Vehicle traveling guidance system

• US 5,987,374 A
• Filed: 06/27/1997
• Issued: 11/16/1999
• Est. Priority Date: 07/08/1996
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Toyota Jidosha Kabushiki Kaisha (Toyota Motor Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Toyota Jidosha Kabushiki Kaisha (Toyota Motor Corporation)
• Inventors: Akutsu, Eisaku, Aoki, Keiji
• Primary Examiner(s): Zanelli, Michael J.
• Application Number:
  US08/884,478
• Time in Patent Office: 872 Days
• Field of Search: 701/117, 701/118, 701/119, 701/23, 340/992, 340/993, 180/169, 342/51
• US Class Current: 701/117
• CPC Class Codes: G08G 1/0104 Measuring and analyzing of parameters relative to traffic conditions
• CPC Class Codes: G08G 1/164 Centralised systems, e.g. external to vehicles

Abstract

A traveling guidance system provides a traveling vehicle with various types of data indicating the flow of traffic to smooth travel. The speed and pass time data of the preceding vehicle is sent to an electronic wave tag laid on a road surface. The electronic wave tag then sends the data to the succeeding vehicle when it passes over the electronic wave tag. Furthermore, the received data is sent to a control center through communication equipment, which predicts the occurrence of traffic congestion based on the speed and pass time data of vehicles at each point and sends the prediction to electronic wave tags at points where the occurrence of traffic congestion is predicted. Traffic data from the control center is sent to passing vehicles through the electronic wave tag and each passing vehicle controls its travel based on the traffic data.

Claims

1. A vehicle traveling guidance system comprising:

a data providing device installed on a road, and

a vehicle wherein said vehicle includes;

a data transmitter for sending said data providing device speed data and pass time data of the vehicle when the vehicle passes the vicinity of said data providing device, and

a data receiver for receiving data sent from said data providing device, and

said data providing device includes;

a receiver for receiving said speed data and pass time data, and

a transmitter for sending other passing vehicles said speed data and said pass time data.

2. The vehicle traveling guidance system according to claim 1, wherein said data providing device is an electronic wave tag.

3. The vehicle traveling guidance system according to claim 1, wherein a plurality of said data providing devices are installed on a road, said system further comprising:

a control center for communicating, through said data providing devices, to a passing vehicle traffic congestion information and data of a predicted traffic congestion point obtained from said speed data and time data transmitted from each of said plurality of data providing devices.

4. A vehicle traveling guidance system comprising:

a plurality of data providing devices installed on a road, wherein each of said data providing devices includes;

a detector for detecting speed and pass time of a vehicle passing over the vicinity thereof,

a transmitter for sending said data of said speed and pass time detected to other passing vehicles, and

said system further comprising a control center for communicating through said data providing devices, to a passing vehicle traffic congestion information and data of a predicted traffic congestion point obtained from said speed data and pass time data transmitted from each of said plurality of data providing devices.