Method and apparatus for providing virtual capacity to a provider of services

• US 7,711,591 B2
• Filed: 07/24/2006
• Issued: 05/04/2010
• Est. Priority Date: 10/29/2001
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Omnitracs LLC (Solera Holdings Incorporated)
• Original Assignee: Qualcomm, Inc.
• Inventors: Wolfe, Chris A., Segal, Michael L.
• Primary Examiner(s): JEANTY, ROMAIN
• Application Number:
  US11/492,630
• Publication Number:
  US 20060265265A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,380 Days
• Field of Search: 705/7
• US Class Current: 705/7.13
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/06 Resources, workflows, human or project management; Enterprise or organisation planning; Enterprise or organisation modelling
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/06311 Scheduling, planning or task assignment for a person or group
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/063114 Status monitoring or status determination for a person or group
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/063116 Schedule adjustment for a person or group
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/06312 Adjustment or analysis of established resource schedule, e.g. resource or task levelling, or dynamic rescheduling
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/087 Inventory or stock management, e.g. order filling, procurement or balancing against orders
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/1097 Task assignment

Abstract

Method and apparatus for providing virtual capacity to a service provider. A service provider contacts a third party service provider when the service provider can not perform services for a customer. A solicitation is sent by the service provider and accepted by the third party service provider. After acceptance, status and/or location information from the third party service provider is redirected within a network management facility so that the information is sent to the service provider, rather than to an entity normally associated with the third party service provider. After services have been performed by the third party service provider, the third party service provider is generally free to accept service requests from other service providers, whereby messages transmitted by the third party service provider are routed to the new service provider.

Claims

1. A method for providing personnel to furnish services comprising the following steps:

(a) determining that first personnel of a first group are not available to provide services to a requestor of services;

(b) determining that second personnel of a second group can perform the services requested by the requestor;

(c) assigning the second personnel to perform services requested by the requestor, wherein the second personnel communicates using a wireless communications device;

(d) configuring communications, using a processor, at a control center to route communications between the wireless communications device and the requestor through the control center; and

(e) receiving a service status communication from the second personnel for transmission to the requestor.

2. A method for providing personnel to furnish services as recited in claim 1 wherein communications to the requestor occur through an intermediary.

3. A method as recited in claim 2 wherein the intermediary is a dispatch center.

4. A method as recited in claim 3 wherein communications routed between the dispatch center and the wireless communications device comprise macro messages.

5. A method as recited in claim 4 wherein said macro messages are presented to in formats corresponding to the respective dispatch center and the wireless communications device.

6. A method as recited in claim 1 wherein communications between the wireless communications device and the requestor consist of wireless satellite communications, wireless terrestrial-based communications, or a combination thereof.

7. The method of claim 1 further comprising reconfiguring communications at the control center, subsequent to the receipt of the service status communication, in order to prevent subsequent communications between the wireless communications device and the requestor.

8. A method for allocating services comprising the following steps:

(a) providing a first organization having first personnel to perform services for a requestor of the services and having a first personnel control center for communicating with the first personnel;

(b) determining that the first personnel of the first organization are not available to provide services requested by the requestor;

(c) providing a second organization having second personnel which arc capable of performing the services requested by the requestor, wherein the second personnel communicates using a wireless communications device;

(d) determining that the second personnel of the second organization are available to perform the services requested by the requestor;

(e) assigning the second personnel to perform the services requested by the requestor;

(f) configuring, in connection with using a programmed processor, the first personnel control center to route communications between the wireless communication device and the requestor; and

(g) communicating a service status from the second organization to the first personnel control center, wherein the first personnel control center communicates the service status to the requestor.

9. The method of claim 8 wherein said first personnel control center comprises a personnel dispatch center.

10. The method of claim 8 wherein said first personnel control center comprises a personnel network management facility.

11. The method of claim 8 which further comprises reconfiguring communications at the first personnel control center, subsequent to the receipt of the service status, in order to prevent subsequent communications between the wireless communications device and the requestor.

12. An apparatus for providing personnel to furnish services, comprising:

a processor for receiving a request for services from a requestor, for determining that first personnel of a first group are not available to provide the requested services to the requestor, for determining that second personnel of a second group can provide the requested services to the requestor, for assigning the second personnel to provide the requested services to the requestor, and for configuring communications at a control center to route communications between the requestor and a wireless communications device associated with the second personnel through the control center;

a transceiver for receiving a service status communication from the second personnel for transmission to the requestor; and

a memory for storing information pertaining to the wireless communications device associated with the second personnel.

13. The apparatus of claim 12, wherein communications to the requestor occur through an intermediary.

14. The apparatus of claim 13, wherein the intermediary is a dispatch center.

15. The apparatus of claim 14, wherein communications routed between the dispatch center and the wireless communications device comprise macro messages.

16. The apparatus of claim 15, wherein the macro messages are presented to in formats corresponding to the respective dispatch center and the wireless communications device.

17. The apparatus of claim 12, wherein the processor is further for reconfiguring communications at the control center, subsequent to the receipt of the service status communication, in order to prevent subsequent communications between the requestor and the wireless communications device.

18. An apparatus for providing personnel to furnish services, comprising:

means for receiving a request for services from a requestor, determining that first personnel of a first group are not available to provide the requested services to the requestor, determining that second personnel of a second group can provide the requested services to the requestor, assigning the second personnel to provide the requested services to the requestor, and configuring communications at a control center to route communications between the requestor and a wireless communications device associated with the second personnel through the control center;

means for receiving a service status communication from the second personnel for transmission to the requestor; and

means for storing information pertaining to the wireless communications device associated with the second personnel.

19. The apparatus of claim 18, further comprising means for reconfiguring communications at the control center, subsequent to the receipt of the service status communication, in order to prevent subsequent communications between the requestor and the wireless communications device.