GPS and wireless integrated fleet management system and method
Assigneee-LANTiS Corporation
InventorsHongfeng Wei, Sid Forougi
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
A fleet management system has a chauffeur or driver module and a communication and positioning module associated with each fleet vehicle, and a backend monitoring and control system located at a fleet data center in communication with each vehicle. The system monitors each trip automatically and generates time stamps at the start of a trip, a pick up location, a drop off location, and return of the vehicle to a garage at the end of a trip. Vehicle status information is collected and stored along with timestamps. The information is used to generate billing and payroll accounts, and also in monitoring conditions of fleet vehicles and generating alerts as needed. Turn-by-turn route instructions are provided to drivers by voice output on request.
Claims16
A computer system-based and smart phone based method for controlling a fleet of automobiles, comprising:
- receiving by a first computer system a client request from a touchscreen of a client smart phone for pickup by an automobile at a first location and transportation by the automobile to a second location;
- determining by the first computer system a first available automobile in a fleet of automobiles proximate to a first location;
- the first computer system dispatching the first available automobile toward the first location;
- generating diagnostic data about the mechanical status of the first available automobile by a second computer on-board the first available automobile;
- notifying the client smart phone of a vehicle delay alert generated by the first computer system for the first available automobile based at least in part on said generating the diagnostic data;
- based at least in part on said generating of the vehicle delay alert, searching by the first computer system for a second available automobile;
- disabling the engine of the first available automobile by the first computer system after said generating diagnostic data;
- and
- dispatching by the first computer system the second available automobile toward the client.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.