Traffic flow and route selection display system for routing vehicles

• US 20040119612A1
• Filed: 12/19/2002
• Published: 06/24/2004
• Est. Priority Date: 12/19/2002
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Shawfu Chen
• Original Assignee: Shawfu Chen
• Inventors: Chen, Shawfu
• Granted Patent: US 6,911,918 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 340/995.13
• CPC Class Codes: G08G 1/0104 Measuring and analyzing of parameters relative to traffic conditions
• CPC Class Codes: G08G 1/096716 where the received information does not generate an automatic action on the vehicle control
• CPC Class Codes: G08G 1/09675 where a selection from the received information takes place in the vehicle
• CPC Class Codes: G08G 1/096775 where the origin of the information is a central station
• CPC Class Codes: G08G 1/0969 having a display in the form of a map

Abstract

A real-time vehicular traffic flow display system employs groups of monitor stations positioned at spaced-apart locations along vehicular roadways, to sense the speed of traffic flow on a given portion of a route. Individual section stations each serve a sequential group of different monitor stations. Each monitor station senses the speed of vehicular traffic a given road portion and transmits corresponding information to an associated section station; each section station processes the received signals, and transmits them to display stations on board vehicles in addition to sending the signals to an optional geographic area central station. The signals transmitted to vehicles present information concerning traffic speed for each monitored portion of a road in addition to identifying the road portion; traffic speed information is processed to identify predetermined ranges of average speed in selected colors. Each vehicle station includes a Global Positioning System (GPS) receiver and visual display device with access to both the GPS including a database of local area road maps for display. All portions of each monitored route on a displayed map are shown in a color corresponding to the average speed of traffic monitored on the corresponding route portion. The current position of the vehicle station is shown on the map, and a “preferred” route from that location to an optionally selected destination is highlighted; both functions are accomplished in accordance with known GPS technology. An optional geographic area central station stores information not usually available in the on-board vehicle station, such as wide-area maps, and also receives traffic condition signals from various section stations including those beyond the range of the vehicle station. The central station correlates these two sources of information and makes the combined results available for separate access by users of the system.

Claims

1. A real-time vehicular traffic flow display system [60] compatible with the existing Global Positioning System [GPS], for assisting operators in choosing routes for vehicles, said system comprising:

a plurality of electronic section stations [20] positioned at spaced-apart locations along pre-determined vehicular roadways, said locations corresponding to sections of said roadways;

a plurality of electronic monitor stations [10] positioned at spaced-apart locations along said vehicular roadways, the number of monitor stations exceeding the number of said section stations, with each said section station being associated with a different group of said monitor stations, and each said section station communicating electronically with said group of associated monitor stations;

each said monitor station sensing the current speed of vehicular traffic in at least one given direction for a road portion assigned to said monitor station and transmitting to said associated one of said section stations electronic traffic condition data signals representing real-time traffic speed information for said assigned road portion;

said section stations receiving said electronic traffic condition data signals from said associated monitor stations and processing said received data signals to generate and transmit to vehicles, processed data signals characterizing overall current average traffic speed conditions for the associated road section monitored by said group of associated monitor stations;

said processed data signals generated and transmitted by each section station including data signals representing a selected color, corresponding to a specific pre-determined range of average traffic speed within said associated road section; and

at least one vehicular receiving station [40] mounted in a vehicle, for receiving said processed data signals from one of said section stations, said vehicular receiving station having electronic visual display means [48] and a map database unit [50] for displaying a surface road map of the area surrounding said vehicle and for displaying monitored road sections on said map in colors corresponding to the said average traffic speed for each said monitored road section as indicated by said processed data signals, each different color being indicative of a different real time traffic speed condition on said road sections;

said vehicular receiving station further being adapted to communicate with said GPS to access geographic location and preferred route identification signals available from said GPS for display in association with said surface road map on said visual display means.

2. A real-time vehicular traffic flow display system in accordance with claim 1, wherein said monitor stations [10] each comprise,

a traffic monitor sensor device [19] for producing electronic signals representative of predetermined traffic speed conditions;

a data collector [12] for receiving electronic signals from said sensor device;

a microprocessor [14] connected to receive signals from said data collector [12]; and

a data transmission unit [16] coupled to said microprocessor [14] for transmitting processed signals via wire or wireless to said section stations [20].

3. A real-time vehicular traffic flow display system in accordance with claim 1, wherein said section stations [20] each comprise:

a section station receiver unit [22] for receiving signals transmitted from said monitor stations;

a section station microprocessor [24] coupled to said section station receiver unit [22] for processing signals received from said monitor stations;

a section station buffer unit [26] interposed between said receiver unit and said section station microprocessor for receiving signals from said receiver unit and exchanging signals with said microprocessor to facilitate processing of said signals; and

a section station data transmission unit [28] coupled to receive processed signals from said section station microprocessor and to broadcast said received signals for reception by said vehicular display stations.

4. A real-time vehicular traffic flow display system in accordance with claim 1, wherein said vehicular display stations each comprise:

a vehicle station receiver [42] for receiving signals from said section station;

a vehicular station microprocessor [44] coupled to said vehicular station receiver unit [42] for processing signals received from said section stations;

a vehicular station buffer unit [43] interposed between said vehicular station receiver unit and said vehicular station microprocessor for receiving signals from said vehicular station receiver unit and exchanging signals with said vehicular station microprocessor to facilitate processing of said signals;

a vehicular station visual display device [48] coupled to said vehicular station microprocessor for displaying images in accordance with signals provided by said vehicular station microprocessor;

a GPS interface unit [46] interposed in the said coupling between said vehicular station microprocessor and said vehicular station visual display device

5. A real-time vehicular traffic flow display system in accordance with claim 4, wherein said vehicular display stations further comprise:

at least one activatable dedicated signal device, activatable under a first condition to be associated with the given geographic location of said vehicle station at the time of activation under said first condition and activatable under a second condition to transmit a GPS signal identifying said given location associated with said dedicated signal device.

6. A real-time vehicular traffic flow display system in accordance with claim 1, wherein:

said vehicular display station further includes a remote download interface unit coupled to said vehicular station microprocessor for receiving external source information signals from external sources and for exchanging signals between said vehicular station microprocessor and external sources.

7. A real-time vehicular traffic flow display system in accordance with claim 6, wherein:

said vehicular station further includes a data storage device capable of storing data for generating selected road map images on said vehicular station visual display device;

8. A real-time vehicular traffic flow display system in accordance with claim 1, further comprising:

a geographic area central processing station for receiving signals from all section stations within a given geographic area and for storing and malting available for downloading, information including wide area road maps and color coded traffic flow information for selected section stations, said wide-area road maps areas larger than the areas included in the said database unit in said vehicle station.

9. A method of operating an electronic vehicular traffic flow display system using mobile receiving stations in vehicles in cooperation with the methods of the existing Global Positioning System [GPS], said method comprising the steps of:

monitoring the speed of traffic, over a given period of time, in a given direction, on serial sub-sections of given roads in a given geographic area;

calculating the average speed of said traffic;

creating signals representing the average monitored traffic speed for specific portions of said given roads, and associating identifying signals for each said specific road portion associated with each said average traffic speed signal;

transmitting said traffic speed signals, and said specific road portion identification signals to a mobile vehicular receiving station;

determining the average speed of each of said traffic speed signals;

assigning a different color code to each one of a plurality of pre-determined average speed ranges;

providing each mobile station with pre-defined, stored road map signals representing road maps of geographic areas;

providing signals from said section stations to said mobile stations identifying the appropriate map to display for the geographic area of said section station;

selecting and displaying said appropriate one of said road maps at said mobile vehicular receiving station; and

applying said color codes to said displayed road map to show said specific road portions in colors corresponding to said average speed for each said specific road portion.

10. A method of operating an electronic vehicular traffic flow display system using mobile receiving stations in vehicles, in accordance with claim 9, further comprising the steps of:

making destination data signals available to one of said mobile receiving stations to identify a specific destination location;

identifying the then-current location of said mobile receiving station by accessing signals from said GPS;

accessing said GPS to identify a preferred GPS route from said then-current location to said specific desired location; and

displaying said preferred route in highlighted fashion in accordance with existing display algorithms of said GPS.

11. A method of operating an electronic vehicular traffic flow display system using mobile receiving stations in vehicles, in accordance with claim 10, further comprising the steps of:

storing said destination data signals identifying said specific destination location in one of said mobile receiving stations by accessing said signals from said GPS while said mobile receiving station is located at said specific destination; and

making said stored destination data signals available selectively for use in identifying said desired specific destination location.

12. A method of operating an electronic vehicular traffic flow display system using mobile receiving stations in vehicles, in accordance with claim 10, further comprising the steps of:

accessing data in said system data to determine if a first GPS preferred route between the known location of a mobile receiving station and a selected destination location has been identified;

periodically determining if the current average speed for any given portion of said first GPS preferred route is less than a predetermined minimum value;

in response to identification of any such given route portion, accessing the GPS standard travel time value routinely assigned to said such given route portion by said GPS and temporarily resetting said travel time value to a given maximum value such that said given route portion does not meet the requirements for inclusion by said GPS in a GPS preferred route.

13. A method of operating an electronic vehicular traffic flow display system using mobile receiving stations in vehicles, in accordance with claim 11, further comprising the steps of:

temporarily storing identification data for said given route portion, while periodically comparing the reported current average speed data value for said given route portion to the GPS standard travel time value for said rejected route portion until said current average speed data corresponds to a value within the range of said GPS standard travel time value for said rejected route portion; and

accessing said temporarily set maximum time value and resetting said maximum time value to said GPS standard time value, so that said rejected route portion again qualifies for inclusion in a GPS preferred route.

14. A method of operating an electronic vehicular traffic flow display system using mobile receiving stations in vehicles, in accordance with claim 11, further comprising the steps of:

causing said GPS to select a second GPS preferred route to said given destination following said step of temporarily resetting said GPS standard travel time value to a maximum value; and

highlighting said second GPS preferred route on said one of said road maps that is on display.