Management and dispatching of mobile service vehicles

• US 7,567,811 B2
• Filed: 06/03/2005
• Issued: 07/28/2009
• Est. Priority Date: 06/03/2005
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Tech SOS Limited
• Original Assignee: Alcatel-Lucent USA, Inc. (Nokia Corporation)
• Inventors: Simpson, Richard L., Sohrabi, Rahmatollah R.
• Primary Examiner(s): Bhattacharya; Sam
• Application Number:
  US11/144,115
• Publication Number:
  US 20060276204A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,516 Days
• Field of Search: 455/456.1, 455/457, 455/115, 342/450, 342/458, 701/1
• US Class Current: 455/456.5
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 99/00 Subject matter not provided for in other groups of this subclass

Abstract

A dispatch hub includes a hub processor and a communications device for communicating with a plurality of field assemblies, which typically are installed in mobile service vehicles. Each field assembly includes a wireless communication device for communicating with the dispatch hub, a geographic positioning device, an RFID reader for reading RFID tags associated with components in the inventory of a service vehicle, and a controller for controlling the collection of field data at the field assembly and forwarding of field data to the dispatch hub. Field data include at least information about the geographic location of the field assembly and component identification data. At the dispatch hub, the need for a specific component at a customer site and the geographic location of the customer site are compared with the forwarded field data to select a service vehicle to travel to the customer site with a needed component.

Claims

1. A system useful for dispatching service vehicles, comprising:

a dispatch hub assembly for installation at a dispatch hub; and

a plurality of field assemblies, each of said field assemblies being suitable for installation in a service vehicle;

wherein each field assembly comprises;

a controller operable to collect field data associated with a specified particular service vehicle and to forward said field data to said dispatch hub, said field data comprising geographic location data of said vehicle and specified component identification data associated with at least one specified component in inventory of said vehicle; and

a field wireless device for communicating data, including said field data, with said dispatch hub; and

wherein said dispatch hub assembly comprises;

a hub communications device for communicating data with said field assemblies;

a hub processor operable to receive said field data from at least one of said field assemblies, to receive a service request indicating a specified component needed at a customer site, and to process said field data to identify service vehicles having said needed specified component in their inventory;

wherein said hub processor is responsive to the receipt of said service request to select one of said service vehicles having said needed specified component specified by said received service request.

2. A system as in claim 1 wherein said service request indicates a geographic location of said customer site.

3. A system as in claim 2 wherein said selection of said one service vehicle is based on a geographic location of said one service vehicle relative to said geographic location of said customer site.

4. A system as in claim 3 wherein said hub processor is responsive to the receipt of said service request to transmit a work order to said one service vehicle to install said needed specified component at said customer site specified by said service request.

5. A system as in claim 4 wherein the hub processor is further operable to determine a path between said geographic location of said customer site and said geographic location of said one service vehicle, and to transmit said path to said one service vehicle.

6. A system as in claim 1 wherein each of said field assemblies further comprises:

a GPS receiver for generating said geographic location data of said service vehicle.

7. A system as in claim 1 wherein each of said field assemblies further comprises:

an RFID interrogator for reading an RFID tag associated with a given specified component to generate said specified component identification data.

8. A system as in claim 1 further comprising:

a platform for automatically determining equipment topography data at a customer site and providing said equipment topography data to said hub processor, said equipment topography data including specified component information of equipment of a communications network and connections between said specified components.

9. A system as in claim 1 wherein said dispatch hub assembly further comprises:

a display in said dispatch hub for displaying geographic locations of each service vehicle on a digital map.

10. A system as in claim 1 wherein each field assembly further comprises:

a display for displaying a geographic location of said customer site on a digital map.

11. A system as in claim 1 wherein:

said controller of each field assembly is configured to automatically collect said geographic location data using a GPS receiver of said field assembly and to automatically collect said specified component identification data using an RFID interrogator of said field assembly.

12. A method useful for dispatching service vehicles, comprising:

generating field data associated with each of a plurality of service vehicles, wherein said field data comprises geographic location data of a service vehicle and specified component identification data associated with at least one specified component in inventory of said vehicle;

collecting said field data associated with each service vehicle;

forwarding said field data from each service vehicle to a dispatch hub processor using a field wireless device;

receiving said field data at said dispatch hub processor;

receiving a service request at said dispatch hub processor, said service request indicating a specified component needed at a customer site; and

processing said field data and said service request to identify service vehicles having said needed specified component in their inventory.

13. A method as in claim 12, wherein said service request indicates a geographic location of said customer site.

14. A method as in claim 13, wherein said service request indicates:

a geographic location of malfunctioning equipment; and

Pg,19

a specified component needed for said malfunctioning equipment.

15. A method as in claim 13, further comprising:

determining a path between said geographic location of said customer site and a geographic location of a service vehicle.

16. A method as in claim 13, further comprising:

selecting one of said service vehicles having said needed specified component based on a geographic location of said one service vehicle relative to said geographic location of said customer site.

17. A method as in claim 16, further comprising:

transmitting a work order to said one service vehicle to install said needed specified component at said customer site.

18. A method as in claim 16, further comprising:

generating equipment topography data, said equipment topography data including specified component information of equipment of a communications network and of connections between said specified components; and

transmitting said equipment topography data to said one service vehicle.

19. A method as in claim 12 wherein collecting field data comprises:

automatically collecting field data in each service vehicle.

20. A method as in claim 12 wherein forwarding field data comprises:

automatically forwarding field data in each service vehicle to said dispatch hub processor.