Method and apparatus for determining expected time of arrival
First Claim
1. A system for determining an expected time of arrival of a vehicle equipped with a mobile unit, comprising:
- a dispatch remotely located from the vehicle, the dispatch operable to generate destination information for the vehicle, the destination information specifying at least one destination and a corresponding appointment time;
a communications link coupled to the dispatch, the communications link operable to receive the destination information for the vehicle from the dispatch; and
the mobile unit coupled to the communications link, the mobile unit operable to receive from the communications link the destination information for the vehicle generated by the dispatch, the mobile unit further operable to determine a vehicle position, the mobile unit further operable to determine in response to the vehicle position the expected time of arrival of the vehicle at the destination identified by the destination information, the mobile unit further operable to determine if the expected time of arrival differs from the corresponding appointment time for the destination by more than a predetermined amount.
8 Assignments
0 Petitions
Accused Products
Abstract
A system (10) for determining an expected time of arrival of a vehicle (40) equipped with a mobile unit (42) includes a dispatch (20) remotely located from the vehicle (40). The dispatch (20) generates destination information for the vehicle (40), the destination information specifying at least one destination. The mobile unit (42) includes a mobile communications device (90) to receive the destination information for the vehicle (40) generated by the dispatch (20). The mobile unit (42) also includes a positioning receiver (80) to determine a vehicle position. In response to the destination information received from the dispatch (20) and the vehicle position, the mobile unit (42) determines the expected time of arrival of the vehicle.
-
Citations
51 Claims
-
1. A system for determining an expected time of arrival of a vehicle equipped with a mobile unit, comprising:
-
a dispatch remotely located from the vehicle, the dispatch operable to generate destination information for the vehicle, the destination information specifying at least one destination and a corresponding appointment time; a communications link coupled to the dispatch, the communications link operable to receive the destination information for the vehicle from the dispatch; and the mobile unit coupled to the communications link, the mobile unit operable to receive from the communications link the destination information for the vehicle generated by the dispatch, the mobile unit further operable to determine a vehicle position, the mobile unit further operable to determine in response to the vehicle position the expected time of arrival of the vehicle at the destination identified by the destination information, the mobile unit further operable to determine if the expected time of arrival differs from the corresponding appointment time for the destination by more than a predetermined amount. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 49)
-
-
14. A system for dispatching a vehicle equipped with a mobile unit, comprising:
-
a dispatch remotely located from the vehicle, the dispatch operable to generate destination information for the vehicle, the destination information specifying a first destination, a stationary interval at the first destination, a second destination, and a corresponding appointment time for the second destination; a communications link coupled to the dispatch, the communications link operable to receive the destination information for the vehicle from the dispatch; and the mobile unit coupled to the communications link, the mobile unit operable to receive from the communications link the destination information for the vehicle generated by the dispatch, the mobile unit further operable to determine a vehicle position, the mobile unit further operable to determine in response to the vehicle position and the stationary interval the expected time of arrival of the vehicle at the second destination, the mobile unit further operable to determine if the expected time of arrival of the vehicle at the at the second destination differs from the corresponding appointment time for the second destination by more than a predetermined amount. - View Dependent Claims (15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22)
-
-
23. An apparatus on a vehicle for determining an expected time of arrival of the vehicle, comprising:
-
a communications device operable to receive destination information from a dispatch, the destination information specifying at least one destination and a corresponding appointment time; a positioning device operable to determine a vehicle position; and a processor coupled to the communications device and the positioning device, the processor operable to receive destination information from the communications device and the vehicle position from the positioning device, the processor further operable to determine in response to the vehicle position the expected time of arrival of the vehicle at the destination identified by the destination information, the processor further operable to determine if the expected time of arrival differs from the corresponding appointment time for the destination by more than a predetermined amount. - View Dependent Claims (24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32, 33, 34, 35, 50)
-
-
36. A method for determining an expected time of arrival of a vehicle, comprising:
-
generating destination information at a dispatch, the destination information specifying at least one destination and a corresponding appointment time; transmitting the destination information to the vehicle; determining at the vehicle the vehicle position; determining at the vehicle in response to the vehicle position the expected time of arrival of the vehicle at the destination identified by the destination information; determining at the vehicle whether the expected time of arrival differs from the corresponding appointment time for the destination by more than a predetermined amount. - View Dependent Claims (37, 38, 39, 40, 41, 42, 43, 51)
-
-
44. A method for determining an expected time of arrival of a vehicle, comprising:
-
generating destination information at a dispatch, the destination information specifying a plurality of destinations and a plurality of corresponding appointment times; transmitting the destination information to the vehicle; determining at the vehicle the vehicle position; determining at the vehicle in response to the vehicle position an expected time of arrival of the vehicle at one or more of the destinations; determining at the vehicle whether the expected time of arrival at one or more of the destinations differs from the corresponding appointment time by more than a predetermined amount; and generating late information if the expected time of arrival at one or more destinations differs from the corresponding appointment time by more than the predetermined amount. - View Dependent Claims (45, 46, 47, 48)
-
Specification