Abstract:
A vehicle for use on surface streets providing a viable working environment that allows at least 6 passengers to conduct work during commuting time. The configuration of each individual workspace is sufficiently large and separate from other passengers to serve as an effective alternative workplace until the passenger has arrived at their destination. Each workstation may also be equipped with computing and communications equipment to enhance productivity. The vehicle also may incorporate on one or more of its internal or external surfaces a dynamic display screen that displays advertising selected based, at least in part, on the then-current location of the vehicle as determined by a geographic location system such as GPS satellite navigation. The vehicle may also be electrically powered to further reduce its environmental impact.

Description:
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION 
       [0001]    This is a divisional of pending patent application Ser. No. 12/420,719, filed on Apr. 8, 2009, entitled ENVIRONMENTALLY FRIENDLY MOBILE OFFICE WITH LOCATION BASED ADVERTISING. 
     
    
     FIELD 
       [0002]    Embodiments of the invention relate to providing a mobile office environment. Embodiments of the invention relate to vehicle based advertising. More specifically embodiments of the invention relate to providing location based advertising on a surface street vehicle that provides a mobile office environment. 
       BACKGROUND 
       [0003]    Traffic congestion is a major problem in most major metropolitan areas. With this congestion comes increased pollution and significant losses of productive time while commuters are stuck in traffic. Literally billions of dollars in lost productivity are attributable to time lost during the commute. In many cities lack of or inadequate public transportation exacerbates this problem. Even where some level of public transportation exists, it is not conducive to efficient work. Buses and commuter trains tend to be cramped and fail to provide any meaningful privacy. Moreover they are seldom equipped with even the most rudimentary office conveniences such as power supplies for laptops or network connectivity. 
         [0004]    Advertising is ubiquitous in today&#39;s urban landscape. Billboards have evolved from merely showing one static image to electronic displays that cycle there a group of images. Busses have been transformed into moving billboards advertising anything from the latest movie to fast food meals. The shortage of desirable advertising space is further evidenced by the existence of sign twirlers and mobile billboards which are merely towed around an area by a truck to advertise for example the existence of a boat show occurring in the vicinity. Such “mobile billboards” are environmentally unsound both because the towing vehicle emits pollutant into the environment but also such vehicle increase traffic congestion with the attendant polluting effects. 
     
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         [0005]    The invention is illustrated by way of example and not by way of limitation in the figures of the accompanying drawings in which like references indicate similar elements. It should be noted that references to “an” or “one” embodiment in this disclosure are not necessarily to the same embodiment, and such references mean at least one. 
           [0006]      FIG. 1  is a schematic plan view of a layout of a vehicle according to one embodiment of the invention. 
           [0007]      FIG. 2  is a schematic perspective view of a workstation according to one embodiment of the invention. 
           [0008]      FIG. 3  is an external schematic perspective view of a vehicle of one embodiment of the invention. 
           [0009]      FIG. 4  is a block diagram of a system of one embodiment of the invention. 
       
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION 
       [0010]    Ever increasing drive times consume large amounts of potentially productive work time. In many major metropolitan areas, the proliferation of individual vehicles in the absence of adequate public transportation exacerbates existing smog and pollution problems. As such a need exists for environmentally friendly vehicles that permit commuters to recapture at least some of the productive time that would otherwise be lost to commuting. It is desirable that such vehicles do not require additional infrastructure, such as tracks, and that they be suitable for conveying multiple passengers to reduce the number of vehicles on the roads. 
         [0011]      FIG. 1  is a schematic plan view of a layout of a vehicle according to one embodiment of the invention. The chassis of vehicle  100  is dimensioned to be usable on standard surface streets. In one embodiment, the vehicle  100  has a width W of eight (8) feet and a length L of forty (40) feet. Other lengths and widths are with in the scope of other embodiments. However, it is preferred to have dimensions that provide space inside for at least six individual work stations  102 . 
         [0012]    In the shown embodiment two rows of nine workstations  102  are separated by a central aisle  104 . Having each seat between the aisle  104  and a side wall provides isolation desirable to make the commuting time more productive. The workstations  120  are separated from adjacent workstations  102  in the same row by a partition  124  to provide privacy. Thus, the partitions  124  between longitudinally adjacent workstations  102  improve the isolation of each mobile work space. Each workstation  102  is bordered on one side by a wall of the vehicle  100  and on the other side by the aisle  104 . In some embodiments, the workstations  102  each define an acute angle q with the aisle  104 . This configuration is also referred to as the herring bone configuration. The acute angle q provides greater privacy for each workstation  102  because the display in the work station is at an obtuse angle relative to a passenger traveling forward along the aisle  104  and allows a larger work surface within each workstation. In another embodiment, the workstations  102  are oriented perpendicularly to the center aisle  104 . The workstations  102  are discussed in more detail in connection with  FIG. 2  below. 
         [0013]    Central aisle  104  may be for example two (2) feet wide, though narrower and wider aisles are also contemplated. Aisle  104  provides ingress and egress from the vehicle. In one embodiment primary entrance  106  may be a sliding door at the rear of the vehicle. In other embodiments it may be a more traditional bus style door at the rear or front of the vehicle  100 . In still other embodiments, the entrance  106  may be disposed more centrally along the vehicle  100 . In one embodiment, aisle  104  is recessed relative to the workstations  102 . This provides greater stand-up head room when in the aisle  104  and also permits the space under the workstations to be use to store e.g., batteries to power the vehicle and or electronic components needed for the workstations  102 . 
         [0014]    Aisle  104  terminates in a driver compartment door  108  at the front of the vehicle to provide access to the driver compartment  114  and emergency exit  110 . Bulkhead  112  segregates the passengers from the driver compartment  114 . The driver seating  122  may be disposed lower, e.g., closer to the road than the workstations. An emergency exit hatch  110  may be provided to permit egress from the front of the vehicle in case of emergency. In some embodiments cabin attendant seating  116  may be provide forward of bulkhead  112 . An on board restroom  118  and a galley  120  may also be provided. In some embodiments the galley  120  may be equipped with a microwave, cold storage and coffee making facilities. 
         [0015]      FIG. 2  is a schematic perspective view of a workstation according to one embodiment of the invention. Workstation  102  includes a single passenger extra wide seat  202  and a large work surface  210 . In some embodiments, seat  202  may be adjustable through a range of adjustments including height, pitch, leg support, lumbar support etc. A speaker phone with noise canceling technology may be built into the headrest of the seat  202 . The speaker phone may be connected through a computer network and for example use voice over internet protocol (VOIP) to connect call from the vehicle to remote recipients. In another embodiment, workstations may be equipped with wireless or wired headsets for increased privacy. 
         [0016]    Work surface  210  is at least two square feet in area and preferably larger. In some embodiments, the work surface  210  is 18″ to 24″ by 30″ to 36″. Work surface  210  need not be rectangular, but should be of sufficient size to provide an efficient work space. In some embodiments, work surface  210  has an integrated keyboard  206  and an integrated touch pad  208 . Alternatively, touchpad  208  may be replaced with an integrated touch screen that may provide soft buttons to access various computing functionality rather than merely acting as a pointing device. A display  204  of at least seventeen (17) inches diagonal dimension is provided in each workstation  102 . In some embodiments, the monitors may be greater than twenty inches in diagonal dimension. More preferably, the displays  204  are between thirty and forty inches in diagonal dimension. The display may be coupled to a computer housed unobtrusively beneath the seat  202  or in a compartment below the floor of the workstation  102 . In another embodiment, the computer may be integrated with the display  204 . The vehicle  100  is equipped with wireless connectivity to the Internet to provide full web access to the passengers. In some embodiments, the passenger may save their private profile so that they can automatically log in to, for example, their office network via a virtual private connection from the workstation  102 . This profile may be saved locally or transmitted across a wide area network for remote storage. Some embodiments provide connection ports and cabling to permit a passenger to attach their private laptop to the peripherals and power supply of the workstation  102 . 
         [0017]    Some embodiments having integrated keyboard  206  and touch pad  208  may include a fold down or slide out panel to cover the keyboard  206  and touch pad  208  when a flat work surface  210  is desired. In one embodiment the panel may be made of clear acrylic and be hinged cover the display  204  in an “up” position and the keyboard  206  in a “down” position. In one embodiment the acrylic panel may include a polarizing filter to increase the privacy of the display  204  when the panel is up. 
         [0018]    The partition between workstations  102  may be formed by a combination of the seat back  226  and a polycarbonate panel  224  between the top of the seat back  226  and the ceiling of the vehicle. The polycarbonate panel  224  reduces transmission of noise between workstations  102  while still permitting passenger to look down the row. In some embodiments the polycarbonate panel  224  may be textured to increase sound diffusion. In other embodiments the panel may run from floor to ceiling and may or may not be opaque. 
         [0019]    In some embodiments, the side wall of the vehicle has no windows. This facilitates a larger exterior advertising area, and can also reduce vehicle weight. The side wall of the workstation  102  may be covered with sound absorbing panels  214  and may be provided with a secondary view screen  212  that may be connected to an externally mounted camera to provide the passenger with a view of the vehicles surroundings. The secondary view screen  212  may be turned off at the passenger&#39;s discretion. In some embodiments, secondary view screen  212  may be omitted. In such embodiments, the externally mounted camera may provide a feed to all or a portion of the display  204 . Such feeds can respond to the need of some passengers to visualize their location. 
         [0020]    In some people, working in a moving vehicle can cause or exacerbate motion sickness. A significant cause of the motion sickness is the discountenance between the motion experienced by the body and particularly the inner ear and the motion observed by the eyes. To reduce the potential for motion sickness, the vehicle is provided with inertial sensors that sense inertial perturbations as the vehicle move over the surface streets. Those inertial readings are provided to a display controller for display  204  e.g., the associated computer. The display controller creates a virtual horizon within the display  204  and shifts the displayed images, e.g., a word document consistent with the inertial readings to eliminate or mitigate the discountenance. In this context, images may include video as well as static images. 
         [0021]    Additionally to mitigate inertial variance, the vehicle is provided with an inertial management system to smooth acceleration and deceleration. The inertial management system controls the current/fuel supply responsive to depression of the accelerator and the braking force responsive to application of the brakes under normal conditions. Calculations may be performed to determine a more favorable smooth change in speed to reduce disturbance of the passengers. However, when application of e.g. the brakes exceeds a certain threshold the inertial management system allows full braking effect for safety reasons. 
         [0022]      FIG. 3  is an external schematic perspective view of a vehicle of one embodiment of the invention. An electric motor drive  302  may be associated with each wheel of the vehicle. It is preferred to have a purely electric vehicle to reduce noise and vibration inherent in internal combustion engine vehicles as well as to reduce the environmental impact of the vehicle. However some embodiments may employ internal combustion or hybrid technology. The electric motor drive is powered by arrays of batteries  306  that may reside in compartments under the seating. The battery compartments may be covered by quick snap access hatches  318 . 
         [0023]    In an effort to keep the vehicle  100  light, structural components of the chassis may be made of for example honey combed aluminum. The side walls of the vehicle  100  are free of windows thereby reducing the vehicle weight and permitting the side walls to carry large dynamic electronic displays  304  on which advertising may be displayed. Display  304  may be a light emitting diode (LED) display. As is discussed more fully in connection with  FIG. 4  below, the advertising can be changed based on a geographic location of the vehicle among other factors. To that end the vehicle  100  may be provided with a geographic location system to allow the vehicles location to be self determined. A global positioning satellite (GPS) receiver may be provided to identify current position. In other embodiment ground base location transponders may be used to identify location. The location may be used to select location relevant advertising for display on the display screen  304 . 
         [0024]    A wireless network transceiver  314  is provided to ensure internet connectivity to the passengers. In some embodiments, the wireless network transceiver  314  may be used to receive either the advertisements to be displayed on display  304  or selection signals to select advertisements for display  304  from an onboard server. While display  304  is shown occupying most of the side of the vehicle  100 , smaller displays are also within the scope of the invention. In one embodiment, a plurality of displays may occupy one side of the vehicle  100  with each display able to provide an independent advertisement. 
         [0025]    The roof of vehicle  100  may have photovoltaic collectors  310  disposed thereon. The photovoltaic collectors  310  can be used to charge the batteries  306  to extend the range of the vehicle and provide power for the onboard electronics. A number of video cameras  308  may be distributed about the vehicle  100  to provide feeds for the secondary displays in the workstations and virtual rearview mirrors. Various sensors  316  may also be distributed on the vehicle to measure any of inertial perturbations, ambient light, weather conditions, vehicle speed, and proximity of other vehicles. These sensor outputs may influence the advertising displayed on display  304 . For example, speed and proximity of other vehicles may be used to influence the frequency that the advertising message is changed. When the vehicle is stopped in traffic the same eyes are presumptively seeing the advertising and more rapid changes may be in order. Ambient light conditions may be use to adjust the intensity of the display, in brighter ambient light greater display intensity is required. Whether conditions could be use to select advertising content, for example, a Starbuck&#39;s advertisement on a hot day may feature a FRAPPUCCINO™ while on a cold day it would feature a steaming cup of coffee. Further, advertising content could be dynamically modified based on the current GPS coordinates, to indicate, for example, the location of the nearest Starbuck&#39;s store as part of the FRAPPUCCINO™ advertisement. 
         [0026]      FIG. 4  is a block diagram of a system of one embodiment of the invention. An onboard controller  410  receives inputs from a real time clock  420 , the GPS receiver  312 , ambient camera sensors  418 , and sensor array  416 . Sensor array  416  may include sensors to detect weather conditions, vehicles speed, ambient light, distance to other vehicles etc. Controller  410  uses the GPS signal to determine the location and direction of travel of the vehicle. The location and direction may serve as the dominant selection criteria for selection of what advertising message should be displayed on the right side display board  404  and the left side display board  406 . Right and left side display boards  404  and  406  may display the same message or different messages at any time. Both display boards may be LED displays. Controller  410  may also use the inputs from other sensors  418 ,  416  and the real time clock  420  to influence the selected advertising message. 
         [0027]    In one embodiment, controller  410  creates a selection message selection profile based on location, direction and the inputs from the various sensors and forwards the selection profile to the advertising server  408  across the on-board local network  412 . The advertising server  408  uses the selection profile to select a message/advertisement to be displayed on each of the display boards  404 ,  406 . The selected message is then served to the display board for immediate display. In another embodiment, controller  410  retains a lookup table of the available messages and merely sends a selection signal for the message selected based on existing criteria. In either case the advertising displayed can change repeatedly in real time as the selection criteria, most importantly location, change. 
         [0028]    In one embodiment, the controller  410  sends the selection profile to a remote server via wide area wireless network  414 . The remote server may then stream the desired advertisement back over the wireless network to the display boards  404 ,  406 . This embodiment may have greater latency depending on network speed and connectivity, but does not rely on advertisements being available on a local advertising server  408 . 
         [0029]    The controller  410  also provides the feed to the workstations  402 - 1 ,  402 - 2  . . .  402 -N (generically  402 ) of the external view for display on the secondary display. The work stations include primary display  204  which is at least 17″ in diagonal dimension, a computer  424  and telecommunications system  426 . Telecommunications system  426  may include a speaker phone built into the seat of the workstation and may rely on any signaling protocol including satellite signaling, cellular signaling or voice over internet protocol (VOIP). Controller  410  also provides the information from sensor array  416  related to inertial perturbations to allow computer  424  to maintain the virtual horizon on display  204  consistent with those perturbations. 
         [0030]    In one embodiment, workstations are reserved for a particular person during a particular time slot. This permits the controller  410  to feed targeted advertising from the advertising server  408  to either the display  204  or the secondary display  212  of the workstation. Advertising in this context should be unobtrusive and relegated to a small amount of display real estate. Where a personal profile exists for a user, the controller  410 , (or another controller local to the workstation) may retrieve the profile either from local storage or across the wide area network and apply it to the users work station. In one embodiment, the profile is identified from login information provided by the user. 
         [0031]    Other embodiments of the location based advertising are also contemplated. Basically, any vehicle provided with a display, a suitable location system such as GPS and a controller to drive content to the display based on the location can benefit from the invention. For example, roof top advertising on e.g. taxis may benefit from a dynamic display in conjunction with GPS and a controller to change advertising on the display based on the location. In one embodiment, the advertisements available may be stored in on board storage and updated when the vehicle in at the depot or in for service or on some other routine schedule. In other embodiments, the advertisements may be transmitted over a wireless network connection to the controller from a remote source. The controller may then render the advertisement to the display. 
         [0032]    In one embodiment, inertial signals as well as throttle and brake inputs are fed through a drive control system  430 , which in turn controls the drive motors to ensure smooth acceleration and deceleration. This smooth inertial control should reduce the risk of motion sickness as well as reduce work disruptions from rapid inertial changes. 
         [0033]    Elements of embodiments may also be provided as a machine-readable medium for storing the machine-executable instructions. The machine-readable medium may include, but is not limited to, flash memory, optical disks, CD-ROMs, DVD ROMs, RAMs, EPROMs, EEPROMs, magnetic or optical cares, propagation media or other type of machine-readable media suitable for storing electronic instructions. For example, element of embodiments of the invention may be downloaded as a computer program which may be transferred from a remote computer (e.g., a server) to a requesting computer (e.g., a client) by way of data signals embodied in a carrier wave or other propagation medium via a communication link (e.g., a modem or network connection). 
         [0034]    It should be appreciated that reference throughout this specification to “one embodiment” or “an embodiment” means that a particular feature, structure or characteristic described in connection with the embodiment is included in at least one embodiment of the present invention. Therefore, it is emphasized and should be appreciated that two or more references to “an embodiment” or “one embodiment” or “an alternative embodiment” in various portions of this specification are not necessarily all referring to the same embodiment. Furthermore, the particular features, structures or characteristics may be combined as suitable in one or more embodiments of the invention. 
         [0035]    In the foregoing specification, the invention has been described with reference to the specific embodiments thereof. It will, however, be evident that various modifications and changes can be made thereto without departing from the broader spirit and scope of the invention as set forth in the appended claims. The specification and drawings are, accordingly, to be regarded in an illustrative rather than a restrictive sense.