U.S. patent application number 12/908912 was filed with the patent office on 2011-08-18 for integrated system and method for car pooling using smart cards, gps, gprs, active poster and near field communication devices.
This patent application is currently assigned to CELLULAR EXPRESS, INC.. Invention is credited to Parveen Kumar Chaudhary, Sunny Ramaswamy DeWakar, Hemanth Kashyap Karri, Kishor Dynandeo Narkhede.
Application Number | 20110202393 12/908912 |
Document ID | / |
Family ID | 44370287 |
Filed Date | 2011-08-18 |
United States Patent
Application |
20110202393 |
Kind Code |
A1 |
DeWakar; Sunny Ramaswamy ;
et al. |
August 18, 2011 |
INTEGRATED SYSTEM AND METHOD FOR CAR POOLING USING SMART CARDS,
GPS, GPRS, ACTIVE POSTER AND NEAR FIELD COMMUNICATION DEVICES
Abstract
A method, integrated system and in-vehicle Active Poster for
processing mobile touch transactions including carpooling
transactions. The integration includes a near field contactless or
swipe smart card or other portable identification device which may
be standalone, affixed to, or part of a mobile or hand held
portable wireless communication device, a touch sensitive Active
Poster also with swipe or near field contactless communication
capability and also incorporating or in communication with GPS or
other vehicle location services capability for the vehicle, a car
pool management or other service provider's system and application
and a host computer with networking capability.
Inventors: |
DeWakar; Sunny Ramaswamy;
(Alexandria, VA) ; Karri; Hemanth Kashyap;
(Hyderabad, IN) ; Narkhede; Kishor Dynandeo;
(Hyderabad, IN) ; Chaudhary; Parveen Kumar;
(Delhi, IN) |
Assignee: |
CELLULAR EXPRESS, INC.
Woburn
MA
|
Family ID: |
44370287 |
Appl. No.: |
12/908912 |
Filed: |
October 21, 2010 |
Related U.S. Patent Documents
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Application
Number |
Filing Date |
Patent Number |
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12705696 |
Feb 15, 2010 |
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12908912 |
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Current U.S.
Class: |
705/13 |
Current CPC
Class: |
G06Q 20/3278 20130101;
H04W 4/80 20180201; G06Q 30/0601 20130101; G06Q 20/32 20130101;
G06Q 20/202 20130101; G06Q 20/105 20130101; G06Q 20/325 20130101;
G06Q 20/3223 20130101; G06Q 20/102 20130101 |
Class at
Publication: |
705/13 |
International
Class: |
G07B 15/00 20110101
G07B015/00 |
Claims
1. A system for facilitating management and implementation of a car
pool management service used by a central agency administering said
car pool management service, wherein at least one of a plurality of
rider users share a car of one of a plurality of provider users
resulting in a commerce transaction in the form of points
associated with a journey comprises: a host computer; a wireless
service provider's network; a device reader in each participating
vehicle of each provider user to track boarding and alighting of
rider users; automatic vehicle location capability for each
participating vehicle, including a vehicle mounted unit in each
participating vehicle, to track the distance travelled by said
rider user and monitor the location said vehicle; a plurality of
communication enabled devices each carried by one of said rider
users including said rider user, capable of storing device
identification information, which is capable of being received by
said device readers when in proximity with said device; an active
poster located in each of said participating vehicles, each active
poster in communication with said vehicle location unit in each
respective vehicle, and each active poster also in communication
with said device reader which is also located in said respective
vehicle, and each active poster also in communication with said
host computer over said wireless provider's network, for viewing
various services offered and interacting on line, including a user
interface and means such as buttons or a touch screen by which a
user can input information into the active poster; a carpooling
service provider including at least capability enabling computer
generated maps used at a central agency and including communication
with said host computer, said host computer including or in
communication with a users database including said rider users and
said provider users, and used at least for monitoring vehicle
locations, and associating said device identification information
with a user account, and associating said vehicles with respective
provider users' accounts, and tracking activity including receiving
device identification received by said device readers; wherein the
system uses said device reader and active poster to identify the
rider user by reading said device information when said device is
brought into proximity with said device reader, and said active
poster unit sending said device identification information to said
host computer, where said host computer is in communication with
said computer database where said device identification information
is associated with said user's account with said car pool
management service provider, wherein an indication of the start of
said journey and location of said vehicle at said start of said
journey and information sufficient to identify said vehicle as a
vehicle of said provider user is also transmitted to said host
computer by said active poster, and wherein said host computer
identifies said rider user and said vehicle and said corresponding
provider user, from correspondences within said database, and
wherein upon the end of said journey said rider user again brings
said device in proximity to said device reader, and said reader
communicates said device identification information to said active
poster, and said active poster communicates with said host computer
including an indication of the end of said journey and the location
of said vehicle at said end of said journey; and wherein said host
computer creates a record of said journey, credits said provider
user account with said carpooling service provider with a value
associated with said journey and debits from the account of said
rider user a value associated with said journey.
2. The system of claim 1, where the device is a smart card enabled
with near field communication capability, and said device reader is
capable of receiving near field communications.
3. The system of claim 1, where the device is a swipe card, and
said device reader is capable of reading information encoded onto
said swipe card.
4. The system of claim 1, where the device is a mobile handset
equipped with a near field enabled contactless SIM, and said device
reader is capable of receiving near field communications.
5. The system of claim 1, where the value associated with said
journey is based on the calculated mileage of said journey.
6. The system of claim 1, where in the vehicle location system uses
at least one of GPS, GPRS or cell tower triangulation for tracking
the location of said vehicle.
7. The system of claim 1, where additionally the Host Computer
sends an SMS or other type message to a mobile communications unit
of said rider user, requesting acknowledgement of said transaction
or a returned passcode associated with said user's account with
said car pool management service provider.
8. The system of claim 1, where additionally the Host Computer
sends an acknowledgement request to said rider user, via said
active poster unit, requesting acknowledgement of said transaction
or a returned passcode associated with said user's account with
said car pool management service provider.
9. The system of claim 1, where additionally the function of device
reader is carried out using a device separated from said active
poster unit, located in said vehicle, but in wired or wireless
communication with said active poster unit.
10. The system of claim 1, where additionally said active poster
user interface and input means are provided using a device
separated from said active poster unit, located in said vehicle,
but in wired or wireless communication with said active poster
unit.
11. The system of claim 1, where the capabilities of claim 9 and
claim 10 are combined into a single device separate from said
active poster unit, but in wired or wireless communication with
said active poster.
12. A method for a car pool management service, wherein at least
one of a plurality of rider users share a car of one of a plurality
of provider users resulting in a commerce transaction in the form
of points associated with a journey including: placing a device
reader in each participating vehicle of each provider user to track
boarding and alighting of rider users; placing automatic vehicle
location capability in each participating vehicle, including a
vehicle mounted unit in each participating vehicle, to track the
distance travelled by said rider user and monitor the location said
vehicle; issuing a plurality of communication enabled devices each
carried by one of said rider users including said rider user, each
such device capable of storing device identification information,
which is capable of being received by said device readers when in
proximity with said device; placing an active poster in each of
said participating vehicles, each active poster in communication
with said vehicle location unit in each respective vehicle, and
each active poster also in communication with said device reader
which is also located in said respective vehicle, and each active
poster also in communication a common host computer over a wireless
provider's network, for viewing various services offered and
interacting on line, and each active poster including a user
interface and means such as buttons or a touch screen by which a
user can input information into the active poster; said car pool
management service provider using software capability including at
least computer generated maps used at a central agency and
including at least communication with said host computer, said host
computer including or in communication with a users database
including information corresponding to said rider users and said
provider users, and used at least for monitoring vehicle locations,
and associating said device identification information with a
respective user account, and associating said vehicles with a
respective provider user accounts, and tracking activity including
receiving device identification received by said device readers;
said device reader and active poster identify said rider user by
reading said device information when said device is brought into
proximity with said device reader, and said active poster unit
sends said device identification information to said host computer,
where said host computer is in communication with said computer
database where said device identification information is associated
with said user's account with said car pool management service
provider, and an indication of the start of said journey and
location of said vehicle at said start of said journey and
information sufficient to identify said vehicle as a vehicle of
said provider user in said database is also transmitted to said
host computer by said active poster, and upon the end of said
journey said rider user again brings said device in proximity to
said device reader, and said reader communicates said device
identification information to said active poster, and said active
poster communicates with said host computer to generate and store
records relating to the time and location of the end of said
journey; and said host computer creates a record of said journey,
credits said provider user account with said carpooling service
provider with a value associated with said journey and debits from
the account of said rider user a value associated with said
journey.
13. The method of claim 12, where the device is a smart card
enabled with near field communication capability, and said device
reader is capable of receiving near field communications.
14. The method of claim 12, where the device is a swipe card, and
said device reader is capable of reading information encoded onto
said swipe card.
15. The method of claim 12, where the device is a mobile handset
equipped with a near field enabled contactless SIM, and said device
reader is capable of receiving near field communications.
16. The method of claim 12, where the value associated with said
journey is based on the calculated mileage of said journey.
17. The method of claim 12, where in the vehicle location system
uses at least one of GPS, GPRS or cell tower triangulation for
tracking the location of said vehicle.
18. The method of claim 12, where additionally the Host Computer
sends an SMS or other type message to a mobile communications unit
of said rider user, requesting acknowledgement of said transaction
or a passcode associated with said user' s account with said
carpooling service provider.
19. The method of claim 12, where additionally the function of
device reader is carried out using a device separated from said
active poster unit, located in said vehicle, but in wired or
wireless communication with said active poster unit.
20. The method of claim 12, where additionally said active poster
user interface and input means are provided using a device
separated from said active poster unit, located in said vehicle,
but in wired or wireless communication with said active poster
unit.
21. The method of claim 12, where the capabilities of claim 19 and
claim 20 are combined into a single device separate from said
active poster unit, but in wired or wireless communication with
said active poster.
Description
1. CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS
[0001] This application is a Continuation in Part (CIP) of U.S.
Non-Provisional Patent Application Ser.. No. 12/705,696, filed on
Feb. 15, 2010, which is hereby incorporated by reference in its
entirety for all purposes.
2. FIELD OF INVENTION
[0002] The Present invention relates to a method and integrated
system for efficient management of car pooling using Smart Cards,
GPS, GPRS, near field communication devices, and active poster
technology. More particularly, disclosed is a method and integrated
system of car pooling which provides a simple and practical
solution which facilitates and encourages car owners to share their
cars with other car owners, thereby resulting in fewer numbers of
cars on the city roads.
3. DEFINITIONS, ABBREVIATIONS AND ACRONYMS
[0003] Active Poster: A `touch-n-display unit` that enables mobile
subscribers with CL SIMs or other types of RFID units in their
handsets or (in the case of standalone RFID units) carried
separately, to conduct mobile transactions like prepaid recharge,
bill payment, etc. In the present invention the Active Poster
technology is present in the vehicle with an in-vehicle GPS/AVL
unit.
[0004] AP/PS Unit, or AP/GSM/AVL Unit: The unit or units which are
present in the vehicle which combine the Active Poster technology
with GPS/AVL capability.
[0005] AVL. Automatic Vehicle Location which is based on Global
Positioning System to track distance traveled and monitors the
location of the Car.
[0006] CL SIM Dual Chip Architecture: a `SIM Card` form factor with
an external antenna attached to two unused SIM contacts that works
with existing handsets.
[0007] CL SIM/(U) SIM/R-UIM: one of the embodiments of the
invention refers to: (a) SIM-2G/2.5 GSM/GPRS/EDGE networks, a SIM
compatible with 2G or 2G and 2.5 G networks, which uses one or both
of GPRS or EDGE networks; or (b) (U) SIM-3G WCDMA: A SIM which uses
the CDMA network, and may be compatible with 3G or both 3 and 4G
networks; or (c) R-UIM-CDMA 1x/1RTT & CDMA EV-DO, another type
of CDMA-compatible SIM, used in phones compatible with both GSM and
CDMA networks.
[0008] Card Reader or Smart Card Reader: Device which reads the
device ID of the Smart Card and transmits the device ID to the AP.
The device ID is registered with the associated User's account in
the Host Computer.
[0009] Central Agency: Central office, where the administration of
the PCCS is located. Typically the Host Computer would be located
at the Central Agency.
[0010] Giver: A person who owns a car and uses his or her car to
give a ride to a Seeker.
[0011] Seeker: A person who shares the journey with the owner.
[0012] GPS: Global positioning system, the well-known system to
allow mobile devices to determine their location.
[0013] GPS or GPS/AVL unit: In-vehicle device which incorporates
GPS and AVL technology, as known in the art.
[0014] GPRS: General Packet Radio Service; Internet through SIM
card--allows mobile devices to access the Internet
[0015] Host Computer: The computer system containing the
PCCS-specific logic which contains or can access the User accounts
and account values ("points" as described in Section 5) and other
logic to enable the carpooling functions described.
[0016] PCCS: Pan City Carpool System described in this Application
and introduced in Section 4.
[0017] Seeker: A person who shares the journey with the Giver using
the car pooling system described in this Application.
[0018] Smart Card: CL SIM, RFID wafer or standard RFID or NFC
enabled card, which contains a device ID which is associated with
the User's account in the Host Computer.
[0019] User: Giver or Seeker.
[0020] Vehicle Mounted Unit: The AVL device, uses GPS to track
distance traveled and monitors the location of the vehicle.
Alternatively the AVL unit could use other available technologies
to ascertain location such as cell tower triangulation.
[0021] Acronym Meaning
[0022] AP Active Poster
[0023] CL SIM Contactless SIM
[0024] MNO Mobile Network Operator
[0025] MRTS Mass Rapid Transit System
[0026] NFC Near Field Communication
[0027] RF Radio Frequency
[0028] RFID Radio Frequency Identification Device
[0029] PCB Printed Circuit Board
4. BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
[0030] Traffic congestion is among the top problems of big cities,
not just in India but in most developed/developing countries. The
problem is especially acute in cities which did not plan a mass
rapid transit system (MRTS) during early stages of growth, but
later have experienced unexpectedly high organic growth, by which
time adequate space is not available to widen roads or set up MRTS
solutions.
[0031] Traffic congestion has several impacts, the main ones being:
[0032] Loss of man hours in traffic snarls; [0033] Loss of fuel,
burnt in idling and crawling vehicles; and [0034] Vehicular
pollution.
[0035] This invention proposes a Pan-City Carpool System (PCCS) to
reduce traffic congestion and vehicular pollution. In addition, the
PCCS supplements the public transport system and provides
significant diversification benefit against any disruption in
public transport due to a terrorist attack or labor unrest.
[0036] The PCCS system described here can be implemented in any
large urban area of the world where cars are used as a major mode
of transport.
Benefits of the Invention.
[0037] The reduction in the number of cars plying the roads during
peak hours, would decongest roads, increase traffic speed, and
reduce fuel consumption. Another effect will be to reduce vehicular
air pollution due to the combined effect of reduced number of
vehicles and increased traffic speed. The road space saved from
cars can be utilized to deploy additional buses, thereby
strengthening the MRTS.
[0038] Additionally, the invention saves wear and tear on vehicles
and also reduces driving stress for motorists. The invention also
offers social/economical networking opportunities to participants.
The pressure on the city government to widen roads, construct more
parking lots, and increase costly MRTS capacity would also
decrease. The Federal government also benefits in terms of reduced
oil subsidies (if applicable) and reduced oil imports.
Existing Method--2 to 5 Member `Micro` Carpools.
[0039] Present carpools (called `micro` carpools to highlight the
contrast with carpools using the invention as disclosed by and
large operate in the following manner:
[0040] Car owners living in same/nearby/along-the-way localities
working in same/nearby/along-the-way offices, having same timings
of going to work and coming back, make an arrangement among
themselves wherein they bring their cars on different week days by
rotation. For example A, B, C, D, and E--five car owners living in
Virginia, all working in `x` place in 9.00 a.m. to 5.30 p.m. jobs
make an arrangement among themselves as follows: [0041] A plies his
car on Monday and gives a ride to B, C, D and E while going to work
and also while coming back home. [0042] B, C, D and E similarly ply
their cars, each on different day of the week and give ride to
other members also on those days. [0043] The turn of each member is
pre-fixed and known to other members.
[0044] The place and time of gathering in the morning as well as in
the evening is also predetermined. Each member benefits as he/she
plies his/her car for just one day in a week but receives car
transport for all five days.
[0045] A partner not possessing a car, shares fuel expenses with
other partners. Similarly, a casual partner, who shares same travel
needs once in a while, also shares fuel expenses of other partners
proportionate to the travel facility availed.
Why the Existing `Micro` Carpools Have Had Only Limited
Success.
[0046] The present system of "microcarpools" has several
drawbacks/shortcomings due to which car pooling has remain
restricted in its spread, in spite of its significant benefits. As
described later in this invention, the Pan-City Carpool System
(PCCS) removes the shortcomings of a micropooling by removing its
basic requirement of `consistent partners` and thus makes a
large-scale adoption of carpooling feasible for average
car-owners.
[0047] The drawbacks/shortcomings of the existing method of micro
carpools are as follows:
[0048] (i) Safety issue: Sharing a car with a stranger with
unverified credentials can pose a risk to the life and property of
a commuter. Therefore, unless the partners know each other well,
they are hesitant to join a carpool.
[0049] (ii) It is difficult to find reliable partners with
consistently matching travel needs: The present system requires
someone interested in setting up a micro car-pool to find about 3
to 4 car-pool partners who:
[0050] a) are reliable in all respects;
[0051] b) have consistent and matching travel needs;
[0052] c) live in same/nearby/along-the-way localities;
[0053] d) have their work destination in same/nearby/along-the-way
localities on a consistent basis; and
[0054] e) have timings of going to work as well as of coming back
from work, which match with each other on a consistent basis.
[0055] The difficulty in finding such suitable partners is
considerable and insurmountable for most people, especially because
urban residents have limited social interactions outside of work
situations. Only car owners who work in big organizations may be
able to find suitable partners living in their locality and working
in their organization, with some help from their HR/CSR
departments.
[0056] There are websites which have been established during the
last 3 to 4 years which are trying to set up carpools, but success
of these websites has been limited. The carpool websites may never
be able to adequately realize the potential of ridesharing, because
they are promoting a fundamentally restrictive concept--micro
carpools.
[0057] (iii) Unreasonable consistency demand: The micro carpool
expects its members to have a rigid and repetitive travel plan
every day, because both in morning and evening, the pool car would
be available only at a predetermined place and time. If any member
has a change in his/her schedule on a particular day because of any
official/social/personal commitment, he/she has to arrange for an
alternate mode of transport. The member who on a particular day has
his/her turn to ply the car feels particularly compelled to not
change his travel schedule on that day, as any such change will put
other members to a lot of inconvenience.
[0058] (iv) No help for `during-the-day` and different-from-regular
travel destinations: A carpool partner may reasonably have travel
needs during day time for which his `work-home` carpool offers no
assistance. Similarly, a carpool partner who has a
different-from-regular travel destination on some days gets no help
from his rigid carpool. Little wonder that people who have changing
destinations or day-time travel needs (such as
marketing/audit/inspection personnel) do not participate in a
carpool.
[0059] (v) Feeling shortchanged: Members often end up feeling that
they have given more rides than they have availed from other
members.
The Benefits of the Present Invention.
[0060] The proposed PCCS suffers from none of the above
limitations/drawbacks/shortcomings of the `micro` carpool. The PCCS
is based on a "many-to-many" barter and dynamic matching concept,
wherein a member (playing the role of a Seeker) can take a ride
from any other member (who is playing the role of a Giver) and
return the ride to any member, not necessarily to the same member
from whom the ride was availed. This flexible arrangement places
MCCS within an entirely different paradigm from a Micro Carpool,
and significantly increases the chance of making successful
ride-sharing matches.
[0061] Other the above mentioned important benefits of the present
invention are as follows:
[0062] Functionality Enabled. The present invention enables the
following functionality.
[0063] 1. The ability to identify and inform the nearest potential
Giver of vehicle requests from Seekers based on the distance from
the Seeker;
[0064] 2. The ability to track the boarding and alighting of
Seekers through the swipe of a card, and bill them using the
distance traveled using GPS with a low margin of error;
[0065] 3. The creation of permanent routes and assigning Seekers
who desire to use the cars of Givers daily, or, add Seeker
passengers based upon calls received on an individual basis;
and
[0066] 4. The ability to track carpooling usage and forward the
required information for billing of car pool Users using a debit to
the User's prepaid account as a payment method.
Fuel Savings.
[0067] A typical city resident commuting to work in his car,
usually drives about 60-100 kilometer per day, or 2000 kilometers
in a month. By participating in PCCS, he can reasonably save at
least 50% of his driving, or 1000 kilometers in a month. Intangible
benefits to Users (reduced driving stress, social networking
opportunities, etc.) and gains to society in terms of reduced
pollution, travel time are also present.
5. SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
[0068] The present invention provides a simple and practicable
method to facilitate and encourage car owners to share their cars
with other car owners, thereby resulting in fewer numbers of cars
plying city roads. As commonly experienced by any road user,
private cars are causing traffic congestion by inefficiently using
the limited road space--the cars are typically carrying only one to
two commuters against a capacity of 5 or more (a low 20 to 40%
capacity utilization). The present invention however treats the
available spare capacity in cars as an opportunity to provide a
transport solution--whereby 3-4 motorists, instead of traveling in
separate cars, accommodate themselves in one car, especially during
peak hours. In other words, the invention aims to increase the
capacity utilization (also called load factor) of cars to 60-80%
and in the process take at least 50% cars off the road. The present
invention integrates various technologies thereby incorporating a
new methodology for car pooling using GPS, GPRS, Active Poster
technology, smart card technology, a software application and near
field communication devices, which working together allow the Car
Pool Administration team to: [0069] Locate cars at any given time;
[0070] Track the car pool member (Seeker) entry and exit time and
distance traveled; [0071] Assign the nearest car to any car pool
member (Seeker) on request [0072] Inform the car owners (Givers)
about their daily usage statistics [0073] Bill the car pool members
(Users) based on their usage as Givers and Seekers once monthly
[0074] Provide Internet access to registered individual customers/
passengers (Users) on their own billing and usage statistics.
6. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0075] FIG. 1 illustrates a the system architecture, generic
relationships and roles in connection with the invention.
[0076] FIG. 2 illustrates schematically an overview of the
management of the PCCS by the Central Agency.
[0077] FIGS. 3-14 illustrate the options of a User for accessing
the Internet interface for the Active Poster enabled functionality
PCCS.
[0078] FIG. 3 illustrates the front page for the PCCS User
interface.
[0079] FIG. 4 illustrates the User Management page for the PCCS
User interface.
[0080] FIG. 5 illustrates the Pool Grouping according to one
embodiment of the invention.
[0081] FIG. 6 illustrates View Profile and Vehicle Tracking
according to one embodiment of the invention.
[0082] FIG. 7 illustrates the Main Page for the carpooling
functionality enabled in PCCS.
[0083] FIG. 8 illustrates the Car Pooling page enabled in PCCS
according to one embodiment of the invention.
[0084] FIG. 9 illustrates the Accessories page.
[0085] FIG. 10 illustrates the Mall Services page in PCCS according
to one embodiment of the invention.
[0086] FIG. 11 illustrates the Multimedia page in PCCS according to
one embodiment of the invention
[0087] FIG. 12 illustrates the Value Added Services page in PCCS
according to one embodiment of the invention.
[0088] FIG. 13 illustrates the Brightness page in PCCS according to
one embodiment of the invention.
[0089] FIG. 14 illustrates the Panic page in PCCS according to one
embodiment of the invention.
[0090] FIG. 15-18 illustrate process flow diagrams for the
functioning of illustrative use cases for Carpooling and other
Active-Poster-enabled options for the User.
7. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
[0091] The present invention deals with a method for, and the
integration and management of, a pan-city car pool system (PCCS) in
any urban area or city for tracking the boarding and alighting of
passengers, the monitoring of cars, the assigning of trips, and for
billing the end customer/commuter using GPS, GPRS, RFID, Smart
Cards, Active Posters, etc
[0092] The integration, method and implementation of the present
invention of a PCCS for management, vehicle tracking and member
billing service incorporate the following components:
I. Description of the Components.
1. AVL/GPS/AP Unit.
[0093] A GPS based Online Automatic Vehicle Location (AVL) device
in each vehicle called the Vehicle Mounted Unit (VMU) to track
distance travelled and monitor the location of the vehicle. This is
a standard vehicle mounted GPS based AVL unit available in the
commercial market. It is however further customized per the
specifications for and requirements of the PCCS. The GPS/AVL unit
is specifically customized to incorporate Active Poster technology.
The Active Poster technology is further customized to allow the
tracking and management or carpool rides involving Users (Givers
and Seekers) in connection with the PCCS.
[0094] The AVL/GPS/AP (also known as the VMU) is installed in a
central location within the passenger compartment of the car so
that Users can easily swipe their Smart Cards. The driver can also
help the back passengers swipe the card.
[0095] Alternatively, a remote pad (wireless pad) can be enabled as
described below.
2. Smart Card and Smart Card Reader.
[0096] a. Smart Cards.
[0097] State of art smart card technology is used in the Smart
Cards (distributed to the Users) which provide secure and trusted
transactions. These Smart Cards can be used in the mobile handsets
with two contactless system arrangements. The first is with Near
Field Communication enabled mobile handsets and secondly with
Contactless SIM (Dual-architecture) for existing handsets without
NFC. Alternatively, Smart Cards may be incorporated into standalone
RFID-enabled wafers or NFC enabled smart cards which are known in
the art.
b. Smart Card Reader.
[0098] A proximity enabled Contactless Smart Card Reader to track
boarding and alighting of Users. The invention uses front-end
certified contactless card readers, which are commercially
available and typically adapted for different operating
environments like retail, self service, transportation, leisure and
corporate campuses/business parks. These readers are capable of
interfacing with various application specific equipments like POS
terminals, vending machines, copiers, pay phones, parking meters,
electronically controlled gates/turnstiles, etc. The Smart Card
Reader in this invention, in one embodiment, refers to NFC (near
field communication) technology being used in a "hand held remote"
device at which Users tap (bring into close proximity) their access
Smart Card's. The hand held remote device is merely a remote
wireless (or even wired) pad in the vehicle which is in
communication with the in-vehicle AP/GPS VMU. Alternatively, Users
can "swipe" their Smart Cards where the reader is enabled with a
swipe device. The connection between the smart card and the smart
card reader is NFC or via a swipe depending on the method enabled.
The connection between the Smart Card Reader and the GPS/AP may be
hardwired, or using a wireless method such as NFC or other wireless
method as is known in the art.
[0099] In one embodiment of the invention, an RF Transmitter which
is coupled via NFC or RF to the AVL/GPS/AP unit, which is part of a
wireless User input and display pad (wirelsss pad), for use inside
the vehicle, and this is used to communicate with the RF Receiver
that which part of the AVL/GPS/AP car pooling unit. This enables a
convenient user interface to perform operations from within the
vehicle without all passengers needing to reach over to the
dashboard or other single location within the vehicle passenger
compartment.
[0100] The Smart Card Reader and wireless pad user interface
functions can be combined into a single device as described above,
but that need not be configured this way. Both the Smart Card
Reader function as well as the user interface could be incorporated
directly onto the GPS/AP unit, or one or both functions can be
moved to a remote-but-still-in-vehicle wireless pad or Smart Card
Reader unit as described above. Interface between the Smart Card
and the Smart Card Reader is via an NFC communication session
between the Smart Card and the Smart Card Reader, or,
alternatively, it can be done via a card swipe, if the Smart Card
Reader is equipped with a card swipe reader. References to
"tapping" a Smart Card indicate bringing the card into sufficiently
close proximity with the NFC receiving device.
3. AP Technology Incorporated into the AVL/GPS Unit.
[0101] The AVL/GPS unit will either incorporate or have alongside
or otherwise be in communication with Active Poster (AP) technology
for viewing various services offered to the registered PCCS Users
and interacting online The AP is a `touch-n-display unit`, which
includes a terminal device (such as a wireless pad as described
above) where users with Smart Cards can tap on, swipe, (or
otherwise bring their Smart Cards into close proximity with) the
AP-technology enabled device to carry out a transaction for a
telecom or non-telecom application they have registered for and
activated by their MNO, carpooling service provider or other
service provider, as enabled by the Host Computer.
[0102] The Smart Card may be in the Users' mobile handset, or it
may be a standalone RFID device consisting of a wafer or smart card
enabled with an RFID device.
[0103] The Active Poster previously described in the '696
Application is made up of a thin, lightweight touch enabled
6''/8''/9.7''/10'' sized e-Paper, display or slim touch screen LCD
display, printed RFID antenna and short range radio module
encapsulated in a PET polymer substrate, to resemble a single
poster.
[0104] The Active Poster in the embodiments described as part of
the present invention, is mounted in the car, either as part of or
alongside or in communication with the AVL/GPS unit, is primarily a
"Navigation Device/GPS" with a special software application
residing on it, making the device function like an Active Poster
enabling mobile commerce or merchandise transactions. The AP uses
GPRS connectivity (or other suitable session, communication or
networking connectivity as known in the art) to connect bilaterally
to the Central Agency servers (Host Computer) as well as 3rd party
payment gateways.
[0105] In particular, the AP is able to request a confirmation from
the User, such confirmation to be entered via the Users' mobile
handset or other mobile device, and communicated either by NFC to
the AP or via telecommunications directly back to the Host Computer
(for example via SMS), in order to prompt for an additional
security layer in the form of a pass code to be entered by the User
into the User's handset.
[0106] The confirmation request may be relayed by the Host Computer
to the AP (for example via GPRS) and then by the AP to the handset
via NFC, or it may be relayed by the Host Computer to the mobile
Handset via for example GSM or CDMA standard telecom signaling or
GPRS data session, or CDMA telecom signaling as applicable. The
confirmation response is entered by the User into the User's mobile
handset, and may be relayed by the mobile handset to the AP via
NFC, and by the AP to the Host Computer via GPRS, or it may be
relayed by the mobile handset to the Host Computer via above
described methods. Communications from the Host compute to the
mobile handset may be in fact performed as known in the art via the
User's MNO infrastructure. The Host Computer is networked with such
infrastructure.
4. Central Agency.
[0107] Another component of the present invention is a set of
Central Agency functions. These include software and maps at the
control room servers for monitoring the vehicle locations, creating
member (User) cards, tracking the swipes of the cards and
forwarding the card usage by car pool members to the billing
system.
[0108] PCCS uses application software which has been developed in
order to perform the functions of the present invention. The
software applications have been created using XML, Java and Java
Servelet, for the control room software.
[0109] The applications have the following features that meet the
requirements of PCCS:
[0110] a. A fleet management panel to enter vehicle data,
documentation data and other normal use cases.
[0111] b. A tracking panel, which is used to track vehicles,
creates a trip for a vehicle, closes a trip for a vehicle and in
general tracks vehicle schedule adherence. A link from this panel
opens the vehicle tracking view, which is both text based and map
based. One can see the vehicle move on the map. A number of reports
can be generated using the application as described below: [0112]
Daily vehicle movement reports in terms of the road, district, and
place at periodic intervals; [0113] The tracking interval can be
set between 30 seconds to 1 min; [0114] Trip reports; [0115]
Vehicle Stoppage exception reports; and [0116] Vehicle over-speed
exception reports
[0117] c. A GIS search tool, which allows the central agency or
control room to determine the nearest tracked vehicle to a known
location.
[0118] d. A swipe tracking tool to get the passenger entry and exit
points thereby calculating the distance.
[0119] e. Map viewer tools, which allow you to see a vehicle
position on a map.
[0120] Each tracker/dispatcher will have a phone connection. This
is the nerve center of the entire system from an operations point
of view.
[0121] The Central Agency or the control room may have a Virtual
Private Network connection to the hosted server (Host
Computer).
[0122] The primary purpose of this software and hardware
combination is to make the car pool paperless and efficient by
making use of cars and reducing the number of vehicles on the
roads. A control room/call center is set up to monitor this and
take requests from the commuters. The IT architecture of control
room requires at least one external static IP available for the
Proxy Server so that all the VMUs communicate with this static
IP.
II. Best Mode of Working the Invention.
[0123] The method, integration, management and effective execution
of procedure of the invention on PCCS car pooling is given
below.
[0124] 1. Overview of User participation. The present invention
harnesses the power of people for their collective as well as
individual benefit. At the present technology levels, it works as
follows in the case of a typical city ("PanCity"): [0125] a) All
car owners of PanCity desirous of availing a carpool are enrolled
as members in a PCCS, subject to verification of their credentials.
The assistance of employers/RWAs/police authorities/documentary
evidence/attestation by referees is employed to establish
credentials. [0126] b) All the verified Users may be issued Smart
Card based photo IDs, which also works as a credit/debit card to
record mileage points (described later). [0127] c) Cars of all the
Givers are fitted with a `contact less` Card Reader and AP/GPS
unit, which can (i) read the Smart Card of a User, (ii) sense
location of the car and (iii) transmit this data digitally (with
the aid GPRS or of cell phone/trunk radio service providers) to a
Central Agency. [0128] d) `A`, a member of the PCCS may give ride
(as a "Giver") to any of the "Seeker" member(s) of PCCS who have a
common/along-the-way travel destination. By giving rides, `A` as
Giver earns mileage points at the rate of, say one point per km.
Thus for giving 25 kilometer ride to two Seekers, `A` earns 50
mileage points. `A` can thus accrue mileage points by giving rides
to Seekers. In return, `A` can redeem the points earned by availing
rides as a Seeker from any of the Giver cars on the days of his/her
choice. [0129] e) The points accrued to `A` can be also used by a
family member who holds an `Add-on` User membership Smart Card.
This way, `A` may have only one car in the family, but other family
member(s) can also enjoy car rides in any of the PCCS member cars.
[0130] f) The entire arrangement is voluntary and `A` is free to
not give/avail rides on days he/she so wishes. [0131] g) A Central
Agency in communication with the Host Computer registers and
matches members' (Users') travel plans and sets up various Users
with one another through phone/SMS/internet, on a dynamic basis
with the help of computer software. Later on, when the Users know
each other well, many may be able to find travel partners without
Central Agency help. [0132] h) The Central Agency also keeps track
of mileage points earned and used by all Users. All PCCS rides are
fully logged for enhancing security and for keeping track of
mileage points earned/used, as described below: [0133] When Seeker
`A` takes a ride in the car of a Giver `13`, she shows her
membership card (via NFC or swipe, depending on the particular
system being deployed) to the Smart Card Reader installed in the
car of Giver `B`. The machine reads the Id. No. of A, the time of
start of journey and the location of start of journey (the location
is sensed by the machine with the aid of location based services
known in the art, for example location by cell-phone tower
triangulation, GPS, Trunk Radio service provider or other method).
The machine then transmits all three pieces of information and the
Id. No. of `B` to the Central agency digitally, from the AVL/GPS/AP
unit, through cell phone/trunk radio or any other available
technology. The machine gives a beep sound (or any other suitable
indication) to indicate successful completion of this transaction.
This ensures the genuineness of both `A` and `B` and logs the
journey for safety and accounting purposes. [0134] On arrival at
her destination, `A` again shows her card to the Card Reader, and
the Card Reader transmits a message to the AVL/GPS/AP unit and then
in turn to the Central agency to mark location and time of end of
journey. The Central Agency's computer thus has complete record of
the journey, for enhanced safety and security of members and for
computing mileage points. Based on kilometers traveled, the Central
Agency's computer (Host Computer) credits `B` and debits `A` for
the PCCS ride. [0135] At the end of every month, all the members
are sent an electronic/paper statement giving a summary of points
earned, points used, and balance points available, relative to
their participation in PCCS.
III. Integration of Active Poster in the Method of PCCS Car
Pooling.
[0136] The Active Poster technology is a key component of the
present invention.
[0137] In the AP carpool embodiment, a mobile commerce transaction
can be undertaken in a vehicle for a purchased number of miles,
using stored value credits as is known in the art for wireless
prepaid systems. The AP is replaced with a unit including similar
functions and different appearances and is either incorporated
within or works alongside and coupled with an AVL/GPS unit in the
vehicle. This is a "thick AP" embodiment, in the sense that the AP
hardware technology, and not the User's mobile handset,
communicates the carpool transaction to the Host Computer. For a
Smart Card, the PCCS may utilize either a NFC enabled wafer or a CL
SIM enabled handset, or a Smart Card with NFC capability similar to
that of a NFC enabled wafer. Alternatively, the Smart Card may be
in communication with the Smart Card Reader via a card swipe unit
built into the Smart Card Reader.
[0138] Selection of the transaction is optionally via a wireless
pad which is separate from the AP (GPS) unit, the latter being
hard-mounted to the vehicle. The wireless pad however can simply be
thought of as an extension to the AP, which can be more easily
operated from the back seat of the vehicle. The AP gives the users
high flexibility of vehicle tracking, online shopping, E-recharge
etc. using a device located within the car.
[0139] The invention includes use of in-vehicle GPS hardware to
perform vehicle location, Also, it includes suitable
telecommunications capability for communications between the AP/GPS
unit and the Central Agency/Host Computer, for example GSM, GPRS,
or CDMA.
[0140] The invention may also include the use of, (i) Smart Card
authentication via prompted pin entry (or yes/no acknowledgement
for security) and (ii) display on the GPS/AP unit screen of a
picture of the Seeker, both (i) and (ii) triggered by tapping the
smart card onto the NFC-enabled GPS/AP unit, or on the NFC-enabled
wireless pad, or, via swiping the Smart Card on a card swipe reader
affixed to the wireless pad or the GPS/AP unit. The foregoing are
enabled in order to provide security for car owners.
[0141] When the AP device is turned on; on successful establishment
of GPRS connection, the main screen is displayed. The following
features are accessible from the main screen: [0142] 1. Carpooling
[0143] 2. Services [0144] 3. Accessories [0145] 4. Multimedia
[0146] 5. Value Added Services (VAS) [0147] 6. Settings [0148] 7.
Navigation [0149] 8. Panic
[0150] 1. Carpooling. When the user clicks on the car pooling icon
in the main page, he is redirected to the Carpooling form where he
would be able to see six more options: [0151] i) Start/End journey.
The Giver chooses forward or reverse journey and clicks on the
submit button. The page is redirected to a "Tap Form". The User
taps his smart card on the RF pad which is also the Smart Card
Reader. On successful authentication, the page is redirected to the
authentication form where the User has to enter his 4 digit
password which is linked to his Smart Card on the Host Computer.
Dual authentication is provided to overcome the security threat for
lost cards. On successful authentication and authorization, the
carpooling is started. [0152] The GPS locations are continuously
sent to the Host Computer database and thus the tracking of the
vehicle and distance calculation is initialized. [0153] The
distance between 2 pairs of latitude and longitude coordinates is
calculated in the backend component of the Host Computer (using a
JAVA program), and stored in the database component of the Host
Computer. [0154] When the Giver/Seeker swipes (or taps) his or her
Smart Card to authenticate, the user identification number (UID) of
the Smart Card, IMEI number of the GPS/AP device and latitude and
longitude of the current location are sent to the Host Computer
from the GPS/AP unit via GPRS and stored in the database for
calculating the distance travelled. [0155] When a Seeker reaches
the destination, he is expected to swipe (or tap, as enabled) the
Smart Card to end the journey. Once he swipes (or taps) the Smart
Card, the current location, Smart Card UID, and the device IMEI are
stored in the data base. Once the journey is ended, distance
travelled is calculated and so are the points consumed. These
points are deducted from the Seeker's account and are added to the
Giver's account. [0156] An SMS bearing the information, distance
travelled, points deducted and balance points, is sent to the
Seeker.
[0157] ii) Route info. Route info contains the following
information about Ad Hoc Journey routes and Fixed Journey routes:
[0158] a) Start location [0159] b) End location [0160] c) Start
landmark [0161] d) End land mark
[0162] This is the route that the Giver has to follow in order to
pick up all of the Seekers who have been assigned to the defined
route.
[0163] iii). My Fixed Group. Contains the following user details:
[0164] a) Name [0165] b) Contact number [0166] c) Start location
[0167] d) End location
[0168] It also contains a radio button for selection of forward and
reverse journey user details. The user details of forward and
reverse journey are displayed based on the choice.
[0169] iv). Skip Carpool. It facilitates Giver/Seeker to skip
carpooling. Giver/Seeker can choose the duration during which he
would not be available for carpooling. A calendar object is
provided to choose the dates between which the Giver/Seeker would
like to skip carpooling,
[0170] v). Connect to Maps. On clicking this picture box, a map is
displayed on the screen along with the route which the Giver has to
follow.
[0171] vi). Plan Ad Hoc Journey. In Plan Ad Hoc Journey, Giver can
plan an Ad Hoc Journey .This page provides for entry of From
Location and Landmark, To Location and Landmark and Date of
Journey.
[0172] 2. Services.
[0173] Services are different services offered to the
Givers/Seekers which they can avail while commuting.
[0174] i) Dinning Out: gives a list of restaurants located in the
city;
[0175] ii) Shopping: gives a list of shopping malls in the
city;
[0176] iii) E-Mall;
[0177] iv) Mall Services: when user clicks on the Mall services
icon, a small description regarding the outlet is displayed. On
clicking on the Continue button on right bottom of the page, a
Product page with thumbnails of the products along with their
prices are displayed on the screen.
[0178] v) News Updates:
[0179] vi) E-Payment: Standard m-commerce payment transaction, for
example recharge prepaid account, pay postpaid or utility
account.
[0180] vii) Stock Market: Stock market information.
[0181] viii) FastFood: Triggers an application allowing food
purchase from nearby restaurants.
[0182] Once the products to be purchased are finalized,
Giver/Seeker clicks on the submit button which redirects to a page
where a summary of products selected is displayed, along with the
total amount to be paid.
[0183] On User confirmation, a text box to enter the address of
delivery is displayed. Giver/Seeker enters the address and clicks
on the submit button which would redirect to a "Confirm Form" where
the User has to tap his smart card to confirm the purchase. On
successful authentication, a web payment gateway is called and
displayed on the screen. Giver/Seeker is expected to enter credit
card details to complete the transaction. On successful completion,
the transaction will be processed and transaction status will be
shown to the User in the Confirm Form.
[0184] 3. Accessories. There are seven kinds of accessories
provided: [0185] I. Calculator [0186] II. Alarm [0187] III. Phone
Book [0188] IV. World Time [0189] V. Calendar [0190] VI. Notepad
[0191] VII. Currency Converter
[0192] 4. Multimedia. The present invention has seven icons in a
multimedia feature on the Active Poster, which are as follows:
[0193] i) Movies: When user clicks on Movies icon, it will display
list of all movies present on the device. User can play movies by
double clicking on the name of the movie. When giver/seeker clicks
on the Movies icon, mediaplayer.exe is called and the playlist of
the movies is passed as an argument to it. [0194] ii) Music: When
user clicks on Music icon, it will display list of all songs. The
User can play songs by double clicking on the name of the song. The
same media player and process is used to play music files. [0195]
iii) Games: When user clicks on the Games icon, it will take the
User to a games page. He/she can select available games and play
the games. Whenever a game icon is clicked, the respective EXE file
is called using the Process class; similar to media player
execution. [0196] iv) My Pictures: When user clicks on the My
Pictures icon, it will display the available pictures as
thumbnails. Giver/Seeker can choose a desired image to enlarge the
same; in the new enlarged screen, they can either click on the
slide show button to see a slide show or use the front/back button
to manually change an image. To close the enlarged view and get
back to the thumbnails, Giver/Seeker would click on the close
button.
[0197] 5. Value Added Services (VAS). Giver/Seeker can recharge
their mobile device prepaid stored value account or download a new
ring back tone or ring tone from this menu. On clicking the VAS
icon, there are two options shown on the screen: [0198] i) Ring
Tones: In this section of the application, Giver/Seeker uses the RF
pad to do the transactions or browse through the options.
Giver/Seeker uses the arrow buttons on the RF pad to browse through
the options and presses on confirm button on the RF pad to confirm
the choice. On choosing Ring Tones, thumbnails of available ring
tones are displayed. On making an appropriate choice using the RF
pad, the "code" of the selected ring tone is sent to the Host
Computer. An SMS message is triggered which is sent to the
appropriate Giver/Seeker to confirm the action. As described above,
the Host Computer may communicate to the MNO and the MNO
infrastructure shall initiate this message. [0199] ii)
Recharge/Bill Payment (mChek): Giver/Seeker would enter mobile
number, amount and click on submit button to process the
recharge/bill payment. An SMS is triggered which is sent to the
appropriate Giver/Seeker to confirm the action. A recharge or bill
payment to the User's Prepaid or Post Paid wireless account
occurs.
[0200] 6. Settings. The following settings are available for the
Giver to configure: [0201] i) Brightness: on clicking the
brightness icon, a pop up appears on the screen; giver can reduce
or increase the brightness using the "-" and "+" buttons
respectively. [0202] ii) Volume Control. on clicking the brightness
icon, a pop up appears on the screen; giver can reduce or increase
the volume using the "-" and "+" buttons respectively. [0203] iii)
Disable key click sounds. User can enable/disable the key click
sounds using this option.
[0204] 7. Navigation. A map windows pops up on the screen using
which Giver/Seeker can search and navigate to any desired location,
using GPS technology as is known in the art. When Giver/Seeker
clicks on the Navigation icon, map EXE is called using the process
class.
[0205] 8. Panic. When User clicks on the Panic icon, it will open
the panic page. [0206] There are several options on the Panic page.
User can click on an appropriate option to raise an alert as
follows: [0207] Emergency Alert to MCCS Central Agency [0208] Car
Breakdown [0209] Fire [0210] Police [0211] Ambulance
[0212] Once the User clicks on an option, a distress signal is sent
to the backend component of the Host Computer which would trigger
an SMS message to the Central Agency pool manager and concerned
authorities. A log is registered in the backend component of the
Host Computer and a confirmation SMS is sent to appropriate
Giver/Seeker.
[0213] The present invention with all its embodiments and
methodology using software applications helps the Central Agency or
the control room in the administration and management of PCCS by
efficiently locating cars at any given time, tracking the car pool
member entry and exit time and distance traveled, assigning the
nearest car to any car pool member on request, informing the car
owners about the daily usage statistics, billing the car pool
members based on the usage once monthly, providing an Internet view
to registered individual customers/passengers in this transit
system on their own billing and usage statistics.
* * * * *