TITLE : ELECTRONIC DEVICE FOR EFFICIENT MANAGEMENT OF CARPOOL LOGISTICS.
Field of the Invention ;
The invention relates to an electronic device for efficient management of carpool logistics in particular, and to management of operation of vehicles in the transport sector in general.
Background and prior art:
Operation and control of a plurality of vehicles operating as a fleet has always been difficult. With the development of communication facility and electronic devices, the task has been made easier. However, there is need for much better control of not only the vehicles, but also of their operators in case of goods vehicles, and additionally of the passengers in case of a fleet of passenger vehicles like buses and cars.
Carpools are well known, particularly in metropolitan cities. A carpool comprises of several passenger cars, whose owners come to an agreement with the carpool operator to allow their vehicles to be used in the car pool. A carpool operator has therefore several passenger cars at his disposal, which he must operate as efficiently as possible so that they are used optimally. Saving of fuel has assumed high priority, as has safety of the passengers, and the vehicles.
Several methods and devices are known in the prior art, which help in control of carpools.
Indian Patent Application No. 713/DEL/2009 dated 6th April 2009 by the same applicant is hereby incorporated in its entirety in this specification. This document discloses method for management of mega carpool, where the number of passenger cars is large, and devices which act in a system for management of such pools. The system contains a GPS based online automatic vehicle location device and a proximity contactless card reader, both of which are provided in the vehicles of the carpool. Together, they serve to locate the vehicles at any point of time, as well as track boarding and alighting of passengers. However, such details are made available only to the operators of the carpool.
There is therefore, no device by which the owners of the cars of the carpool, the drivers or members of the carpool can access such details.
The present invention seeks to overcome this drawback of the prior art. In addition, the electronic device in accordance with the present invention offers many novel features. The important features are described in the following description.
Objects of the Invention;
An object of the invention s to provide a device for personal navigation.
Another object is to provide complete intelligent transport solution in transport sector.
Yet another object of the invention is to enable the members or passengers using a carpool to continuously ascertain the position of the vehicle.
A further object is to provide a device which offers anti-theft protection to vehicles.
A still further object is to provide internet access and traffic updates on continuous basis in moving vehicles.
The invention will now be described in details with the help of the following accompanying drawings.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE ACCOMPANYING DRAWINGS :
Fig. 1 shows the components of the electronic device according to the invention (My Screen)
Fig. 2 is a conceptual representation of a control room of mega carpool control system where the invented device (My Screen) is used.
Fig. 3 shows the communication flow between the components of the electronic device (My Screen) according to the invention.
Fig. 4 shows the RFID components.
Fig. 5 shows the LCD touch screen of the electronic device of the invention.
Fig. 6 shows the components of the remote.
Fig. 7 shows the components of the smart card.
The device according to the invention will be called "My Screen" in short in the following description.
My Screen is an electronic device which is NFC based connected PND (Personal Navigation Device) and PMP (Personal Media Player).
This is first time in India, in transport sector. RFID (NFC) is used to facilitate the carpooling service. This technology will provide a complete intelligent transport solution (ITS).
Personal Navigation Device (PND) and Near Field Communication (NFC) are available in market, but the combination of PND and NFC is not available.
This is the first time in India/World, a device which includes personal navigation and NFC compatible RFID reader which can read all types of smart cards for payments, tracking etc.
Our device ('My Screen' and Smart Card) encompass of RFID reader/writer which operates at the rate of 13.56 MHZ. Our device can read all the cards of IS014443A Mifare/B Desfire, ISO 15693(For Secure Payments) and NFC (Near Field Communication) standards.
Therefore it proves that our device is novel and very useful for the public, government and hence nation.
Introduction: My Screen (A device which is NFC Based connected PND and PMP):
My Screen is an electronic device which is (Near Field Communication) NFC based connected PND (Personal Navigation Device) and PMP (Personal Media Player). We have developed carpooling application software which is compatible with an electronic device i.e. 'My Screen' to facilitate the carpooling application with more convenient and smoother way.
'My Screen' is a GPS based LCD touch screen which is a standalone device and can be used outside the car also. With the help of this device ('My Screen' in active mode) and GPS AND GPRS technology our members will be connected to us all the time.
Considering the functioning, appearance and compatibility of device with GPS and GPRS technology, we have developed the gadget called 'My Screen' initially in two sizes (4.5, 5 and 7 inches diagonally).
Fig. 1 shows the components of the invented device, My Screen. Hardware specification/ features of 'My Screen':
• 4.3, 5.3, 7 inch wide screen glare free screen
• Full touch screen interface with Stylus

• Win CE 5.0/ 6.0 Core operating system
• 400 MHz Processor - Open
• 128 MB On Board - Open
• SD Card Reader with Capacity up to 4 GB

• Internal Tri-band GSM/GPRS module (900/1800/ 1900MHz; ClasslO)
• High sensitivity Internal GPS/AGPS receiver/ Embedded GPS antenna
• Embedded High performance GPS antenna
• Rechargeable, built-in Li-Po(Lithium Polymer) battery
• Panic Button in Front/ Side
• Operation Temperature (Typical) 0°C to 60°C
• Bluetooth for Headset and Content Transfer - Enable Dialing/ Contacts/ Messages on the Screen
• FM Radio Receiver
• USB 2.0 Slot x 2
• Integrated RFID Reader(ISO 14443 A/ B, ISO 15693 - NFC) via - On Board
• Earphone Jack - Line Out for Audio

• AV IN For Rear View Camera
• Speakers more than 1.5W with Volume Control
• Multiple language support OSD
• Multimedia functions including video, audio, photo and e-book playback
• CE 8B FCC certified, RoHS compliant
• Earphone jack
• SD Card Slot
• Accessories: USB-Cable, Car Charger, Car Mount bracket, In-House Charger
• Dimension - 134 * 83 * 12.5MM - Ideal
'My Screen' has the features of personal navigation device and RFID technology. A Personal Navigation Assistant (PNA) also known as Personal Navigation Device or Portable Navigation Device (PND) is a portable electronic product which combines a positioning capability (such as GPS) and navigation functions.
'My Screen' works on a short-range high frequency wireless communication technology. It enables the exchange of data between devices over about a 10 centimeter (around 4 inches) distance. This Technology is known as Near Field Communication (NFC).
Near Field Communication or NFC is a short-range high frequency wireless communication technology which enables the exchange of data between devices over about a 10 centimeter (around 4 inches) distance. The technology is a simple extension of the ISO/IEC 14443 proximity-card standard (contactless card, RFID) that combines the interface of a smartcard and a reader into a single device. An NFC device can communicate with both existing ISO/IEC 14443 smartcards and readers, as well as with other NFC devices.
NFC communicates via magnetic field induction, where two loop antennas are located within each other's near field, effectively forming an air-core transformer. It operates within the globally available and unlicensed radio frequency ISM band of 13.56 MHz, with a bandwidth of 14 kHz.
NFC devices are able to receive and transmit data at the same time. Thus, they can check the radio frequency field and detect a collision if the received signal does not match with the transmitted signal.
'My Screen' and the Smart Card are based on Radio-Frequency
Identification (RFID) technology which will be used for the purpose of
identification/tracking of carpoolers and calculation of number of kilometers travelled. The smart card can read all type of RFID devices. For example payment of toll charges, parking tickets, shopping (retail shop/online).
Radio frequency identification (RFID) is a generic term that is used to describe a system that transmits the identity (in the form of a unique serial number) of an object or person wirelessly, using radio waves. It's grouped under the broad category of automatic identification technologies.
RFID technology does not require contact or line of sight for communication. RFID data can be read through the human body, clothing and non-metallic materials.
Components of RFID;
Best seen in Fig. 4, a basic RFID system (4.0) consists of three components:
1. An antenna or coil (4.01)
2. A transceiver (with decoder) (1.03)
3. A transponder (RF tag) electronically programmed with unique information (4.02)
The antenna emits radio signals to activate the tag and to read and write data to it.
• The reader emits radio waves in ranges of anywhere from one inch to 100 feet or more, depending upon its power output and the radio frequency used. When an RFID tag passes through the electromagnetic zone, it detects the reader's activation signal.
• The reader decodes the data encoded in the tag's integrated circuit (silicon chip) and the data is passed to the host computer for processing.
The purpose of an RFID system is to enable data to be transmitted by a portable device, called a tag, which is read by an RFID reader and processed according to the needs of a particular application. The data transmitted by the tag may provide identification or location information, or specifics about the product tagged, such as name of the member, mobile number, start/expiry date of membership, etc.

A typical RFID tag consists of a microchip attached to a radio antenna mounted on a substrate. The chip can store as much as 2 kilobytes - 64 kilobytes of data.
To retrieve the data stored on an RFID tag, you need a reader. A typical reader e.g. *My Screen' is a device that has one or more antennas that emit radio waves and receive signals back from the tag. The reader then passes the information in digital form to a computer system.
This is first time in India, in transport sector; RFID (NFC) is used to facilitate the carpooling service. This technology will provide a complete intelligent transport solution (ITS).
The device comprise of RFID reader/writer which operates at the rate of 13.56 MHZ.
Our reader can read all the smart cards of IS014443A Mifare/B Desfire, ISO 15693, NFC standards.
Technical requirement for the carpooling and other applications: Technology Requirement
MCP requires a GPS + GPRS solution which is robust and dependable.
A system based on GPS which can calculate its location and also send it to central control room.
Fig. 2 demonstrates the IT architecture for the control room for a reasonably sized pool of vehicles. This architecture requires at least one external STATIC IP available for the Proxy Server so that all the VMUs communicate with this static IP.
The overall system has to be designed in such a way that any query made to the system will give a response within 20 sec (Max) at peak load of vehicles and 10 call centre executives logged in to the system at any given point in time.
Operation;
To operate the device properly and to avail all the benefits of device and our services we require three apparatus i.e. LCD screen, Smart Card and remote.
The main components of all three apparatus are mentioned below:
(a) My Screen is an electronic device (1.0) which comprises of following
hardware as seen in Fig. 1
1) Global Positioning System (GPS)/ Group Packet Radio Service (GPRS) Module (1.02)
2) RAM (Read And Write Memory) (1.02)
3) Transreceiver (1.03)
4) CPU (Central Processing Unit) (1.04)
5) Navigational Card (1.05)
6) SIM card (1.06)
7) RF Antenna (1.07)
(b) A Remote (6.0) is a component of an electronics device (My Screen), used
for operating the device wirelessly from a short line-of-sight distance. It
has the following components, as shown in Fig. 6.
1) RF antenna (6.01)
2) Touch pad (6.02)
3) RFID (NFC )/ Micro controller/ Transreceiver (6.03)
(c) A Smart card (7.0) or integrated circuit card (ICC), is any pocket-sized card with embedded integrated circuits which can process data. This implies that it can receive input which is processed by way of the ICC applications and delivered as an output. Its components are shown in Fig. 7.
At the present technology levels, it may work as in following steps mentioned below:
1) Smart card (7.0) has some basic information stored in it. For example Name of Member, Address, Phone number, Blood group etc. The smart card is portable and used to make any type of transaction with card reader device ('My Screen').
2) Once member taps his/her smart card on remote it emits a particular radio frequency (RF) signal and read by micro controller/transrecevier of remote. (6.0)
3) Remote micro controller receives, process and transmits the same frequency through RF antenna. (6.01)
4) Transreceiver (1.08) receives the same frequency and processed information through RF antenna of screen (screen or device should be in Active mode).
5) SIM (1.06) connects the same radio frequency and signal from GPS/GPRS.
6) Encrypted data automatically find the concerned application module according to the nature/type/category of transaction.
7) The encrypted data is sent to Mega Carpool Server for authentication of data/ transaction made by member.
The mother board of My Screen has Mobile Interface-5 Operating System. We can upload any type of application software on it.
Advantages :
The perceived benefits, post implementation of the method, are expected to include the following:
• Carpooling service (Fixed / ad hoc routes, tracking of carpoolers, calculation of kilometers travelled by members)
• Passive anti-theft system
• Navigation (3D maps, Shortest path from origin, via, destination, Approximate time to reach destination point)
• E-payments (payments of utility bills e.g. electricity bills, telephone bills) using NFC
• Surf internet
• Traffic updates
• Mega services (Eating Out, E -mall, news update, live stock market, astrology etc.)
• Panic button with helpline services
• Multimedia (movies, music, games etc.)
• Accessories (Bluetooth, alarm, calculator, world time etc.)
• Rear view camera
• Automatic screen lock system to avoid distraction to the driver
• Location based pop ups of nearest stores, outlet, ATM, , hospital etc
• Value added services like news, stock tickers etc.
As the device (My Screen) is the combination of PND and RFID (NFC), it has the benefits of both device or technology. We can upload movies, games, music on it. Internet browsing, Bluetooth etc.
1. Carpooling application
Step 1: Mega carpool member "A" should tap his/her smart card on remote of the screen when he/she sits in the car of member "B".
Step 2: As soon member a tap his/her smart card on the remote the particular frequency emits and screen receives same radio frequency with encrypted data.
Step 3: Encrypted data pass on to the mega carpool server for authentication and at the same time flash on the screen of the device.
Step 4: Member "A" should tap again his/her smart card on remote at the time when he/she come out of the car. Again a particular radio frequency emits and screen receives same radio frequency with encrypted data.
Step 5: GPS/ GPRS pick up the coordinates and feeds into the mega carpool server.
Step 6: The system calculates the number of kilometer travelled by member "A" and update their (credit: member "B" account and Debit: Member "A" account) mega carpool account.
(Note: one kilometer= one point)
2. Antitheft device:
The device (1.0) (My Screen) is very sensitive, it also acts as passive anti theft device.
In case of minor damage or car cross its geo-fence car owner will receive the message. Mega carpool server stores, last known position of the car.
3. Navigation application:
My Screen is uploaded with updated maps. If a member feeds the start point and destination of journey, system automatically shows the most efficient route and approximate time to reach the destination.
4. Surf Internet;
With the help of GPS/ GPRS module in device (My Screen), members can browse internet on it, while travelling.
5. Traffic Updates:
With the help of GPS/GPRS technology and carpooling software we have full records of average speeds of cars, location of cars, speed violation etc. on the basis of the average speed of the cars we can provide the traffic updates also to our members.
6. Location Based Services (LBS):
LBS is an information and entertainment service, accessible with mobile devices through GPS (Global Positioning System)or the mobile network (GPRS) and utilizing the ability to make use of the geographical position of the 'My Screen'. Location based service covers ATMs, Hospitals, Restaurants, Airports, Railway Stations etc. .For Example, if a member wants to know the location of SBI ATM in nearby location, the pop up of ATM or message will be display on the device screen.
7. As other PND device my screen also has features of multimedia,
Bluetooth, calculator, alarm etc.
Glossary:
GSM: Global System for Mobile communications
GIS: Geographical Information Service
GPS: Global Positioning System
GPRS: General packet radio service
PND: Personal Navigational Device
PMP: Personal Media Player
RFID: Radio-frequency identification
VMU: Vehicle Mounted Unit
IP: Internet Protocol
My Screen: Electronic device according to the invention which is NFC based connected PND and PMP

WE CLAIM:
1. An electronic device (1.0) for efficient management of carpool logistics
comprising of:
Global Positioning System (GPS) / Group Packet Radio Service module (1.01);
- Read and Write Memory (RAM) (1.02);
- Transreceiver (1.03);
- Central Processing Unit or CPU (1.04);
- Navigational Card (1.05);
- SIM Card (1.06); and
- RF Antenna (1.07);
wherein the said device (1.0) operates with the help of LCD screen (5.0), smart card (7.0) and remote (6.0), is Near Field Communication (NFC) based, connected to Personal Navigation Device (PND) and Personal Media Player (PMP) and works with a combination of PND and NFC,
characterized in that the said device sends encrypted data to Mega Carpool server and also provides readable output on LCD screen (5.0) located in the vehicles.
2. The electronic device as claimed in claim 1, wherein the device is stand
alone type, and can provide the members or owners of vehicles of a carpool
with continuous personal navigation.
3. The electronic device as claimed in claims 1 and 2, wherein the device is uploaded with updated maps so that the device shows the most efficient route and approximate time to reach the destination when a member feeds the start point and the destination of journey.
4. The electronic device as claimed in claim 1, wherein the device acts as an anti-theft device when the car crosses its geo-fence by intimating the car owner and recording last position of the car in mega carpool server.
5. The electronic device as claimed in claim 1, wherein the device allows the members to browse internet while traveling.
6. The electronic device as claimed in claim 1, wherein the device being a
stand-alone device, can also function outside the car.
7. The electronic device as claimed in claim 1, wherein the device contains RFID reader/writer which can read Smart Card (7.0).
8. The electronic device as claimed in claim 1, which provides traffic updates at regular intervals.
9. The electronic device as claimed in claim 1, wherein the device offers
Location Based Services (LBS) through GPS to indicate important facilities
which may be banks, ATMs, Hospitals, Restaurants, Airports and Railway
Stations.
10. The electronic device as claimed in claim 1, which offers multimedia, Bluetooth, Rear view camera and alarm.