Method for detecting traffic data

• US 20030153331A1
• Filed: 12/16/2002
• Published: 08/14/2003
• Est. Priority Date: 06/14/2000
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Vodafone Holding GmbH (Vodafone Group PLC)
• Original Assignee: Vodafone Holding GmbH (Vodafone Group PLC)
• Inventors: Alger, Michael
• Granted Patent: US 7,162,251 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 455/456.1
• CPC Class Codes: G08G 1/012 from other sources than vehicle or roadside beacons, e.g. mobile networks
• CPC Class Codes: G08G 1/0133 for classifying traffic situation
• CPC Class Codes: G08G 1/0141 for traffic information dissemination

Abstract

The invention relates to a method for acquiring traffic situation data in a network of traffic routes which is covered by a cellular mobile radio network comprising a multiplicity of base stations and in which a multiplicity of vehicles is moving which are in each case provided with an operating mobile terminal for the mobile radio network. In this method, characteristic patterns of values (called signal transit times in the text which follows), which are representative of the signal transit times with respect to the respective base station during the movement of a terminal along the course of the respective traffic route, are determined and permanently stored at least for some of the individual traffic routes of the network of traffic routes at least for selected base stations, the respective characteristic pattern or a sequence of values representative of this pattern is mapped onto the course of the respective traffic route (calibration). To obtain current traffic situation information, the signal transit times of selected terminals which are located within the transmission area of the respective base station are detected and compared with the stored patterns.

Claims

1. A method for acquiring traffic situation data in a network of traffic routes which is covered by a cellular mobile radio network comprising a multiplicity of base stations and in which a multiplicity of vehicles is moving which are in each case provided with an operating mobile terminal for the mobile radio network, in which method information about signal transit times between the terminals and the base stations being acquired and used for estimating the current location of individual terminals, wherein

characteristic patterns of values (called signal transit times in the text which follows), which are representative of the signal transit times with respect to the respective base station during the movement of a terminal along the course of the respective traffic route, are determined and permanently stored at least for some of the individual traffic routes of the network of traffic routes at least for selected base stations,

the respective characteristic pattern or a sequence of values representative of this pattern is mapped onto the course of the respective traffic route (calibration),

to obtain current traffic situation information, the signal transit times of selected terminals which are located within the transmission area of the respective base station are detected and compared with the stored patterns, the comparison being used for deciding on which traffic route the respective terminal is currently located or on which traffic route it has been moved, and

information for assessing the traffic situation is obtained from this.

2. The method as claimed in claim 1, wherein the characteristic patterns are obtained by statistical evaluations of the signal transit times of a multiplicity of terminals moving over the traffic routes.

3. The method as claimed in claim 1, wherein

the characteristic patterns are determined by continuous acquisition of the [lacuna] for an individual terminal, preferably moving by means of a vehicle, in the respective transmission area of a base station.

4. The method as claimed in one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the characteristic patterns of the signal transit times are formed from the values with respect to a number of adjacent base stations, the respective location of the terminal in each case being allocated a corresponding pair of values in the sense of the coordinates of a multi-axial coordinate system.

5. The method as claimed in one of claims 1 to 4, wherein, in addition to the signal transit times of the selected terminals, information about the time of the determination of these signal transit times is also acquired and temporarily stored.

6. The method as claimed in claim 5, wherein the time information and the correlation of the values of the signal transit times with the route are used for deriving quantities which are representative of the speed of the movement of the terminal along the in each case associated traffic route.

7. The method as claimed in one of claims 1 to 6, wherein the information obtained is reported to a traffic situation center responsible for a multiplicity of base stations.

8. The method as claimed in claim 7, wherein the information is primarily only reported when anomalies are found in the traffic situation of the sector of the network of traffic routes observed in each case.

9. The method as claimed in one of claims 1 to 8, wherein, in the case of a small number of terminals currently located in a sector of the network of traffic routes, a large percentage of the terminals is selected for obtaining information for the assessment of the traffic situation whereas only a small percentage is selected in the case of a correspondingly large number of terminals.

10. The method as claimed in one of claims 1 to 9, wherein the number of terminals moving in the area of a traffic route in one time unit is also used for assessing the traffic situation.

11. The method as claimed in one of claims 1 to 10, wherein in the case of detecting a number of terminals with the same characteristic pattern of signal transit times completely or almost at the same time, only one of these terminals is taken into consideration for the evaluation.

12. The method as claimed in one of claims 1 to 11, wherein it is used in a GSM mobile radio network.

13. The method as claimed in one of claims 1 to 12, wherein the smallest measuring unit in the determination of the signal transit times is reduced for improving the spatial resolution.

14. A system of devices for carrying out the method as claimed in one of claims 1 to 13.