On-road facility fault information communication apparatus

• US 6,774,815 B2
• Filed: 01/28/2002
• Issued: 08/10/2004
• Est. Priority Date: 03/08/2001
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: National Institute For Land and Infrastructure Management Ministry of Land Infrastructure and Transportation
• Original Assignee: National Institute For Land and Infrastructure Management Ministry of Land Infrastructure and Transportation
• Inventors: Shima, Takeshi, Nakajima, Norihiro, Tanaka, Morihiro, Nozaki, Keisaku, Kondou, Tetsuaki, Yumiba, Ryo, Takahashi, Kazunori, Nakagawa, Kazuyuki, Yamanashi, Takahiro
• Primary Examiner(s): Hofsass, Jeffery
• Assistant Examiner(s): PHAM, LAM P
• Application Number:
  US10/058,452
• Publication Number:
  US 20020145539A1
• Time in Patent Office: 925 Days
• Field of Search: 340/905, 340/933, 340/901, 340/928, 340/932, 701/23-28, 701/93-98, 701/117-119
• US Class Current: 340/905
• CPC Class Codes: G08G 1/164 Centralised systems, e.g. external to vehicles
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 43/00 Arrangements for monitoring or testing data switching networks
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 43/0817 by checking functioning

Abstract

In an advanced-cruise-assist highway system, an AHS center facility, which is an upper facility for on-road facilities, periodically receives diagnostic information from the on-road facilities, and when it is determined that any on-road facility is in the faulty state, communicates the information that the on-road facility is in the faulty state to on-road facilities upstream from the faulty on-road facility, and the on-road facilities having received the information on the fault in the downstream on-road facility communicates the information that the downstream on-road facility is in the faulty state via a road-to-vehicle communication facility to AHS vehicles having the possibility of entering a zone under control by the faulty on-road facility. Further the information that the downstream on-road facility is in the faulty state is displayed on information board which can be recognize by vehicles having the possibility of entering a zone under control by the faulty on-road facility.

Claims

1. A travel supporting road system, comprising:

a plurality of on-road facilities spaced along a road for monitoring driving conditions of the road, generating information regarding the driving condition of the road, and delivering the generated information to a driver of one or more vehicles traveling on the road; and

a center facility for communicating with and managing said plurality of on-road facilities, said center facility including a fault communication device for detecting a fault in one or more of said plurality of on-road facilities and, upon detection of a fault in a specific on-road facility, communicating information concerning the detected fault to one or more on-road facilities located upstream from said on-road facility experiencing the fault.

2. The travel supporting road system of claim 1, wherein the driving conditions of the road monitored by said plurality of on-road facilities includes one or more of the following conditions:

vehicles on the road, obstacles on the road, and surface conditions of the road.

3. The travel supporting road system according to claim 1, wherein upon a specific on-road facility experiencing a fault, said fault communication device instructs one or more other on-road facilities, located upstream from said specific on-road facility experiencing the fault, to communicate information concerning the fault to those vehicles that may possibly enter a zone monitored by said specific on-road facility experiencing the fault.

4. The travel supporting road system according to claim 1, wherein said fault communication device alerts vehicles that may potentially enter a zone monitored by an on-road facility experiencing a fault by instructing one or more other on-road facilities, located upstream from said on-road facility experiencing the fault, to display information concerning the fault on information display boards.