Notification systems and methods that consider traffic flow predicament data

• US 7,479,900 B2
• Filed: 09/13/2006
• Issued: 01/20/2009
• Est. Priority Date: 05/28/2003
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Electronic Communication Technologies LLC (f/k/a Eclipse IP, LLC)
• Original Assignee: Legalview Assets, Ltd.
• Inventors: Horstemeyer, Scott A.
• Primary Examiner(s): Nguyen; Tai T
• Application Number:
  US11/520,263
• Publication Number:
  US 20070030175A1
• Time in Patent Office: 860 Days
• Field of Search: 340/994, 340/928, 340/539.11, 340/539.13, 340/502, 340/504, 340/506
• US Class Current: 340/994
• CPC Class Codes: B60R 2325/304 Boats
• CPC Class Codes: B60R 25/102 a signal being sent to a remote location, e.g. a radio signal being transmitted to a police station, a security company or the owner
• CPC Class Codes: B60R 25/33 of global position, e.g. by providing GPS coordinates
• CPC Class Codes: G01C 21/3407 specially adapted for specific applications
• CPC Class Codes: G01C 21/3438 Rendez-vous, i.e. searching a destination where several users can meet, and the routes to this destination for these users; Ride sharing, i.e. searching a route such that at least two users can share a vehicle for at least part of the route
• CPC Class Codes: G01C 21/362 received from an external device or application, e.g. PDA, mobile phone or calendar application
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 40/134 Hyperlinking
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/0631 Resource planning, allocation, distributing or scheduling for enterprises or organisations
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/06316 Sequencing of tasks or work
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/08 Logistics, e.g. warehousing, loading or distribution; Inventory or stock management
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/083 Shipping
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/0833 Tracking
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/109 Time management, e.g. calendars, reminders, meetings or time accounting
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/382 insuring higher security of transaction
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/40 Authorisation, e.g. identification of payer or payee, verification of customer or shop credentials; Review and approval of payers, e.g. check credit lines or negative lists
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0231 Awarding of a frequent usage incentive independent of the monetary value of a good or service purchased, or distance travelled
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0241 Advertisements
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0257 User requested
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0259 based on store location
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0261 based on user location
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0265 : Vehicular advertisement
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0267 : Wireless devices
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0269 : based on user profile or attribute
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0273 : Determination of fees for advertising
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0609 : Buyer or seller confidence or verification
• CPC Class Codes: G08G 1/127 : to a central station ; Indicators in a central station
• 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: G08G 1/205 : Indicating the location of the monitored vehicles as destination, e.g. accidents, stolen, rental
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 63/08 : for authentication of entities cryptographic mechanisms or cryptographic arrangements for entity authentication H04L9/32
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 3/487 : Arrangements for providing information services, e.g. recorded voice services or time announcements

Abstract

Systems and methods are disclosed for automated notification systems. One representative method, among others, comprises the following steps: monitoring travel data associated with a mobile thing (MT); scheduling a notification communication; analyzing traffic flow predicament data associated with a travel path to be traveled by the mobile thing; and rescheduling the notification communication, based upon the traffic flow predicament data. A representative system, among others, comprises a computer or other automated system that is programmed to perform the foregoing steps.

Claims

1. A method for implementation in connection with a computer-based notification system, comprising the steps of:

scheduling a notification communication session to a personal communications device (PCD) relating to an arrival or departure of a mobile thing (MT) at a stop location;

monitoring travel data associated with the mobile thing (MT);

analyzing traffic flow predicament data associated with a travel path to be traveled by the MT; and

determining whether or not to reschedule the notification communication session, based upon the traffic flow predicament data.

2. The method of claim 1, further comprising the steps of canceling and rescheduling the notification communication session.

3. The method of claim 1, further comprising the step of scheduling the notification communication session based upon one or more inputs from the PCD.

4. The method of claim 1, further comprising the steps of:

storing one or more user preferences relating to a proximity of the MT to the stop location that will cause initiation of the notification communication session; and

determining when the notification communication session should be initiated, based upon the user preferences and the traffic flow predicament data.

5. The method of claim 1, wherein the traffic flow predicament data includes one or more of the following:

traffic flow information along the travel path, an environmental condition associated with the travel path, or a physical condition associated with the travel path.

6. The method of claim 1, further comprising the step of receiving from a user and storing one or more user preferences and wherein the step of determining whether or not to reschedule is further based upon the user preferences.

7. The method of claim 6, wherein the user preferences include one or more of the following:

a delay acceptance threshold, a time or time period during the day, or an identification of the travel path.

8. The method of claim 1, wherein the notification communication session is rescheduled earlier or later in a queue in memory.

9. The method of claim 1, further comprising the steps of:

analyzing traffic predicament data in connection with at least two travel paths, one of which being the travel path;

determining whether or not to reschedule the notification communication session based upon the traffic predicament data in connection with the at least two travel paths;

initiating the notification communication session, as opposed to the rescheduled notification communication, based upon a determination that at least one path is acceptable; and

during the notification communication session, communicating a message to the PCD indicating which one of the at least two travel paths is acceptable.

10. The method of claim 1, further comprising the step of determining the travel path to be traveled by the MT based upon a current location of the MT and the stop location.

11. A computer-based notification system, comprising:

means for scheduling a notification communication to a personal communications device (PCD) relating to an arrival or departure of a mobile thing (MT) in relation to a stop location;

means for monitoring travel data associated with the MT;

means for analyzing traffic flow predicament data associated with a travel path to be traveled by the MT; and

means for determining whether or not to reschedule the notification communication, based upon the traffic flow predicament data.

12. The system of claim 11, wherein the notification communication session is scheduled for a predetermined time or during a time period of the day.

13. The system of claim 11, further comprising a means for enabling entry or selection of the travel path to be analyzed from a remote PCD.

14. The system of claim 11, further comprising a means for enabling entry or selection of a metric that can be used to determine whether the travel path is acceptable or unacceptable.

15. A method for implementation in connection with a computer-based notification system, comprising the steps of:

scheduling in a call queue a notification communication session to a personal communications device (PCD) to be initiated when a mobile thing (MT) is a predefined proximity in relation to a stop location;

monitoring travel data associated with the mobile thing (MT);

analyzing traffic flow predicament data associated with a travel path to be traveled by the MT; and

rescheduling the notification communication session in the call queue, based at least in part on the traffic flow predicament data in order to more accurately time initiation of the notification communication session.

16. The method of claim 15, wherein the predefined proximity is expressed in terms of time, distance, location, or geographic region.

17. The method of claim 15, further comprising the step of receiving the predefined proximity from the PCD.

18. The method of claim 15, further comprising the step of receiving the travel path from the PCD.

19. The method of claim 15, further comprising the step of determining the travel path based upon the travel data and the stop location.

20. The system of claim 15, further comprising a means for enabling entry or selection of a metric that can be used to determine whether the travel path is acceptable or unacceptable.