Patent Application
20090254270
Embodiments of the present invention relate to an apparatus and method for tracking a traveling path of a vehicle, and more particularly to a vehicle charge meter which can document or print out toponyms of points of interest of the traveling path.
Vehicles provide our lives with convenient and efficient transportation facilities. Public vehicles, such as taxies and public buses, also play an important role in transportation. Most taxi proprietors charge according to the distance (mileage) traveled and waiting time. A taximeter, for example, including a mileage meter, an odometer and a timer, is employed in a taxi to record the traveling distance of the taxi. Typically, the taximeter senses not only the rotating speed of a vehicle tire, but also the traveling time and waiting time. As such, the traveling distance can be calculated by multiplying the circumference of the vehicle tire by the sensed rotating speed and the sensed traveling time, and a vehicle charge meter in the taxi can calculate the total charge fee. A charge standard stipulated by a taxi administration headquarters usually includes the aforementioned two factors: traveling distance and waiting time. Furthermore, other aspects, such as time of day (daytime or midnight), day of week (workday or weekend), route taken, destination (downtown or suburb), initial fee, and surcharge (additional fee for fuel, personal call, luggage, etc.), may also be considered in the charge standard.
In addition to the aforementioned functions, the vehicle charge meter may also offer various other functions, such as printing receipts, charge mode programmability, automatic voice prompt, clock and calendar, daily report and so on. However, in practice, consumers need more information for protecting their rights and interests. For example, a taxi passenger may want to know whether the driver selected an optimal path and whether the fare charged by the driver is reasonable or not.
A receipt showing names of the places where a passenger gets on and off a taxi and that the taxi passes by is needed. Nevertheless, a conventional vehicle charge meter may print out a receipt only showing a traveling time, a traveling distance and a total charge fee. It is an object of the present invention to provide an apparatus and method for accurately tracking a path of a vehicle and providing a printed note or an electronic file for showing the path in a cost effective manner.
In order to achieve the above object, the present invention provides a vehicle charge meter for tracking a path of a vehicle by documenting toponyms of the path in an electronic receipt or on a paper receipt. The vehicle charge meter comprises a receiver, a memory, a local controller, and a receipt documentation device. The receiver, the memory, and the receipt documentation device are all coupled to the local controller. The receiver is used for receiving RF signals and extracting positioning data from the signals. The memory includes a database storing relationships between positioning data and toponyms. The local controller is then used for retrieving at least one toponym corresponding to the extracted positioning data. As such, the receipt documentation device can document the retrieved toponym in an electronic receipt or on a paper receipt.
Other objects, advantages, and novel features of the invention will become more apparent from the following Detailed Description when taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawing.
Reference will now be made in detail to the embodiments of the present invention, system and method for tracking a path of a vehicle. While the invention will be described in conjunction with the embodiments, it will be understood that they are not intended to limit the invention to these embodiments. On the contrary, the invention is intended to cover alternatives, modifications and equivalents, which may be included within the spirit and scope of the invention as defined by the appended claims.
Furthermore, in the following detailed description of the present invention, numerous specific details are set forth in order to provide a thorough understanding of the present invention. However, it will be recognized by one of ordinary skill in the art that the present invention may be practiced without these specific details. In other instances, well known methods, procedures, components, and circuits have not been described in detail as not to unnecessarily obscure aspects of the present invention.
Referring to
In accordance with one embodiment of the present invention, the satellite constellation 110 is a Global Positioning System (GPS) satellite constellation broadcasting GPS signals, and the vehicle 102 is equipped with a GPS receiver to receive the GPS signals. In one embodiment, the GPS receiver can be installed in the vehicle charge meter 300. The GPS receiver allows the vehicle charge meter 300 to pinpoint the precise location of the vehicle 102. The GPS satellite constellation 110 includes more than 24 satellites (31 up to now) locating in six orbital planes, and there can be four satellites visible at any given time and place on the earth surface. By observing four satellites, e.g., the satellite 106, of the GPS constellation 110 synchronously, the geodetic coordinates of the vehicle 102 can be obtained.
A GPS signal comprises RF carrier, ranging code, and data code. The ranging code and data code are phase-modulated on the RF carrier with a particular frequency. The ranging code is a family of binary pseudorandom noise (PRN) code sequences (pseudorandom code), which is used to identify the satellite 106 and measure distance from the satellite 106 to the vehicle 102. The GPS signal carries two series of ranging code: Coarse Acquisition code (C/A code) and Precision code (P-code). The C/A code is originated from an accurate atomic clock installed in the satellite 106. A matching C/A code can be generated from a clock installed in the GPS receiver of the vehicle charge meter 300 of the vehicle 102. The GPS receiver is then able to match or correlate the C/A code extracted from the received GPS signal so as to generate the matching C/A code. In this way, the time taken for the GPS signal to travel from the satellite 106 to the vehicle 102 can be calculated and then the distance between the satellite 106 and the vehicle 102 can be calculated. This calculated distance is called pseudorange.
The data code of the GPS signal contains navigation message of the satellite 106. The navigation message includes clock adjustment parameters, ephemeris, almanac, and so on. The ephemeris indicates the current date and time, orbital parameters and health status of the satellite 106 when the GPS signal is broadcasted. Based on the ephemeris, the geodetic coordinates and velocity of the satellite 106 can be computed. The almanac gives an approximate estimation of orbital parameters for the satellites in the constellation 110.
The positioning data of the vehicle 102 can be extracted from the ranging code and data code of the GPS signals broadcasted by the satellites of the satellite constellation 110. As mentioned above, the position of the vehicle 102 can be determined by receiving the GPS signals from four satellites. The GPS receiver of the vehicle 102 receives the GPS signals, and then the geodetic coordinates of the four satellites and their pseudoranges to the vehicle 102 can be calculated. As such, four trigonometric equations can be established and three unknown parameters of the geodetic coordinates (latitude, longitude, and altitude), or the positioning data, of the vehicle 102 can be determined.
In this embodiment, the vehicle 102 is provided with a toponym database which includes relationships between positioning data and toponyms. Specific positioning data (geodetic coordinates) which are correspondent to a specific position are correspondent to a unique corresponding toponym. The corresponding toponym can be retrieved from the database according to the positioning data.
In another embodiment, P-code can be used for achieving better precision. And in still another embodiment, enhanced calculation techniques like Differential GPS (DGPS) can be used. For DGPS, a special device positioned at a precisely-surveyed location called a differential beacon (not shown in
In accordance with other embodiments of the present invention, other global satellite navigation and positioning systems instead of the GPS can be applied to the satellite constellation 110. The aforementioned positioning theory based on the GPS system, which is developed by the U.S. Department of Defense and based on Code Division Multiple Access (CDMA) technology, can also be applied to other global satellite navigation and positioning systems, such as Galileo developed by the European Union and also based on CDMA technology, Global Navigation Satellite System (GLONASS) developed by Russia but based on Frequency Division Multiple Access (FDMA) technology, or BD-1 developed by China.
Besides GPS and other global satellite navigation and positioning systems, Location Based Service (LBS), also called Location Service (LCS), is an alternative positioning technology in another embodiment. Referring back to
LBS can be provided through various technologies, such as Cell of Origin (COO) technology, Time of Arrival (TOA) or Angle of Arrival (AOA) technology, and Enhanced Observed Time Difference (E-OTD) technology, for obtaining the positioning data of an object. In one embodiment, according to the COO technology, when the LBS receiver of the vehicle 102 receives a LBS signal from one cell site, for example, the cell site 104, in the cellular network the cell site 104 is the nearest cell site, because a LBS signal from the nearest cell site is the strongest and can be most easily detected by the LBS receiver of the vehicle 102. As such, the rough location of the vehicle 102 is known since the location of the cell site 104 is known. The accuracy thereof depends primarily on the density of the cellular network.
In another embodiment, E-OTD technology is used for LBS. The vehicle 102 is installed with E-OTD software. When LBS signals from three of the cell sites are received by the vehicle 102, the time differences of arrival of the LBS signals at the vehicle 102 are calculated. The time differences are combined to produce intersecting hyperbolic lines so as to estimate the location of the vehicle 102.
In another embodiment, a receiver in the vehicle 102 is able to receive both GPS signals from the satellite constellation 110 and LBS signals from a set of Global System for Mobile Communications (GSM) cell sites to form a hybrid system or Assisted GPS (AGPS) and to determine the location of the vehicle 102. The LBS signals from the set of GSM cell sites (including the cell site 104) serve as assistances to the GPS signals from the GPS constellation 110. The AGPS can employ the vehicle 102 for location computation, or can employ the cell sites for remote computation for the vehicle 102. In another embodiment, a receiver in the vehicle 102 is able to receive GPS signals from the satellite constellation 110 and LBS signals from a set of Code Division Multiple Access (CDMA) cell sites to form another hybrid system or GPSONE instead of AGPS.
Referring to
The wireless communication established between the remote server 108 and the vehicle 102 can comply with various messaging protocols, such as TCP/IP protocol and mobile GSM/CDMA protocol. The TCP/IP protocol further includes Wireless Local Area Network (WLAN) TCP/IP protocol, Wireless Wide Area Network (WWAN) TCP/IP protocol and Internet. WLAN can be WiFi, WiMAX, Bluetooth, etc., which can be applied to the region for establishing the wireless communication. In another embodiment, the wireless communication between the remote server 108 and the vehicle 102 can be established through mobile GSM/CDMA protocol. For example, the remote server 108 can communicate with the vehicle 102 through Short Message Service (SMS), Enhanced Message Service (EMS), or packet oriented General Packet Radio Service (GPRS) technology. Moreover, a 3G technology, such as Telecommunications System (UMTS) or Enhanced Data-Rates for GSM Evolution (EDGE), can also be applied for establishing the wireless communication. Communication through Multimedia Messaging Service (MMS) is also an example of such 3G-based technology.
In accordance with one further embodiment of the present invention, the set of cell sites can be used to provide toponyms to the vehicle 102. The vehicle 102 communicates with the remote server 108 through the set of cell sites. The positioning data is transmitted from the vehicle 102 to the set of cell sites and then transmitted to the remote server 108 through a network, not shown, such as the Internet or a LAN (Local Area Network). Consequently, the complexity of the vehicle charge meter 300 in the vehicle 102 can be reduced.
Referring to
As shown in
The local controller 310 is a “kernel” of the whole vehicle charge meter 300, which can be a general-purpose Central Processing Unit (CPU), Micro Control Unit (MCU), Micro Processor Unit (MPU), DSP, Advanced RISC Machines (ARM), Microprocessor without Interlocked Pipeline Stages (MIPS), or the like. The local controller 310 manipulates the other modules of the vehicle charge meter 300 to cooperate with each other efficiently, but also parses toponyms of places the vehicle 102 passed by and calculates the traveling distance, the total charge fee, and other information. The positioning data extracted from the receiver 302 can be processed by the local controller 310. In this process, various GPS positioning theories, surveying adjustment, error processing, and some statistic algorithms can be applied by the local controller 310 for optimizing the positioning data. In order to obtain toponyms, the local controller 310 can utilize a database to convert the positioning data into a toponym. In other words, standard geodetic coordinates as the positioning data can be converted into a human-recognizable name of a regional place. In one embodiment, the database including mapping relationship between the positioning data and toponyms is preloaded in the vehicle charge meter 300. In one embodiment, particular positioning data (geodetic coordinates) will be correspondent to a unique corresponding toponym in the database.
The tachometer sensor 312 coupled to the local controller 310 detects velocity of the vehicle 102, from which the traveling distance and the total fare can be computed by the local controller 310. When the vehicle charge meter 300 is initially set and the tachometer sensor 312 is actuated, the tachometer sensor 312 starts to detect velocity of the vehicle 102 and output velocity data to the local controller 310. In one embodiment, the tachometer sensor 312 measures the rotating speed of the vehicle tires to determine the velocity of the vehicle 102.
The I/O block 324 including input and output devices are controlled by the local controller 310. As shown in
The receipt documentation device 314, the display 315, the speaker 316 and the indicator light 318 work as output devices and output the corresponding information in response to the local controller 310. The receipt documentation device 314 can generate the electronic receipt or print out the paper receipt for the journey; the display 315 can show parsed toponyms; the speaker 316 can give instantaneous voice prompt of POIs during the journey; and the indicator light 318 can show occupation status of the vehicle 102. In general, the receipt documentation device 314 produces a record of the receipt that may be printed on paper in the vehicle 102, or stored in an electronic format for subsequent review and printing. For example, the electronic receipt can be formed as a computer-readable .doc or .txt file and downloaded to a mass storage device like a PDA, a smart phone, a USB flash disk, etc., or sent to a mobile phone as a SMS text message.
The memory 320 can temporarily store system software, application software, the database, parsed toponyms during processing as well as other data in one embodiment. System software, also called an Operating System (OS), such as Vx work, Palm OS, QNX, Windows CE, etc., can be stored in non-volatile memory of the memory 320. The system software may allow multiple software tasks manipulated by different applications. Application software can be preloaded in the memory 320 whenever in need. The database including relationships between the positioning data and toponyms loaded in the memory 320 can be either installed manually by the driver or downloaded from an administration headquarters. However, the database can also be stored in an extra memory besides memory 320 according to a different application.
In accordance with one embodiment of the present invention, a smart card reader 326 is coupled to the local controller 310 for allowing cashless payment. The smart card reader can be automatically set according to the calculated total charge fee, such that the driver need not manually input the number of the total charge fee.
The path tracking process of the vehicle charge meter 300 according to one embodiment of the present invention will be described hereinafter in detail. At first, when a journey commences, the driver as an operator presses a button on the keypad 313 to startup and initialize the vehicle charge meter 300. After the initialization, all the modules in the vehicle charge meter 300 are set ready for work. The tachometer sensor 312 is turned on and starts to count the traveling distance. Previous records and temporary variables in the memory 320 are cleared. The speaker 316 and display 315 are reset. The indicator light 318 is turned off indicating occupation of the vehicle 102. The smart card reader 326 is reset for another payment. Also, the toponym of the start place where the passenger gets on the vehicle 102 is produced. The toponym is parsed from corresponding positioning data of the start place. The positioning data are extracted from signals received at the start place. According to different embodiments, the receiver 302 can accept and process signals from a GPS satellite constellation, or from LBS cell sites. As mentioned above, the receiver 302 converts the received signals into computer-readable digital data so as to extract positioning data of the vehicle 102. The local controller 310 recalls a database to parse the positioning data into toponym. In this embodiment, the database is installed in the memory 320 of the vehicle 102. The parsed toponym of the start place is stored in the memory 320 for later documentation or printing on a receipt. Optionally, voice prompt and display of the parsed toponym of the start place can be provided right away.
During the journey, the toponyms of POIs can be produced and stored in the memory 320 for later documentation or printing. In one embodiment, either the driver or the passenger can mark the POIs during the journey by pressing a button on the keypad 313. In another embodiment, a gyroscope or a similar inertial navigation device can be used to sense the driving direction of the vehicle 102 so as to detect a turning point or a crossroad as the POI. When a POI is confirmed, its corresponding toponym is then produced and stored, which is similar to the process of obtaining the toponym of the start place. Also voice prompt and display of the toponym can be provided optionally. There can be more than one POI during the journey, so the detecting and parsing processes can be repeated to obtain the toponyms corresponding to the POIs. When the journey is done, the path tracking course will be finished and a receipt for the journey can be produced. In one embodiment, by means of a specific button on the keypad 313, the destination can be confirmed by the operator's input. Certainly, the toponym of the destination can be parsed as well. In the end, the toponyms of the start place, POIs during the journey, and the destination, which are stored in the memory 320, are retrieved from the memory 320 and included on the electronic or paper receipt. Regular or additional information such as time, fare rate, and total fee can be included in the receipt.
Moreover, in accordance with other embodiments, additional modules can be added to the vehicle charge meter 300 for offering more functions. The additional modules can include a power conversion module, backup power supply module, protective module, black box service module, emergency alarm and help module, etc.
Referring to
In foregoing embodiments, each element in the vehicle charge meter 300 and 400 is introduced separately as each itself is a separated component and can be formed as an isolated integrated circuit (IC) chip. For example, the local controller 310 can be a single chip. However, in accordance with other embodiments, some or even all of the modules can be integrated in one single chip according to different applications. For example, the memory 320 and the smartcard reader 326 can be integrated with the local controller 310 in one chip.
Referring to
At 504, if a POI is passed, then the flowchart proceeds to 506; otherwise, the flowchart proceeds to 514. The particular places, such as turning points or crossroads, which can indicate the route of driving and influence the traveling distance and charge fee, can be automatically set as POIs. In one embodiment, a gyroscope or a like inertial navigation device can be used to sense the driving direction of the vehicle, and automatically detect and mark the turning point or crossroad as the POI. In another embodiment, either the driver or the passenger can choose wherever he/she is interested and press a button on the keypad to mark the place as a POI.
At 506, positioning data of the POI is extracted from GPS or LBS signals received at the POI. When the POI is confirmed at 504, signals from GPS satellites constellation, or from LBS cell sites, or even from other positioning information providers, are received. Raw data are extracted from the received signals. The desired positioning data of the POI can be calculated from the raw data. The calculated positioning data refer to geodetic coordinates of two dimensions: latitude and longitude, or even to an additional altitude dimension.
At 508, the toponym of the POI is retrieved from a database according to the positioning data. The corresponding toponym is parsed from the positioning data by querying the database and retrieving the corresponding toponym according to the positioning data. In one embodiment, the database is a look-up table including relationships between positioning data and toponyms. In other words, particular positioning data (geodetic coordinates) is correspondent to a unique corresponding toponym. In one embodiment, the database is installed in the vehicle.
Yet in another embodiment, the database is installed in a remote server. In this situation, a wireless communication is built between the remote server and the vehicle. A transceiver is installed in the vehicle charge meter for communicating with the remote server and cooperating with the remote server to parse the toponym of the POI. The steps of retrieving the toponym from the database installed in the remote server are described in detail hereinafter with reference to
At 510, the parsed toponym of the POI is stored in a memory device in the vehicle for later receipt documentation or printing.
At 512, optionally, the voice prompt and the retrieved toponym display are provided in real time. Once the point POI is marked at 504, its toponym can be announced by the speaker and shown on the screen of the display.
At 514, whether the destination is arrived at is determined. If not, the flowchart returns to 504 for tracking another POI. There can be more than one POI during the journey, so the block 504 to the block 512 can be executed repeatedly. If the destination is confirmed, then the flowchart goes to 516.
At 516, the toponym of the destination is obtained, and a receipt can be produced. Similarly, the toponym of the destination can be obtained from the positioning data of the destination and the database. The detailed steps for parsing the toponym of the destination are similar to that of the POIs. The stored toponyms in the memory device as well as the toponyms of the start place and the destination can be retrieved for documentation or printing.
At 518, an electronic or paper receipt for the journey can be produced. The receipt documentation device is driven to produce the receipt with designed information. The content of the receipt can encompass the toponyms of the start place, POIs during the journey, and the destination, and information such as time, fare rate, and total fee according to different applications. For example, in one embodiment, the receipt documentation device can generate the electronic receipt in a form of a computer-readable .doc or .txt file, which can be downloaded to a mass storage device like a PDA, a smart phone, a USB flash disk, etc., or sent to a mobile phone as a SMS text message. In another embodiment, the receipt documentation device can be a printer printing out the paper receipt. As the traveling path of the journey is tracked clearly in the documented electronic receipt or the printed paper receipt, the passenger can check the journey afterwards. Once the passenger finds the route that the driver took is different from a normal or better one, he can lodge a complaint about the driver and ask for a refund, for example.
Referring to
Referring to
While the foregoing description and drawings represent embodiments of the present invention, it will be understood that various additions, modifications and substitutions may be made therein without departing from the spirit and scope of the principles of the present invention as defined in the accompanying claims. One skilled in the art will appreciate that the invention may be used with many modifications of form, structure, arrangement, proportions, materials, elements, and components and otherwise, used in the practice of the invention, which are particularly adapted to specific environments and operative requirements without departing from the principles of the present invention. The presently disclosed embodiments are therefore to be considered in all respects as illustrative and not restrictive, the scope of the invention being indicated by the appended claims and their legal equivalents, and not limited to the foregoing description.
