U.S. patent application number 14/312579 was filed with the patent office on 2014-12-11 for method and system for providing a service resource to a user location.
The applicant listed for this patent is HTI IP, LLC. Invention is credited to Richard E. Bennett, JR..
Application Number | 20140364080 14/312579 |
Document ID | / |
Family ID | 42223280 |
Filed Date | 2014-12-11 |
United States Patent
Application |
20140364080 |
Kind Code |
A1 |
Bennett, JR.; Richard E. |
December 11, 2014 |
Method and system for providing a service resource to a user
location
Abstract
A user, either in a vehicle with a telematics device, at a home
having a computer device, using a handheld wireless device, or
other type of communication device, can request services such as to
repair a flat tire, unlock a locked door, repair cable television,
service, etc. using the communication device. The user's
communication device sends a request message over the communication
network to a second server. The second server creates a request for
service record and forwards the message to a first server that
determines a resource to dispatch to the user's location. The first
server sends resource information, including location information,
to the user's device, and either the device, or a device coupled to
the user's communication device, displays the current location of
the service resource on a map as the resource makes its way toward
the user's location.
Inventors: |
Bennett, JR.; Richard E.;
(Buford, GA) |
|
Applicant: |
Name |
City |
State |
Country |
Type |
HTI IP, LLC |
Atlanta |
GA |
US |
|
|
Family ID: |
42223280 |
Appl. No.: |
14/312579 |
Filed: |
June 23, 2014 |
Related U.S. Patent Documents
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Application
Number |
Filing Date |
Patent Number |
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13528327 |
Jun 20, 2012 |
8792913 |
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14312579 |
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12630732 |
Dec 3, 2009 |
8229462 |
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13528327 |
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61119547 |
Dec 3, 2008 |
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Current U.S.
Class: |
455/404.2 |
Current CPC
Class: |
H04W 4/02 20130101; H04W
4/029 20180201; H04W 4/90 20180201 |
Class at
Publication: |
455/404.2 |
International
Class: |
H04W 4/22 20060101
H04W004/22; H04W 4/04 20060101 H04W004/04 |
Claims
1.-18. (canceled)
19. A system for providing a service resource to a user location,
comprising a server at a data center associated with a user device
configured for: receiving a request for assistance message from the
user device at the user location, the message including information
describing the location of the user device; processing the request
message at the data center associated with the user device to
determine a services provider that can provide a type of services
corresponding to the request for assistance message, wherein the
user device automatically generated the request for assistance
message based on at least one of an occurrence of a condition,
situation, or accident, and wherein the request for assistance
message includes information representative of the condition,
situation, or accident that triggered the generation of the request
for assistance message; and transmitting the request for assistance
message to a data center associated with a provider of services
that can provide services according to the information in the
request message representative of the condition, situation, or
accident that triggered the generation of the request for
assistance message, wherein the data center associated with the
user device determines the provider of services to transmit the
request for assistance message to based on the information in the
request message representative of the condition, situation, or
accident that triggered the generation of the request for
assistance message.
20. The system of claim 19 wherein the data center associated with
the user device includes a consumer telematics operation center
server.
21. The system of claim 19 wherein the data center associated with
the services provider includes a fleet management telematics
operation center server.
22. The system of claim 21 wherein the processing step includes
comparing information representative of the condition, situation,
or accident contained in the request for assistance message with
service provider entries in a database and determining a services
provider to which to transmit the assistance request message to
based on data in the services provider's entry that matches at
least in part the at least one of the condition, situation, or
accident.
23. The system of claim 22 wherein the assistance request message
is transmitted to the services provider referenced in the database
entry having the matching data according to an address also
referenced in the database entry.
24. The system of claim 22 wherein the data information
representative of at least one of a condition, situation, or
accident is meta data.
25. A system comprising a server at a second data center configured
for: receiving from a user device a request for assistance message,
wherein the user device automatically generated the request for
assistance message based on at least one of an occurrence of a
condition, situation, or accident, and wherein the request for
assistance message includes information representative of the
condition, situation, or accident that triggered the generation of
the request for assistance message; creating a request record of
the request for assistance message at the second data center; and
transmitting the request for assistance message to a first data
center, wherein the second data center determines the first data
center to transmit the request for assistance message to based on
information representative of the condition, situation, or accident
that triggered the generation of the request for assistance
message.
26. The system of claim 25 wherein the user device transmits the
request for assistance over a wireless communication network.
27. The system of claim 25 wherein the user device includes a
telematics control unit in a vehicle.
28. The system of claim 25 wherein the server at the second data
center is further configured to perform steps comprising receiving
service resource information related to a service resource assigned
in response to the transmitted request for assistance message;
updating the request record with a current location of the service
resource; transmitting a location message to the user device
indicating the location of the service resource relative to the
user device; and displaying the location of the service resource on
a display device substantially collocated with the user device.
29. The system of claim 28 wherein the service resource is a
truck.
30. The system of claim 29 wherein the truck includes a telematics
control unit that transmits its GPS coordinates to the first data
center.
31. A method for managing a service provider resource on its way to
a user location, comprising: receiving a request for assistance
message from the user device at the user location, the message
including information describing the location of the user device;
processing the request message at the data center associated with
the user device to determine a services provider that can provide a
type of services corresponding to the request for assistance
message, wherein the user device automatically generated the
request for assistance message based on at least one of an
occurrence of a condition, situation, or accident, and wherein the
request for assistance message includes information representative
of the condition, situation, or accident that triggered the
generation of the request for assistance message; transmitting the
request for assistance message to a data center associated with a
provider of services that can provide services according to the
information in the request message representative of the condition,
situation, or accident that triggered the generation of the request
for assistance message, wherein the data center associated with the
user device determines the provider of services to transmit the
request for assistance message to based on the information in the
request message representative of the condition, situation, or
accident that triggered the generation of the request for
assistance message; receiving from the data center associated with
the provider of services service resource information related to a
service resource assigned by the services provider based on the
information describing the location of the user device in response
to the transmitted request for assistance message; and transmitting
a notification to the data center associated with the provider of
services that the service resource is no longer needed in response
to the request for assistance message if the data center associated
with the user device receives a transmission from the user device
that it has moved from the user location from which it transmitted
the request for assistance message.
32. The method of claim 31 wherein the data center associated with
the user device includes a consumer telematics operation center
server.
33. The method of claim 31 wherein the data center associated with
the services provider includes a fleet management telematics
operation center server.
34. The method of claim 33 wherein the processing step includes
comparing information representative of the condition, situation,
or accident contained in the request for assistance message with
service provider entries in a database and determining a services
provider to which to transmit the assistance request message to
based on data in the services provider's entry that matches at
least in part the at least one of the condition, situation, or
accident.
35. The method of claim 34 wherein the assistance request message
is transmitted to the services provider referenced in the database
entry having the matching data according to an address also
referenced in the database entry.
Description
CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION
[0001] The present application is a continuation of and claims
priority under 35 U.S.C. .sctn.120 to U.S. patent application Ser.
No. 13/528,327, filed on Jun. 20, 2012, entitled "Method and system
for providing assistance resource progress information along a
route," now U.S. Pat. No. 8,792,913, which application is a
continuation of and claims priority under 35 U.S.C. .sctn.120 to
U.S. patent application Ser. No. 12/630,732, filed on Dec. 3, 2009,
entitled "Method and system for providing assistance resource
progress information along a route," now U.S. Pat. No. 8.229,462,
which application claims priority under 35 U.S.C. 119(e) to U.S.
Provisional Patent Application No. 61/119,547 filed on Dec. 3,
2008, by Bennett, entitled "Method and system for providing
assistance resource progress information along a route," which the
present application incorporates by reference in its entirety.
TECHNICAL FIELD
[0002] The claimed subject matter relates to telematics devices,
and more particularly, to providing real time information regarding
the location of service provider personnel while in route to
rendering assistance to a user.
BACKGROUND
[0003] Many providers offer services to consumers and commercial
customers of services ("users"), such as telematics services,
including, roadside assistance, emergency accident response or door
unlock; home repair services, such as, for example, cable
television technical work, appliance repair or delivery of an item.
When a user requests a particular service of the provider, the user
may contact the service provider repeatedly asking when the
technician, emergency worker, or other appropriate personnel, will
arrive at the user's location, or the location the user requested
that the service personnel perform the requested service.
[0004] Even though a service provider central dispatcher may have
dispatched personnel immediately after receiving a request for
service, a user's understandable, but repeated, instances of
contacting the provider can cost the provider because he, or she,
needs to have more call-answering personnel available to handle a
user's calls and calls from other users too. In addition, the
repeated calls asking when the actual personnel will arrive at the
desired location disrupt a provider's call center operation, and
may cause a reduction in service quality to other callers who also
need assistance.
[0005] Although the repeated calls to a provider's call center
increases costs, which a provider typically passes on to the
subscriber of the services, a user has a legitimate and
understandable interest in knowing when to expect that emergency
personnel may arrive on the scene of an accident, for example. Even
in a nonemergency situation, knowing precisely when a cable
television company's technician will arrive at the user's house can
allow the user to spend time on a productive activity rather than
wait for the technician to arrive "sometime within a four hour
window," which is typical for service providers that have to roll a
truck to a user's location in a nonemergency situation.
[0006] Thus, the art needs a method and system for providing
real-time information to a user of the progress of service provider
personnel as they make their way from an initial location to the
user's location.
[0007] In addition, service providers who deliver services to a
mobile consumer, including roadside assistance, emergency accident
response or door unlock, frequently arrive at the specified
customer location only to discover the customer is not at the
specified location. The service provider will spend time and
resources searching for the customer, and consume additional
call-answering resources determining a more accurate location.
Frequently the customer cannot be located because they have
satisfied the service need and left the specified location.
[0008] Thus, the art needs a method and system for providing
real-time information to a service provider of the mobile
consumer's location.
DECRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0009] FIG. 1 illustrates a network diagram of a system for
providing route progress to a user of a requested service.
[0010] FIG. 2 illustrates a flow diagram of a method for providing
route progress to a user of a requested service.
[0011] FIG. 3 illustrates a flow diagram continuation of a method
for providing route progress to a user of a requested service.
[0012] FIG. 4 illustrates a screen shot of a device displaying
progress of service personnel along a route shown on a map.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION
[0013] As a preliminary matter, it will be readily understood by
those persons skilled in the art that the present invention is
susceptible of broad utility and application. Many methods,
embodiments and adaptations of the present invention other than
those herein described, as well as many variations, modifications,
and equivalent arrangements, will be apparent from or reasonably
suggested by the present invention and the following description
thereof, without departing from the substance or scope of the
present invention.
[0014] Accordingly, while the present invention has been described
herein in detail in relation to preferred embodiments, it is to be
understood that this disclosure is only illustrative and exemplary
of the present invention and is made merely for the purposes of
providing a full and enabling disclosure of the invention. The
following disclosure is not intended nor is to be construed to
limit the present invention or otherwise to exclude any such other
embodiments, adaptations, variations, modifications and equivalent
arrangements, the present invention being limited only by the
claims appended hereto and the equivalents thereof.
[0015] Turning now to the figures, FIG. l illustrates a system 2
that facilitates communication to and from a device at a user's
vehicle location 4, and to and from a device at a service
provider's truck location 6. One skilled in the art will appreciate
that user vehicle location 4 may represent any user location, such
as a home or office, and not just a mobile resource. In addition, a
device at user location 4 may be any electronic communication and
computer device that includes GPS circuitry and communication
circuitry that can communicate location data, which may include GPS
coordinates of the device's current location at any given time.
Thus, the device at user location 4 can include a hand held,
portable device, such as a GPS enabled cellular telephone.
[0016] Regarding provider truck locations 6, the trucks in the
figure may represent, and correspond to, one, or more, of a
plurality of trucks' locations in a given geographical region when
the user requests service from the provider who operates the
trucks. The figure shows trucks 6 as representative of GPS enabled
communication computer devices that used by provider personnel,
since personnel and technicians typically render services in person
over a geographical region by travelling in a truck. However,
service provider trucks 6a-n could also represent devices of
personnel on foot, such as security personnel at an event, or
boats, airplanes, bicycles, or possibly specially trained animals
with tracking devices, as well as any other means for rendering
services to a requesting user.
[0017] Often, a user vehicle at location 4 and a provider truck at
location 6 each use a telematics unit, sometimes referred to as a
vehicle telematics unit ("VTU") or a telematics control unit
("TCU") mounted, or otherwise collocated with the user vehicle, and
the provider truck. For purposes of discussion, "TCU" may refer to
any mobile device that includes a global positioning satellite
("GPS") receiver and is capable of communications through the
cellular network. A TCU unit may use GPS circuitry and algorithms
to determine the present location of the TCU, and thus the vehicle,
truck, person, animal, etc. to which it corresponds. Alternatively,
a TCU may periodically, or sporadically, transmit its current GPS
coordinates to a central server which may determine the users
location relative to another location, and generate a map that
displays the locations of the user and the other location of the
map.
[0018] GPS technology typically uses multiple satellites,
represented by 8a and 8b, above earth to communicate time stamped
messages with the GPS device in a TCU. Based on the receive time of
the messages, the GPS device in the TCU can calculate its location
relative to a reference, such as the widely used latitude and
longitude coordinates familiar to those in the navigation arts. One
skilled in the art will understand that although satellite 8a
appears to point toward trucks 6a-n, and satellite 8b appears in
the figure to point toward user location 4, both satellites, as
well as at least two others (and perhaps up to nine) typically
would be within view of both the trucks and the user location. Both
the trucks 6a-n and a device at user location 4 would typically use
signals transmitted from all four, or more, satellites, to
determine the location of the trucks or the device at the user
location.
[0019] In addition to a user in user vehicle 4, or other user
location, waiting on service personnel to arrive at the user
location, a user remote from location 4 may also track the progress
of service personnel with a personal computer using location
information of user location 4, such as, for example, a known
street address, or GPS coordinate values, via, the Internet.
[0020] A TCU also typically uses a cellular telephony circuit and
algorithms, or wireless technology, to communicate via a network of
antennas, represented by antenna 10. Network, or antenna, 10
couples to network 12, which may be a single internet protocol
network, a collection of networks themselves coupled to one
another, each possibly using different communication protocols and
communication technologies. Thus, a TCU in vehicle 4 may be
associated with a telematics service provider's data center 14, and
a TCU in different service provider's truck 6 may be associated
with another data center 16. For purposes of discussion, this
application will refer to data center 14 as `second data center`
and will refer to data center 16 as `first data center.`
[0021] A data center typically includes equipment for processing
and interfacing with communications traffic to and from user
devices, including voice traffic and data traffic. Often, traffic
from a device may include voice and data traffic packets, with the
packets from the different streams linked together by an identifier
of the device. Antenna network 10 typically couples to network 12
via communication link 18, which may be a wire link, a microwave
link, or another type of communication link known in the art.
[0022] Turning now to FIG. 2, the figure illustrates a flow diagram
of a method 200 for providing route progress of personnel along a
route to render services to a user. A user starts method at step
205 and at step 210 transmits an assistance call with a user
device. The call may include a voice call, a SMS request message,
and e-mail message, or other such message for communicating a
request electronically. A call center associated with the user's
subscription receives the call. The call may be made using a TCU in
a vehicle, from a cellular telephone coupled with a GPS device, or
other means that a user can use to request services from a
provider, and that can transmit geographic location information of
the device to the service provider in the request for assistance
message, or concurrently with a call for assistance.
[0023] A typical scenario includes a user using a TCU in a vehicle
to notify a call center of an accident, flat tire, out of fuel
condition, or key lock-out situation. A user might also use method
200 to request service at a stationary location, such as utility
service, or appliance repair service, at a home or office. The user
may manually initiate the notification and request for assistance,
or the occurrence of a given condition, situation, or accident, or
some other predetermined event, may serve as a trigger that
automatically initiates notification and request for services.
[0024] For purposes of discussion, this application refers to a
data center that corresponds to a user device as a second data
center. Typically, a user subscribes to services from a provider
that provides mobile communication connectivity, to a network such
as the internet, and also can connect the user via a voice or data
connection to live call center personnel. The location of the call
center personnel and data center may, or may not be, collocated. A
data center typically includes computer servers and networking
equipment that couples the computer server equipment with a
network, such as an internet protocol ("IP") network.
[0025] When a user places a services request call at step 210, live
call personnel at the call center may manually create a call record
of the request for assistance call, or automated equipment may
acknowledge to the user that the data center, and possibly the call
center too, received the call and create a call record. The record
will, typically include an `open ticket` field, or flag, which
indicates that the action item associated with the request
corresponding to the call record has not been completed. When the
record is created at step 215, the equipment at the data center
sets the flag to indicate that the action requested has not been
completed. The call record, including the open item flag, are
typically generated at and stored on a computer server at the
second data center typically operated by a consumer telematics
operator.
[0026] Regardless of how the call record has been created, a
determination is made how to handle and process the call and data
associated with it. A computer, or personnel, at the call center,
or at the second data center, can determine how to forward the call
according to predetermined rules. For example, if the call requests
emergency services, a live operator may keep the caller `on the
line` until a ambulance, police patrol, wrecker truck, etc. has
been dispatched and the call center personnel believes that
releasing the caller from the live call will not imperil the
caller. Alternatively, if the caller has called because they ran
out of fuel, have a flat tire, locked their keys out of their car,
etc., a computer at the call center, or second data center, may
automatically receive the call, and forward it to a first server at
step 220 without any human intervention from a live operator.
[0027] When a call, or assistance request, is sent from a
requestor, or user of a device at location 4 referenced in FIG. 1,
it may include an `assistance type` indication included in a data
message, or in data that the user device sends along with the voice
message. The assistance type indication may indicate that the
corresponding call contains a request for a non-emergency and may
further indicate that a tow truck is needed. In addition to the
assistance type indication, a TCU typically sends other information
in a data stream, including location coordinates, speed, RPM, fuel
level, air bag deployment status, recent brake usage history,
acceleration values, among other information.
[0028] Thus, if a call center, or other type of data center,
receives a call for a tow truck, while an operator at the call
center associated with the second data center communicates with the
caller verbally, data processing equipment and applications at the
second data center can automatically transfer at step 220 the call,
or information contained in the call, or request, to a first data
center associated with an operator of a tow truck fleet, for
example.
[0029] The second data center, associated with the user's
telematics services provider, can perform a table lookup in a
database that associates services providers with the type of
services they provide. For example, an index field of the database
may contain data that indicates the type of services a provider
listed in another field of a corresponding entry in the database
offers. Another field in the corresponding entry may include
addresses of the services provider. The addresses may include
telephone numbers, internet addresses, or other type of information
that facilitates the second data center automatically transmitting
the assistance request message to the first data center associated
with the services provider, i.e., the tow truck operator, for
example. Thus, while the live operator at the second data center
communicates with the caller, the tow truck operator can begin the
process of routing a tow truck to the caller's location based on a
resource (i.e., one of its tow trucks) located the closest to the
user location 4.
[0030] At step 225, a data center associated with the tow truck
operator receives the information sent from the caller and
transmitted from the second data center. The information received
at step 225 may include only the data portion of the call
(including location coordinates, assistance type identifier, etc.),
but the first data center can search its records to determine the
nearest tow truck to the call at step 230, based on a comparison
between coordinates of caller's location 4, as shown in FIG. 1, and
periodically updated location coordinates of all the tow trucks in
its fleet. In addition, the operator associated with the caller's
telematics services provider may also transfer at step 225 the
voice call traffic to operator personnel at a call center
associated with the first data center, which would be the call
center associated with the tow truck fleet operator in the
exemplary scenario described above.
[0031] At step 235, the data center associated with the tow truck
fleet instructs the truck located nearest to the caller/user and
not currently occupied assisting someone else, to begin driving
toward the caller. One skilled in the art will appreciate that even
if the closest tow truck is currently assisting another, the second
closest unoccupied two truck may be so far away from the caller
that the closest tow truck could still serve the caller sooner than
the second closest.
[0032] Turning now to FIG. 3, and continuing with description of
method 200, the tow truck assigned to provide service to the caller
updates the first data center with its current location coordinates
at step 240. The first data, center transmits the current location
coordinates of the tow truck to the second data center at step 245.
At step 250, the second data center updates a field in the call
record created at step 215 with the updated location coordinates of
the tow truck. At step 255, the second data center transmits in a
location message the tow truck's current location coordinates to a
device at user location 4 shown in FIG. 1. At step 260, the device
at user location 4 provides information in the location message to
the user, for example by visually displaying a marker showing the
location of the service provider personnel (the tow truck) on a map
based on its current location coordinates. Other forms of providing
the information to the user include providing an audible message
reporting the coordinates or time until the truck arrives at user
location 4, displaying the coordinates or time until arrival, or
providing geographic information related to the coordinates, for
example a street address, or intersection, of the truck's location.
The information may be transmitted from the second data center to
the user's device wirelessly or over a wired communication
network.
[0033] At step 265, equipment at the second data center determines
whether the open ticket flag has cleared. If the open ticket has
been cleared, method 200 ends at step 280. If the second data
center determines at step 265 that the open ticket flag has not
cleared, equipment at the second data center checks to determine
whether it has received information that the service provider (tow
truck in the exemplary scenario) has arrived at the user's location
4. The second data center can accomplish step 270 by checking to
see whether the first data center has received a message
affirmatively sent from the service provider truck 6 that it has
arrived at the user's location 4. Alternatively, the second data
center can compare the last updated location coordinates of the
service provider truck 6 with the location coordinates of the user
4. If the two sets of coordinates match, or the first data center
informs the second data center that the driver has affirmatively
sent information that he, or she, has arrived at the user's
location 4, the second data center clears the open ticket flag at
step 275, and method 200 ends at step 280. However, if the second
data center does not determine at step 270 that the service
provider has arrived at the user's location, then method 200
returns to step 250 and continues as described above.
[0034] Accordingly, method 200 can provide updated information to
the user repeatedly at step 260 as the service provider follows
his, or her, route to the user. For example, if a user navigation
system in his, or her, vehicle displays a roadmap of the
surrounding area, updated markers of the service provider's
location can be displayed on the road map every time method 200
executes step 260.
[0035] The second data center may also clear the flag at step 275
if it has received a transmission from the user's telematics device
indicating that its location has changed based on GPS coordinates.
This scenario could occur of the user at location 4 was able to
repair his vehicle and drive off. Thus, if the GPS coordinates
indicate that that the user device is moving, the second data
center, either automatically, or via a voice call, can query the
user to confirm that the services provider is no longer needed. If
so, the second data center can clear the flag and communicate to
the first data center that the tow truck is no longer needed at
user location 4.
[0036] FIG. 4 illustrates a typical road map display in the user's
vehicle navigation device. The user request location triangle 20
indicates the user's, or requestor's, location 4, and the series of
location markers 22 indicate the location of the service provider
truck 6 as it progresses along a route toward the user.
[0037] These and many other objects and advantages will be readily
apparent to one skilled in the art from the foregoing specification
when read in conjunction with the appended drawings. It is to be
understood that the embodiments herein illustrated are examples
only, and that the scope of the invention is to be defined solely
by the claims when accorded a full range of equivalents.
* * * * *