Method for vehicle dispatching system

• US 6,711,500 B2
• Filed: 03/15/2002
• Issued: 03/23/2004
• Est. Priority Date: 03/15/2002
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: E-Lead Electronic Co., Ltd.
• Original Assignee: E-Lead Electronic Co., Ltd.
• Inventors: Chen, Stephen
• Primary Examiner(s): ARTHUR JEANGLAUDE, GERTRUDE
• Application Number:
  US10/097,549
• Publication Number:
  US 20030176967A1
• Time in Patent Office: 739 Days
• Field of Search: 701/24, 701/33, 701/207, 701/213, 701/214, 701/300, 340/988, 340/991, 340/993, 340/994, 342/357.01, 342/357.06, 342/357.07, 342/357.08, 342/357.09, 342/357.1
• US Class Current: 701/213
• CPC Class Codes: G08G 1/202 Dispatching vehicles on the basis of a location, e.g. taxi dispatching

Abstract

A method for a vehicle dispatching system for controlling dispatching communications between vehicles and a control center mainly includes a control center and at least one vehicle. Every vehicle is equipped with a car phone. The control center includes a control computer and a data transmission device. The car phone consists of a broadcast receiver, a data transceiver, a GPS receiver, and a distance counter. By the method of the invention, the available vehicle nearest customers may be dispatched to meet customer service requirements at minimum communication costs.

Claims

1. A method for a vehicle dispatching system comprising the steps of:

(1) customers calling by telephone to a control center requesting vehicle services, and service people inquiring customers locations and destinations;

(2) dispatching service people entering customer location data into a control computer, and software resided in the control computer converting customer location data to broadcast signals which are transmitted through a data transmission device to car phones installed in the vehicles;

(3) broadcast receivers installed in the car phones receiving the broadcast signals transmitting from a broadcast system of the control center, and distance (time) counters installed in the car phones receiving longitude and latitude data of the vehicles from GPS receivers installed in the car phones and calculating relative distances with the customers after comparing with the customer location data contained in the broadcast signals;

(4) the distance (time) counters converting the obtained relative distances to return call delay times by seconds, and through data communication devices transmitting the longitude and latitude data of the vehicles to the control center when the delay times are elapsed;

(5) people in the control center receiving return calls from the vehicles, and informing customers related information including customer locations and destinations, other return call delayed vehicles being rejected from calling back to the control center resulting from line busy or undue time delay; and

(6) the control center, after finishing mission dispatching, employing again the broadcast system to cancel command broadcasting signals to stop all other vehicles which have received the broadcast signals but do not respond with return calls from calling back.