METHOD AND APPARATUS GENERATING AND/OR USING ESTIMATES OF ARTERIAL VEHICULAR MOVEMENT

• US 20100017102A1
• Filed: 07/20/2009
• Published: 01/21/2010
• Est. Priority Date: 07/18/2008
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Sensys Networks Inc. (Tagmaster AB)
• Original Assignee: Sensys Networks Inc. (Tagmaster AB)
• Inventors: Kavaler, Robert, Kwong, Karric
• Granted Patent: US 8,417,441 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 701/117
• CPC Class Codes: G08G 1/00 Traffic control systems for road vehicles arrangement of road signs or traffic signals E01F9/00 ; automatic vehicle control B62D
• CPC Class Codes: G08G 1/0104 Measuring and analyzing of parameters relative to traffic conditions
• CPC Class Codes: G08G 1/042 using inductive or magnetic detectors

Abstract

A roadway information system is disclosed with components generating and using vehicle signatures for vehicles passing near sensor pods located on or near lanes. These components in turn are part of and/or communicate with means and/or processors for generating an/or using Vehicle Movement Estimates based upon the vehicle signatures. The VME are used to create traffic feedback that may be presented to programmable field devices that may present at least some of the traffic feedback to drivers of the vehicles, thereby optimizing the fuel usage and travel time of the roadway.

Claims

1. Apparatus, comprising:

at least one instance of a member of the means group consisting of;

means (90) for generating a vehicular movement estimate (80) from at least one vehicle signature (26) each based upon sensor readings (22) of at least one vehicle (6) passing at least two sensor pods (20) each comprising at least one magneto-resistive sensor (144),

with said vehicular movement estimate for a first section (12) between said sensor pods of a roadway (10) upon which said vehicle travels including a travel time (82) and a vehicle count (84); and

means (300) for using said vehicular movement estimate to create at least one traffic feedback (90).

2. The apparatus of claim 1,

wherein said means for using is configured to receive (94) said vehicular movement estimate from at least one instance of said means for generating;

and

wherein said means for generating is configured to communicatively couple (24) to at least two of said sensor pods.

3. The apparatus of claim 1, further comprising:

a roadway information system (12), comprising

at least one instance of said means for generating (90);

at least one of said means for using (100)

communicatively coupled (94) to at least one of said instances of said means for generating.

4. The apparatus of claim 1, further comprising:

a roadway information system (12), comprising at least one of said means for using (100) communicatively coupled (96) to at least one of said feedback displays (70) for presentation of said traffic feedback (90).

5. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein said sensor reading includes at least one magnetic reading.

7. The apparatus of claim 5,

wherein said sensor pod includes at least two of said magnetic sensors oriented on said lane of said roadway.

8. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein at least one member of said means group includes at least one instance of at least one member of the group consisting of:

a finite state machine,

a configuration module configured to initialize a programmable logic device to create said finite state machine,

a computer accessibly coupled to a computer readable memory including a program system comprising at least one program step for instructing said computer,

an inferential engine directed by a rule system including at least one member of an inference group consisting of at least one fact and at least one inference rule;

wherein said apparatus further includes at least one member of the group consisting of

a server containing an installation package for at least one member of the group consisting of said configuration module, said program system and said rule system, with said server configured to communicate said installation package to at least one member of the group consisting of said finite state machine, said computer and said inferential engine; and

said computer readable memory including at least one member of the group consisting of configuration module, said program system, said rule system, and said installation package.

9. The apparatus of claim 6, wherein said program system comprises at least one of the program steps of:

generating said vehicular movement estimate based upon said vehicle passing said at least two sensor pods;

using at least one of said vehicle movement estimates to create at least one traffic feedbacks; and

operating a programmable field device based upon said traffic feedback.

10. The apparatus of claim 6,

wherein the program step generating said vehicular movement estimate comprises at least one of the program steps of:

acquiring said vehicle signatures for said at least two successive sensor pods based upon said sensor readings;

generating a scorecard (28, 29) of said vehicle signatures from said sensor pods;

matching said vehicle signatures based upon said scorecard to create an in-out vehicle match table (32); and

generating said vehicle movement estimate from said in-out vehicle match table.

11. A method, comprising at least one of the steps of:

generating a vehicular movement estimate (80) based upon at least one vehicle (6) passing at least two magnetic sensor included in each of at least two sensor pods (20), with said vehicle movement estimate including a travel time (82) for a segment (12) between said sensor pods;

using at least one of said vehicle movement estimates to create at least one traffic feedback (92); and

operating a programmable field device (70) based upon said traffic feedback.

12. The method of claim 11,

wherein the step generating said vehicular movement estimate comprises at least one of the steps of:

acquiring said vehicle signatures for said at least two successive sensor pods based upon said sensor readings;

generating a scorecard (28, 29) of said vehicle signatures from said sensor pods;

matching said vehicle signatures based upon said scorecard to create an in-out vehicle match table (32); and

generating said vehicle movement estimate from said in-out vehicle match table

wherein the step of operating said programmable field device further comprises the step of presenting said traffic feedback to a driver of said vehicle to create said presented traffic feedback.

13. The method of claim 12, wherein said presented traffic feedback and said vehicle movement estimates are produced.

14. The vehicle movement estimates as products of the process of claim 11.