SYSTEM AND METHOD FOR TRAFFIC FLOW MANAGEMENT USING AN ADAPTIVE LANE SYSTEM

• US 20170345295A1
• Filed: 05/26/2016
• Published: 11/30/2017
• Est. Priority Date: 05/26/2016
• Status: Abandoned Application

• Current Assignee: Amir Mattar
• Original Assignee: Amir Mattar
• Inventors: MATTAR, Amir
• Application Number:
  US15/164,886
• Publication Number:
  US 20170345295A1
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• CPC Class Codes: G08G 1/0116 from roadside infrastructure, e.g. beacons
• CPC Class Codes: G08G 1/0133 for classifying traffic situation
• CPC Class Codes: G08G 1/0145 for active traffic flow control
• CPC Class Codes: G08G 1/02 using treadles built into the road pads or other sensitive devices responsive to passage of vehicles E01F11/00
• CPC Class Codes: G08G 1/04 using optical or ultrasonic detectors
• CPC Class Codes: G08G 1/042 using inductive or magnetic detectors
• CPC Class Codes: G08G 1/052 with provision for determining speed or overspeed speed measuring in general G01P
• CPC Class Codes: G08G 1/065 by counting the vehicles in a section of the road or in a parking area, i.e. comparing incoming count with outgoing count

Abstract

A method for managing traffic flow on a roadway includes upon meeting a condition, changing a number of traffic lanes from a first number to a second number across a given width of the roadway.

Claims

1. A method for managing traffic flow on a roadway, the method comprising:

upon meeting a condition, changing a number of traffic lanes from a first number to a second number across a given width of the roadway.

2. The method according to claim 1, wherein the condition comprises traffic congestion in the roadway, and wherein changing the number of traffic lanes comprises changing the number of traffic lanes such that the first number is smaller than the second number.

3. The method according to claim 2, wherein changing the number of traffic lanes comprises manually actuating a change the number of traffic lanes by a user.

4. The method according to claim 2, further comprising changing the number of traffic lanes from the second number to the first number upon assessing a normal traffic flow in the roadway.

5. The method according to claim 1, wherein the condition comprises a time of day within a time period of traffic congestion.

6. The method according to claim 1, and further comprising:

collecting information from one or a plurality of sensors placed at positions along a section of the roadway with traffic lanes delineated by road markings; and

computing a traffic parameter in the section of the roadway from the collected information from the one or said plurality of sensors;

wherein changing the number of lanes comprises toggling the road markings.

7. The method according to claim 6, wherein the traffic parameter comprises a vehicular traffic rate in the section, and wherein collecting the information comprises determining, using the one or said plurality of sensors, an average speed of vehicles in the section and a number of vehicles in the section for computing the vehicular traffic rate.

8. The method according to claim 6, wherein the one or said plurality of sensors are selected from the group consisting of an inductive loop sensor, a magnetometric sensor, a magnetic induction coil sensor, a microwave radar sensor, an active infrared sensor, a passive infrared sensor, an ultrasonic sensor, an acoustic array sensor, a pneumatic tube sensor, and a video image processing sensor.

9. The method according to claim 6, wherein the road markings comprise painted stripes delineating the traffic lanes with the first number, and lane light markers delineating the traffic lanes with the second number, and wherein toggling the road markings comprises illuminating the lane light markers.

10. The method according to claim 6, wherein the road markings comprise a first set of lane light markers delineating the first number of traffic lanes and a second set of lane light markers delineating the second number of traffic lanes on the roadway, and wherein toggling the road markings comprises switching off the first set of lane light markers and illuminating the second set of lane light markers.

11. A traffic flow control system for managing traffic flow on a roadway, the system comprising:

road markings; and

a controller configured to change a number of traffic lanes from a first number to a second number across a given width of the roadway when a condition is met.

12. The system according to claim 11, wherein the condition comprises traffic congestion in the roadway, and wherein the controller is configured to change the number of traffic lanes by changing the number of lanes such that the first number is smaller than the second number.

13. The system according to claim 12, wherein the controller is configured to change the number of traffic lanes from the second number to the first number upon assessing a normal traffic flow in the roadway.

14. The system according to claim 11, wherein the controller is configured to collect information from one or a plurality of sensors placed at positions along a section of the roadway with traffic lanes delineated by road markings, and to compute a traffic parameter in the section of the roadway from the collected information from the one or said plurality of sensors,

wherein the controller is configured to change the number of lanes by toggling the road markings.

15. The system according to claim 14, wherein the traffic parameter comprises a vehicular traffic rate in the section, and wherein the controller is configured to collect the information by determining, using the one or said plurality of sensors, an average speed of vehicles in the section and a number of vehicles in the section for computing the vehicular traffic rate.

16. The system according to claim 14, wherein the road markings comprise painted stripes delineating the traffic lanes with the first number, and lane light markers delineating the traffic lanes with the second number, and wherein the controller is configured to toggle the road markings by illuminating the lane light markers.

17. The system according to claim 14, wherein the road markings comprises a first set of lane light markers delineating the first number of traffic lanes and a second set of lane light markers delineating the second number of traffic lanes on the roadway, and wherein the controller is configured to toggle the road markings by switching off the first set of lane light markers and illuminating the second set of lane light markers.

18. The system according to claim 11, further comprising a communication unit for communicating with devices selected from the group consisting of GPS satellites, drones, control towers, wireless base stations, and other traffic flow controllers.

19. The system according to claim 11, wherein the road markings comprise lane light markers formed from light emitting diodes.

20. The system according to claim 11, wherein the road markings comprise tracking tags to delineate the traffic lanes along the roadway.