Abstract:
A wireless vehicle passenger information system, storing information downloaded from a wireless server that can be retrieved by a vehicle passenger according to hierarchically ordered information categories. A touch screen display securely fixed within a passenger compartment provides a passenger interface to the system. The system optionally includes a global positioning system sender unit and driver and passenger compartment digital cameras, each interconnected to the information system for uploading position and image information to the wireless server for auxiliary monitoring.

Description:
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION  
       [0001]    The present application claims priority under 35 U.S.C. §119(e) from U.S. Serial No. 60/327,971, filed on Oct. 9, 2001. U.S. Serial No. 60/327,971 was filed by at least one inventor common to the present application, and is hereby incorporated by reference. 
     
    
     
       FIELD OF THE INVENTION  
         [0002]    This invention relates to a wireless communication system for vehicles. More particularly, the invention relates to a wireless interactive communication and advertisement display system for taxis and other “for-hire” public transportation passenger vehicles.  
         BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION  
         [0003]    Passengers using taxis and other “for-hire” public transportation passenger vehicles often need information relating to the city or region in which they are traveling. This is especially true, for example, in cases where passengers are non-residents unfamiliar with the city or region in which they are traveling. Even in cases where passengers are residents and/or are familiar with the city or region in which they are traveling, they may none-the-less have a need for specialized city and regional information (for example, entertainment, dining, upcoming civic events, road closings and the like).  
           [0004]    Studies suggest that the average length of a taxi ride in major cities like New York City is about 13 minutes. During this time, passengers can easily review city and regional information, interact with advertisements, check out the latest news stories or browse through restaurant, nightlife and other information relating to their travel. Accordingly, it would be advantageous to provide a system for use in taxis and other for-hire vehicles to selectively and visually provide passengers with the city, regional and other information they may be seeking. It would also be advantageous if such information could be updated as necessary in real time, and could be easily accessed, for example, by touching interactive buttons located on a touch screen monitor.  
           [0005]    There are examples known in the art of systems that provide local information (for example, touch screen building directories, stationary information kiosks and the like). An on-board TV for displaying advertising in taxis has been marketed by TaxiVision of Las Vegas, Nev. However, this system does not provide a mechanism for real-time updating of information to be provided to passengers or real-time access to networked information (for example, as is available over the Internet). Wireless vehicle communications systems such as the ONSTAR system produced by General Motors Corporation provide for real-time transfer of information to and from vehicles, but have not provided such information to passengers in a visual and hierarchically organized form.  
         SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION  
         [0006]    These and other deficiencies have been solved by a novel information system for use in a taxi or other similar vehicle. The vehicle information system includes a processor, a memory, display, a passenger interface and a wireless communication interface. The display and passenger interface may preferably be embodied in a touch-screen monitor.  
           [0007]    Passenger information is received at the wireless communication interface and stored by the processor in the memory. The passenger interface may be manipulated to selectively retrieve portions of the passenger information from the memory for viewing, for example, on the touch-screen monitor.  
           [0008]    In a first embodiment of the present invention, a portion of the passenger information is automatically viewed on the touch screen monitor without any passenger intervention in a cycle comprising one or more segments, where the segments are viewed in either a predetermined or a random order. Segments may provide, for example, advertisements, other passenger-oriented information, and/or a combination thereof.  
           [0009]    The system may also comprise a navigational receiver coupled to the processor and the memory for receiving navigational and location information and storing the navigational and location information in the memory.  
           [0010]    A wireless communication interface provides for communications between the information system and a base station over a wireless Local Area Network (LAN), or alternatively over a wireless broadband connection, so that the base station may update passenger-directed information stored by the processor in the memory. Passengers may view this updated information, for example, by selecting one or more “soft key” buttons on the interactive touch-screen monitor.  
           [0011]    The wireless-communication interface may also comprise a wireless modem for Internet and wireless telephony communications.  
           [0012]    The system may optionally comprise an emergency signaling device for stimulating the processor to retrieve a predetermined information set from the memory and transmit this information over the wireless communications interface to an emergency service.  
           [0013]    The system may optionally further comprise an imaging system (typically one or more video or digital still cameras) coupled to the processor and the memory for imaging passenger and driver compartments and storing representations of the images in the memory.  
           [0014]    In a second embodiment of the present invention, the base station is operative to retrieve vehicle location status information and updating procedures via a wireless access point for one or more vehicle information systems, and display the information at the base station.  
           [0015]    The system may further comprise secondary means for receiving inputs from passengers. For example, the system may include an infrared or other wireless interface for receiving information from and transmitting information to a passenger&#39;s personal digital assistant (PDA). Alternatively, the secondary means may include a card leading device for use of credit cards and for smart cards. Additionally, the base station may be configured to interact directly with media in the possession of passengers (for example, cellular phones and wireless PDAs). 
       
    
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS  
       [0016]    A more complete understanding of the invention may be obtained by reading the following description of specific illustrative embodiments of the invention in conjunction with the appended drawing in which:  
         [0017]    [0017]FIG. 1 illustrates an embodiment of the present invention in which a passenger display and interface of the present inventive system are positioned in the passenger compartment of a taxi;  
         [0018]    [0018]FIG. 2( a ) provides a diagram illustrating the principal components of the present invention and their interrelation;  
         [0019]    [0019]FIG. 2( b ) provides a diagram illustrating in-vehicle components of the present invention in additional detail;  
         [0020]    FIGS.  3 ( a )- 3 ( f ) show several monitor screen images illustrating how passenger information is retrieved using a passenger touch screen monitor and interface of the present invention; and  
         [0021]    [0021]FIG. 4 provides a flowchart illustrating how passenger information can be updated using an updating function of the present invention.  
     
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS  
       [0022]    The following detailed description includes the best mode or modes of the invention presently contemplated. Such description is not intended to be understood in a limiting sense, but to be an example of the invention presented solely for illustration thereof, and by reference to which in connection with the following description and the accompanying drawings one skilled in the art may be advised of the advantages and construction of the invention.  
         [0023]    The present invention concerns an interactive, visual information system for primary use by passengers in a taxi or other for-hire vehicle. In a preferred embodiment, the system includes an on-board computer and an interactive touch-screen monitor, where the computer has a “ruggedized,” environmentally-hardened design (for example, a PENTIUM III based portable computer as manufactured by Amrel Systems Inc., running a MICROSOFT WINDOWS operating system) and a touch screen monitor (for example, a 12.1 inch acoustic wave touch screen with high impact surface as produced, for example, by ELO Touch Screens). The touch screen monitor is mounted in a “strong box” (as produced, for example, by REO Mobil Systems) securely mounted in the passenger vehicle, having availability to passengers in the passenger compartment. By way of example, FIG. 1 shows a touch screen monitor  120  consistent with the principles of the present invention mounted in the passenger compartment  200  of a taxi cab.  
         [0024]    FIGS.  2 ( a ) and  2 ( b ) show block diagrams illustrating components of vehicle information system  100 . Onboard computer  110  is placed in a secured position within a passenger vehicle (not shown), and interconnected in a conventional manner via input/output device  113  to passenger display and interface unit  120  and emergency assistance switch  125 . Emergency assistance switch  125  may be configured for operation by either one or both of a passenger and a driver.  
         [0025]    As shown in FIG. 2 b , input/output device  113  may further interconnect at least one of a card reader  126  and a wireless communications port  127  to computer  110  for transmitting to and receiving information from media in a passenger&#39;s possession. Card reader  126  may be used, for example, to obtain information from a credit card and/or to exchange information with a debit card or smart card. This may prove useful for passenger authentication and various e-commerce functions (for example, use of a “digital wallet” in response to a purchase offer displayed on monitor  120 ). Wireless port  127  may be used for exchanging information between computer  110  and an intelligent device in the possession of a passenger (for example, a personal digital assistant, a handheld computer, a cellular telephone or the like). Wireless port  127  may employ one of a variety of conventional infrared communications or other wireless communications protocols (for example, Bluetooth). Information retrieved from the passenger and stored by the computer  110  in memory  112  may identify the passenger by a personal ID (such as a credit card number), or alternatively, by an anonymous ID (similar to that associated with Internet “cookies”), or not at all. As will be further described herein, base station server  160  of FIG. 2( a ) may be further operative to collect, store and aggregate such passenger information.  
         [0026]    Computer  110  further is further interconnected to one or more of antennas  130 ,  131 ,  132  through a variety of interfaces in order to facilitate several modes of wireless and radio communications, which will be further described herein.  
         [0027]    For example, and as further shown in FIG. 2( b ), computer  110  includes conventional wireless Local Area Network (LAN) interface  114  that communicates via antenna  130  and wireless access point  140  through private network  150  with base station server  160 . As shown in FIG. 2( b ), this communication path may be used to download passenger information via wireless LAN interface  114 , bus  117  and processor  111  to memory  112  of computer  110 .  
         [0028]    Computer  110  of FIG. 2( b ) may be further equipped with conventional radio modem  115  for supporting communications via public/private networks  350  of FIG. 2( a ). Radio modem  115  of FIG. 2( b ) communicates via antenna  131  to a conventional wireless service center including radio tower  310  and wireless switch network  320  of FIG. 2( a ). Wireless switch network  320  is capable of accessing one or more or public/private networks  350  in order, for example, to provide Internet access via Internet Service Provider (ISP) server  330  (e.g., via network  350 - 1 ) or to provide telephonic access to a telephone terminal  350 - 1  via local telephone switch  340  (e.g., via network  350 -n). Internet access may be employed, for example, to obtain near-real time passenger information associated with sports, news, weather, stock quotes and point-of-sale services. For such Internet applications, wireless modem  115  of FIG. 2( a ) preferably supports a robust data communications oriented protocol such as the Cellular Digital Packet Data (CDPD) protocol. A variety of conventional access protocols may be supported by wireless modem  115  to provide telephonic access (for example, the Code Division Multiple Access (CDMA) protocol). Telephonic access may be employed, for example, by passengers to make restaurant reservations or to access emergency services.  
         [0029]    Computer  110  of FIG. 2( b ) may further include navigational receiver  116  which may be used in conjunction with antenna  131  to acquire navigational and location information relating to the vehicle containing computer  110 . Navigational receiver  116  may preferably be a Global Positioning System (GPS) module (as produced, for example, by RoyalTek Company Ltd. of Tao Yuan City, Taiwan) to receive positional latitude and longitude from signals received at antenna  132  from GPS satellites  400  of FIG. 2( a ). Navigational receiver  116  of FIG. 2( a ) may be instructed by processor  111  to periodically obtain and report location information, which may be time stamped and stored in memory  112  for archival and future analysis. These navigation functions may be used, for example, to assist fleet management companies and law enforcement officials in locating distressed or stolen taxis. This information may also be used in conjunction with the touch screen to enable passengers to identify restaurants, theaters and other attractions in the current vicinity of the vehicle.  
         [0030]    Computer  110  of FIG. 2( b ) may optionally include a video or image interface  118  interconnecting one of more cameras  121  positioned in the vehicle to monitor each of the driver and passenger compartments (suitable cameras are produced commercially, for example, by X10). Interface  118  may be instructed by processor  111  to periodically obtain image information from cameras  121 , which may be time stamped and stored in memory  112  for archival and future analysis.  
         [0031]    Computer  110  is directly powered by a vehicle battery (not shown), and automatically powered on when the vehicle is started, using conventional notebook PC battery management means. The vehicle&#39;s battery provides a signal at a DC power port in the computer  110 . The BIOS subsystem of the computer  110  is arranged so that, when the vehicle battery is activated, it automatically sends a “start signal” to the computer. Upon start-up, the computer automatically uploads associated software applications from disk memory in order to be ready for operation without any direct assistance from the driver.  
         [0032]    Vehicle information system  100  is configured to selectively provide vehicle passengers with information that is stored in memory  112 . FIGS.  3 ( a )- 3 ( f ) illustrate a series or sequence of passenger screens  500  designed for this purpose. Passenger screen  500  may be organized, for example, to include a main menu bar  540  horizontally positioned at the bottom of screen  500  FIG. 3( a ), and display frame  571  positioned above menu bar  540 . Horizontally positioned at the top of screen  500  is services menu bar  580 .  
         [0033]    Main menu bar  540  may be used by passengers to select an information category of interest. By way of example, as shown in a sample screen  510  of FIG. 3( b ), a passenger may touch main menu bar  540  on screen  510  in the vicinity of category button  541  entitled “Night Life.” In response, as shown in sample screen  520  of FIG. 3( c ), menu  550  appears at a left edge of screen  520 . A passenger may then touch menu  550  on screen  520  in the vicinity of a category button  551  entitled “Categories.” In response, as shown in sample screen  530  of FIG. 3( d ), category screen  552  replaces menu  550  at the left edge of screen  530 .  
         [0034]    The passenger may then select, for example, category button  553  entitled “Cigar Friendly,” as shown on sample screen  531  of FIG. 3( e ), and information frame  560  replaces category screen  552  at the left edge of screen  532  of FIG. 3( f ). Information frame  560  may be configured to selectively frame a portion of the desired information, for example, through the use of scrolling buttons  561 . Alternatively, a passenger may use linking button  562  to jump to a related portion of the information that may be indicated, for example, by a highlighted banner (not shown) on information frame  560 .  
         [0035]    Display screen  571  of FIG. 3( a ) is configured to display advertisements and public service announcements, stored in memory  113  of FIG. 2( b ), in either a sequenced or random order as directed by processor  110  of FIG. 2( b ). When a menu bar selection is made, the content of display screen  571  is resized (for example, as shown by display screen  572  of FIG. 3( b )) to accommodate sub-category menu  550 . Optionally, the advertisements and public service announcements shown in display screens  571 ,  572  may be organized with interactive menu bars for selective information display. Category and sub-category buttons associated with these advertisements and public service announcements may be selected in the same manner as described above.  
         [0036]    When no selections are made during an idle period (for example, of about 30 seconds), the display screen  572  automatically returns to its full size as illustrated by display screen  571  of FIG. 3( a ). A variety of public service announcements and advertisements may be changeably displayed, for example, in 10 second time slots (as illustrated by the sequence of display screens  571 ,  572  of FIG. 3( b ) and  573  of FIG. 3( e )). A complete cycle may be set to equal the average length of a taxi ride (about 13 minutes in a major metropolitan city such as New York City). Under this scheme, there are approximately 78 slots within a cycle. A selected percentage (for example, 10 percent) may be allocated to public service announcements, while the remainder may be allocated to advertisements.  
         [0037]    Cycles may be selected to run for an appropriate period of time (for example, continuously for 30 days). At the end of this period, the advertisements and public service announcements may be updated or replaced in the memory  112  of FIG. 2( a ) by the base station  160  of FIG. 2( b ) over the wireless LAN interface  114  of the computer  110  of FIG. 2( a ). In this manner, updates may be efficiently applied, for example, to fleets of vehicles each equipped with the required vehicle information system  100  components.  
         [0038]    Updates may be facilitated as follows. As suggested in FIGS.  2 ( a ) and  2 ( b ), wireless LAN  114  communicates with access point  140  to reach private network  150  in order to communicate with base station server  160 . Private network  150  may be implemented, for example, using dedicated T1 facilities.  
         [0039]    Once computer  110  and server  160  are in communication, an update protocol may be initiated. FIG. 4 diagrams update protocol  600 . Base station server  160  begins the process by querying a registry in memory  112  of vehicle computer  110  to determine the value of an update flag (at steps  610 ,  620  of FIG. 4). The flag, for example, may consist of a timestamp indicating the age of the current passenger information stored in memory  112 .  
         [0040]    At step  625 , based on the value of the update flag, base station server  160  decides either that an update is required (step  630 ) or that an update is not required (step  640 ). If an update is required, at step  630 , base station server  160  proceeds with the update. Alternatively, at  640 , base station server  160  notifies vehicle computer  110  that no update will be undertaken. At step  650 , in response to either of steps  630  or  640 , vehicle computer  110  returns a confirmation message to base station server  160 . The message confirms one of three states: a) an update was initiated and completed, b) an update was initiated and not completed or c) an update was not initiated.  
         [0041]    Passengers may desire access to additional information services. Returning to FIG. 3( a ), services menu bar  580  may be selected by a vehicle passenger to retrieve additional information to be displayed on display screen  571 . By selecting menu button  581 , for example, processor  111  of FIG. 2( b ) would instruct wireless modem  115  to initiate an Internet connection to retrieve a web page from an ESPN website for display in the display screen  571 . Such selective passenger access to the Internet provides an effective means for accessing frequently changing information.  
         [0042]    In response to a passenger&#39;s selection of button  581 , processor  111  retrieves associated Internet address information from memory  112 , and causes wireless modem  115  to transmit this address information to wireless switch  320  of FIG. 2( a ) via radio tower  310 . Wireless switch  320  identifies an associated Internet Service Provider (ISP) from the address information and/or subscriber information stored by wireless switch  320 , and transfers the address information via switching network  350 - 1  to server  330 , which is operated by the selected ISP. Server  330  interprets the address information to select and return a requested web page to information system  100 .  
         [0043]    Base station server  160  may perform additional functions by accessing information stored in memory  112  of vehicle computer  110 . For example, server  160  may periodically retrieve vehicle status, location and time stamp information from onboard computers  110  in order to build fleet resource maps. As earlier noted, this information may be routinely stored in memories  112  of computers  110  of FIG. 2( b )for periodic retrieval by server  160  of FIG. 2( a ). Such fleet maps could be used in directing adjustments to fleet deployment, and targeting portions of the fleet for traffic announcements based on certain traffic patterns.  
         [0044]    In response to use of emergency assistance switch  125  of FIG. 2( a ) by a passenger or driver, server  160  may operate to retrieve vehicle location and image information for forwarding to emergency personnel. This information may then, for example, be forwarded to a third party emergency service for dispatched response and/or voice response via an onboard communications system (similar to ONSTAR).  
         [0045]    With reference to FIGS.  2 ( a ), ( b ), passenger information may also be stored locally in the computer  110 , and then later retrieved via the wireless connection by server  160 . For example, computer  110  may display on touch screen monitor  120  a consumer preferences survey inviting response from a passenger. Upon responding, passenger responses may be stored by memory  112  for subsequent retrieval and processing by server  160 .  
         [0046]    While the present invention has been described at some length and with some particularity with respect to the several described embodiments, it is not intended that it should be limited to any such particulars or embodiments or any particular embodiment, but it is to be construed with references to the appended claims so as to provide the broadest possible interpretation of such claims in view of the prior art and, therefore, to effectively encompass the intended scope of the invention.