Traffic preemption system with headway management
First Claim
1. A traffic-preemption system, comprising:
- a transmitter adapted to transmit an identification code of a mass-transit vehicle; and
a traffic light circuit having receiver located at a traffic location and adapted to receive the identification code, and a decoding circuit adapted to attempt to identify the mass-transit vehicle using the identification code, compare a time of the mass-transit vehicle'"'"'s arrival at the traffic location with a pre-determined schedule, and, in response to determining a variance between the time of arrival and the pre-determined schedule, generate a traffic-preemption command for a traffic light.
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Accused Products
Abstract
A traffic-preemption system and method that communicates an identification code from vehicles to a traffic location. Traffic light control equipment, such as a receiver and traffic light circuit at each intersection of a controlled area, is used to manage headway in mass-transit systems as well as to provide traffic light pre-emption for emergency vehicles. Each traffic light circuit in the controlled area has a receiver located at a traffic location and adapted to receive an identification code from a mass-transit vehicle. A decoding circuit responds to the received identification code by attempting to identify the mass-transit vehicle and determine the timing on the identified route that improves an identified vehicle'"'"'s headway and/or route timing. In response to determining the timing, a traffic-preemption command is generated for a traffic light on the identified route.
71 Citations
20 Claims
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1. A traffic-preemption system, comprising:
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a transmitter adapted to transmit an identification code of a mass-transit vehicle; and
a traffic light circuit having receiver located at a traffic location and adapted to receive the identification code, and a decoding circuit adapted to attempt to identify the mass-transit vehicle using the identification code, compare a time of the mass-transit vehicle'"'"'s arrival at the traffic location with a pre-determined schedule, and, in response to determining a variance between the time of arrival and the pre-determined schedule, generate a traffic-preemption command for a traffic light. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6)
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7. A method for managing headway of a mass-transit vehicle at a traffic location in a traffic-preemption system, comprising:
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transmitting an identification code from a transmitter associated with the mass-transit vehicle;
receiving the identification code at a receiver situated at the traffic location;
identifying the mass-transit vehicle using the identification code;
comparing a time of the mass-transit vehicle'"'"'s arrival at the traffic location with a pre-determined schedule;
determining a variance between the time of arrival and the pre-determined schedule; and
generating a traffic-preemption command for a traffic light based on the determined variance. - View Dependent Claims (8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13)
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14. A traffic-preemption system, comprising:
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a first transceiver associated with a mass-transit vehicle and adapted to transmit an identification code of the mass-transit vehicle and receive encoded information; and
a controller provided at each one of a plurality of intersections;
a respective second transceiver coupled to each controller and adapted to receive the transmitted identification code from the first transceiver and to transmit the encoded information to the first transceiver; and
a respective decoding circuit coupled to each controller and adapted to attempt to identify the mass-transit vehicle using the identification code;
wherein the controller is adapted to compare a time of the mass-transit vehicle'"'"'s arrival at the one of the intersections with a pre-determined schedule, and, in response to determining a variance between the time of arrival and the pre-determined schedule, generate a traffic-preemption command for a traffic light and transmit variance information to the mass-transit vehicle. - View Dependent Claims (15, 16, 17)
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18. A traffic-preemption system, comprising:
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means for transmitting an identification code from a transmitter associated with the mass-transit vehicle;
means for receiving the identification code at a receiver situated at the traffic location;
means for identifying the mass-transit vehicle using the identification code;
means for comparing a time of the mass-transit vehicle'"'"'s arrival at the traffic location with a pre-determined schedule;
means for determining a variance between the time of arrival and the pre-determined schedule; and
means for generating a traffic-preemption command for a traffic light based on the determined variance. - View Dependent Claims (19, 20)
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Specification