DISPLAYING ROAD TRAFFIC CONDITION INFORMATION AND USER CONTROLS
First Claim
1. A method for a computing system to automatically present information to users relating to comparative traffic conditions on roads so as to facilitate travel on the roads, the method comprising:
- receiving information describing a network of roads in a geographic area;
identifying multiple segments of the roads in the network for which traffic conditions are distinctly tracked, the tracked traffic conditions including traffic speeds of vehicles traveling on the road segments;
receiving requests from one or more users that are each for information about traffic conditions at a selected time for one or more of the road segments; and
in response to each of the requests, displaying information to the user from whom the request was received to indicate the traffic conditions at the selected time for the one or more road segments for the request, by for each of the one or more road segments for the request, determining comparative traffic conditions for the road segment at the selected time for the request by comparing actual average traffic speeds on the road segment at the selected time to expected average traffic speeds that are normal for the road segment at the selected time, the determined comparative traffic conditions including a determined one of multiple predefined levels of difference between the actual and expected traffic conditions at the selected time and including a numeric difference in traffic speed at the selected time between the actual and expected average traffic speeds;
providing a user interface to the user that includes a displayed map corresponding to at least a portion of the geographic area, the map including displayed representations of the one or more road segments for the request such that the displayed representation of each road segment includes an associated displayed indication of the numeric traffic speed difference for the road segment at the selected time and includes a visual representation of the determined difference level for the road segment at the selected time, each of the multiple predefined difference levels having a distinct visual representation;
for each of the one or more road segments, providing visual indications on the map of multiple predicted traffic conditions for the road segment during a next hour following the selected time; and
providing user-selectable controls as part of the user interface to allow the user to update the displayed map, the provided user-selectable controls including a time slider control to select a new time for which traffic condition information will be displayed in the map, and including one or more time sequence manipulation controls to control a sequence of multiple selected times for which traffic condition information will be displayed in the map, so that users may receive and control displays of information that include comparative traffic conditions indicating differences from normal traffic conditions for segments of roads in a geographic area.
5 Assignments
0 Petitions
Accused Products
Abstract
Techniques are described for displaying or otherwise providing information to users regarding various types of road traffic condition information in various ways. The information may be provided, for example, as part of a user interface (or “UI”), which may in some situations further include one or more types of user-selectable controls to allow a user to manipulate in various ways what road traffic condition information is displayed and/or how the information is displayed. A variety of types of road traffic condition information may be presented to users in various manners, including by presenting information on graphically displayed maps for geographic areas to indicate various information about road conditions in the geographic area. In addition, provided controls may allow users to select particular times, select particular routes, indicate to perform animation of various types of changing traffic conditions over a sequence of multiple successive times, etc.
663 Citations
94 Claims
-
1. A method for a computing system to automatically present information to users relating to comparative traffic conditions on roads so as to facilitate travel on the roads, the method comprising:
-
receiving information describing a network of roads in a geographic area;
identifying multiple segments of the roads in the network for which traffic conditions are distinctly tracked, the tracked traffic conditions including traffic speeds of vehicles traveling on the road segments;
receiving requests from one or more users that are each for information about traffic conditions at a selected time for one or more of the road segments; and
in response to each of the requests, displaying information to the user from whom the request was received to indicate the traffic conditions at the selected time for the one or more road segments for the request, by for each of the one or more road segments for the request, determining comparative traffic conditions for the road segment at the selected time for the request by comparing actual average traffic speeds on the road segment at the selected time to expected average traffic speeds that are normal for the road segment at the selected time, the determined comparative traffic conditions including a determined one of multiple predefined levels of difference between the actual and expected traffic conditions at the selected time and including a numeric difference in traffic speed at the selected time between the actual and expected average traffic speeds;
providing a user interface to the user that includes a displayed map corresponding to at least a portion of the geographic area, the map including displayed representations of the one or more road segments for the request such that the displayed representation of each road segment includes an associated displayed indication of the numeric traffic speed difference for the road segment at the selected time and includes a visual representation of the determined difference level for the road segment at the selected time, each of the multiple predefined difference levels having a distinct visual representation;
for each of the one or more road segments, providing visual indications on the map of multiple predicted traffic conditions for the road segment during a next hour following the selected time; and
providing user-selectable controls as part of the user interface to allow the user to update the displayed map, the provided user-selectable controls including a time slider control to select a new time for which traffic condition information will be displayed in the map, and including one or more time sequence manipulation controls to control a sequence of multiple selected times for which traffic condition information will be displayed in the map, so that users may receive and control displays of information that include comparative traffic conditions indicating differences from normal traffic conditions for segments of roads in a geographic area. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9)
-
-
10. A computer-implemented method for providing information relating to traffic conditions on roads, the method comprising:
-
providing a user interface for displaying a map corresponding to at least a portion of a geographic area, the map including displayed representations of multiple segments of roads in the geographic area;
receiving an indication of a selected time; and
for each of at least some of the multiple road segments, providing information about comparative traffic conditions for the road segment at the selected time by, determining expected traffic conditions for the road segment for the selected time, the expected traffic conditions reflecting traffic conditions that are normal for the road segment at the selected time;
determining target traffic conditions for the road segment for the selected time, the target traffic conditions reflecting actual traffic conditions on the road segment;
determining a level of difference between the target traffic conditions for the road segment for the selected time and the expected traffic conditions for the road segment for the selected time, the determined difference level being one of multiple predefined difference levels; and
providing an indication of the determined difference level for the road segment for the selected time such that the displayed representation of the road segment on the displayed map in the user interface includes a visual representation of the determined difference level for the road segment, each of the multiple predefined difference levels having a distinct visual representation. - View Dependent Claims (11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32, 33, 34, 35, 36, 37, 38, 39, 40, 41, 42, 43, 44, 45, 46, 47, 48)
-
-
49. A computer-readable medium whose contents enable a computing device to automatically provide information relating to traffic conditions on roads, by performing a method comprising:
providing information for display to one or more users regarding traffic conditions at one or more selected times for one or more of multiple road segments by, for each of the one or more road segments and each of the one or more selected times, determining a level of difference between target traffic conditions for the road segment for the selected time and expected traffic conditions for the road segment for the selected time, the expected traffic conditions reflecting traffic conditions that are normal for the road segment at the selected time, the target traffic conditions reflecting at least one of actual and predicted traffic conditions for the road segment at the selected time; and
providing an indication of the determined difference level for the road segment for the selected time. - View Dependent Claims (50, 51, 52, 53, 54, 55, 56, 57, 58)
-
59. A computing device configured to provide information related to traffic conditions on roads, comprising:
-
a memory; and
a first component configured to, for each of one or more road segments, display information regarding traffic conditions at one or more selected times for the road segment, the displayed information for each of at least one of the one or more road segments and for each of at least one of the one or more selected times indicating a level of difference between first and second sets of traffic conditions data for the road segment for the selected time, the data of the first and second sets being for a same type of traffic condition but being generated in distinct manners such that at least one of the first and second sets reflects expected traffic conditions for the road segment at the selected time. - View Dependent Claims (60, 61, 62, 63, 64, 65, 66)
-
-
67. A computer-implemented method for providing information relating to traffic conditions on roads, the method comprising:
-
providing a map for display that corresponds to at least a portion of a geographic area, the map including displayed representations of multiple segments of roads in the geographic area;
providing one or more user-selectable controls to allow a user to select a time for which information about traffic conditions for at least some of the multiple road segments is to be displayed on the map, the one or more controls including a time slider control with a user-manipulatable time indicator that moves among multiple distinct positions each corresponding to a distinct time point, such that a user may specify the selected time by moving the time indicator to a selected position whose corresponding time point is the selected time; and
after receiving an indication of a selected time from a user, providing information about traffic conditions at the selected time for each of the at least some road segments for display on the map. - View Dependent Claims (68, 69, 70, 71, 72, 73)
-
-
74. A computer-implemented method for providing information relating to traffic conditions on roads, the method comprising:
-
providing a map for display that corresponds to at least a portion of a geographic area, the map including displayed representations of multiple segments of roads in the geographic area;
providing information about traffic conditions at a selected time for each of at least some of the road segments for display on the map; and
for each of one or more of the at least some road segments, providing information for display on the map about predicted traffic conditions for the road segment during a next hour following the selected time, the provided information reflecting multiple distinct periods of time during the next hour that correspond to differing predicted traffic conditions for the road segment, so that a visual representation of a circle may be displayed for the road segment that represents the next hour and that includes distinct visual representations for the corresponding predicted traffic conditions for each of the distinct periods of time. - View Dependent Claims (75, 76, 77, 78, 79, 80, 81)
-
-
82. A computer-implemented method for providing information relating to traffic conditions on roads, the method comprising:
-
providing a map for display that corresponds to at least a portion of a geographic area, the map including displayed representations of multiple segments of one or more roads in the geographic area;
identifying a route of interest between at least two locations in the geographic area, the route including at least some of the multiple road segments whose displayed representations are included on the map; and
for each of the at least some of the road segments, providing information about comparative traffic conditions at a selected time for the road segment for display on the map, the comparative traffic conditions information indicating differences between actual and/or predicted traffic conditions at the selected time for the road segment and expected traffic conditions at the selected time for the road segment. - View Dependent Claims (83, 84, 85, 86, 87, 88, 89, 90, 91, 92, 93, 94)
-
Specification