Mass transit monitoring and control system
First Claim
1. A system to monitor and coordinate the movement of mass transit vehicular traffic on a network of pathways as a plurality of mass transit vehicles traverse predefined routes within the network, each route comprised of a plurality of predetermined passenger drop-off and pickup stops, the system comprising:
- a) a plurality of stop units, one installed at each of a plurality of the passenger drop-off and pickup stops, each stop unit configured to collect and disseminate information related to vehicle arrivals at the passenger stop where the stop unit is installed;
b) a plurality of vehicle units, one installed in each of the mass transit vehicles traveling on the network, the vehicle units configured to exchange information with the stop units during the interval of time the vehicle unit is in the immediate vicinity of one of the stop units; and
c) computing means to exchange information with a plurality of the stop units to determine the status and timeliness of the mass transit vehicles traversing at least one of the predefined routes, the timeliness of vehicles related to the actual time a vehicle arrives at a passenger stop with respect to the scheduled time of arrival, wherein a schedule adjustment value is determined by the computing means from the exchanged information;
d) the system suitably configured so that each mass transit vehicle having a vehicle unit and approaching a scheduled stop transmits a unique identification number comprised of a pre-defined route number and an actual initial starting time the vehicle began to traverse the route, and receives in an exchange of information with the stop unit a unique stop number which is assigned to that particular stop and stop unit.
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Abstract
A system is disclosed to monitor and coordinate the movement of a plurality of mass transit passenger vehicles servicing a network of pathways. The system will disseminate information such as the on-time status and the expected arrival times of a plurality of the vehicles assigned to and traversing predefined routes within the network. Each route within the network is comprised of a plurality of predetermined passenger drop-off and pickup stops. The system includes of a plurality of stop units, each installed at one of the plurality of the passenger stops within the network, and configured to collect and disseminate information related to vehicle arrivals at the passenger stops. A plurality of vehicle units are provided wherein each is installed in one of the mass transit passenger vehicles operating in the network. The vehicle units are configured to exchange information with the stop units during the interval of time each vehicle unit is in the immediate vicinity of one of the stop units. Computing means are also included to exchange information with a plurality of the stop units to determine the status and timeliness of the mass transit vehicles traversing at least one of the predefined routes.
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Citations
13 Claims
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1. A system to monitor and coordinate the movement of mass transit vehicular traffic on a network of pathways as a plurality of mass transit vehicles traverse predefined routes within the network, each route comprised of a plurality of predetermined passenger drop-off and pickup stops, the system comprising:
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a) a plurality of stop units, one installed at each of a plurality of the passenger drop-off and pickup stops, each stop unit configured to collect and disseminate information related to vehicle arrivals at the passenger stop where the stop unit is installed; b) a plurality of vehicle units, one installed in each of the mass transit vehicles traveling on the network, the vehicle units configured to exchange information with the stop units during the interval of time the vehicle unit is in the immediate vicinity of one of the stop units; and c) computing means to exchange information with a plurality of the stop units to determine the status and timeliness of the mass transit vehicles traversing at least one of the predefined routes, the timeliness of vehicles related to the actual time a vehicle arrives at a passenger stop with respect to the scheduled time of arrival, wherein a schedule adjustment value is determined by the computing means from the exchanged information; d) the system suitably configured so that each mass transit vehicle having a vehicle unit and approaching a scheduled stop transmits a unique identification number comprised of a pre-defined route number and an actual initial starting time the vehicle began to traverse the route, and receives in an exchange of information with the stop unit a unique stop number which is assigned to that particular stop and stop unit. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6)
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7. A system to monitor and coordinate the movement of mass transit vehicular traffic on a network of pathways as a plurality of mass transit vehicles traverse predefined routes within the network, each route comprised of a plurality of predetermined passenger drop-off and pickup stops, the system comprising:
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a) a plurality of stop units, one installed at each of the plurality of the passenger drop-off and pickup stops;
each stop unit comprised of a controller means, a communication module that is responsive to the controller means to establish communication links including a short range communication link with at least one vehicle within the immediate vicinity of the stop unit, and a stop interface module coupled to the controller means to disseminate information including at least one of the stop number, the assigned route numbers associated with the stop, the mass transit vehicle arrival intervals, and the wait times for the vehicles scheduled for arrival at the respective passenger stops along at least one predefined route;
each stop unit configured to collect and disseminate information related to vehicle arrivals at the passenger stop where the stop unit is installed;b) a plurality of vehicle units, one installed in each of the mass transit vehicles traveling on the network, the vehicle units configured to exchange information with the stop units during the interval of time the vehicle unit is in the immediate vicinity of one of the stop units; and c) computing means to exchange information with a plurality of the stop units to determine the status and timeliness of the mass transit vehicles traversing at least one of the predefined routes, the timeliness of vehicles related to the actual time a vehicle arrives at a passenger stop with respect to the scheduled time of arrival, wherein a schedule adjustment value is determined by the computing means from the exchanged information; d) the information collected by the stops units transmitted to the computing means to enable the computing means to monitor the position of each respective vehicle and determine associated deviations from a predefined schedule for each vehicle traversing each respective route, and further information disseminated at each passenger stop via the stop interface module includes a plurality of grouped items including the route number, vehicle arrival intervals, and the wait time for the next vehicle arrival, wherein each grouped plurality of items for at least one route associated with the respective stop is presented sequentially for a predetermined time interval while the stop number and actual time of day are continually presented. - View Dependent Claims (8, 9, 10)
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11. A system to determine and display expected arrival times at a plurality of passenger drop-off and pickup stops for at least one mass transit vehicle traveling on a respective predefined route within a network of pathways, each route comprised of a plurality of the predetermined passenger stops within the network, the system comprising:
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a) computing means to receive and process information related to the position and timing of mass transit vehicles relative to passenger stops of the predefined routes, and transmit appropriate responses based on the received and processed information; b) a plurality of stop units, one installed at each of the plurality of passenger stops, each stop unit configured to collect and disseminate information related to vehicle arrivals at the respective passenger stops;
each stop unit comprised of a controller means, a communication module that is responsive to the controller means to establish communication links including short range communication links with vehicles within the immediate vicinity of the stop, and a stop interface module coupled to the controller means to present and disseminate information including at least one of a stop number, an assigned route number associated with the respective stop, mass transit vehicle arrival intervals, and the wait times for the vehicles scheduled for arrival at the respective passenger stops along at least one predefined route; andc) a plurality of vehicle units, one unit installed in each of a plurality of the mass transit vehicles traveling on the network, the vehicle units configured to exchange information with each of the stop units along a respective predefined route during the interval of time the vehicle unit is in the immediate vicinity of each of the stop units, the information exchanged via the short range communication links;
each of the vehicle units comprised of a controller means, a communication module that is responsive to the controller means to establish the short range communication links with stop units within the immediate vicinity of the respective vehicle unit, and a driver interface coupled and responsive to the controller means to support the exchange of information between the system and the driver of each vehicle; andd) the information collected by the stops units transmitted to the computing means to enable the computing means to monitor the position of each respective vehicle and determine associated deviations from a predefined schedule for each vehicle traversing respective routes, and further information disseminated at each passenger stop via the stop interface module includes a plurality of grouped items including the route number, vehicle arrival intervals, and the wait time for the next vehicle arrival, wherein each grouped plurality of items for each route associated with the respective stop is presented sequentially for a predetermined time interval while the stop number and actual time of day are continually presented. - View Dependent Claims (12, 13)
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Specification