Prior art

U.S. Patent 7,840,427, titled "Shared transport system and service network," was filed on February 12, 2008, and published on November 23, 2010. It describes a network system that matches the supply and demand for transportation services by integrating unused transportation capacity (e.g., empty seats) with a real-time allocation and matching service. This system aims to enable individuals and goods to conveniently hire this capacity with attractive pricing, rapid responsiveness, improved information availability, and trusted security.

The patent references U.S. Pat. No. 6,697,730 as prior art.

Here's an analysis of the most relevant prior art cited in US7840427B2:

Prior Art Reference:

• U.S. Pat. No. 6,697,730
  • Full Citation: US6697730B1 (although the patent text only refers to U.S. Pat. No. 6,697,730, it is reasonable to assume it refers to the granted patent).
  • Publication/Filing Date: The patent text for US7840427B2 mentions "Proposals have been made, for example, in U.S. Pat. No. 6,697,730, to use a central assigning system and communications devices adapted to be associated with vehicles for transmitting information from the vehicles to the central assigning system, and for receiving information from the central assigning system." While the exact publication/filing dates for US6697730 are not provided within the US7840427B2 patent's description, it is generally understood that cited patents are prior in time.
  • Brief Description: US Pat. No. 6,697,730 describes a system that uses a central assigning system and communication devices in vehicles for transmitting and receiving information. This aligns with the concept of a real-time passenger and vehicle tracking/management system.
  • Potential Anticipation (35 U.S.C. § 102): US Pat. No. 6,697,730 potentially anticipates claims in US7840427B2 that relate to the basic functionality of a central system coordinating vehicles and communicating with them for transportation services. Specifically, it could anticipate claims related to:
    • An electronic registry of transport capacity and demand.
    • A central processing capability to match transport capacity with demand.
    • The use of communication devices in vehicles to transmit and receive information from a central system.

The US7840427B2 patent states that its invention makes such prior systems (like US6697730) "more practical and useful" due to "significant innovations and claims" including: methods to reduce workload for drivers and riders, improved trustability mechanisms, a visual communication hardware device for external riders, automatic determination and registration of transport capacity destination and capacity, methods to characterize and publish information about "ad-hoc" transport capacity similar to traditional transit systems, and an ad-hoc nature for casual use. Therefore, any claims in US7840427B2 that rely solely on the existence of a central system for assigning and communicating with vehicles, without incorporating these additional inventive elements, could be vulnerable to anticipation by US6697730. Determining exact anticipation would require a detailed claim-by-claim analysis against the full text of US6697730.