Method of displaying traffic information on a web page

• US 7,472,169 B2
• Filed: 03/15/2006
• Issued: 12/30/2008
• Est. Priority Date: 03/15/2006
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: HERE Global B.V. (HERE Holding Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Trafficcom Incorporated (HERE Holding Corporation)
• Inventors: Smyth, Brian J., Auxer, Gregory A., Harrod, David
• Primary Examiner(s): LAZARO, DAVID R
• Application Number:
  US11/376,715
• Publication Number:
  US 20070220110A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,021 Days
• Field of Search: 709/203, 709/217, 709/219, 701117-119, 701/200, 701206-209, 340/905, 715201-204, 715/744, 715/760, 715/762, 715/205, 715/234, 715/749
• US Class Current: 709/217
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/986 Document structures and storage, e.g. HTML extensions
• CPC Class Codes: G08G 1/09 Arrangements for giving variable traffic instructions railroad crossing signals B61L; reflectors E01F, G08B; indicating arrangements for variable information by selection or combination of individual elements G09F9/00

Abstract

A method of displaying traffic information on a web page is provided. The traffic information includes traffic conditions of one or more specified roads. A web browser requests a web page that includes programming code related to some traffic information. The web browser interprets the programming code and requests at least some of the traffic information from a remote site specified by the programming code. The request includes a uniform resource identifier (URI) of the remote site, and a unique identifier of the traffic information. The web browser then assembles the web page using at least some of the requested traffic information obtained from the remote site. The assembled web page displays at least some of the traffic information, including traffic conditions of the one or more specified roads.

Claims

1. A computer-implemented method of allowing a web page creator to create a web page that displays traffic information on a web page, the traffic information including traffic conditions of one or more specified roads, the method comprising:

(a) a web page creator selecting via a user interface one or more roads for which the traffic information is to be displayed;

(b) generating programming code based on the selections, wherein the programming code includes an identifier of a file that includes the one or more selected roads, and wherein the programming code further includes a remote site from which at least a portion of the traffic information is to be retrieved from; and

(c) the web page creator inserting the programming code into a web page, wherein the programming code, when executed by a web browser, causes a display on a web page of traffic information for the selected roads.

2. The method of claim 1 wherein the programming code further includes:

(i) a uniform resource identifier (URI) of the remote site, and

(ii) a unique identifier of the traffic information.

3. The method of claim 1 herein the traffic information includes real-time traffic conditions of one or more specified roads.

4. The method of claim 1 wherein the one or more roads for which the traffic information is to be displayed defines a specified driving route, and the traffic conditions is a rating that represents the status along the specified driving route.

5. The method of claim 1 wherein the web page includes content other than traffic information, the traffic information being displayed on only a portion of the web page.

6. The method of claim 1 wherein the displayed traffic information includes:

(i) information identifying the one or more specified roads, and

(ii) traffic flow data on the specified one or more roads.

7. The method of claim 1 wherein the displayed traffic information further includes information about the metropolitan area where the one or more specified roads are located.

8. The method of claim 1 wherein the displayed traffic information further includes a timestamp of the traffic conditions on one or more specified roads.

9. The method of claim 1 wherein the displayed traffic information further includes information describing characteristics of the one or more specified roads.

10. The method of claim 1 wherein the displayed traffic information further includes a roadway name and/or route shield.

11. The method of claim 1 wherein the displayed traffic information further includes the number of incidents on the one or more specified roads.

12. The method of claim 1 wherein the displayed traffic information further includes links to a website, a promotion or an advertisement.

13. The method of claim 1 wherein the programming code includes static HTML that identifies a traffic-related domain name.

14. The method of claim 1 wherein step (a) further comprises the web page creator further selecting via the user interface a visual format in which to present the display of the traffic information, and step (c) further comprises the display appearing in the selected visual format.

15. The method of claim 1 wherein the inserting step (c) occurs by a copy and paste operation, the generated programming code being copied and pasted into source code of the web page.

16. A computer-implemented method for creating a plurality of different traffic-related files, each file including programming code used to create a display on a web page of traffic information for one or more specified roads, the traffic information including traffic conditions of the one or more specified roads, the method comprising:

(a) providing a web site for use by web page creators to create different traffic-related files; and

(b) using the web site to create each of the plurality of different traffic-related files by;

(i) specifying one or more roads for which the traffic information is to be displayed for each of the different files; and

(ii) generating programming code based on the one or more roads specified for each of the different files, wherein the programming code includes an identifier of a file that includes the one or more specified roads, and wherein the programming code further includes a remote site from which at least a portion of the traffic information is to be retrieved from, and the programming code, when executed by a web browser, causes a display on a web page of traffic information for the one or more specified roads, wherein the web site provided in step (a) is not used by, and is unrelated to, any web sites that are created by the web page creators to display web pages with traffic information.

17. The method of claim 16 further comprising:

(c) simultaneously storing each of the plurality of different created traffic-related files, with its respectively generated programming code, the programming code of the stored files being usable at the time of creation and at times subsequent to creation for insertion into a web page.

18. The method of claim 16 wherein steps (a) and (b) are performed by a web server.

19. The method of claim 16 wherein the programming code further includes:

(i) a uniform resource identifier (URI) of the remote site, and

(ii) a unique identifier of the traffic information.

20. The method of claim 16 wherein the traffic information includes real-time traffic conditions of the one or more specified roads.

21. The method of claim 16 wherein the one or more roads for which the traffic information is to be displayed defines a specified driving route, and the traffic conditions is a rating that represents the status along the specified driving route.

22. The method of claim 16 wherein the programming code includes static HTML that identifies a traffic-related domain name.

23. The method of claim 16 wherein the displayed traffic information includes:

(i) information identifying the one or more specified roads, and

(ii) traffic flow data on the specified one or more roads.

24. The method of claim 16 wherein step (b)(i) further comprises specifying a visual format in which to present the display of the traffic information, and wherein the display in step (b)(ii) occurs in the specified visual format.

25. A computer-implemented method for providing snippets of programming code that allow end users to include live traffic information on their own web sites and that provide a link from their sites to a remote site containing the traffic information, the method comprising:

(a) providing a web site at which end users specify at least one road; and

(b) providing a snippet of programming code from the web site to each of said end users, wherein the snippet includes an identifier of a file that includes the at least one specified road, and wherein the snippet specifies where the traffic information is to be retrieved from, and further wherein the snippet is to be inserted on a web page of the end user'"'"'s web site and thereafter, when run by a web browser accessing the web page on the end user'"'"'s web page, causes the display of traffic information about the at least one road.

26. The method of claim 25 wherein the snippet causes the traffic information to be displayed in a box drawn on the end user'"'"'s web page.

27. The method of claim 26 wherein the box occupies a relatively small portion of space on the end user'"'"'s web page.

28. The method of claim 25 wherein step (a) further comprises providing the end users a plurality of different roads for which to obtain traffic information.

29. The method of claim 25 wherein step (a) further comprises providing end users different layout styles for display of traffic information on their web sites.

30. The method of claim 25 wherein the snippet causes advertising to be displayed along with the traffic information on the end user'"'"'s web page.

31. The method of claim 25 further comprising:

(c) inserting the snippet of programming code into source code of the end user'"'"'s web page by a copy and paste operation.