Vehicle locating and communicating method and apparatus

Claims

I claim:

1. A system for locating and communicating with a vehicle by means of a network of existing cellular telephone systems, said network comprised of a plurality of existing cellular telephone systems, each cellular telephone system having a unique system identification number, each cellular telephone system emitting a message stream containing the system identification number, comprising:

monitoring means at a remote location coupled to the network having display means for displaying communications from and geographic location data of the vehicle;

cellular telephone means within the vehicle; and

control means in the vehicle for interrogating the overhead message stream through said cellular telephone means to receive the emitted system identification number from the cellular telephone system providing communications service to said cellular telephone means at the time of interrogation, said control means further initiating communication with said monitoring means for transmitting the system identification number, said monitoring means receiving and processing the system identification number for determining the location of the cellular telephone system providing service and for displaying the approximate geographic location of the vehicle on said display means.

2. The locating and communicating system of claim 1, wherein each of said cellular telephone systems comprises a plurality of cells, each cell emitting in the overhead message stream, along with the system identification number, additional location information including a cell identification number or the longitude and latitude of a transmitter within the cell, said control means further receiving the cell identification number or longitude and latitude information for retransmission to said monitoring means, said monitoring means processing the cell identification number or longitude and latitude information for determining the approximate geographic location of the vehicle.

3. The locating and communicating system of claim 1, wherein said cellular telephone means further comprises a hands-free microphone and means for voice actuation of said hands-free microphone to enable an operator of the vehicle to input verbal information to said communications means.

4. The locating and communicating system of claim 1, further comprising means for remotely programming authorized telephone numbers in said cellular telephone means through said monitoring means.

5. The locating and communicating system of claim 4, further comprising means for inhibiting dialing of unauthorized telephone numbers from said cellular telephone means.

6. The locating and communicating system of claim 1, further comprising means for measuring signal strength of the emitted overhead message stream received by said cellular telephone means and for providing an alert when said vehicle enters a strong signal area.

7. The locating and communicating system of claim 1, wherein said control means further comprises means for monitoring vehicle status information for transmission to said monitoring means for display on the display means.

8. The locating and communicating system of claim 7, wherein said control means further comprises means for activating the cellular telephone means to establish a communications link with said monitoring means to report unauthorized entry and operation of the vehicle.

9. The locating and communicating system of claim 1, further comprising clock means connected to said control means to determine predetermined time intervals for interrogating the cellular telephone means and initiating communication from said cellular telephone means to said monitoring means.

10. Apparatus for locating and displaying in a vehicle the vehicle's approximate geographical location by means of a network of existing cellular telephone systems, said network comprised of a plurality of existing cellular telephone systems, each cellular telephone system having a unique system identification number, each cellular telephone system emitting a message stream containing the system identification number, comprising:

cellular telephone means within the vehicle;

at least one microprocessor connected to said cellular telephone means for interrogating said cellular telephone means for the system identification number of the particular cellular telephone system providing service to the cellular telephone means at the time of interrogation, and for processing the received system identification number by means of a database of cellular telephone system locations indexed by system identification number to determine the approximate geographic location of the vehicle by determining the location of the cellular telephone system then providing service; and

a graphic display connected to said microprocessor for displaying a map of a geographic area covered by the particular cellular telephone system providing service containing the approximate geographic location of the vehicle.

11. The location and display apparatus of claim 10, further comprising memory means connected to said microprocessor for receiving and storing data, said data comprising geographical area maps, directories, and other information, said data accessed by the microprocessor according to geographic location as the vehicle travels from one geographic location to another.

12. The location and display apparatus of claim 11, further comprising means for selecting a location from the stored data, highlighting said selected location on the displayed map, and textually displaying various travel parameters including the distance to the selected location and the estimated travel time to reach said location.

13. The location and display apparatus of claim 10, wherein each of said cellular telephone systems further comprises a number of individual cells, each cell emitting an overhead message stream containing the system identification number and a cell identification number, said microprocessor further comprises means for interrogating said cellular telephone means for the cell identification number of a particular cell within the cellular telephone system then providing service to the cellular telephone means, said microprocessor further comprises means for computing the longitude and latitude of a particular cell in the cellular telephone system to determine the approximate geographic location of said vehicle by determining the location of said cell.

14. The location and display apparatus of claim 10, wherein said cellular telephone means includes a hands-free microphone to enable an operator to input verbal information to said cellular telephone means.

15. A system for locating and communicating with vehicles by means of a network of existing cellular telephone systems, said network comprised of a plurality of existing cellular telephone systems, each cellular telephone system comprised of a plurality of individual cells, each cell emitting a message stream containing a system identification number and a cell identification number, comprising:

a host controller;

a cellular telephone means in at least one vehicle;

at least one microprocessor having memory means connected to said cellular telephone means for interrogating said cellular telephone means to receive the system identification number and the cell identification number of the particular cell in the cellular telephone system providing service to said vehicle at the time of interrogation, said microprocessor further configured for initiating communications at predetermined intervals with said host controller for transmitting information, including the cell identification number, from said microprocessor to said host controller, said host controller processing the transmitted cell identification number to determine the approximate geographic location of the vehicle by determining the location of said cell; and

a display connected to said host controller for displaying a map and the approximate location of said vehicle on said map.

16. The locating and communicating system of claim 15, wherein each cell further emits the longitude and latitude of the cell, and said microprocessor further comprises means for interrogating said cellular telephone means for receiving the longitude and latitude of the particular cell in the cellular telephone system providing service at the time of interrogation, said microprocessor processing the received longitude and latitude to determine the approximate geographical location of said vehicle.

17. The locating and communicating system of claim 15, further comprising means for measuring signal strength of the emitted overhead message stream received by said cellular telephone means and for providing an alert when said vehicle enters a strong signal area.

18. The locating and communicating system of claim 15, further comprising sensor means connected to said microprocessor for monitoring vehicle performance information for transmission to said host controller.

19. The locating and communicating system of claim 18, wherein said host controller further comprises means for receiving and storing said vehicle performance information and for compiling said information into a report covering the vehicle.

20. The locating and communicating system of claim 15, further comprising clock means connected to said microprocessor to identify predetermined time intervals for interrogating the cellular telephone means and initiating communications from said cellular telephone means to said host controller.

21. A method for locating a vehicle equipped with cellular telephone means using a network of existing cellular telephone systems, each cellular telephone system comprised of a plurality of cells, each cell emitting a message stream containing a system identification number and a cell identification number, comprising the steps of:

interrogating the cellular telephone means to receive the system identification number and cell identification number of the particular cell in the cellular telephone system providing service at the time of interrogation;

establishing a communications link between the cellular telephone means and a display means;

transmitting to said display means the identify of the vehicle, performance information, system identification number, and said cell identification number;

addressing a database containing a geographic location for each cell in the cellular telephone system indexed by cell identification number to determine the approximate geographic location of said vehicle; and

graphically displaying on said display means the geographic location of said vehicle.

22. The locating method of claim 21, wherein the step of interrogating said cellular telephone means includes evaluating the received signal to determine whether there exists sufficient signal strength to initiate communications with said display means.

23. The locating method of claim 21, further comprising the step of storing the performance information transmitted by the vehicle to said display means, and further comprising the step of compiling the stored information into a report identifying the performance of the vehicle over a predetermined period of time.

24. The locating method of claim 21, further comprising the step of measuring the time following transmission of information from said cellular telephone means to said display means and initiating transmission of information from said cellular telephone means upon lapse of a predetermined period of time.

25. The locating method of claim 21, further comprising the step of remotely programming authorized telephone numbers in said cellular telephone means from said display means for inhibiting dialing of telephone numbers from said cellular telephone means other than said authorized telephone numbers.

26. The locating method of claim 21, wherein the step of addressing said database includes the step of identifying the cellular telephone system providing service at the time of said addressing to determine a geographical location of said vehicle.

27. The locating method of claim 21, wherein each cell further emits the longitude and latitude of the cell within the cellular telephone system, and the step of addressing said cellular telephone means further comprises obtaining the longitude and latitude of the particular cell in the cellular telephone system providing service at the time of addressing to determine the approximate geographical location of said vehicle.

28. The locating method of claim 21, further comprising steps for locating the vehicle between transmissions, including:

determining the location of the vehicle at the time of the last transmission;

identifying the final destination and anticipated route of the vehicle;

calculating the average speed of the vehicle from previously reported hours driven and distance travelled to determine the approximate distance travelled since the last reporting period;

calculating the time elapsed since the last transmission from the vehicle;

determining the approximate location of the vehicle by calculating the distance travelled along the anticipated route using the average speed of the vehicle and the elapsed time since the last transmission from the vehicle;

interrogating said database to obtain system identification numbers and roamer numbers for cellular telephone systems serving an area surrounding and including the approximate location of the vehicle; and

initiating calls from said display means to the vehicle at predetermined intervals over said cellular telephone systems serving an area surrounding and including the approximate location of the vehicle until contact is made with the vehicle.

29. A method for displaying in a vehicle the approximate geographical location of the vehicle, said vehicle equipped with a cellular telephone means, said vehicle travelling in an area serviced by a network of existing cellular telephone systems, each cellular telephone system comprised of a plurality of cells, each cell emitting a message stream containing a system identification number, comprising the steps of:

interrogating said cellular telephone means to determine the system identification number associated with the cellular telephone system providing communications service at the time of interrogation;

determining the location of the vehicle by comparing the system identification number to a list of system identification numbers and locations;

graphically displaying on display means connected to said cellular telephone means a map including the area wherein said vehicle is located;

highlighting on said map the location of said vehicle;

selecting by means of a keyboard points of interest on said map;

calculating and displaying on said display means the distance from said selected points of interest to the location of said vehicle;

calculating the average speed of said vehicle from previously reported hours driven and distance travelled; and

utilizing said distance from said selected points of interest and said average speed, calculating and displaying on said display means the estimated travel time from the location of said vehicle to the selected points of interest.

30. The display method of claim 29, wherein each cell in said cellular telephone system is also emitting a cell identification number in the message stream, and the step of interrogating said cellular telephone means further comprises receiving said cell identification number associated with a particular cell within the cellular telephone system then providing service to the cellular telephone means at the time of interrogation, and the step of determining the location of the vehicle further comprises means for comparing said cell identification number to a list of cell identification numbers and locations.

31. The display method of claim 29, wherein each cell in said cellular telephone system also emits longitude and latitude coordinates for the cell location in the message stream and the step of interrogating said cellular telephone means further comprises receiving the longitude and latitude coordinates of a particular cell in the cellular telephone system providing service at the time of interrogation to determine the geographical location of said vehicle.

This invention relates to methods and apparatus for locating and communicating from a central location with vehicles traveling in various geographical areas, and more particularly, to a method and apparatus for locating and communicating with vehicles through use of a voice activated mobile cellular telephone installed in the vehicle, and visually displaying at the central location the geographical location of each vehicle and vehicle information automatically communicated to the central location.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Historically, in industries utilizing multiple vehicles traveling in various geographical regions, such as in the long haul trucking industry, drivers of the vehicles must periodically communicate with a base or home office to report information such as present location of the vehicle, the number of hours driven and any problems experienced with the vehicle. In such industries where there is a need to determine the geographical location of a vehicle, tracking systems utilizing Loran-C receivers and microwave transmitters have been employed for vehicle location. Use of such equipment tends to be limited solely to locating and tracking the vehicles. In many instances, the only means of locating a vehicle in service consists of the driver of the vehicle stopping, getting out of the vehicle, and calling a report into the home base on a public pay phone. To date, the cellular industry has failed to penetrate the trucking market and other industries where vehicle locating is desired for such reasons as high start-up costs for obtaining terminal equipment and high operating costs.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The locating and communicating method and apparatus of the present invention overcome the foregoing and other problems associated with the prior art utilizing existing cellular telephone system services and information. A microprocessor interrogates a cellular telephone located in the vehicle to obtain location information received by the cellular phone in an overhead message stream transmitted from the particular cellular system providing service at the time of the interrogation. A call is initiated from the cellular telephone to a host controller for display of the location of the vehicle on a map and textual display of any other vehicle information transmitted from the vehicle. A voice activation/recognition device is connected to the microprocessor and a hands-free microphone and a speaker are connected to the voice activation/recognition device to allow for hands free operation of the system by the driver of the vehicle.

In a second embodiment of the invention, the entire system is located within the vehicle. The microprocessor interrogates the cellular phone to obtain location information from the message stream, processes the information, then causes the information to be displayed on a connected display.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

For a more complete understanding of the present invention and the advantages thereof, reference is now made to the following Detailed Description taken in conjunction with the accompanying Drawings in which:

FIG. 1 is a diagram illustrating communication between the vehicle and the host controller of the present invention over a mobile cellular system;

FIG. 2 is a block diagram of the in-vehicle portion of the locating and communicating system of the present invention;

FIG. 3 is a block diagram of the host controller portion of the locating system of the present invention;

FIG. 4 is a flow chart of the operation of the in-vehicle portion of the locating and communicating system of the present invention;

FIG. 5 is a flow chart of the operation of the host portion of the locating and communicating system of the present invention; and

FIG. 6 is a block diagram of the hardware of an in-vehicle locating system incorporating a second embodiment of the present invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Referring now to the Drawings, and more particularly to FIG. 1 wherein there is shown an illustration of the locating and communicating system of the present invention incorporating a central data gathering device or host controller 10 having a display 12 and a keyboard 14 connected thereto. The host controller 10 communicates as shown by directional arrow 16 with a mobile telephone switching office 18 in turn communicating as indicated by directional arrow 20 with a particular cell transmitter 22 for transmitting and receiving signals from a vehicle 24 equipped with a mobile cellular transceiver (not shown) connected to at least one microprocessor (not shown).

As shown in FIG. 1, an overhead message stream containing cellular system identification information, including the SID number and, where transmitted, the cell identification number and transmitter site coordinates, is transmitted from the cell transmitter 22 and received by the in-vehicle portion of the locating and communicating system (not shown). The signal is then read by the in-vehicle portion of the locating and communicating system to determine the existence of sufficient signal strength for transmission from the vehicle 24. Upon reading a sufficient signal strength and/or lapse of a predetermined time period, a report is automatically transmitted from the vehicle 24 to the cell transmitter 22, from where the signal is carried, as indicated by directional arrow 20, to the mobile telephone switching office 18, and from there to the host controller 10 as indicated by directional arrow 16.

The information received is read by the host controller 10 and looked up in a database associated therewith and containing SID numbers, roamer numbers, cell identification numbers, and transmitter site coordinates, to determine the location of the reporting vehicle 24. The location 26 of the vehicle 24 is then highlighted on a map 28 displayed on the screen 12 connected to the host controller 10. At that point, the operator of the host controller 10 obtains the telephone number necessary to initiate a telephone call to the vehicle 24 utilizing the keyboard 14 to call up the telephone number from the database associated with the host controller 10.

Long haul truckers must periodically report to the base terminal or home office information such as the total number of driver hours, any problems with the vehicle, scheduling changes, status of the cargo, as well as any other information needed by the home office. To maintain current information, the locating and communicating system of the present invention provides for automatic periodic reporting of such information to the home office. The report is initiated in the in-vehicle portion of the system.

As illustrated in the block diagram of FIG. 2, the in-vehicle portion of the system is comprised of a microprocessor 40 having an associated read only memory ("ROM") 42, an associated random access memory ("RAM") 44, and an expansion port 46 for options (shown in broken lines) including, automatic reporting of engine status, a truck alarm system, and Loran-C positioning input to allow for location of the vehicle using Loran-C in addition to cellular communication.

The ROM 42 contains the necessary control programs for operation of the in-vehicle portion of the system. The RAM 44 is available for storing operating instructions remotely programmable from the host controller 10.

In an attempt to monitor vehicle conditions, the optional engine status reporting feature 43 provides for reading by the microprocessor of engine conditions such as temperature, engine speed, and oil pressure. In the event of theft of the vehicle, the optional truck alarm system 45 alerts the microprocessor to instruct the mobile cellular transceiver 58 to initiate a call to report the theft of the vehicle. To allow locating utilizing existing tracking system information, the optional Loran-C positioning input 47 provides for the receipt of Loran-C positioning transmissions.

A power supply 48 is connected to the vehicle battery to provide electrical energy for operating the microprocessor 40. A start switch 50 actuates an audio multiplexer 52 for receiving driver input through a handsfree microphone 54. The input from the hands free microphone 54 is then passed through the audio multiplexer 52 to voice recognition and synthesis 56 for conversion to digital form readable by the microprocessor 40.

Information is also received by the microprocessor 40 from the host controller through the mobile cellular transceiver 58 located in the vehicle. Cellular radio signals are received by the mobile cellular transceiver 58 connected to a vehicle antenna 60. The signals are then transmitted over the cellular phone bus 62 through the audio multiplexer 52 and a smart modem 72 to the microprocessor 40. The microprocessor 40 is connected to the audio multiplexer 52 through the smart modem 72 to allow extraction of the digital information from the analog signal and for modulation of the information transmitted from the microprocessor 40. An interface 74 provides the necessary protocol for communication between the microprocessor 40 and the mobile cellular unit.

In the event of audio communication between the operator of the host controller and the driver, the signals are transmitted from the transceiver 58 over the cellular phone bus 62 to the handset 64 of the mobile cellular unit. If the driver of the vehicle elects to use the hands free microphone 54, instead of the handset 64, for audio communication with the operator of the host controller, the audio communication travels from the cellular phone bus 62 through the audio multiplexer 52 to an amplifier 66 for broadcast to the vehicle driver through a speaker 68. The volume of the broadcast is regulated by a volume control 70 controlling the amplifier 66.

Operating energy is provided to the amplifier 66 and cellular telephone transceiver 58 from the vehicle ignition. When the driver is verbally communicating over the cellular telephone, he may speak through either the hands-free microphone 54 or may lift and speak through the handset 64. For storage of information through voice recognition, the hands-free microphone may be used.

As shown in the block diagram of FIG. 2, the microprocessor 40 connected to the mobile cellular unit has connected thereto a calendar and clock 49 for documenting the date and time of storing and/or transmitting information. A report interval timer 51 provides for determining when to initiate a call to the host controller based upon the expiration of a predetermined time period remotely programmed by the host controller and stored in the RAM 44.

To inhibit calls made from the mobile unit to numbers unauthorized by the home office, the microprocessor 40 has a restricted phone usage function 53 that searches a list of authorized phone numbers remotely programmed by the host controller and stored in the RAM 44. The numerical keys of the handset of the cellular phone are disabled. Thus, the authorized numbers may only be accessed through voice command. If the number entered through voice command is not contained in the list of authorized numbers, the call is automatically inhibited. Similarly, the authorized systems look-up table 55 prevents initiation of a call when the SID number contained in the message stream at the time of interrogation is not contained within said look-up table.

The voice recognition operation 57 of the microprocessor 40 provides for receiving and storing of information in a memory connected to the mobile cellular transceiver upon receipt of verbal input from the driver of the vehicle. In addition to reading and transmitting information, the microprocessor 40 has tracking log capabilities 59 for recording and storing vehicle information for extended reporting periods for subsequent report compilation.

As shown in the block diagram of FIG. 3, the central data gathering device or host controller portion of the locating system of the present invention comprises a host controller 90 connected to a smart modem 92 to allow communication between the controller 90 and any number of telephone lines dedicated for vehicle reporting only. Associated with the host controller 90 is an optional auto dial feature 94 (shown in broken lines) for initiating calls over a watts line 96. Calls are initiated to, as well as calls received from, the vehicle over the watts line 96.

Connected to the host controller is at least one terminal 98. In the case of larger companies, an optional system expansion configuration 104 (shown in broken lines) utilizing an existing customer processing system 106 and existing dispatch terminals 108, may be utilized to reduce system installation costs. Each terminal 98 has a screen 100 for displaying a map, location information regarding each reporting vehicle, and textual information reported by each vehicle. A keyboard 102 is connected to each terminal 98 for remote programming of authorized telephone numbers for storage in the RAM 44 associated with the microprocessor 40, to allow the host operator to access databases containing telephone numbers for the various locations of the reporting vehicles, to allow menu selection, and to allow remote programming of the report time interval in the microprocessors located in each of the vehicles.

Through an error correcting protocol, the host controller 90 instructs the microprocessor 40 through the mobile cellular