Schedule setting and processing system

• US 7,840,341 B1
• Filed: 12/01/1995
• Issued: 11/23/2010
• Est. Priority Date: 12/01/1994
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Toyota Jidosha Kabushiki Kaisha (Toyota Motor Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Toyota Jidosha Kabushiki Kaisha (Toyota Motor Corporation)
• Inventors: Morita, Makoto, Sato, Koji, Yamashita, Masanobu, Kizu, Masafumi
• Primary Examiner(s): NGUYEN, CUONG H
• Application Number:
  US08/750,641
• Time in Patent Office: 5,471 Days
• Field of Search: 705 5- 9, 705 26- 27, 701201-202, 701/209, 701/120, 701/117, 701/208, 340/995, 340/990, 364/130, 703/13, 703/22, 718/100, 707/999.01
• US Class Current: 701/202
• CPC Class Codes: G01C 21/343 Calculating itineraries, i.e. routes leading from a starting point to a series of categorical destinations using a global route restraint, round trips, touristic trips travelling salesman problem G06Q10/04; optimisation of routes G06Q10/047
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/02 Reservations, e.g. for tickets, services or events
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/025 Coordination of plural reservations, e.g. plural trip segments, transportation combined with accommodation
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/06 Resources, workflows, human or project management; Enterprise or organisation planning; Enterprise or organisation modelling
• CPC Class Codes: G08G 1/0969 having a display in the form of a map
• CPC Class Codes: G09B 29/008 Touring maps or guides to public transport networks
• CPC Class Codes: G09B 29/106 using electronic means

Abstract

A system which automatically makes a travel plan by using on-vehicle or portable terminal. The system can prepare a travel plan in which the concrete destination and route are specified when rough positional and temporal conditions are inputted. The objective area and schedule inputted through the terminal are transmitted to an information center. At the information center, a basic frame of the travel meeting the received conditions is prepared. For a day trip, an example of the basic frame is “departure-walk-lunch-amusement park-night view-return”. After the basic frame is prepared, concrete facilities meeting the actions are specified by making access to a data base. The specified facilities are inputted to the basic frame, and thus a concrete plan is completed. The completed plan is supplied to the terminal and displayed on a display to the persons who want to travel. The completed plan is further supplied to a navigation system and the system guides the persons in accordance with the plan.

Claims

1. A schedule-set-up management system comprising:

an inputting device for entering at least desired destination area information and desired time frame information;

a computer processor being configured to select, from a plurality of predetermined basic frame patterns, a basic frame of a schedule for visiting the desired destination area in the desired time frame, the selected basic frame of the schedule including a chronological sequence of events and types of intermediate and final locations in the desired destination area based on said destination area information and desired time frame information; and

schedule-preparing means for accessing a data base to retrieve specific facilities fitting said basic frame, thereby preparing a schedule in which intermediate and final locations are specified.

2. The schedule-set-up management system in accordance with claim 1:

wherein the display device displays a watch center for watching the implementation of said schedule, wherein said schedule-preparing means re-prepares a schedule based on information from said watching center.

3. The schedule-set-up management system in accordance with claim 1, wherein the inputting device and the computer processor are disposed in a terminal device, said schedule-preparing means disposed in a host device, said terminal device and host device are connected via a communication line, said terminal device transmits said selected basic frame to said host device, said host device transmits said schedule prepared by said schedule-preparing means to said terminal device.

4. The schedule-set-up management system in accordance with claim 3, wherein the inputting device is a display device and displays:

a touch switch used for entering said destination information and desired arrival time information;

said prepared basic frame; and

said transmitted schedule.

5. The schedule-set-up management system in accordance with claim 1, further comprising:

route-searching means for searching an optimum route for carrying out said schedule using map data.

6. The schedule-set-up management system in accordance with claim 3, wherein said terminal device disconnects the communication line connecting with said host device after transmitting said basic frame, and reconnects the communication line connecting with said host device after completing the preparation of said schedule in order to receive said schedule.

7. The schedule-set-up management system in accordance with claim 2, wherein said schedule-preparing means evaluates the influence of the information supplied from said watching center of the implementation of said schedule, and again prepares a schedule based on evaluation results.

8. The schedule-set-up management system in accordance with claim 7, wherein said watching center has information-obtaining means for obtaining position information of a schedule implementer, information of the intermediate locations in said schedule and traffic information between the intermediate locations, the obtained information being supplied to said schedule-preparing mean.

9. The schedule-set-up management system in accordance with claim 8, wherein said information-obtaining means of said watching center further obtains weather information, and supplies the obtained weather information to said schedule-preparing means.