Information system for a traveler information service and method for providing the service

• US 6,804,516 B2
• Filed: 10/25/2001
• Issued: 10/12/2004
• Est. Priority Date: 12/09/2000
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: LG Electronics, Inc. (LG Corporation)
• Original Assignee: LG Electronics, Inc. (LG Corporation)
• Inventors: Choi, Kwang-Joo
• Primary Examiner(s): Trost, William
• Assistant Examiner(s): TORRES, MARCOS L
• Application Number:
  US09/983,747
• Publication Number:
  US 20020072365A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,083 Days
• Field of Search: 340/905, 340/901, 340/933, 340/539.26, 340/539.28, 340/286.02, 701/211, 701/1, 701/117, 455/11.1, 455/13.1, 455/73, 455/88, 455/556.1, 455/561, 455/562.1, 455/569.2, 455/575.9, 455/90.1, 455/432, 455/426.1
• US Class Current: 455/432.1
• 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 84/10 Small scale networks; Flat hierarchical networks
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 88/08 Access point devices
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 88/14 Backbone network devices

Abstract

A transportation information system is disclosed, having a transportation terminal that transmits a transportation information request with a Dedicated Short Range Communication (DSRC) method, receives a transportation information reply corresponding to the transportation information request with the DSRC method, and provides the transportation information reply to a transportation subscriber. An Advanced Traveler Information Service (ATIS) terminal transmits a traveler information request with the DSRC method, receives a traveler information reply corresponding to the traveler information request with the DSRC method, and provides the traveler information reply to an ATIS subscriber. A base station communicates with the transportation terminal and the ATIS terminal through a two way DSRC communication. A transportation server classifies packets transmitted from the base station, through a dedicated network, by destination, performs a transportation service, and performs an ATIS service by interlocking with an ATIS server.

Claims

1. A transportation information system, comprising:

a transportation terminal that transmits a transportation information request using a Dedicated Short Range Communication (DSRC) method, receives a transportation information reply corresponding to the transportation information request using the DSRC method, and provides the transportation information reply to a transportation subscriber;

an Advanced Traveler Information Service (ATIS) terminal that transmits a traveler information request using the DSRC method, receives a traveler information reply corresponding to the traveler information request using the DSRC method, and provides the traveler information reply to an ATIS subscriber;

a base station that communicates with the transportation terminal and the ATIS terminal through a two way DSRC communication; and

a transportation server that classifies packets transmitted from the base station, through a dedicated network, by destination, performs a transportation service, and performs an ATIS service by interlocking with an ATIS server.

2. The system of claim 1, wherein the ATIS server transmits a broadcast announcement, to be transmitted to the ATIS terminal, to the transportation server and processes the traveler information reply, when the ATIS service is requested.

3. The system of claim 1, further comprising a transportation information center that collects and manages information related to the base station and the ATIS terminal.

4. The system of claim 1, further comprising a transportation control terminal that controls an operation of a transportation system in accordance with a control of a system operator.

5. The system of claim 1, further comprising a transportation guide unit that transmits first information related to a use of the transportation system to the base station through a wire channel, receives second information related to the use of the transportation system from the base station through the wire channel, and displays the second information.

6. The system of claim 1, further comprising:

a transportation guide unit that transmits a guide information request to the base station through a wire channel, receives a guide information reply corresponding to the guide information request from the base station through the wire channel, and provides the guide information reply to a customer, wherein

the base station communicates the packets with the transportation terminal and the ATIS terminal using the DSRC method and communicates the packets with the transportation guide unit through the wire channel.

7. A traveler information service method, comprising:

receiving an Advanced Traveler Information Service (ATIS) service request transmitted from an ATIS terminal to a base station;

transmitting the received ATIS service request in a packet format to a transportation information server;

transmitting the ATIS service request from the transportation information server to an ATIS server;

transmitting an ATIS service reply from the ATIS server to the transportation information server; and

transmitting the ATIS service reply in the packet format from the transportation information server to the base station and transmitting the ATIS service reply from the base station to the ATIS terminal using a dedicated short range communication (DSRC) method.

8. The method of claim 7, wherein a transportation guide unit transmits a guide request to the base station by a wire channel.

9. The method of claim 7, wherein the base station combines the ATIS service request and a transportation information service request into a combined request and converts the combined request into combined packets of the packet format to be transmitted to the transportation information server, when the ATIS service request and the transportation information service request are received by the base station at approximately the same time.

10. The method of claim 8, wherein the guide request is combined with the ATIS service request into a combined request and the combined request is converted into combined packets of the packet format.

11. The method of claim 7, wherein the transportation information server classifies the packet received from the base station by destination and transmits the ATIS service request to the ATIS server when the ATIS server is the destination.

12. The method of claim 11, wherein

the base station combines the ATIS service request and a transportation information service request into a combined request and converts the combined request into combined packets of the packet format to be transmitted to the transportation information server, when the ATIS service request and the transportation information service request are received by the base station at approximately the same time; and

the transportation information server generates a transportation information reply if the packet has the destination of the transportation information server.

13. The method of claim 12, wherein the transportation information server combines the transportation information reply and the ATIS service reply into a combined reply and converts the combined reply into the combined packets for transmission to the base station.

14. The method of claim 8, wherein the ATIS service reply information transmission process comprises:

generating combined packets of the packet format to be transmitted to the base station by combining a transportation information reply, generated by the transportation information server, and the ATIS reply;

classifying each packet of the combined packets as the ATIS service reply, the transportation information reply, or a guide reply, generated by the transportation information server in accordance with the guide request, when the base station receives the combined packets from the transportation information server; and

transmitting the ATIS service reply and the transportation information reply using the DSRC method and transmitting the guide reply to the transportation guide unit through the wire channel.

15. The method of claim 7, wherein the base station and the ATIS terminal communicate with a Time Division Multiple Access (TDMA) method.

16. The method of claim 15, wherein the ATIS terminal transmits first information in even number time slots of a TDMA frame and the base station transmits second information in odd number time slots of the TDMA frame, excluding a first time slot used as a preamble.

17. A traveler information service method, comprising:

transmitting a broadcast announcement message from an Advanced Traveler Information System (ATIS) server to a transportation information server;

transmitting the broadcast announcement message in a packet format from the transportation information server to a base station designated in the packet format, through a dedicated network; and

transmitting the broadcast announcement message from the base station to an ATIS terminal using a Dedicated Short Range Communication (DSRC) method.

18. An information system, comprising:

a first server that provides a first service and has a second interface for communicating with a second server, which provides a second service;

a base station that communicates with the first server and has a radio for communicating with a first terminal and a second terminal through a Dedicated Short Range Communication (DSRC) radio frequency (rf) protocol, wherein

the base station combines a first communication from the first terminal with a second communication from the second terminal into a combined upload message having a packet-based format and communicates the combined upload message to the first server,

the first server communicates the first and second communications to their respective destinations selected from the first server and the second server, based on a destination address in each of the first and second communications.

19. An information communication method, comprising:

communicating first information from a first terminal to a base station with a Dedicated Short Range Communication (DSRC) radio frequency protocol;

communicating second information from a second terminal to the base station with the DSRC radio frequency protocol;

combining the first and second information into combined information, which has a packet format, and communicating the combined information to a first server;

communicating the first and second information from the first server to a destination selected from the first server and a second server, based on a destination address in each of the first and second communications.