NEALE THOMAS JOHN (US)
| US6191708B1 | 2001-02-20 | |||
| US6184802B1 | 2001-02-06 | |||
| US6178378B1 | 2001-01-23 | |||
| US6137425A | 2000-10-24 | |||
| US6006159A | 1999-12-21 | |||
| US5657010A | 1997-08-12 | |||
| US5614898A | 1997-03-25 | |||
| US5541845A | 1996-07-30 | |||
| US5504491A | 1996-04-02 | |||
| US5493295A | 1996-02-20 | |||
| US5489898A | 1996-02-06 | |||
| US5483454A | 1996-01-09 | |||
| US5483234A | 1996-01-09 | |||
| US5461374A | 1995-10-24 | |||
| US5400020A | 1995-03-21 | |||
| US4937751A | 1990-06-26 | |||
| US4812845A | 1989-03-14 | |||
| US4799162A | 1989-01-17 | |||
| US4307859A | 1981-12-29 |
| 1. | An announcement method, in conjunction with a public transit vehicle arrival information system which tracks the locations of and calculates arrival times for public transit vehicles from a centrally located processor, the method comprising the steps of: (a) determining a next stop of at least one public transit vehicle based upon a location and an arrival time calculated by the public transit vehicle arrival information system; (b) transmitting wirelessly from the centrally located processor an announcement data associated with said next stop to at least one output device located on board said at least one public transit vehicle; and (c) displaying said announcement data on said at least one output device. |
| 2. | An announcement method according. to claim 1, wherein said announcement data further comprises text data, the method further comprising the step of: converting said text data into synthetic speech. |
| 3. | An announcement method according to claim 2 wherein said displaying step further comprises: displaying said synthetic speech audibly on said at least one output device. |
| 4. | An announcement method according to claim 2 wherein said converting step is performed before said transmitting step. |
| 5. | An announcement method according to claim 2 wherein said converting step is performed after said transmitting step. |
| 6. | An announcement method according to claim 1/wherein said announcement data further comprises text data, the method further comprising the step of: displaying said text data visually on said at least one output device. |
| 7. | An announcement method according to claim 6 wherein said text data visually displayed on said at least one output device is visually displayed for a predetermined amount of time. |
| 8. | An announcement method according to claim 1 wherein said announcement data further comprises at least a one of a text data and an audio data, and said audio data further comprises at least a one of a recorded speech and a synthetic speech. |
| 9. | An announcement method according to claim 8 wherein said displaying step further comprises: displaying said text data visually on said at least one output device. |
| 10. | An announcement method according to claim 9 wherein said text data visually displayed on said at least one output device is at least a one of a next stop name, a route name, at least one cross street name at the next stop, a list of next stop names in order of arrival, a date, a time, an arrival time for a connecting route, an intersecting transit route, and a point of interest near said next stop. |
| 11. | An announcement method according to claim 8 wherein said displaying step further comprises: displaying said audio data audibly on said at least one output device. |
| 12. | An announcement method according to claim 11 wherein said audio data audibly displayed on said at least one output device is at least a one of a next stop name, a route name, at least one cross street name at the next stop, a list of next stop names in order of arrival, a date, a time, an arrival time for a connecting route, an intersecting transit route, and a point of interest near said next stop. |
| 13. | An announcement method according to claim 1 wherein said transmitting and displaying steps are performed in real time. |
| 14. | An announcement method according to claim 1 wherein said transmitting and displaying steps are performed at a predetermined time before said calculated arrival time. |
| 15. | An announcement method according to claim 1 wherein said at least one output device is at least a one of a display device, a loud speaker, an infrared transmitter for use in conjunction with an infrared receiving unit, and a RF transmitter for use in conjunction with an RF receiving unit. |
| 16. | An announcement method according to claim 1 wherein said determining and said transmitting steps further comprise: determining a plurality of consecutive next stops of said at least one public transportation vehicle based upon a plurality of locations and a plurality of calculated arrival times calculated by the public transit vehicle arrival information system; and transmitting wirelessly a plurality of announcement data associated with said plurality of consecutive next stops for said at least one public transit vehicle. |
| 17. | An announcement method according to claim 16 further comprising: storing said plurality of announcement data in a computer/clock/storage device located on board said at least one public transit vehicle. |
| 18. | An announcement method according to claim 17 wherein said displaying step further comprises: displaying consecutively each of said plurality of announcement data stored in said computer/clock/storage device as each of said plurality of calculated arrival times for each of said plurality of consecutive next stops becomes current. |
| 19. | An announcement method according to claim 18 wherein said displaying consecutively each of said plurality of announcement data occurs when a predetermined period of time remains before each of said plurality of calculated arrival times for each of said plurality of consecutive next stops becomes current. |
| 20. | An announcement method according to claim 19 wherein said plurality of calculated arrival times are compared to a real time to determine when said predetermined period of time remains. |
| 21. | An announcement system, in conjunction with a public transit vehicle arrival information system which tracks the locations of and calculates arrival times for public transit vehicles from a centrally located processor, the announcement system comprising: at least one output device located on board at least one public transit vehicle being tracked by the public transit vehicle arrival information system; and an announcement data associated with a next stop of said at least one public transit vehicle based upon a location and an arrival time calculated by the public transit vehicle arrival information system, wherein said at least one output device displays said announcement data transmitted wirelessly from the centrally located processor of the public transit vehicle arrival information system. |
| 22. | An announcement system according to claim 21 wherein said at least one output device is at least a one of a CRT display device, an LED display device, a LCD display device, and a plasma display device, and further wherein said announcement data is a text data visually displayed on said at least one output device. |
| 23. | An announcement system according to claim 22 wherein said text data displayed visually on said at least one output device is at least a one of a next stop name, a route name, at least one cross street name at the next stop, a list of next stop names in order of arrival, a date, a time, an arrival time for a connecting route, an intersecting transit route, and a point of interest near said next stop. |
| 24. | An announcement system according to claim 22 wherein said text data visually displayed on said at least one output device is visually displayed for a predetermined amount of time. |
| 25. | An announcement system according to claim 21 wherein said at least one output device is at least one loud speaker, and further wherein said announcement data is an audio data displayed audibly on said at least one loud speaker, wherein said audio data further comprises at least a one of a recorded speech and a synthetic speech, and further wherein said at least one loud speaker converts said audio data into audible sound waves recognized as speech. |
| 26. | An announcement system according to claim 25 wherein said audio data audibly displayed on said at least one loud speaker is at least a one of a next stop name, a route name, at least one cross street name at the next stop, a list of next stop names in order of arrival, a date, a time, an arrival time for a connecting route, an intersecting transit route, and a point of interest near said next stop. |
| 27. | An announcement system according to claim 21 wherein said announcement data is a text data that is converted to synthetic speech by the centrally located processor prior to transmission, and wherein said at least one output device is at least one loud speaker, and further wherein said at least one loud speaker converts said synthetic speech into audible sound waves recognized as speech. |
| 28. | An announcement system according to claim 21 further comprising: a computer/clock/storage device located on board said at least one public transit vehicle in communication with the public transit vehicle arrival information system and in communication with said at least one output device, wherein said announcement data is a text data that is received by said computer/clock/storage device, and said text data is converted by said computer/clock/storage device to synthetic speech, and wherein said at least one output device is at least one loud speaker, and further wherein said at least one loud speaker converts said synthetic speech into audible sound waves recognized as speech. |
| 29. | An announcement system according to claim 21 wherein said output device is at least one transmitter for use in conjunction with at least one receiving unit, and further wherein said announcement data is an audio data, wherein said audio data further comprises at least a one of a recorded speech and a synthetic speech, and further wherein said at least one receiving unit converts said audio data from said at least one transmitter into audible sound waves recognized as speech. |
| 30. | An announcement system according to claim 29 wherein said at least one transmitter is at least a one of an IR transmitter and a RF transmitter, and said at least one receiving unit is at least a one of an IR receiving unit and a radio receiving unit. |
| 31. | An announcement system according to claim 29 wherein said audio data audibly displayed on said at least one receiving unit is at least a one of a next stop name, a route name, at least one cross street name at the next stop, a list of next stop names in order of arrival, a date, a time, an arrival time for a connecting route, an intersecting transit route, and a point of interest near said next stop. |
| 32. | An announcement system according to claim 21 wherein said announcement data is transmitted wirelessly and displayed on said at least one output device in real time. |
| 33. | An announcement system according to claim 21 wherein said announcement data is transmitted wirelessly and displayed on said at least one output device at a predetermined time before said calculated arrival time. |
| 34. | An announcement system according to claim 21 further comprising: a computer/clock/storage device located on board said at least one public transit vehicle in communication with said at least one output device, wherein a plurality of consecutive next stops of said at least one public transportation vehicle are determined based upon a plurality of locations and a plurality of calculated arrival times calculated by the public transit vehicle arrival information system, wherein a plurality of announcement data associated with said plurality of consecutive next stops for said at least one public transit vehicle are transmitted and stored in said computer/clock/storage device, and further wherein said at least one output device displays consecutively each of said plurality of announcement data stored in said computer/clock/ storage device as each of said plurality of calculated arrival times for each of said plurality of consecutive next stops becomes current. |
| 35. | An announcement system according to claim 34 wherein said displaying consecutively each of said plurality of announcement data occurs when a predetermined period of time remains before each of said plurality of calculated arrival times for each of said plurality of consecutive next stops becomes current. |
| 36. | An announcement system according to claim 35 wherein said plurality of calculated arrival times are compared to a real time to determine when said predetermined period of time remains. |
| 37. | An announcement method comprising the steps of: (a) calculating with a centrally located processor an arrival time of at least one public transit vehicle at a next stop; (b) retrieving announcement data stored on said centrally located processor associated with said next stop; (c) transmitting wirelessly from said centrally located processor said announcement data associated with said next stop to at least one output device located on board said at least one public transit vehicle; and (c) displaying said announcement data on said at least one output device. |
| 38. | An announcement method according to claim 37 wherein said announcement data further comprises at least a one of a text data and an audio data, and said audio data further comprises at least a one of a recorded speech and a synthetic speech. |
| 39. | An announcement method according to claim 38 wherein said displaying step further comprises: displaying said text data visually on said at least one output device. |
| 40. | An announcement method according to claim 39 wherein said text data visually displayed on said at least one output device is at least a one of a next stop name, a route name, at least one cross street name at the next stop, a list of next stop names in order of arrival, a date, a time, an arrival time for a connecting route, an intersecting transit route, and a point of interest near said next stop. |
| 41. | An announcement method according to claim 38 wherein said displaying step further comprises: displaying said audio data audibly on said at least one output device. |
| 42. | An announcement method according to claim 37 wherein said transmitting and displaying steps are performed in real time. |
| 43. | An announcement method according to claim 37 wherein said at least one output device is at least a one of a display device, a loud speaker, an infrared transmitter for use in conjunction with an infrared receiving unit, and a RF transmitter for use in conjunction with an RF receiving unit. |
| 44. | An announcement method according to claim 37 wherein said determining and said transmitting steps further comprise: determining a plurality of consecutive next stops of said at least one public transportation vehicle based upon a plurality of calculated arrival times calculated by said centrally located processor; retrieving a plurality of announcement data stored on said centrally located processor associated with said plurality of consecutive next stops; and transmitting wirelessly said plurality of announcement data associated with said plurality of consecutive next stops for said at least one public transit vehicle. |
| 45. | An announcement method according to claim 44 further comprising: storing said plurality of announcement data in a computer/clock/storage device located on board said at least one public transit vehicle. |
| 46. | An announcement method according to claim 45 wherein said displaying step further comprises: displaying consecutively each of said plurality of announcement data stored in said computer/clock/storage device as each of said plurality of calculated arrival times for each of said plurality of consecutive next stops becomes current. |
| 47. | An announcement system comprising: a centrally located processor for calculating an arrival time of at least one public transit vehicle at a next stop; at least one output device located on board said at least one public transit vehicle, wherein said at least one output device is in wireless communication with said centrally located processor; and an announcement data stored on said centrally located processor, wherein said announcement data is associated with said next stop of said at least one public transit vehicle, and further wherein said centrally located processor transmits wirelessly said announcement data to said at least one output device which displays said announcement data. |
| 48. | An announcement system according to claim 47 wherein said at least one output device is at least a one of a CRT display device, an LED display device, a LCD display device, and a plasma display device, and further wherein said announcement data is a text data visually displayed on said at least one output device. |
| 49. | An announcement system according to claim 48 wherein said text data displayed visually on said at least one output device is at least a one of a next stop name, a route name, at least one cross street name at the next stop, a list of next stop names in order of arrival, a date, a time, an arrival time for a connecting route, an intersecting transit route, and a point of interest near said next stop. |
| 50. | An announcement system according to claim 47 wherein said at least one output device is at least one loud speaker, and further wherein said announcement data is an audio data displayed audibly on said at least one loud speaker, wherein said audio data further comprises at least a one of a recorded speech and a synthetic speech, and further wherein said at least one loud speaker converts said audio data into audible sound waves recognized as speech. |
| 51. | An announcement system according to claim 50 wherein said audio data audibly displayed on said at least one loud speaker is at least a one of a next stop name, a route name, at least one cross street name at the next stop, a list of next stop names in order of arrival, a date, a time, an arrival time for a connecting route, an intersecting transit route, and a point of interest near said next stop. |
| 52. | An announcement system according to claim 47 further comprising: a computer/clock/storage device located on board said at least one public transit vehicle in communication with said centrally located processor and in communication with said at least one output device, wherein said announcement data is a text data that is received by said computer/clock/ storage device, and said text data is converted by said computer/clock/ storage device to synthetic speech, and wherein said at least one output device is at least one loud speaker, and further wherein said at least one loud speaker converts said synthetic speech into audible sound waves recognized as speech. |
| 53. | An announcement system according to claim 52 wherein a plurality of consecutive next stops of said at least one public transportation vehicle are determined based upon a plurality of locations and a plurality of calculated arrival times calculated by said centrally located processor, wherein a plurality of announcement data associated with said plurality of consecutive next stops for said at least one public transit vehicle are transmitted and stored in said computer/clock/storage device, and further wherein said at least one output device displays consecutively each of said plurality of announcement data stored in said computer/clock/ storage device as each of said plurality of calculated arrival times for each of said plurality of consecutive next stops becomes current. |
| 54. | An announcement system according to claim 47 wherein said output device is at least one transmitter for use in conjunction with at least one receiving unit, and further wherein said announcement data is an audio data, wherein said audio data further comprises at least a one of a recorded speech and a synthetic speech, and further wherein said at least one receiving unit converts said audio data from said at least one transmitter into audible sound waves recognized as speech. |
| 55. | An announcement system according to claim 54 wherein said at least one transmitter is at least a one of an IR transmitter and a RF transmitter, and said at least one receiving unit is at least a one of an IR receiving unit and a radio receiving unit. |
| 56. | An announcement system according to claim 54 wherein said audio data audibly displayed on said at least one receiving unit is at least a one of a next stop name, a route name, at least one cross street name at the next stop, a list of next stop names in order of arrival, a date, a time, an arrival time for a connecting route, an intersecting transit route, and a point of interest near said next stop. |
| 57. | An announcement system according to claim 47 wherein said announcement data is transmitted wirelessly and displayed on said at least one output device in real time. |
Patent No. 6,006,159 entitled"Public Transit Vehicle Arrival Information System"issued to Schmier et al. on December 21,1999, and is incorporated by reference for all that is taught and disclosed therein.
DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG. 1 shows a schematic/block diagram of an embodiment of the public transit vehicle announcement system and method of the present invention in conjunction with a public transit vehicle arrival information system.
FIG. 2 shows a block diagram of the data communications for an embodiment of the public transit vehicle announcement system and method of the present invention.
FIG. 3 shows a schematic/block diagram of the equipment on board a public transit vehicle in an embodiment of the public transit vehicle announcement system and method of the present
invention.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION Referring now to the Figures, in which like reference numerals refer to like components thereof, FIG. 1 shows a schematic/block diagram of an embodiment of the public transit vehicle announcement system and method of the present invention in conjunction with a public transit vehicle arrival information system. FIG. 3 shows a schematic/block diagram of the equipment on board a public transit vehicle in an embodiment of the public transit vehicle announcement system and method of the present invention. Referring now to FIGS. 1 and 3, the present invention utilizes and builds upon the functionality of the public transit vehicle arrival information system invention described in U. S. Patent Number 6,006,159. However, one skilled in the art will recognize that the present invention could be utilized with other vehicle arrival prediction systems.
The present invention utilizes the arrival times of vehicles, such as buses, cabs, trolley cars, train cars, ferry boats, etc., calculated by a centrally located processor (s) at a central site to select identifier information (name of the stop, one or more cross streets at the stop, etc.) for the next stop location, which is then transmitted wirelessly from the centrally located processor for display to various output devices on board each Vehicle 102 being tracked by the system. Other information transmitted to the output devices might include, but is not limited to, the name of the route that each Vehicle 102 is traveling, an extended list of transit next
stop names in order of arrival, the date, the time of day, arrival times for connecting or intersecting transit routes, and points of interest near the next stop location. The term display is used to mean any one of, or combination of: a visual display, audible speech broadcast via wire, via IR (infrared), via very short range radio transmission (analog or digital), or via any other method of transferring voice data that is output as audible sound waves recognized as speech to a person or to a portable device used by a person to decode the voice data into audible sound waves recognized as speech.
A number of transit vehicles, such as Vehicle 102 are properly logged into Tracking and Prediction System 100. That is, Vehicle 102 is being tracked and is registered with Central Processors 110 and is assigned to or associated with a route and work schedule. Only one Vehicle 102 is shown in FIGS. 1, 2, and 3, but one skilled in the art will recognize that numerous Vehicles 102 may be utilized in the present invention. Tracking and Prediction System 100 predicts each Vehicle 102 arrival time at the various stops along their routes by utilizing data from AVL System 106, which tracks each Vehicle 102 logged into the system. AVL stands for Automatic Vehicle Location. A GPS Receiver 302 receives signals from the Global Positioning System 104, calculates a location (latitude and longitude plus speed, heading, etc.). That location information is sent by Wireless Communications 108 (such as a Public Data Network (PDN), private radio, etc.) to a Central Site 124 for use and analysis by Central Processors 110. A typical use would be
displaying all of the Vehicles 102 in a fleet logged into the system on a computer screen with an electronic map.
Each Vehicle 102 is tracked to predict future behavior. The location information is used to determine the arrival time of each Vehicle 102 at the next stop on the route for each Vehicle 102. Utilizing Central Processors 110 and Web Servers 112 at Central Site 124, arrival predictions associated with the next stop of each Vehicle 102 are transmitted via Wireless Communications 108 or the Internet 114 to various Display Devices 116, such as Desktop Web Devices 118 (personal computer, wearable computer, etc.), Wireless Internet Devices 120 (Personal Digital Assistants, Internet enabled mobile telephones and pagers, etc.), and Display Devices At Vehicle Stops 122 (CRTs, LCD signs, LED signs, plasma displays, or any other type of visual display technology output device. Announcement data associated with the next stop of each Vehicle 102 is also transmitted through Wireless Communications 108 to the output devices on board each Vehicle 102, such as Display Device 304, Loud Speakers 306, and Transmitters 308. Wireless Communications 108 may utilize one of several wireless transmission systems, such as Cellular Digital Packet Data ("CDPD"), Frequency Division Multiple Access ("FDMA"), Time Division Multiple Access ("TDMA"), Code Division Multiple Access ("CDMA"), GPRS (General Packet Radio Service), and EDGE (AT&T Wireless third generation service) as well as private radio systems. Computer/Clock/Storage Device 310 is enabled to receive the Wireless Communications 108. The announcement data associated with the next stop is
displayed on Display Device 304 on board Vehicle 102. The announcement data may contain text data, audio data, or both text and audio data. The audio data may be recorded speech or synthetic speech.
CDPD is the first generation of PDN. As with most technology, it will most likely eventually give way to future generations such as GPRS or EDGE. These use different radio frequencies and modulating and encoding methods, but the same basic data transport. So, the specific PDN or private radio system is not important. One current embodiment of the invention uses CDPD because it is available now. One skilled in the art will recognize that any functionally similar network could be used now or in the future with the present invention.
Display Device 304 can incorporate a visual display (CRT, LED, LCD, plasma, etc.) and an audio output system using either recorded speech or synthetic speech. The speech capability is intended to address compliance with the requirements of the Americans With Disabilities Act (ADA). The voice data may also be distributed via a signal to one or more Loud Speakers 306 on board Vehicle 102 so that it may be heard in the proximity of Display Device 304 not equipped for audio output, or it may be sent to the on board public address speaker system so that it may be heard throughout Vehicle 102. Synthetic speech can be created from the text data at Central Processors 110 before transmission, or created locally on board Vehicle 102 by Computer/Clock/Storage Device 310 from the text data received, so separate audio data need not be transmitted with the
text data from Tracking and Prediction System 100. Additionally, or alternatively, Transmitter 308 may be an IR transmitter, and the voice data signal may be transmitted as modulated infrared (IR) so that it may be received on IR handheld receiving units, such as those made by Talking Signs, Inc., which convert the IR signal into audible sound waves recognized as speech. Or, Transmitter 308 may be a radio transmitter, and the voice data signal may be transmitted as radio frequency (RF) signals so that it may be received on radio receiving units which convert the RF signal into audible sound waves recognized as speech. An Operator Interface Terminal 312 on board Vehicle 102 may convey information to the driver, conductor, or operator of Vehicle 102. Operator Interface Terminal 312 may also provide driver, conductor, or operator of Vehicle 102 with some ability to control the operation of the announcement system, such as temporarily muting audio output, or enabling/disabling the announcement system entirely.
The text data to be displayed may include the name of the next stop location for Vehicle 102. Two typical examples are"Next stop, Fillmore at Sutter in about one minute"or,"Next stop, Route Three- A at Billerica Center."In one embodiment, each announcement would be displayed audibly once and displayed briefly visually prior to the arrival of Vehicle 102 at that location. Normally, audible display is limited to the name of the stop so as not to annoy or disturb the majority of passengers. The use of the IR speech method allows for some additional data to be added that might be useful to a visually impaired person. In one embodiment, the additional data
may include, but is not limited to, one or more of the time of day, temperature, wind chill factor, barometric pressure, arrival times for connecting or intersecting transit routes, and points of interest near the next stop location.
Additionally, Display Device 304, Loud Speakers 306, and/or Transmitters 308 may be located on the exterior of Vehicle 102. Each of these can be used to convey information to people external. to Vehicle 102 who may be deciding whether or not to get on board. Information, such as the name of the route being traveled, the name of the next stop, etc., may prove to be very beneficial to those people external to but in audio or visual proximity to Vehicle 102.
The announcement data can be transmitted and managed in several ways. In one embodiment, which relies on the low latency of the data communications network, the text/recorded audio/phoneme representation of the next stop name can be transmitted to each Vehicle 102 at a predetermined period of time before arrival (based on the calculated arrival time) at the stop, say for example, one minute before arrival. The next stop name would be audibly announced and visually displayed for a predetermined period of time, and then discarded. No other stop information would be available until the next announcement data is transmitted from the server.
In another embodiment, several consecutive stops worth of data (text/recorded audio/phoneme plus arrival times) could be sent to each Vehicle 102, stored in Computer/Clock/Storage Device 310 on board Vehicle 102, and then displayed as their arrival times become
current. This relies on having a real time clock to which the calculated arrival times are compared. When the comparison shows a predetermined period of time before the calculated arrival time, such as one minute, the announcement data is displayed. This method requires that new announcement data be sent to Vehicle 102 when there are significant changes in the calculated arrival times. Computer/Clock/Storage Device 310 is a microprocessor based unit. Alternatively, a microprocessor to handle this function could be contained within GPS Receiver 302 or Display Device 304.
FIG. 2 shows a block diagram of the data communications for an embodiment of the public transit vehicle announcement system and method of the present invention. Referring now to FIG. 2, Location Information 206 is sent from Vehicle 102 to Central Processors 110 for processing. Vehicle Announcement Data And Calculated Arrival Times 208 are sent from Central Processors 110 to Vehicle 102. Other Communications 210, such as messages to and from the driver, conductor, or operator of Vehicle 102, information about other vehicle systems such as the engine, fare box, destination sign, passenger counter, security system, etc., may be exchanged back and forth between Vehicle 102 and Central Processors 110.
The architecture thus described for the present invention has several advantages over prior implementations of next stop announcement systems. Previously, all of the intelligence about the public transit vehicle location along a defined route had to be configured and loaded onto the equipment on board each Vehicle 102. This meant that every time a route was modified, or a stop was
relocated, added, deleted or renamed, new information had to be created and configured onto each and every Vehicle 102 individually. This is a very time consuming operation.
With the method of the present invention, all of the route and announcement data is configured once in a central location, such as Central Site 124. The same data used by the public transit vehicle arrival information system can be augmented and utilized to generate the on board announcements. The process required to configure and add a new stop need only be accomplished once. Since the data is centrally located at Central Site 124 and is sent to each Vehicle 102 in real time as needed, no copying and adding of the new stop information on each Vehicle 102 is required.
In addition, the public transit vehicle arrival information system and the public transit vehicle announcement system and method are fully integrated. Only one GPS receiver for each Vehicle 102 is required. Multiple installations and antennas are not needed, and driver intervention is not required. All announcements are generated by the fixed end server and transmitted to each Vehicle 102 using the wireless data network. There is no requirement for the announcements to be triggered, activated, or disabled by the driver, conductor, or operator of each Vehicle 102.
Having described the present invention, it will be understood by those skilled in the art that many changes in construction and widely differing embodiments and applications of the invention will suggest themselves without departing from the scope of the present invention.