Apparatus and method of notifying a recipient of an unscheduled delivery
DCFirst Claim
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1. An apparatus located on a motor vehicle for providing advance notice to a party of arrival of the motor vehicle to a delivery/pickup point for the delivery/pickup of a passenger, said apparatus comprising:
- a satellite receiver for receiving positioning signals from a plurality of satellites;
a storage device for storing the location of the party and other information;
a controller electrically connected to said storage device and said satellite receiver, said controller programmed to perform the steps of;
a) determining a current location of the motor vehicle based upon the received positioning signals; and
b) comparing the current location of the motor vehicle to the location of said delivery/pickup point;
a card reader electrically connected to said controller for allowing the controller and the storage device to store and maintain information on the motor vehicle passengers, each of said passengers of the motor vehicle being issued an identification card which allows the controller to maintain ridership information on the motor vehicle passengers; and
a communicator operatively connected to the controller for conditionally communicating, based upon said step of comparing, a signal via a cellular communications network from the mobile vehicle to the party to notify the party of the pending delivery/pickup of the passenger at the delivery/pickup point.
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Abstract
An apparatus and method for notifying a party of a pending delivery or pickup of an item. A mobile vehicle or carrier is equipped with a satellite receiver, a controller and a communicator. The mobile vehicle determines its location based on positioning signals received by the satellite receiver. The controller compares the current location of the vehicle to the location of the party receiving the delivery/pickup. The communicator conditionally communicates with the party to notify the party of the pending delivery/pickup.
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Citations
23 Claims
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1. An apparatus located on a motor vehicle for providing advance notice to a party of arrival of the motor vehicle to a delivery/pickup point for the delivery/pickup of a passenger, said apparatus comprising:
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a satellite receiver for receiving positioning signals from a plurality of satellites; a storage device for storing the location of the party and other information; a controller electrically connected to said storage device and said satellite receiver, said controller programmed to perform the steps of; a) determining a current location of the motor vehicle based upon the received positioning signals; and b) comparing the current location of the motor vehicle to the location of said delivery/pickup point; a card reader electrically connected to said controller for allowing the controller and the storage device to store and maintain information on the motor vehicle passengers, each of said passengers of the motor vehicle being issued an identification card which allows the controller to maintain ridership information on the motor vehicle passengers; and a communicator operatively connected to the controller for conditionally communicating, based upon said step of comparing, a signal via a cellular communications network from the mobile vehicle to the party to notify the party of the pending delivery/pickup of the passenger at the delivery/pickup point. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10)
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11. An apparatus located on a mobile vehicle for providing a notice to a party of a pending delivery/pickup of an item, said apparatus comprising:
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a satellite receiver for receiving positioning signals from a plurality of satellites; a storage device for storing a location of a delivery/pickup point of the item; a controller electrically connected to said storage device and said satellite receiver, said controller programmed to perform the steps of; a) determining a current location of the mobile vehicle based upon the received positioning signals; b) comparing the current location of the mobile vehicle to the location of the delivery/pickup ;
point;c) estimating the time required for the vehicle to travel from its current location to the location of the delivery/pickup point based on the distance separating the location of the vehicle and the location of the delivery/pickup point and the time for any intervening stops; a communicator operatively connected to the controller for communicating a signal via a cellular communications network from the mobile vehicle to said party to notify the party of the pending delivery/pickup of the item if the estimated time interval is less than a predetermined time interval. - View Dependent Claims (12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23)
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Specification