Thus, the present disclosure is not limited to the embodiments shown but is to be accorded the widest scope consistent with the claims.

The terminology used herein is for the purpose of describing particular example embodiments only and is not intended to be limiting. As used herein, the singular forms “a, ” “an, ” and “the” may be intended to include the plural forms as well, unless the context clearly indicates otherwise. It will be further understood that the terms “comprise, ” “comprises, ” and/or “comprising, ” “include, ” “includes” and/or “including” when used in this disclosure, specify the presence of stated features, integers, steps, operations, elements, and/or components, but do not preclude the presence or addition of one or more other features, integers, steps, operations, elements, components, and/or groups thereof.

As used herein, the term for-hire indicator refers to a display light device that is installed inside the front window of the vehicle that displays the current vehicle status (such as "for-hire" , etc. ) to be seen from outside the vehicle. As used herein, the term roof light refers to a display light mounted on the roof of a taxi, usually bearing the logo or company name of the ride hailing service company. It lights up at night when there is no passenger in the car and does not light up when there are passengers on board the vehicle. As used herein, the term for-hire refers to vehicle status when the vehicle is not carrying passengers and ready to be hired for the next service. As used herein, the term in use refers to the status of the vehicle after the passenger boards the vehicle. As used herein, the term en route refers to the status of the vehicle on the way to the passenger's pick-up point. As used herein, the term receiving payment (RP) refers to vehicle status when receiving payments. As used herein, the term price hike refers to vehicle status at the time when additional cost is imposed. As used herein, the term in return refers to the status of the vehicle on the way back to the garage or at rest. As used herein, the term SOS refers to vehicle status that is sending a distress signal.

Generally, the word “module, ” “unit, ” or “block, ” as used herein, refers to logic embodied in hardware or firmware, or to a collection of software instructions. A module, a unit, or a block described herein may be implemented as software and/or hardware and may be stored in any type of non-transitory computer-readable medium or another storage device. In some embodiments, a software module/unit/block may be compiled and linked into an executable program. It will be appreciated that software modules can be callable from other modules/units/blocks or from themselves, and/or may be invoked in response to detected events or interrupts. Software modules/units/blocks configured for execution on computing devices may be provided on a computer-readable medium, such as a compact disc, a digital video disc, a flash drive, a magnetic disc, or any other tangible medium, or as a digital download (and can be originally stored in a compressed or installable format that needs installation, decompression, or decryption prior to execution) . Such software code may be stored, partially or fully, on a storage device of the executing computing device, for execution by the computing device. Software instructions may be embedded in firmware, such as an erasable programmable read-only memory (EPROM) . It will be further appreciated that hardware modules/units/blocks may be included in connected logic components, such as gates and flip-flops, and/or can be included of programmable units, such as programmable gate arrays or processors. The modules/units/blocks or computing device functionality described herein may be implemented as software modules/units/blocks but may be represented in hardware or firmware. In general, the modules/units/blocks described herein refer to logical modules/units/blocks that may be combined with other modules/units/blocks or divided into sub-modules/sub-units/sub-blocks despite their physical organization or storage. The description may be applicable to a system, an engine, or a portion thereof.

It will be understood that when a unit, engine, module or block is referred to as being “on, ” “connected to, ” or “coupled to, ” another unit, engine, module, or block, it may be directly on, connected or coupled to, or communicate with the other unit, engine, module, or block, or an intervening unit, engine, module, or block may be present, unless the context clearly indicates otherwise. As used herein, the term “and/or” includes any and all combinations of one or more of the associated listed items.

These and other features, and characteristics of the present disclosure, as well as the methods of operation and functions of the related elements of structure and the combination of parts and economies of manufacture, may become more apparent upon consideration of the following description with reference to the accompanying drawings, all of which form a part of this disclosure. It is to be expressly understood, however, that the drawings are for the purpose of illustration and description only and are not intended to limit the scope of the present disclosure. It is understood that the drawings are not to scale.

The flowcharts used in the present disclosure illustrate operations that systems implement according to some embodiments of the present disclosure. It is to be expressly understood, the operations of the flowcharts may be implemented not in order. Conversely, the operations may be implemented in inverted order, or simultaneously. Moreover, one or more other operations may be added to the flowcharts. One or more operations may be removed from the flowcharts.

Embodiments of the present disclosure may be applied to different transportation systems including but not limited to land transportation, sea transportation, air transportation, space transportation, or the like, or any combination thereof. A vehicle of the transportation systems may include a rickshaw, travel tool, taxi, chauffeured car, hitch, bus, rail transportation (e.g., a train, a bullet train, high-speed rail, and subway) , ship, airplane, spaceship, hot-air balloon, driverless vehicle, or the like, or any combination thereof. The transportation system may also include any transportation system that applies management and/or distribution, for example, a system for sending and/or receiving an express.

Technology that provides solutions to establish automatic communication between a driver interface app (the app) and an in-vehicle equipment (the equipment) to simplify driver operation already exists. For example, customized development has been carried out for different types of taxi meters, and the apps are linked with taximeters through interface provided by the taxi meter. These existing technologies, however, have many limitations. For example, customized development can only solve the problems provided by the data source. To transmit data to the driver interface app, it also needs wireless data communication means. Taxi meters without wireless communication function cannot be linked to the app. Additionally, there are many different kinds of taxi equipment on the market. The available wireless communication protocols of these pieces of equipment are different. If customized development is carried out for these pieces of equipment one by one, and also to make each of them to be able to communication with the app wirelessly, the investment cost will be prohibitively high, and the implementation progress will be very slow. Furthermore, the taxi meter of a discontinued vehicle model cannot be linked by the existing technology because the manufacturer has stopped technical support. Additionally, the development progress and implementation progress of presently existing linkage technology is not controllable. The development progress is subject to the development resource allocation and scheduling status of the taxi equipment manufacturers, and the implementation progress is also subject to whether the taxi company is willing to accept the firmware changes and to shoulder the cost of firmware update, etc.

To solve these problems, disclosed herein are methods and system to establish automatic communication between a driver interface app and an in-vehicle equipment based on a voltage signal to simplify driver operation. Vehicle status generally is transmitted through a voltage signal in vehicles. For example, vehicle status can be transmitted between a taxi meter and a for-hire indicator through a voltage signal that runs along a cable connecting the taxi meter and the for-hire indicator. The current status of the vehicle therefore can be obtained by interpreting the voltage signal transmitted through the cable between the taxi meter and the for-hire indicator. The current status of the vehicle can then in turn be transmitted to the driver interface app through wireless communication, thereby realizing the automatic linkage and communication between the driver interface app and in-vehicle equipment such as taxi meters and for-hire indicators.

The methods and systems disclosed herein have the advantages that it forms linkage and communication between in-vehicle equipment such as taxi meters and for-hire indicators with the driver interface app without any custom development, and can be applied to all types of in-vehicle equipment including taxi meters and for-hire indicators, those pieces of equipment that have already been discontinued, and any available driver interface app on the market. The methods and systems disclosed herein therefore can be broadly applied to all taxi vehicles.

It should be understood that application scenarios of the system and method disclosed herein are only some examples or embodiments. Those having ordinary skills in the art, without further creative efforts, may apply these drawings to other application scenarios, for example, another similar transportation system.

FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram illustrating a vehicle 150 having the system 400 disclosed herein. In some embodiments, ride hailing service platform (the service flatform) 100 may be an Internet of Things (IoT) platform including a server 110, a network 120, a passenger device 130, an app bearing driver device (the app bearing device) 140, a vehicle 150, and a storage 160.

In some embodiments, the server 110 may be a single server, or a server group. The server group may be centralized, or distributed (e.g., the server 110 may be a distributed system) . In some embodiments, the server 110 may be local or remote. The server 110 may be a computer server. The server 110 may communicate with the passenger device 130 and/or the app bearing device 140 to provide various functionality of an order dispatching service. In some embodiments, the server 110 may be a single server, or a server group. The server group may be a centralized server group connected to the network 120 via an access point, or a distributed server group connected to the network 120 via one or more access points, respectively. In some embodiments, the server 110 may be locally connected to the network 120 or in remote connection with the network 120. For example, the server 110 may access information and/or data stored in the passenger device 130, the app bearing device 140, and/or the storage 160 via the network 120. As another example, the storage 160 may serve as backend storage of the server 110. In some embodiments, the server 110 may be implemented on a cloud platform. Merely by way of example, the cloud platform may include a private cloud, a public cloud, a hybrid cloud, a community cloud, a distributed cloud, an inter-cloud, a multi-cloud, or the like, or any combination thereof.

In some embodiments, the server 110 may include a processing device 112. The processing device 112 may process information and/or data related to performing one or more functions described in the present disclosure. For example, when determining how to route a service request received, the processing device 112 may use a current status of the vehicle 150 to determine if the service order is submitted to the app bearing device 140 to be considered by the driver. In some embodiments, the processing device 112 may include one or more processing units (e.g., single-core processing engine (s) or multi-core processing engine (s) ) . Merely by way of example, the processing device 112 may include a central processing unit (CPU) , an application-specific integrated circuit (ASIC) , an application-specific instruction-set processor (ASIP) , a graphics processing unit (GPU) , a physics processing unit (PPU) , a digital signal processor (DSP) , a field programmable gate array (FPGA) , a programmable logic device (PLD) , a controller, a microcontroller unit, a reduced instruction-set computer (RISC) , a microprocessor, or the like, or any combination thereof.

The network 120 may facilitate exchange of information and/or data. In some embodiments, one or more components in the ride hailing vehicle service platform 100 (e.g., the server 110, the passenger device 130, the app bearing device 140, the vehicle 150, the storage 160) may send information and/or data to other component (s) in the service platform 100 via the network 120. For example, the server 110 may access and/or obtain current vehicle status via the network 120. In some embodiments, the network 120 may be any type of wired or wireless network, or a combination thereof. Merely by way of example, the network 120 may include a cable network, a wireline network, an optical fiber network, a telecommunications network, an intranet, an Internet, a local area network (LAN) , a wide area network (WAN) , a wireless local area network (WLAN) , a metropolitan area network (MAN) , a wide area network (WAN) , a public telephone switched network (PSTN) , a Bluetooth network, a ZigBee network, a near field communication (NFC) network, or the like, or any combination thereof. In some embodiments, the network 120 may include one or more network access points. For example, the network 120 may include wired or wireless network access points such as base stations and/or internet exchange points 120-1, 120-2, ..., through which one or more components of the service platform 100 may be connected to the network 120 to exchange data and/or information.

In some embodiments, a passenger or a user may be a holder of the passenger device 130. In some embodiments, the holder of the passenger device 130 may be someone other than the passenger. For example, a holder A of the passenger device 130 may use the passenger device 130 to send a service request for a passenger B, and/or receive a service confirmation and/or information or instructions from the server 110. In some embodiments, a driver may be a user of the app bearing device 140. In some embodiments, the user of the app bearing device 140 may be someone other than the driver. For example, a user C of the app bearing device 140 may use the app bearing device 140 to receive a service request for a driver D, and/or information or instructions from the server 110. In some embodiments, a driver may be assigned to use one of the app bearing devices 140 and/or one of the vehicles 150 for at least a certain period of time, for example, a day, a week, a month, or a year etc. In some other embodiments, a driver may be assigned to use one of the app bearing devices 140 and/or one of the vehicles 150 on a random basis. For example, when a driver is available to provide an on-demand service, he/she may be assigned to use a driver terminal that receives the earliest request and a vehicle that is recommended to perform the type of on-demand service. In some embodiments, “passenger” , “requestor” and “terminal device” may be used interchangeably, and “driver” , “provider” and “driver device” may be used interchangeably. In some embodiments, the driver device may be associated with one or more drivers (e.g., a night-shift driver, a day-shift driver, or a driver pool by a random shifting) .

In some embodiments, the passenger device 130 may include a mobile device 130-1, a tablet computer 130-2, a laptop computer 130-3, a built-in device in a vehicle 130-4, a wearable device 130-5, or the like, or any combination thereof. In some embodiments, the mobile device 130-1 may include a smart home device, a wearable device, a smart mobile device, a virtual reality device, an augmented reality device, or the like, or any combination thereof. In some embodiments, the smart home device may include a smart lighting device, a control device of an intelligent electrical apparatus, a smart monitoring device, a smart television, a smart video camera, an interphone, or the like, or any combination thereof. In some embodiments, the wearable device may include a smart bracelet, a smart footgear, a smart glass, a smart helmet, a smart watch, smart clothing, a smart backpack, a smart accessory, or the like, or any combination thereof. In some embodiments, the smart mobile device may include a smartphone, a personal digital assistance (PDA) , a gaming device, a navigation device, a point of sale (POS) device, or the like, or any combination thereof. In some embodiments, the virtual reality device and/or the augmented reality device may include a virtual reality helmet, a virtual reality glass, a virtual reality patch, an augmented reality helmet, an augmented reality glass, an augmented reality patch, or the like, or any combination thereof. For example, the virtual reality device and/or the augmented reality device may include a Google GlassTM, an Oculus RiftTM, a HololensTM, a Gear VRTM, etc. In some embodiments, a built-in device in the vehicle 130-4 may include a built-in computer, an onboard built-in television, a built-in tablet, etc. In some embodiments, the passenger device 130 may include a signal transmitter and a signal receiver configured to communicate with a positioning device for locating the position of the passenger and/or the passenger device 130.

The app bearing device 140 may include a mobile device 140-1, a tablet computer 140-2, a laptop computer 140-3, a built-in device in a vehicle 140-4, a wearable device 140-5, or the like, or any combination thereof. In some embodiments, the app bearing device 140 may be customized to implement the online transportation service. In some embodiments, the app bearing device 140 and the passenger device 130 may be configured with a signal transmitter and a signal receiver to receive position information of the app bearing device 140 and the passenger device 130 from a positioning device. In some embodiments, the passenger device 130 and/or the app bearing device 140 may communicate with other positioning device to determine the position of the passenger, the passenger device 130, the driver, and/or the app bearing device 140. In some embodiments, the passenger device 130 and/or the app bearing device 140 may periodically send the positioning information to the server 110. In some embodiments, the app bearing device 140 may also periodically send the availability status to the server 110. The availability status may indicate whether a vehicle 150 associated with the app bearing device 140 is available to transport a passenger. For example, the passenger device 130 may send the positioning information to the server 110 every thirty minutes. As another example, the app bearing device 140 may send the availability status to the server every thirty minutes, and/or upon a status update of the vehicle such as when an on-demand service is completed. As another example, the passenger device 130 may send the positioning information to the server 110 each time the user logs into the mobile application associated with the order dispatching service. In some embodiments, the app bearing device 140 is installed or positioned in the vehicle 150.

The storage 160 may store data and/or instructions. In some embodiments, the storage 160 may store data obtained from the passenger device 130 and/or the app bearing device 140. For example, the storage 160 may store log information associated with the passenger device 130. In some embodiments, the storage 160 may store data and/or instructions that the server 110 may execute to provide the on-demand services described in the present disclosure. In some embodiments, the storage 160 may include a mass storage, are movable storage, a volatile read-and-write memory, a read-only memory (ROM) , or the like, or any combination thereof. Example mass storage may include a magnetic disk, an optical disk, a solid-state drives, etc. Example removable storage may include a flash drive, a floppy disk, an optical disk, a memory card, a zip disk, a magnetic tape, etc. Example volatile read-and-write memory may include a random access memory (RAM) . Example RAM may include a dynamic RAM (DRAM) , a double date rate synchronous dynamic RAM (DDR SDRAM) , a static RAM (SRAM) , a thyristor RAM (T-RAM) , and a zero-capacitor RAM (Z-RAM) , etc. Example ROM may include a mask ROM (MROM) , a programmable ROM (PROM) , an erasable programmable ROM (EPROM) , an electrically erasable programmable ROM (EEPROM) , a compact disk ROM (CD-ROM) , and a digital versatile disk ROM, etc. In some embodiments, the storage 160 may be implemented on a cloud platform. Merely by way of example, the cloud platform may include a private cloud, a public cloud, a hybrid cloud, a community cloud, a distributed cloud, an inter-cloud, a multi-cloud, or the like, or any combination thereof.

In some embodiments, one or more components in the service platform 100 may access the data or instructions stored in the storage 160 via the network 120. In some embodiments, the storage 160 may be directly connected to the server 110 as a backend storage.

In some embodiments, one or more components in the service platform 100 (e.g., the server 110, the passenger device 130, the app bearing device 140, etc. ) may have permissions to access the storage 160. In some embodiments, one or more components in the service platform 100 may read and/or modify the information related to the passenger, the driver, and/or the vehicle when one or more conditions are met. For example, the server 110 may read and/or modify one or more passengers’ user features after an on-demand service order is completed.

In some embodiments, information exchanging between one or more components of the service platform 100 may be initiated by way of launching the mobile application of the on-demand service on a terminal device to request a service. The object of the service request may be any product. In some embodiments, the product may include food, medicine, commodity, chemical product, electrical appliance, clothing, car, housing, luxury, or the like, or any combination thereof. In some other embodiments, the product may include a service product, a financial product, a knowledge product, an internet product, or the like, or any combination thereof. The internet product may include an individual host product, a web product, a mobile internet product, a commercial host product, an embedded product, or the like, or any combination thereof. The mobile internet product may be used in a software of a mobile terminal, a program, a system, or the like, or any combination thereof. The mobile terminal may include a tablet computer, a laptop computer, a mobile phone, a personal digital assistance (PDA) , a smart watch, a point of sale (POS) device, an onboard computer, an onboard television, a wearable device, or the like, or any combination thereof. For example, the product may be any software and/or application used in the computer or mobile phone. The software and/or application may relate to socializing, shopping, transporting, entertainment, learning, investment, or the like, or any combination thereof. In some embodiments, the software and/or application related to transporting may include a traveling software and/or application, a vehicle scheduling software and/or application, a mapping software and/or application, etc. In the vehicle scheduling software and/or application, the vehicle may include a horse, a carriage, a rickshaw (e.g., a wheelbarrow, a bike, a tricycle, etc. ) , a car (e.g., a taxi, a bus, a private car, etc. ) , a train, a subway, a vessel, an aircraft (e.g., an airplane, a helicopter, a space shuttle, a rocket, a hot-air balloon, etc. ) , or the like, or any combination thereof.

One of ordinary skill in the art would understand that when an element of the service platform 100 performs, the element may perform through electrical signals and/or electromagnetic signals. For example, when a passenger device 130 processes a task, such as transmitting an order, the passenger device 130 may operate logic circuits in its processor to process such task. When the passenger device 130 sends out an order to the server 110, a processor of the passenger device 130 may generate electrical signals encoding the order. The processor of the passenger device 130 may then send the electrical signals to an output port. If the passenger device 130 communicates with the server 110 via a wired network, the output port may be physically connected to a cable, which further transmit the electrical signal to an input port of the server 110. If the passenger device 130 communicates with the server 110 via a wireless network, the output port of the terminal 130 may be one or more antennas, which convert the electrical signals to electromagnetic signals. Similarly, the app bearing device 140 may process a task through operation of logic circuits in its processor, and receive an instruction and/or service order from the server 110 via electrical signals or electromagnet signals. Within an electronic device, such as the passenger device 130, the app bearing device 140, and/or the server 110, when a processor thereof processes an instruction, sends out an instruction, and/or performs an action, the instruction and/or action is conducted via electrical signals. For example, when the processor retrieves data (e.g., a plurality of historical orders) from a storage medium (e.g., the storage 160) , it may send out electrical signals to a read device of the storage medium, which may read structured data in the storage medium. The structured data may be transmitted to the processor in the form of electrical signals via a bus of the electronic device. Here, an electrical signal may refer to one electrical signal, a series of electrical signals, and/or a plurality of discrete electrical signals.

FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram illustrating example hardware and/or software components of an example computing device according to some embodiments of the present disclosure. In some embodiments, the server 110, the passenger device 130, and/or the app bearing device 140 may be implemented on the computing device 200. For example, the processing device 112 may be implemented on the computing device 200 and configured to perform functions of the processing device 112 disclosed in this disclosure.

The computing device 200 may be used to implement any component of the service platform 100 as described herein. For example, the processing device 112 may be implemented on the computing device 200, via its hardware, software program, firmware, or a combination thereof. Although only one such computer is shown, for convenience, the computer functions relating to the online to offline service as described herein may be implemented in a distributed fashion on a number of similar platforms to distribute the processing load.

The computing device 200 may include COM ports 250 connected to and from a network connected thereto to facilitate data communications. The computing device 200 may also include a processor 220, in the form of one or more processors (e.g., logic circuits) , for executing program instructions. For example, the processor 220 may include interface circuits and processing circuits therein. The interface circuits may be configured to receive electronic signals from a bus 210, wherein the electronic signals encode structured data and/or instructions for the processing circuits to process. The processing circuits may conduct logic calculations, and then determine a conclusion, a result, and/or an instruction encoded as electronic signals. Then the interface circuits may send out the electronic signals from the processing circuits via the bus 210.

The computing device 200 may further include program storage and data storage of different forms including, for example, a disk 270, a read only memory (ROM) 230, or a random access memory (RAM) 240, for storing various data files to be processed and/or transmitted by the computing device 200. The computing device 200 may also include program instructions stored in the ROM 230, RAM 240, and/or other type of non-transitory storage medium to be executed by the processor 220. The methods and/or processes of the present disclosure may be implemented as the program instructions. The computing device 200 may also include an I/O component 260, supporting input/output between the computer and other components. The computing device 200 may also receive programming and data via network communications.

Merely for illustration, only one processor is described in FIG. 2. Multiple processors are also contemplated, thus operations and/or steps performed by one processor as described in the present disclosure may also be jointly or separately performed by the multiple processors. For example, if in the present disclosure the processor of the computing device 200 executes both step A and step B, it should be understood that step A and step B may also be performed by two different CPUs and/or processors jointly or separately in the computing device 200 (e.g., the first processor executes step A and the second processor executes step B, or the first and second processors jointly execute steps A and B) .

FIG. 3 is a schematic diagram illustrating example hardware and/or software components of an example mobile device according to some embodiments of the present disclosure. In some embodiments, the passenger device 130 or the app bearing device 140 may be implemented on the mobile device 300. As illustrated in FIG. 3, the mobile device 300 may include a communication platform 310, a display 320, a graphic processing unit (GPU) 330, a central processing unit (CPU) 340, an I/O 350, a memory 360, a mobile operating system (OS) 370, and a storage 390. In some embodiments, any other suitable component including but not limited to a system bus or a controller (not shown) , may also be included in the mobile device 300.

In some embodiments, the mobile operating system 370 (e.g., iOS ^TM, Android ^TM, Windows Phone ^TM) and one or more applications 380 may be loaded into the memory 360 from the storage 390 in order to be executed by the CPU 340. The applications 380 may include a browser or any other suitable mobile apps for receiving and rendering information relating to online to offline services or other information from the order dispatching system 100. User interactions with the information stream may be achieved via the I/O 350 and provided to the processing device 112 and/or other components of the order dispatching system 100 via the network 120.

FIG. 4 is a schematic diagram illustrating hardware and/or software components of an example system 400 disclosed herein, in accordance with aspects of the present specification. As illustrated in FIG. 4, the example system 400 comprises an interface unit 410 connected to and in communication with a cable 420 connected to an in-vehicle equipment 430; a wireless or a network communication unit (the communication unit) 440 for transmitting data to a hardware where the app is installed (the app hardware) 140; a storage medium 450 storing a set of instructions; and a processor 460 in communication with the storage medium to execute the set of instructions. In one embodiment, the cable is between an equipment 430 and another equipment 470.

In some embodiments, the equipment 430 is a taxi meter and the other equipment 470 is a for-hire indicator. The taxi meter 430 and the for-hire indicator 470 transmit the voltage signal of the vehicle status such as "for-hire" through the cable 420. A physical cable 480 is also used to connect the system 400 and the taxi meter 430 and the for-hire indicator 470, which is capable of obtaining the voltage signal of the vehicle status. The system 400 and an app 490 bearing device such as a driver's tablet 140 are wirelessly connected via Bluetooth communication. The system 400 is responsible for converting the voltage signal into an electrical level signal and packaging it into a wireless signal such as a Beacon signal for broadcast, while the driver interface app 490 is responsible for scanning and parsing the Beacon signal to interpret corresponding vehicle status.

A process 500 of linking vehicle status to the driver interface app is illustrated in the flow chart of FIG. 5. As show in FIG. 5, driver operates taxi meter or for-hire indicator to illicit a status update in step 510. It should be noted that in-vehicle equipment other than taxi meter and for-hire indicator can be similarly linked to the drive interface app as well. For example, the SOS switch and its corresponding vehicle status signal can be interpreted and transmitted to the driver interface app by using the systems and methods disclosed herein. A voltage signal corresponding to the status update changes is transmitted through a cable connected to the taxi meter in step 520. The system 400 detects the voltage signal of the vehicle state, converts it into an electrical level signal and encapsulates it into a data packet to broadcast via a communication unit such as a Beacon communication mode of Bluetooth, in step 530. The device where the driver interface app is installed then scans the system 400, receives data packet, and parses the data packet into the electronic level signal to obtain the updated vehicle status in step 540, and provides the updated information to the driver interface app. Driver interface app then updates the status of the vehicle accordingly, for example, by updating the graphical display of the app in step 550.

The transmission principle and conversion principle of vehicle status voltage signal are illustrated in FIGs. 6 and 7. The taxi meter 430 and the for-hire indicator 470 are connected by a physical cable, which is not shown in FIG. 6 to avoid confusion. The physical cable can be composed of a plurality of thin cables, wherein the voltage signals transmitted through some of the cables represents status values corresponding to the different status of the vehicle. The arrows in FIG. 6 indicate the transmission of voltage signals between the taxi meter 430 and the for-hire indicator 470, through the same or different cable. For example arrow 610-1 may be used to indicate a voltage corresponding to the for-hire signal S1, arrow 610-2 may be used to indicate a voltage corresponding to the in use signal S2, arrow 610-3 may be used to indicate a voltage corresponding to the price hike signal S3, arrow 610-4 may be used to indicate a voltage corresponding to the en route signal S4, arrow 610-5 may be used to indicate a voltage corresponding to the receiving payment (RP) signal S5, arrow 610-6 may be used to indicate a voltage corresponding to a signal indicating the vehicle is in highspeed status S6, arrow 610-7 may be used to indicate a voltage corresponding to the SOS signal S7, and arrow 610-10 may be used to indicate a voltage corresponding to the in return signal S10.

Principle of the conversion of vehicle status and voltage signal is shown in FIG. 7. As an example, when the output voltage from the taxi meter is about 12V, the system disclosed herein converts it to an electrical level signal having a value of 1, which means the for-hire status is valid. In contrast, when the output voltage from the taxi meter is about 0V, the system disclosed herein converts it to an electrical level signal having a value of 0, which means that the for-hire status is invalid. It should be noted that taxi meter and other in-vehicle equipment may have different make and specification, consequently, the electrical level signal would be different as well. The electrical level signal outlined above is for illustration purpose only and is not meant to be limiting. The signals go the other direction as well. For example, if the driver manually switches on the for-hire indicator, it will have its corresponding voltage and its own corresponding level signal, which is transmitted back to the taxi-meter while been recognized by the system disclosed herein to initiate the for-hire status.

In some embodiment, wireless communication uses the Beacon communication protocol of Bluetooth. The data of a Beacon signal includes electrical level signal value corresponding to each vehicle status. After the driver interface app directs the app bearing device to scan and find the Beacon signal, the device parses these electrical level values to obtain the corresponding vehicle status to provide it to the driver interface app.

After the driver operates the taxi meter or the for-hire indicator, the driver interface app automatically obtains the current status of the vehicle through the system 400, that is, the current passenger occupancy status of the vehicle. The driver interface app then automatically updates the status of the vehicle availability, eliminating the manual operation of the driver on the driver interface app.

The results after effective linkage between the driver interface app and in-vehicle equipment to reflect vehicle status in real time are illustrated in FIGs. 8A, 8B, and 9. As shown in FIG. 8A, upon receipt of a data packet D1 encoding a receiving payment (RP) status transmitted by the system 400, the app 490 automatically switches from the original in use status 810 to receiving payment (RP) status 820. As shown in FIG. 8B, upon receipt of a subsequent data packet D2 encoding a for-hire status transmitted by the system 400, the app 490 automatically switches from the RP status 820 to a for-hire status 830, which is a status that could be designated as available to an incoming service order.

FIG. 9 illustrates a series of interface graphics of the app during the execution of an electronically received on-demand service order. As shown in FIG. 9, once an electronic service order is received by the app hardware, the driver interface app updates its interface graphics shown as 905 of FIG. 9. If the service order is accepted by the driver on the driver interface app, the interface graphics 910 on display in the app reflects the status of the vehicle when it is en route to pick up the passenger. Once the passenger boards the vehicle, the driver manually turns off the for-hire indicator 470 by pressing a button 430-2 on the taxi meter, and the system 400 transmits the corresponding signal to the app and the app updates accordingly and display interface graphics 920 to indicate the vehicle is on its way to its destination. Upon arrival at the destination, the driver manually presses a payment button 430-3 on the taxi meter 430, and the system 400 transmits the corresponding signal to the app and the app updates accordingly and display the interface graphics 930 to indicate the payment amount and other relevant information. Once the passenger gets off the vehicle, the driver presses the for-hire button 430-1 on the taxi meter 430 to turn on the for-hire indicator 470, and the system 400 transmits the corresponding signal to the app and the app updates accordingly and display the interface graphics 940 to reflect the for-hire status of the vehicle. Once another electronic service order is received by the app hardware, the driver interface app updates its interface graphics to again shown as 905 of FIG. 9, thus starts the new cicle.

Vehicle status such as in use and price hike corresponds to status in which the passenger has already occupied the vehicle. Vehicle status such as receiving payment (RP) corresponds to the status in which the vehicle has reached the destination. Vehicle status such as for-hire corresponds to the status where the driver is ready to take up new service orders. Through automatic updating of the service status such as those outlined above in the driver interface app, the corresponding screen migration to indicate status such as arrival at passenger pick up location, arrival at destination, and vehicle available for-hire on the drive interface app can be achieved without direct driver input on the app.

The Beacon wireless communication method for data communication with the driver interface app can be replaced by other wireless communication technologies or networking technologies, such as Bluetooth communication protocols other than Beacon, Wi-Fi, RF radio frequency identification, ultrasonic waves, mobile networks, and the like.

The device where the driver interface app is installed can be replaced any device with wireless communication or networking functions, such as computers, tablets, smart phones, smart watches and the like, or a combination thereof.

Taxi meters and for-hire indicators can be replaced by other in-vehicle equipment or electronic devices, such as roof lights, wipers, etc., to achieve data collection and data analysis of current vehicle status. Additionally, these other in-vehicle equipment or electronic devices can similarly be linked with smart devices that installs a driver interface app.

The methods and systems disclosed herein provide automation and simplification of the driver's operation of a driver interface app. The methods and systems disclosed herein first collects the electrical level value that corresponds to the current status of the vehicle by analyzing the voltage signal of the in-vehicle equipment, a wireless communication unit such as a Beacon Bluetooth then interprets the electrical level value to obtain a data packet encoding the current vehicle status, which is then scanned by and transmitted to a device bearing the driver interface app, to achieve automated communication or linkage between the taxi meter, the for-hire indicator and the driver interface app and thus simplify the driver's operation on the driver interface app.

Through the methods and systems disclosed herein, it is possible to distinguish between a traditional taxi hailing order and an electronically placed service order. When the driver interface app is linked to the in-vehicle equipment such as taxi meters and for-hire indicator, the change in the status of the vehicle detected can be the change in the vehicle status during a traditional taxi hailing service.

FIG. 10 illustrates a series of interface graphics of the app during the execution of a traditional service order received through traditional ride hailing. As shown in FIG. 10, once the passenger boards the vehicle, the driver manually turns off the for-hire indicator 470 by pressing a button 430-2 on the taxi meter. The display interface graphics shows as fig. 1010. Upon arrival at the destination, the driver manually presses a payment button 430-3 on the taxi meter 430, and the system 400 transmits the corresponding signal to the app and the app updates accordingly and display the interface graphics 1020 to indicate the vehicle is in the status of receiving payments. Once the passenger gets off the vehicle, the driver presses the for-hire button 430-1 on the taxi meter 430 to turn on the for-hire indicator 470, and the system 400 transmits the corresponding signal to the app and the app updates accordingly and again display the interface graphics 1030 to reflect the for-hire status of the vehicle.

It should be noted that the above description is merely provided for the purpose of illustration, and not intended to limit the scope of the present disclosure. For persons having ordinary skills in the art, multiple variations and modifications may be made under the teachings of the present disclosure. However, those variations and modifications do not depart from the scope of the present disclosure.

Having thus described the basic concepts, it may be rather apparent to those skilled in the art after reading this detailed disclosure that the foregoing detailed disclosure is intended to be presented by way of example only and is not limiting. Various alterations, improvements, and modifications may occur and are intended to those skilled in the art, though not expressly stated herein. These alterations, improvements, and modifications are intended to be suggested by this disclosure, and are within the spirit and scope of the example embodiments of this disclosure.

Moreover, certain terminology has been used to describe embodiments of the present disclosure. For example, the terms “one embodiment, ” “an embodiment, ” and “some embodiments” mean that a particular feature, structure or characteristic described in connection with the embodiment is included in at least one embodiment of the present disclosure. Therefore, it is emphasized and should be appreciated that two or more references to “an embodiment” or “one embodiment” or “an alternative embodiment” in various portions of this specification are not necessarily all referring to the same embodiment. Furthermore, the particular features, structures or characteristics may be combined as suitable in one or more embodiments of the present disclosure.

Further, it will be appreciated by one skilled in the art, aspects of the present disclosure may be illustrated and described herein in any of a number of patentable classes or context including any new and useful process, machine, manufacture, or composition of matter, or any new and useful improvement thereof. Accordingly, aspects of the present disclosure may be implemented entirely hardware, entirely software (including firmware, resident software, micro-code, etc. ) or combining software and hardware implementation that may all generally be referred to herein as a “module, ” “unit, ” “component, ” “device, ” or “system. ” Furthermore, aspects of the present disclosure may take the form of a computer program product embodied in one or more computer readable media having computer readable program code embodied thereon.

A computer readable signal medium may include a propagated data signal with computer readable program code embodied therein, for example, in baseband or as part of a carrier wave. Such a propagated signal may take any of a variety of forms, including electro-magnetic, optical, or the like, or any suitable combination thereof. A computer readable signal medium may be any computer readable medium that is not a computer readable storage medium and that may communicate, propagate, or transport a program for use by or in connection with an instruction execution system, apparatus, or device. Program code embodied on a computer readable signal medium may be transmitted using any appropriate medium, including wireless, wireline, optical fiber cable, RF, or the like, or any suitable combination of the foregoing.

Computer program code for carrying out operations for aspects of the present disclosure may be written in any combination of one or more programming languages, including an object oriented programming language such as Java, Scala, Smalltalk, Eiffel, JADE, Emerald, C++, C#, VB. NET, Python or the like, conventional procedural programming languages, such as the "C" programming language, Visual Basic, Fortran 2003, Perl, COBOL 2002, PHP, ABAP, dynamic programming languages such as Python, Ruby and Groovy, or other programming languages.The program code may execute entirely on the user's computer, partly on the user's computer, as a stand-alone software package, partly on the user's computer and partly on a remote computer or entirely on the remote computer or server. In the latter scenario, the remote computer may be connected to the user's computer through any type of network, including a local area network (LAN) or a wide area network (WAN) , or the connection may be made to an external computer (for example, through the Internet using an Internet Service Provider) or in a cloud computing environment or offered as a service such as a Software as a Service (SaaS) .

Furthermore, the recited order of processing elements or sequences, or the use of numbers, letters, or other designations therefore, is not intended to limit the claimed processes and methods to any order except as may be specified in the claims. Although the above disclosure discusses through various examples what is currently considered to be a variety of useful embodiments of the disclosure, it is to be understood that such detail is solely for that purpose, and that the appended claims are not limited to the disclosed embodiments, but, on the contrary, are intended to cover modifications and equivalent arrangements that are within the spirit and scope of the disclosed embodiments. For example, although the implementation of various components described above may be embodied in a hardware device, it may also be implemented as a software only solution, e.g., an installation on an existing server or mobile device.

Similarly, it should be appreciated that in the foregoing description of embodiments of the present disclosure, various features are sometimes grouped together in a single embodiment, figure, or description thereof for the purpose of streamlining the disclosure aiding in the understanding of one or more of the various embodiments. This method of disclosure, however, is not to be interpreted as reflecting an intention that the claimed subject matter requires more features than are expressly recited in each claim. Rather, claim subject matter lie in less than all features of a single foregoing disclosed embodiment.

In some embodiments, the numbers expressing quantities, properties, and so forth, used to describe and claim certain embodiments of the application are to be understood as being modified in some instances by the term “about, ” “approximate, ” or “substantially. ” For example, “about, ” “approximate” or “substantially” may indicate ±20%variation of the value it describes, unless otherwise stated. Accordingly, in some embodiments, the numerical parameters set forth in the written description and attached claims are approximations that may vary depending upon the desired properties sought to be obtained by a particular embodiment. In some embodiments, the numerical parameters should be construed in light of the number of reported significant digits and by applying ordinary rounding techniques. Notwithstanding that the numerical ranges and parameters setting forth the broad scope of some embodiments of the application are approximations, the numerical values set forth in the specific examples are reported as precisely as practicable.

Each of the patents, patent applications, publications of patent applications, and other material, such as articles, books, specifications, publications, documents, things, and/or the like, referenced herein is hereby incorporated herein by this reference in its entirety for all purposes, excepting any prosecution file history associated with same, any of same that is inconsistent with or in conflict with the present document, or any of same that may have a limiting affect as to the broadest scope of the claims now or later associated with the present document. By way of example, should there be any inconsistency or conflict between the description, definition, and/or the use of a term associated with any of the incorporated material and that associated with the present document, the description, definition, and/or the use of the term in the present document shall prevail.

In closing, it is to be understood that the embodiments of the application disclosed herein are illustrative of the principles of the embodiments of the application. Other modifications that may be employed may be within the scope of the application. Thus, by way of example, but not of limitation, alternative configurations of the embodiments of the application may be utilized in accordance with the teachings herein. Accordingly, embodiments of the present application are not limited to that precisely as shown and described.

Claims

A system for establishing automatic communication between a driver interface app (the app) and an in-vehicle equipment of a vehicle (the equipment) , the system comprising:

an interface unit connected to a cable that is connected to the equipment to receive a voltage signal from the cable that corresponds to an updated status of a vehicle;

a wireless or a network communication unit (the communication unit) for transmitting data to a hardware where the app is installed (the app hardware) ;

a storage medium storing a set of instructions; and

a processor in communication with the storage medium to execute the set of instructions to:

convert the voltage signal received by the interface unit into an electrical level signal and encapsulate it into a data packet; and

broadcast the encapsulated data packet via the wireless or network communication unit.
The system of claim 1, wherein the interface unit is physically connected to the cable.
The system of claim 1 or 2, wherein the communication unit is a wireless communication element including Bluetooth, Wi-Fi, RF radio frequency identification, ultrasonic waves, mobile network, or a combination thereof.
The system of any one of claims 1-3, wherein the communication unit is a Beacon Bluetooth unit.
The system of any one of claims 1-4, wherein the equipment is at least one of a taxi meter, a for-hire indicator, a roof light, and wipers.
The system of any one of claims 1-5, wherein each equipment is physically connected to its own cable and each of the cable is in communication with the system.
The system of any one of claims 1-6, wherein each equipment has its own voltage signal and an electrical level signal corresponding to each voltage signal.
The system of any one of claims 1-7, wherein the app hardware is at least one of a computer, a tablet, a smart phone, a smart watch, or a combination thereof.
A method for using a system to establish automatic communication between a driver interface app (the app) and an in-vehicle equipment of a vehicle, wherein the system comprises:

an interface unit connected to and in communication with a cable connected to the equipment;

a wireless or a network communication unit (the communication unit) for transmitting data to a hardware where the app is installed (the app hardware) ;

a storage medium storing a set of instructions; and

a processor in communication with the storage medium to execute the set of instructions; the method comprising:

receiving a voltage signal from the cable that corresponds to an updated status of the vehicle;

converting the voltage signal into an electrical level signal and encapsulate it into a data packet; and

broadcasting the encapsulated data packet via the wireless or network communication unit.
The method of claim 9, further comprising connecting the system to the cable.
The method of claim 9 or 10, further comprising establishing communication between the system and the app hardware to transmit the data packet to the app hardware where it is parsed into an electronic level signal to be read by the app to obtain an updated status of the vehicle.
The method of any one of claims 9-11, further comprising updating a graphic display on the app based on the updated status of the vehicle.
The method of any one of claims 9-12, wherein the communication unit is a wireless communication element including Bluetooth, Wi-Fi, RF radio frequency identification, ultrasonic waves, mobile network, a combination thereof; the equipment is at least one of a taxi meter, fa or-hire indicator, a roof light, and wipers; and the app hardware is at least one of a computer, a tablet, a smart phone, a smart watch, or a combination thereof.
The method of any one of claims 9-13, wherein each equipment is physically connected to its own cable and each of the cable is in communication with the system and wherein each equipment has its own voltage signal and an electrical level signal corresponding to each voltage signal, the method further comprising: receiving voltage signals from each cable;

converting the voltage signals into its corresponding electrical level signal and encapsulate them into data packets;

broadcasting the encapsulated data packets via the wireless or network communication unit;

receiving the data packets and parsing the data packets into electronic level signals to be read by the app to obtain the updated status of the vehicle; and

updating a graphic display on the app based on the updated status of the vehicle.
A non-transitory readable medium (the medium) of an electronic system, storing a set of instructions for establishing automatic communication between a driver interface app (the app) and an in-vehicle equipment of a vehicle, the electronic system comprising:

an interface unit connected to and in communication with a cable connected to the equipment;

a wireless or a network communication unit (the communication unit) for transmitting data to a hardware where the app is installed (the app hardware) ;

the medium; and

a processor in communication with the medium to execute the set of instructions;

wherein when the set of instructions is executed by the processor, the system performs a method comprising:

receiving a voltage signal from the cable that corresponds to an updated status of the vehicle;

converting the voltage signal into an electrical level signal and encapsulate it into a data packet; and

broadcasting the encapsulated data packet via the wireless or network communication unit.
The medium of claim 15, wherein the method further comprising connecting the system to the cable.
The medium of claim 15 or 16, further comprising establishing communication between the system and the app hardware to transmit the data packet the app hardware where it is parsed into an electronic level signal to be read by the app to obtain the updated status of the vehicle.
The medium of any one of claims 15-17, wherein the method further comprising updating a graphic display on the app based on the updated status of the vehicle.
The medium of any one of claims 15-18, wherein the communication unit is a wireless communication element including Bluetooth, Wi-Fi, RF radio frequency identification, ultrasonic waves, mobile network, a combination thereof; the equipment is at least one of a taxi meter, a for-hire indicator, a roof light, and wipers; and the app hardware is at least one of a computer, a tablet, a smart phone, a smart watch, or a combination thereof.
The medium of any one of claims 15-19, wherein each equipment is physically connected to its own cable and each of the cable is in communication with the system and wherein each equipment has its own voltage signal and an electrical level signal corresponding to each voltage signal, the method further comprising:

receiving voltage signals from each cable;

converting the voltage signals into its corresponding electrical level signal and encapsulate them into data packets;

broadcasting the encapsulated data packets via the wireless or network communication unit;

receiving the data packets and parsing the data packets into electronic level signals to be read by the app to obtain the updated status of the vehicle; and

updating a graphic display on the app to reflect the updated status of the vehicle