Traffic information display method and apparatus

• US 20070157120A1
• Filed: 11/24/2006
• Published: 07/05/2007
• Est. Priority Date: 01/02/2006
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd.
• Original Assignee: Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd.
• Inventors: Min, Hyun Suk, Yang, Sung Chul, Kim, Jong Hyun, Kim, Kwang Soo, Kim, Jin Won, Jung, Suk In, Yang, Hye Jung
• Granted Patent: US 7,840,339 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 715/810
• CPC Class Codes: G08G 1/0962 having an indicator mounted inside the vehicle, e.g. giving voice messages

Abstract

A traffic information display method includes creating a highest-level traffic information selection menu among traffic information categorized in multiple levels, and displaying the created traffic information selection menu, creating a low-level menu including associated travel speed data, and displaying the created low-level traffic information selection menu and repeating the creation of the low-level menu until the lowest-level menu is displayed.

Claims

1. A traffic information display method, comprising the steps of:

a) creating, in response to a traffic information display request from a user, an initial selection menu of relatively higher-level traffic information among traffic information categorized in multiple levels, and displaying the created initial selection menu;

b) creating, in response to a selection of the relatively higher-level traffic information by a user, a next selection menu of relatively lower-level traffic information including associated travel speed data, and displaying the created next selection menu; and

c) repeating step b) until a final selection menu of lowest-level traffic information is displayed.

2. The traffic information display method of claim 1, wherein step b) comprises:

b-1) finding records storing the selected, relatively higher-level traffic information;

b-2) sorting the records by field values of the relatively lower-level traffic information;

b-3) deriving travel speed data from the relatively lower-level traffic information using data on unit road-sections corresponding to the sorted records; and

b-4) displaying the relatively lower-level traffic information and the derived travel speed data.

3. The traffic information display method of claim 2, wherein the travel speed data for the lower-level traffic information is an average value of the travel speed data of the unit road-sections included in the corresponding lower-level traffic information.

4. The traffic information display method of claim 2, wherein the travel speed data for the lower-level traffic information is the lowest value of travel speed data of the unit road-sections included in the corresponding lower-level traffic information.

5. The traffic information display method of claim 1, wherein step b) displays an average value of travel speed data of unit road-sections included in the corresponding lower-level traffic information.

6. The traffic information display method of claim 1, wherein step b) displays the lowest value of travel speed data of unit road-sections included in the corresponding lower-level traffic information.

7. A traffic information display apparatus, comprising:

a display;

a receiver for receiving Transport Protocol Experts Group (TPEG) data including real-time traffic information;

a speed information database for managing travel speed data of unit road-sections that are minimum units for traffic information display;

a traffic information selection menu generator for creating, in response to a traffic information display request from a user, an initial selection menu of relatively higher-level traffic information and creating, in response to a selection of the relatively higher-level traffic information by a user, a next selection menu of relatively lower-level traffic information including associated travel speed data; and

a controller for controlling the traffic information selection menu generator to respectively create the relatively higher-level traffic information and the relatively lower-level traffic information.

8. The traffic information display apparatus of claim 7, wherein the receiver receives digital multimedia broadcasting (DMB) data including the TPEG data from a DMB network, and detects the TPEG data in the received DMB data.

9. The traffic information display apparatus of claim 7, wherein the speed information database includes:

a large group name field storing information on a large group including a highest-level traffic information among traffic information categorized in multiple levels;

a medium group name field storing one of a plurality of medium group names included in the large group stored in the large group name field;

a small group name field storing one of a plurality of small group names included in the medium group stored in the medium group name field;

a unit road-section name field storing one of a plurality of unit road-section names included in the small group stored in the small group name field;

a travel speed field storing real-time travel speed data of the unit road-section stored in the unit road-section field; and

a section length field storing a length of the unit road-section.

10. The traffic information display apparatus of claim 9, wherein the travel speed field is used to store travel speed data of two opposing traffic flows.

11. The traffic information display apparatus of claim 7, wherein the traffic information selection menu generator finds records storing the selected, relatively higher-level traffic information, sorts the records by field values of the relatively lower-level traffic information, derives the travel speed data from the relatively lower-level traffic information using data on unit road-sections corresponding to the sorted records, and displays the relatively lower-level traffic information and the derived travel speed data.

12. The traffic information display apparatus of claim 11, wherein the controller stores menu structure information for providing traffic information, and controls the traffic information selection menu generator using the stored menu structure information.

13. The traffic information display apparatus of claim 7, wherein the traffic information display apparatus is a mobile communication terminal.