TRAFFIC ADJUSTMENT FOR VARIABLE NETWORK STATE

• US 20180204453A1
• Filed: 03/13/2018
• Published: 07/19/2018
• Est. Priority Date: 02/04/2015
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: HERE Global B.V. (HERE Holding Corporation)
• Original Assignee: HERE Global B.V. (HERE Holding Corporation)
• Inventors: Harris, John, Modica, Leo, Moore, Brian, Stephens, Paul
• Granted Patent: US 10,242,570 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• CPC Class Codes: G08G 1/0112 from the vehicle, e.g. floating car data [FCD]
• CPC Class Codes: G08G 1/012 from other sources than vehicle or roadside beacons, e.g. mobile networks
• 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 1/081 Plural intersections under common control
• CPC Class Codes: G08G 1/095 Traffic lights
• CPC Class Codes: G08G 1/096716 where the received information does not generate an automatic action on the vehicle control
• CPC Class Codes: G08G 1/096741 where the source of the transmitted information selects which information to transmit to each vehicle
• CPC Class Codes: G08G 1/096775 where the origin of the information is a central station
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 28/021 in wireless networks with changing topologies, e.g. ad-hoc networks self-organizing networks H04W84/18
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 28/0226 based on location or mobility handoff or reselection H04W36/00; mobile application services making use of the location of users or terminals H04W4/02
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 28/0247 based on conditions of the access network or the infrastructure network central resource management H04W28/16
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/02 Services making use of location information
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/029 Location-based management or tracking services
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 64/00 Locating users or terminals or network equipment for network management purposes, e.g. mobility management

Abstract

A traffic adjustment or a traffic command, for example, is based on data congestion on a cellular network. Position data is received from a mobile device. A portion of a cellular network that corresponds to the position data is selected. The portion of the cellular network may be the geographic area covered by a cell. The network state of the portion of the cellular network is identified. A traffic device is also identified. The traffic device may be a traffic light or a variable speed sign. The traffic adjustment or traffic command for the traffic device is calculated based on the network state.

Claims

1. A method of traffic control for at least one road, the method comprising:

detecting a presence of a mobile device on the at least one road;

associating, by a processor, the mobile device with a corresponding mobile network;

determining, by the processor, a congestion or usage level of the mobile network associated with the mobile device; and

controlling, by the processor, traffic for the at least one road based on the determined congestion level.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the corresponding mobile network is a mobile network connected to the mobile device.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein controlling traffic comprises:

controlling a traffic device of the at least one road.

4. The method of claim 3, wherein the traffic device includes a traffic signal or a sign.

5. The method of claim 4, wherein the traffic signal is configured to increase or decrease a wait time as a function of the congestion or usage level of the mobile network.

6. The method of claim 4, wherein the traffic signal introduces a delay for a highway ramp based on the congestion or usage level of the mobile network.

7. The method of claim 1, wherein controlling traffic comprises:

providing a traffic command to the mobile device.

8. The method of claim 7, wherein the traffic command is a driving command to control an operation of a vehicle.

9. The method of claim 8, wherein the driving command engages a mechanical system of the vehicle.

10. The method of claim 1, wherein the congestion or usage level is determined based on a measurement of transmission resources of the mobile network or utilization of the mobile network.

11. The method of claim 10, wherein the transmission resources include bandwidth, signal strength, speed, or combinations thereof.

12. The method of claim 10, wherein the utilization of the mobile network is based on a number or type of users of the mobile network.

13. An apparatus comprising:

a communication interface configured to detect a presence of a mobile device on at least one road; and

a controller configured to determine a congestion or usage level of a mobile network associated with the mobile device and control traffic for the at least one road based on the determined congestion or usage level.

14. The apparatus of claim 13, wherein the controller is configured to control a traffic device of the at least one road.

15. The apparatus of claim 14, wherein the traffic device is configured to display a speed limit as a function of the congestion or usage level of the mobile network.

16. The apparatus of claim 14, wherein the traffic device is configured to display a message based on the congestion or usage level of the mobile network.

17. The apparatus of claim 13, wherein the congestion or usage level is based on a number of users connected to the mobile network, a number of users on the at least one road, historic usage patterns of users, or combinations thereof.

18. The apparatus of claim 17, wherein historic usage patterns are based on time of day, day of week, or an event.

20. The method of claim 18, wherein routing road traffic includes increasing a rate of movement of mobile devices from cells having a high congestion level to cells having a low congestion level, decreasing a rate of movement of mobile devices from cells having a low congestion level to cells having a high congestion level, or combinations thereof.

19. A method of controlling flow of road traffic in and out of cells within a mobile network, the method comprising:

identifying, by a processor, one or more cells of the mobile network;

determining, by the processor, a congestion level for the one or more cells of the mobile network; and

routing road traffic through the one or more cells of the mobile network based on the respective congestion level of the respective cells.

21. An apparatus comprising:

a communication interface configured to identify one or more cells of a mobile network; and

a controller configured to determine a congestion level for the one or more cells of the mobile network and route traffic through the one or more cells of the mobile network based on the respective congestion level of the respective cells.