Distributed system and method for detecting traffic patterns
First Claim
1. A method for processing traffic pattern information in a computer system disposed on a first vehicle, comprising:
- determining a first position for the first vehicle in a road segment at a first time;
determining a second position for the first vehicle in a road segment at a second time;
determining an elapsed time by comparing the first time and the second time; and
determining whether a congested traffic condition exists for the road segment according to the elapsed time;
if a congested traffic condition exists, storing congested traffic condition information to a first hand history data structure; and
determining whether the information contained in the first hand history data structure should be broadcast, the determination, comprising determining whether information about the road segment has been verified.
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Accused Products
Abstract
A computer system for determining traffic patterns and congestion and using the determined traffic patterns and congestion to determine an appropriate route using a global positioning system and related route map calculator. A vehicle is provided with an onboard computer system adapted to determine travel time of a vehicle in a road segment and calculate a route based on this information. In addition, this information can be distributed to or otherwise shared with other vehicles and similar information can be received from other vehicles to provide a distributed network for generating and sharing experienced traffic patterns. The information can also be used to predict traffic patterns as well.
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Citations
25 Claims
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1. A method for processing traffic pattern information in a computer system disposed on a first vehicle, comprising:
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determining a first position for the first vehicle in a road segment at a first time;
determining a second position for the first vehicle in a road segment at a second time;
determining an elapsed time by comparing the first time and the second time; and
determining whether a congested traffic condition exists for the road segment according to the elapsed time;
if a congested traffic condition exists, storing congested traffic condition information to a first hand history data structure; and
determining whether the information contained in the first hand history data structure should be broadcast, the determination, comprising determining whether information about the road segment has been verified. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7)
if a congested traffic condition exists, storing congested traffic condition information in a history data structure as a first hand history information record;
receiving second hand congested traffic condition information from one or more remote sources;
storing the second hand congested traffic condition information in the history data structure as a second hand history information record;
determining whether to broadcast the records stored in the history data structure.
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3. The method of claim 2, wherein determining whether to broadcast the information contained in the history data structure, comprises:
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(i) for each record in the history data structure, determining an arrival time indicating when the road segment could be reached from a current location;
then(ii) determining for each record if the arrival time is in a time slot for the record; and
(iii) confirming that the records have been verified.
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4. The method of claim 1, further comprising:
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if a congested traffic condition exists, storing congested traffic condition information in a first data structure as first hand history information;
moving the history information from the first data structure to a second data structure when a threshold condition exists; and
determining whether to broadcast the information contained in the second data structure.
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5. The method of claim 4, wherein the threshold condition exists if a time expiration event has occurred.
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6. The method of claim 1, further comprising receiving second hand traffic condition information from a second car.
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7. The method of claim 6, further comprising calculating a route using the second hand traffic condition information.
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8. A signal-bearing medium containing a program which, when executed by one or more processors, performs the steps comprising:
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determining a first position for a first vehicle in a road segment at a first time;
determining a second position for the first vehicle in a road segment at a second time;
determining an elapsed time by comparing the first time and the second time; and
determining whether a congested traffic condition exists for the road segment according to the elapsed time;
if a congested traffic condition exists, storing congested traffic condition information to a first hand history data structure; and
determining whether the information contained in the first hand history data structure should be broadcast, the determination, comprising determining whether information about the road segment has been verified. - View Dependent Claims (9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15)
if a congested traffic condition exists, storing congested traffic condition information in a history data structure as a first hand history information record;
receiving second hand congested traffic condition information from one or more remote sources;
storing the second hand congested traffic condition information in the history data structure as a second hand history information record;
determining whether to broadcast the records stored in the history data structure.
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11. The signal-bearing medium of claim 10, wherein determining whether to broadcast the information contained in the history data structure, comprises:
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(i) for each record in the history data structure, determining an arrival time indicating when the road segment could be reached from a current location;
then(ii) determining for each record if the arrival time is in a time slot for the record; and
(iii) confirming that the records have been verified.
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12. The signal-bearing medium of claim 8, further comprising:
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if a congested traffic condition exists, storing congested traffic condition information in a first data structure as first hand history information;
moving the history information from the first data structure to a second data structure when a threshold condition exists; and
determining whether to broadcast the information contained in the second data structure.
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13. The signal-bearing medium of claim 12, wherein the threshold condition exists if a time expiration event has occurred.
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14. The signal-bearing medium of claim 8, further comprising receiving second hand traffic condition information from a second car.
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15. The signal-bearing medium of claim 14, further comprising calculating a route using the second hand traffic condition information.
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16. A computer system disposable on a vehicle, comprising:
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(a) a receiver configured to receive traffic condition information;
(b) a transmitter configured to transmit traffic condition information;
(c) a system location receiver configured to determine a position of the system; and
(d) a signal processing unit comprising a processor and a memory coupled to the traffic information receiver, the transmitter and the system location receiver, wherein the signal processing unit is configured to;
(i) determine a first position and a second position of the signal processing unit along a road segment;
(ii) determine an elapsed time between the first and second positions;
(iii) determine whether the elapsed time indicates a congested traffic condition along the road segment by comparing the elapsed time with a stored time value for the road segment; and
(iv) broadcast the traffic condition information via the one or more traffic information transmitters if at least a rate of travel through the road segment is unacceptable. - View Dependent Claims (17, 18, 19)
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20. A method for processing traffic pattern information in a computer system disposed on a first vehicle, comprising:
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determining a first position for the first vehicle in a road segment at a first time;
determining a second position for the first vehicle in a road segment at a second time;
determining an elapsed time by comparing the first time and the second time; and
comparing the elapsed time to a threshold time to determine whether a congested traffic condition exists for the road segment, wherein the threshold time is based on a speed limit and a length for the road segment. - View Dependent Claims (21, 22)
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23. A signal-bearing medium containing a program which, when executed by one or more processors, performs the steps comprising:
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determining a first position for a first vehicle in a road segment at a first time;
determining a second position for the first vehicle in a road segment at a second time;
determining an elapsed time by comparing the first time and the second time; and
comparing the elapsed time to a threshold time to determine whether a congested traffic condition exists for the road segment, wherein the threshold time is based on a speed limit and a length for the road segment. - View Dependent Claims (24, 25)
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Specification