I am writing claims for a patent application for an invention that includes a person, an office, and a vehicle. The person and the office communicate; the office and the vehicle communicate; the persons and vehicles do not communicate with each other (the "persons" and "vehicles" here are more than just naked people or empty cars, they possess other claimed means and items).
When I am writing my claims I am running into a problem in that I must refer to each of these before I define them, for example:
I claim:
A person equipped with means to communicate with a dispatch office (but have not defined dispatch office) ...
Or:
I claim:
A vehicle, suitable for transporting persons, and equipped with means of communicating with a dispatch office (but have not defined person or dispatch office)...
Or:
I claim:
A dispatch office, equipped with (blah blah Beauregard claim) and a means of communicating with persons and vehicles (but have not defined persons or vehicles)...
etc.
How in general can I avoid referring to something without first defining it? If A touches B touches C touches B touches A, how do I claim A and B and C?