Communication system for message display onboard mass transit vehicles

A communication system for mass transit vehicles comprising:

• a plurality of mass transit vehicles operating within a geographical area serviced by a cellular telephone network, the cellular telephone network being interconnected with the telephone system, each said vehicle being periodically assigned for passenger service along a designated route located within said geographical area, each said vehicle equipped with a plurality of passenger seats;
• a generator/transmitter connectable to a telephone located anywhere in said system and adapted to generate and transmit digital signals to any addressable code in said system, each digital signal corresponding to a message;
• a cellular based visual communication unit located within each of said vehicles in a position that is viewable from a plurality of passenger seats, each said unit having an addressable code within said system and being operatively connected with said telephone system via said cellular network;
• and
• each said unit including means for receiving and storing, both during passenger service on a designated route and prior thereto, a digital signal intended to be appropriate to the designated route to which the respective vehicle has been assigned, each signal being sent from said generator/transmitter via the cellular telephone network to the addressable code of the respective unit, the generator/transmitter and each said respective receiving means cooperatively ensuring error-free reception of the respective digital signal;
• each said unit further including means for subsequent selective display during passenger service of a route specific message corresponding to the respective received and stored digital signal.

A method for communicating messages for display onboard mass transit vehicles comprising the steps of:

• operatively linking each of a plurality of mass transit vehicles with a telephone system via a cellular based visual communication unit mounted in each of said vehicles, each said vehicle being periodically assigned to a designated route within a geographical area serviced by a cellular telephone network;
• generating and transmitting alphanumeric route specific messages to said vehicles via the cellular telephone network, the transmissions originating from a remotely located telephone connected to the system;
• and
• receiving, storing and subsequently displaying the alphanumeric route specific messages onboard the mass transit vehicles, each received, stored and displayed route specific message being particular to a designated route to which the respective vehicle has been assigned.

The method of communicating messages for display onboard a plurality of mass transit vehicles which are periodically assigned for passenger service along designated routes, comprising the steps of:

• a) transmitting data corresponding to an addressable code number and a route designation pair from each of said vehicles to a central station, each said transmission occurring via a cellular based visual communication unit onboard the vehicle and each addressable code number corresponding to the telephone number of the cellular based visual communication unit onboard the vehicle, the central station being interconnected with a telephone system and a cellular network within the system;
• b) storing in a definable memory slot at said station the data corresponding to each transmitted addressable code and route designation pair, each of said definable memory slot being dedicated to a designated route;
• c) transmitting data corresponding to the alphanumeric contents of a route specific message from any telephone to each said definable memory slot at said central station;
• d) storing in said definable memory slots said data corresponding to said route specific messages;
• e) transmitting, via the cellular telephone network from said central station, the contents stored during steps b) and d) from each of said definable memory slots to the vehicle having the addressable code number stored therein;
• f) receiving and storing at each of said cellular based visual communication units, the contents transmitted from the definable memory slot having the addressable code number of the respective unit stored therein, steps e) and f) being performed in a manner which assures error-free receipt and storage of said messages by said units, for each vehicle, the steps a) through f) being performable both prior to and during passenger service along a designated route;
• and
• g) subsequently displaying said stored messages onboard said vehicles during passenger service along an assigned route.