SYSTEM AND METHOD FOR GROUPING PASSENGERS TOGETHER IN AN AUTOMATED COLLECTIVE FORM OF TRANSPORT
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Abstract
A system and method whereby passengers with common destinations and profile preferences are grouped so that the waiting and journey times for most passengers are reduced, the maximum capacity of the transportation can be used in peak hours, and passengers are given the possibility of choosing which other passengers they prefer to travel with in the same vehicle.
13 Citations
69 Claims
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1-37. -37. (canceled)
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38. A system for grouping passengers in automated collective transportation, comprising:
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a plurality of vehicles; a plurality of stations where passengers can get on and off the vehicles, each station having a zone without controlled access and a zone with controlled access; a computer system; a plurality of identification devices that identify the passengers bearing each device or means of identification; at least one recognition device fitted at each station, for reading or extracting relevant information contained in the identification device and sending this information to the computer system; at least a first display device placed in the zone without controlled access of the stations, capable of displaying information generated by the computer system and indicating which passenger or group of passengers can pass to a boarding platform and at what time; at least one access control mechanism fitted at each station, capable of allowing or denying the passengers to pass from the zone of the station without controlled access to the controlled access zone, wherein access is restricted to passengers who are authorized to board the vehicles on the boarding platform, according to instructions from the computer system; at least a second display device placed in each vehicle capable of displaying information generated by the computer system and indicating the destination or destinations of that vehicle and/or the passenger or groups of passengers who are to board it; and a means for transmitting information between the computer system and each of the recognition devices, the first display devices, the access control mechanisms and the second display devices, wherein; a) grouping of passengers with destinations in common is performed on-the-fly as the passengers identify themselves with their identification device at the recognition device(s) and at that time indicate their destination to the computer system; and b) said grouping is done virtually by the computer system before the passengers pass through the access control mechanism(s) that allow them to pass to the platform where the vehicles are boarded; and c) assignment of the vehicle that will transport a group of passengers to their destination is done automatically by the computer system, before or after the virtual formation of the group of passengers; and d) groups are formed physically just prior to boarding, when the computer system displays information on the first display device(s); and e) an order in which the passenger groups go through the access control mechanism(s) and reach the platform matches an order in which the vehicles, each with their respective destination, pass in front of the platform. - View Dependent Claims (39, 40, 41, 42, 43, 44, 45, 46, 47, 48, 49, 50)
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51. A method for grouping passengers in automated collective transportation, comprising the following steps:
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a. upon arriving at one of a plurality of stations, in a zone without controlled access, the passenger presents an identification device to a recognition device and chooses a destination station to which the passenger wants to travel; b. the recognition device reads information that identifies the passenger bearing the identification device and sends it, together with the identification of the destination station, to a computer system; c. the computer system, based on a profile of personal attributes and the passenger'"'"'s preferences stored in a database, as well as the identification of destinations and preferences of other passengers at the same station and at other stations, forms passenger groups with common destinations and preferences and assigns a boarding group to the passenger, this group being periodically updated before the passengers pass through access control mechanisms to a platform; d. the computer system sends a boarding group identifier assigned to the passenger to an indicator device; e. the indicator device transmits to the passenger the boarding group identifier that was assigned to him/her; f. the computer system, based on the vehicles that are arriving at the station and their respective destinations as well as seats available on each vehicle, displays on a first display device the identifiers of the boarding groups that can pass through to the platform to board a vehicle; g. the computer system allows access through an access control mechanism only to those passengers who have been assigned to the boarding groups whose identifiers are being displayed on the display device, so that an order in which the passenger groups reach the platform matches an order in which the vehicles traveling to different destinations pass in front of the platform; h. the passenger proceeds to the platform at the time indicated according to steps (f) and (g); i. the computer system displays on a second display device in each vehicle the destination(s) to which that vehicle is heading and/or the identifiers of the boarding groups that are to board that vehicle, until the vehicle leaves the station; j. the passenger boards the indicated vehicle that will take the passenger to his/her destination; k. steps (a) through (e) are repeated for each passenger at each station, and steps (f) through (j) are repeated for each boarding group at each station. - View Dependent Claims (52, 53, 54, 55, 56, 57, 58, 59, 60, 61, 62, 63, 64, 65, 66, 67, 68, 69)
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Specification