Traffic information device

• US 6,349,262 B1
• Filed: 01/07/2000
• Issued: 02/19/2002
• Est. Priority Date: 03/14/1997
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Thomson Licensing (Vantiva SA)
• Original Assignee: InvenTel Co.
• Inventors: Carreel, Eric, Lewiner, Jacques
• Primary Examiner(s): Camby, Richard M.
• Application Number:
  US09/381,008
• Time in Patent Office: 774 Days
• Field of Search: 701/206, 701/210, 701/211, 701/213, 701/25, 701/26, 701/204, 701/209, 701/201, 701/202
• US Class Current: 701/210
• CPC Class Codes: G08G 1/096811 where the route is computed offboard
• CPC Class Codes: G08G 1/096838 where the user preferences are taken into account or the user selects one route out of a plurality
• CPC Class Codes: G08G 1/096888 where input information is obtained using learning systems, e.g. history databases

Abstract

The invention concerns a traffic information device comprising a portable one-way messaging receiver (10), designed to provide motorists with information concerning running times in a road network, said receiver comprising a keyboard (12) receiver memory contains, for each road network section, a starting point, an arrival point and an elementary running time. Moreover, the central unit is adapted to update the elementary running times of the sections on the basis of received radio messages, and to compute and display the global running time between a starting point and an arrival point as required, based on the stored elementary running times.

Claims

1. A traffic information device, designed to provide information relating to journey times within a predetermined road network, which is sub-divided into a plurality of sections linked one to the other, wherein it comprises a portable radio-messaging receiver having:

receiving means for receiving radio messages,

at least one memory for storing the messages received,

an electronic central unit for processing these messages,

a control interface enabling a user to control the central unit,

and a screen for displaying the information resulting from at least some of the messages received, depending on instructions entered by the user via the control interface,

wherein the receiver memory contains;

topological data specific to the road network in question, this data including at least an identification code for a point of departure and a point of destination for each section of the road network,

as well as digital data representative of journey times on the sections of the road network, referred to as basic journey times, wherein the central unit of the receiver is set up to;

detect certain predetermined radio messages containing at least digital information representative of the updated basic journey times,

update said stored digital data representative of the basic journey times depending on the digital data received,

and, depending on a desired departure point and destination point set in said central unit by the user through the control interface, to;

determine which sections of the road network should be used between these desired starting and this destination points,

compute an overall journey time equal to the sum of the basic journey times on said sections to be used between the desired departure and destination points,

and display at least this overall journey time on the screen.

2. A device according to claim 1, wherein the stored digital data and the digital information received include a basic journey time for each section of the relevant road network.

3. A device according to claim 1, wherein at least the digital information received includes a traffic speed on each section of the relevant road network, the receiver memory also incorporating the length of each section of the road network.

4. A device according to claim 1, designed to be used within a road network in which several routes may be used between at least certain starting points and certain destination points, the central unit of the receiver being set up, depending on the desired starting and destination points, to:

determine the different possible routes between the desired starting point and destination point and determine for each of these routes the sections of the road network which will be used between the desired starting point and destination point,

compute an overall journey time for each possible route across all said sections between the desired starting point and destination point,

determine which is the best route of all said possible routes, for which the overall journey time will be the shortest,

and display at least this optimum route and the corresponding journey time on the screen.

5. A device according to claim 4, wherein the central unit is set up to display on the screen several possible routes between the desired starting point and destination point as well as the overall journey times corresponding to these possible routes.

6. A device according to claim 1 wherein the central unit is set up to display on the screen a diagram representative of at least one part of the relevant road network, this diagram showing the different sections of said part of the road network by lines whose visual attributes correspond to the flow rates of traffic on said sections.

7. A device according to claim 1, wherein the central unit is set up to display on the screen a schematic map of at least a part of the relevant road network, this map showing two symbols corresponding respectively to the locations of the desired points of departure and destination.

8. A device according to claim 1, wherein the memory of said receiver contains at least one predetermined route, identified by its point of departure and its point of destination, the central unit being set up to:

allow the user to select this predetermined journey directly without having to select the starting point and destination point in succession,

and display the overall journey time corresponding to this predetermined journey.

9. A device according to claim 1, wherein the central unit is set up to detect certain predetermined radio messages carrying new information relating to the topology of the road network and to update the topological data contained in the memory of the receiver on the basis of these messages.

10. A device according to claim 1, consisting of a casing of a weight of less than 100 grams, in which the control interface is a simplified keypad having less than ten keys.

11. A device according to claim 1, comprising indicating means to attract the attention of the user and wherein the central unit is set up to:

store at least the last overall journey time T0 looked up by the user,

on the basis of digital data representative of the updated basic journey times received by radio, update this last overall journey time in cycles, thereby determining an updated overall journey time T,

and activate the indicator means if the overall journey times T0 and T are at variance by a time Δ

T greater than a certain limit.

12. A device according to claim 1, wherein the memory of the receiver includes data indicating the time at which the basic journey times were last updated in said memory, the central unit being set up, when computing and displaying an overall journey time, to display a warning message if at least one of the basic journey times taken into account in this overall journey time has not been updated for a predetermined time preceding this computation point.

13. A device according to claim 1, wherein the memory of the receiver includes data relating to the accessibility of certain parts of the road network, the central unit being set up to:

detect certain predetermined radio messages containing information relating to said accessibility data and update the stored accessibility data on the basis of these messages,

and, when it displays the overall journey time between a desired point of departure and point of destination, display in addition at least some of the accessibility data relating to the parts of the road network falling between the desired point of departure and point of destination.

14. A device according to claim 1, wherein the central unit is set up to determine an average traffic speed on each section of the road network and to display a warning message if the average traffic speed on at least one of the sections falling between the desired point of departure and point of destination is lower than a predetermined threshold value.