Advanced notification system and method utilizing a distinctive telephone ring

• US 6,683,542 B1
• Filed: 12/09/1996
• Issued: 01/27/2004
• Est. Priority Date: 05/18/1993
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Shipping & Transit, LLC
• Original Assignee: Arrivalstar SA
• Inventors: Jones, Martin Kelly
• Primary Examiner(s): SWARTHOUT, BRENT
• Application Number:
  US08/762,052
• Time in Patent Office: 2,605 Days
• Field of Search: 340/994,992,988,989 379/40,51,58,59,373,375 364/436 455/53.1,54.1 701/117,300
• US Class Current: 340/994
• CPC Class Codes: G08G 1/123 indicating the position of vehicles, e.g. scheduled vehicles; Managing passenger vehicles circulating according to a fixed timetable, e.g. buses, trains, tramstransmission of navigation instructions to vehicles G08G1/0968

Abstract

An advance notification system (10) and method notifies passengers of the impending arrival of a transportation vehicle, for example, a school bus (19), at a particular vehicle stop. The system (10) generally includes an on-board vehicle control unit (VCU) (12) for each vehicle (19) and a base station control unit (BSCU) (14) for making telephone calls to passengers in order to inform the passengers when the vehicle (19) is a certain predefined time period and/or distance away from the vehicle stop. Significantly, the telephone call to advise of the impending arrival preferably exhibits a distinctive ring so that the call recipient need not answer the telephone in order to receive the message. The VCU (12) compares elapsed time and/or travelled distance to the programmed scheduled time and/or travelled distance to determine if the vehicle (19) is on schedule. If the vehicle (19) is behind or ahead of schedule, the VCU (12) calls the BSCU (14), which then adjusts its calling schedule accordingly.

Claims

1. An advance notification method for notifying a user of an impending arrival of a vehicle at a vehicle stop, comprising the steps of:

(a) monitoring travel of said vehicle; and

(b) initiating a telephone call to a user telephone before said vehicle reaches said vehicle stop to thereby indicate impending arrival of said vehicle at said vehicle stop, wherein said telephone call originates from a base station remotely located with respect to said vehicle and wherein said user telephone exhibits a distinctive sound that is different than at least one other sound that is capable of being exhibited by said user telephone; and

(c) upon establishing communication between said base station and said user telephone, providing a report regarding travel status of said vehicle from said base station to said user telephone.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein step (a) includes the step of monitoring a distance traveled by said vehicle and wherein step (b) includes the step of initiating said telephone call to said user telephone when said vehicle is a predetermined distance from said vehicle stop.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein step (a) includes the step of monitoring a time traveled by said vehicle and wherein step (b) includes the step of initiating said telephone call to said user telephone when said vehicle is a predetermined time period from said vehicle stop.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein said distinctive sound comprises a ring lasting for a predefined length of time.

5. The method of claim 1, wherein said distinctive sound comprises a silent period between rings, said silent period lasting for a predefined length of time.

6. The method of claim 1, wherein said distinctive sound comprises a plurality of rings with at least two of said rings having different time durations.

7. The method of claim 1, wherein said distinctive sound comprises a plurality of silent periods with at least two of said silent periods having different time durations.

8. The system of claim 1, wherein said report indicates that said vehicle will be delayed and a notification call will be forthcoming.

9. The system of claim 1, wherein said report indicates alternative vehicle route information.

10. An advance notification system for notifying a user of an impending arrival of a vehicle at a vehicle stop, comprising:

first means for monitoring travel of said vehicle;

second means for initiating a telephone call to a user telephone before said vehicle reaches said vehicle stop to thereby indicate impending arrival of said vehicle at said vehicle stop, wherein said second means is remotely located with respect to said vehicle and wherein said user telephone exhibits a distinctive sound that is different than at least one other sound that is capable of being exhibited by said user telephone interface; and

third means for causing a report to be communicated to said user telephone, the report having information regarding travel status of said vehicle.

11. The system of claim 10, wherein said first means includes a means for monitoring a distance traveled by said vehicle and wherein said second means includes a means for initiating said telephone call to said user telephone when said vehicle is a predetermined distance from said vehicle stop.

12. The system of claim 10, wherein said first means includes a means for monitoring a time traveled by said vehicle and wherein said second means includes a means for initiating said telephone call to said user telephone when said vehicle is a predetermined time period from said vehicle stop.

13. The system of claim 10, wherein said distinctive sound comprises a ring lasting for a predefined length of time.

14. The system of claim 10, wherein said distinctive sound comprises a silent period between rings, said silent period lasting for a predefined length of time.

15. The system of claim 10, wherein said distinctive sound comprises a plurality of rings with at least two of said rings having different time durations.

16. The system of claim 10, wherein said distinctive sound comprises a plurality of silent periods with at least two of said silent periods having different time durations.

17. The system of claim 10, wherein said report indicates that said vehicle will be delayed and a notification call will be forthcoming.

18. The system of claim 10, wherein said report indicates alternative vehicle route information.