Communication techniques for transportation route modifications

• US 9,754,499 B2
• Filed: 12/28/2012
• Issued: 09/05/2017
• Est. Priority Date: 08/10/2012
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: XRS Corporation (Solera Holdings Incorporated)
• Original Assignee: XRS Corporation (Solera Holdings Incorporated)
• Inventors: Mohn, Charles, Sekula, Christopher A., Kakumanu, Sarat, Tuttle, Odell R., Fuglewicz, Daniel P., Anderson, Peter S., Martin, Jr., Thomas J.
• Primary Examiner(s): Lu, Hua
• Application Number:
  US13/730,138
• Publication Number:
  US 20140047347A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,712 Days
• Field of Search: None
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 17/00 Digital computing or data processing equipment or methods, specially adapted for specific functions information retrieval, database structures or file system structures therefor G06F16/00
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0484 for the control of specific functions or operations, e.g. selecting or manipulating an object, an image or a displayed text element, setting a parameter value or selecting a range
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/0631 Resource planning, allocation, distributing or scheduling for enterprises or organisations
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/0639 Performance analysis of employees; Performance analysis of enterprise or organisation operations
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/018 Certifying business or products
• CPC Class Codes: G07C 5/00 Registering or indicating the working of vehicles
• CPC Class Codes: G07C 5/0858 wherein the data carrier is removable
• CPC Class Codes: G07C 7/00 Details or accessories common to the registering or indicating apparatus of groups G07C3/00 and G07C5/00
• CPC Class Codes: G08G 1/00 Traffic control systems for road vehicles arrangement of road signs or traffic signals E01F9/00 ; automatic vehicle control B62D
• CPC Class Codes: G08G 1/20 Monitoring the location of vehicles belonging to a group, e.g. fleet of vehicles, countable or determined number of vehicles
• CPC Class Codes: G09B 19/167 Control of land vehicles
• CPC Class Codes: G09B 5/00 Electrically-operated educational appliances working with questions and answers G09B7/00; simulators G09B9/00; advertising or displaying in general G09F
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/12 specially adapted for proprietary or special-purpose networking environments, e.g. medical networks, sensor networks, networks in vehicles or remote metering networks
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/80 Services using short range communication, e.g. near-field communication [NFC], radio-frequency identification [RFID] or low energy communication

Abstract

A portable wireless data transfer and display device comprises a user interface, a communication module, a display, and a short-range wireless communication module configured to wirelessly receive vehicle data from a data acquisition device mounted inside a vehicle when in close proximity to the data acquisition device. The device is configured to accept inputs of driver information from a user, to send the vehicle data and the driver information through the communication module to a network device via a long-range wireless network, and to receive one or more work requests from the network device via the long-range wireless network. The device is configured to present the work request via the display, to accept an input from a driver responding to the work request, and to forward the input from the driver to the network device via the long-range wireless communication module and the long-range wireless network.

Claims

1. A portable wireless data transfer and display device comprising:

a user interface;

a communication module;

a display;

a short-range wireless communication module configured to wirelessly receive vehicle data from a data acquisition device mounted inside a vehicle when in close proximity to the data acquisition device;

wherein the portable wireless data transfer and display device is configured to accept inputs of driver information from a user via the user interface, the driver information including hours of service records for drivers associated with the portable wireless data transfer and display device;

a long-range wireless communication module configured to send the vehicle data and the driver information associated with a current route of the vehicle through the communication module to a network device via a long-range wireless network;

wherein the long-range wireless communication module is configured to receive at least one work request and an indication of a modified route, relative to the current route of the vehicle, corresponding to the work request from the network device via the long-range wireless network, the work request being in response to the current route of the vehicle and corresponding to at least one shipment to be delivered or altered;

wherein the portable wireless data transfer and display device is configured to present the work request via the display and to accept an input from a driver responding to the work request via the user interface, wherein the input indicates whether the driver accepts or rejects the work request;

wherein the portable wireless data transfer and display device is configured to forward the input from the driver responding to the work request to the network device via the long-range wireless communication module and the long-range wireless network; and

wherein upon acceptance of the work request by the driver, the portable wireless data transfer and display device is configured to present the modified route via the display, wherein the modified route is either received, by the long-range wireless communication module, from the remote network device or calculated, by the portable wireless data transfer and display device, based on at least one of one or more updated route parameters or one or more inputs from the driver.

2. The device of claim 1, wherein the portable wireless data transfer and display device is configured to wirelessly communicate the vehicle data and the driver information to the network device or other portable wireless data transfer and display device via the long-range wireless communication module.

3. The device of claim 1, wherein one or more of the elements of the portable wireless data transfer and display device comprises cellular phone device that displays hours of service information, the hours of service information being updated in response to wirelessly receiving vehicle usage information from the data acquisition device.

4. The device of claim 1, wherein the short-range wireless communication module is a Bluetooth wireless communication module.

5. The device of claim 1, wherein the data acquisition device and the portable wireless data transfer and display device provide two-way wireless communication such that the portable wireless data transfer and display device wirelessly receives at least the vehicle usage information from the data acquisition device via the short-range wireless communication module and the data acquisition device wirelessly sends confirmation of receipt of the vehicle usage information to the portable wireless display unit.

6. The device of claim 1, wherein the portable wireless data transfer and display device wirelessly communicates via the short range wireless communication module, at predetermined times, with the data acquisition device when the data acquisition device is mounted in the vehicle and the portable wireless data transfer and display device is in close proximity to the vehicle.

7. The device of claim 1, wherein the long-range wireless network is selected from a group consisting of:

a cellular network;

a satellite communication link;

a worldwide interoperability for microwave access (WiMax) link; and

a long term evolution (LTE) network.

8. The device of claim 1, wherein the portable wireless data transfer and display device is further configured to receive processed data via the communication module from the network device via the long-range wireless network.

9. The device of claim 1, wherein the portable wireless data transfer and display device is further configured to send driver communications via a communication module to at least one of:

other portable wireless data transfer and display device, remote computer via the long-range wireless network.

10. The device of claim 1, wherein the portable wireless data transfer and display device is further configured to receive driver communication via the communication module from at least one of:

other portable wireless data transfer and display device, remote computer via the long-range wireless network.

11. The device of claim 1, further comprising an installation module configured to download and independently install configuration updates from the network device.

12. The device of claim 1, further comprising a memory configured to store vehicle data, driver information, driver communications, processed data, and remote network device updates.

13. The device of claim 1, further comprising a processor configured to process vehicle information and driver data into a driver summary electronic report.

14. The device of claim 13, wherein the portable wireless is configured to wirelessly transmit the electronic report to a remote computer via a wireless network.

15. The device of claim 1, wherein the input may further indicate whether the user accepts a portion of the work request.

16. The device of claim 1, wherein upon acceptance of the work request by the driver, the portable wireless data transfer and display device automatically updates a schedule for the driver to accommodate the work request.

17. The device of claim 1, wherein the current route corresponds to a current trip schedule having one or more destinations, and wherein the modified route modifies the current trip schedule.

18. A device comprising:

a means for wirelessly receiving vehicle data from a data acquisition device mounted inside a vehicle when in close proximity to the data acquisition device;

a means for accepting inputs of driver information from a user, the driver information including hours of service records for drivers associated with a portable wireless data transfer and display device;

a means for sending the vehicle data and the driver information associated with a current route of the vehicle through the communication module to a remote network device via a long-range wireless network;

a means for receiving at least one work request and an indication of a modified route, relative to the current route of the vehicle, corresponding to the work request from the network device via the long-range wireless network, the work request being in response to the current route of the vehicle and corresponding to at least one shipment to be delivered or altered;

a means for receiving an input from a driver responding to the work request, wherein the input indicates whether the driver accepts or rejects the work request;

a means for forwarding the input from the driver responding to the work request to the network device via the long-range wireless network; and

a means for presenting the modified route upon acceptance of the work request by the driver, wherein the modified route is either received, via the long-range wireless network, from the remote network device or calculated based on at least one of one or more updated route parameters or one or more inputs from the driver.

19. The device of claim 18, wherein the device and the data acquisition device provide two-way wireless communication such that the device wirelessly receives at least the vehicle usage information from the data acquisition device via the short-range wireless communication module and the data acquisition device wirelessly sends confirmation of receipt of the vehicle usage information to the device.

20. The device of claim 18, further comprising a means for communicating, at predetermined times, with the data acquisition device when the data acquisition device is mounted in the vehicle and the device is in close proximity to the vehicle.

21. The device of claim 18, further comprising a processor configured to process vehicle information and driver data into a driver summary electronic report.

22. The device of claim 18, wherein the current route corresponds to a current trip schedule having one or more destinations, and wherein the modified route modifies the current trip schedule.