Wireless moble vehicle real-time tracking and notification systems and methods related thereto
First Claim
1. A method for determining an arrival time of a vehicle at one or more locations along the travel route for the vehicle comprising the steps of:
- generating a table including locations of the vehicle in a time sequence as the vehicle approaches each of the one or more locations and an ETA corresponding to each location;
transmitting signals periodically from the vehicle, each signal including information of vehicle location at the time of transmission; and
determining an arrival time for each transmitted location using the time sequenced location and ETA in the table.
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Accused Products
Abstract
The present invention features a system and methods for notifying passengers of an approaching vehicle. Utilizing such a system and methods, passengers can remain in a safe, controlled environment, avoiding harsh environmental conditions and excessive waiting times, instead arriving at their pick-up point closer and prior to a vehicle'"'"'s arrival. More specifically, the present invention relates to a bus notification system (100a) wherein passengers are able to know the location and estimated arrival time of the bus several minutes before its arrival at a specified location along the bus route. The present invention also features a system and methods for locating an in-transit vehicle and for providing real-time mapping and monitoring of such in-transit vehicles.
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Citations
19 Claims
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1. A method for determining an arrival time of a vehicle at one or more locations along the travel route for the vehicle comprising the steps of:
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generating a table including locations of the vehicle in a time sequence as the vehicle approaches each of the one or more locations and an ETA corresponding to each location;
transmitting signals periodically from the vehicle, each signal including information of vehicle location at the time of transmission; and
determining an arrival time for each transmitted location using the time sequenced location and ETA in the table.
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2. A method for mapping movement of a vehicle moving in a predetermined area comprising the steps of:
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transmitting signals periodically from the vehicle, each signal including information of vehicle location at the time of transmission; and
constructing a travel path using the periodically transmitted signals.
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3. A method for determining an arrival time of each of at least one in-transit vehicle at one or more locations along the travel route for each of the at least one vehicle comprising the steps of:
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generating a table including locations of each of the at least one in-transit vehicles in a time sequence as each of the at least one vehicle approaches each of the one or more locations and an ETA corresponding to each location;
establishing a unique signal transmission time slot for each of the at least one in-transit vehicle;
transmitting signals periodically from each of the at least one in-transit vehicle during the unique signal transmission time slot established for said each of the at least one in-transit vehicle, each signal being transmitted including location information of said each at least one in-transit vehicle at the time of transmission;
determining an arrival time for each of the at least one vehicle from the location information transmitted during the time slot for said each of the at least one in-transit vehicle using the time sequenced location and ETA corresponding to said each of the at least one in-transit vehicle in the generated table. - View Dependent Claims (4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9)
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10. A method for real-time tracking of at least one vehicle that is in-transit in a predetermined area comprising the steps of:
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providing a plurality of signal receiving devices disposed throughput a region including the predetermined region so as to be capable of receiving signals being generated within the predetermined area;
establishing a communications network operably interconnecting each of the plurality of signal receiving devices;
transmitting signals periodically from each of the at least one in-transit vehicle, each signal being transmitted including location information of said each at least one in-transit vehicle at the time of transmission;
receiving each of the periodically transmitted signals at one of the plurality of provided receiving devices; and
determining if the receiving device receiving said each of the periodically transmitted signals is the processing receiving device that is to process the transmitted signal. - View Dependent Claims (11)
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12. A system for real-time tracking of at least one vehicle that is in-transit in a predetermined area, comprising:
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a signal transmission device for each of the at least one in-transit vehicle, each of said signal transmission devices including a transmitter, a microprocessor operably coupled to the transmitted and an applications program for execution on the microprocessor;
a plurality of signal receiving devices disposed throughout the predetermined area so as to be capable of receiving signals being generated within the predetermined area;
a communications network operably interconnecting each of the plurality of signal receiving devices; and
wherein said applications program including instructions and criteria for;
transmitting signals periodically from the transmitter, each periodic signal being transmitted including location information of said at least one in-transit vehicle at the time of transmission, and determining the location of the in-transit vehicle at the time of transmission;
- View Dependent Claims (13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19)
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Specification