Personal traffic congestion avoidance system

• US 7,493,208 B1
• Filed: 04/10/2006
• Issued: 02/17/2009
• Est. Priority Date: 10/09/2002
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Cufer Asset Ltd LLC (Intellectual Ventures LLC)
• Original Assignee: Dac Remote Investments LLC (Intellectual Ventures LLC)
• Inventors: Craine, Dean A.
• Primary Examiner(s): Keith; Jack W
• Assistant Examiner(s): PIPALA, EDWARD J
• Application Number:
  US11/401,103
• Time in Patent Office: 1,044 Days
• Field of Search: 701/117, 701/118, 701/119, 701/120, 701/122, 701/200, 701/207, 701/208, 701/209, 701/210, 701/211, 701/213, 701/300, 701/301, 340/901, 340/902, 340/903, 340/904, 340/905, 340/909, 340/910, 340/917, 340/931, 340/933, 340/988, 340/989, 340/990, 340/995.12, 340/995.13, 340/995.19, 340/995.2, 340/995.21, 340/995.28
• US Class Current: 701/117
• 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

Abstract

A personal traffic congestion avoidance system for drivers of motor vehicles traveling on roadways in motor vehicles with GPS-based navigational systems. The system includes a GPS-based navigational system that includes a GPS receiver connected to a visual display, a map database and a wireless communication device for communicating with a remote computer over a wireless communication network. The GPS-based navigation system continuously determines the motor vehicle exact physical location in a region that is intermittently or continuously uploaded to a remote computer via the wireless communication network. The remote computer is connected to a traffic monitoring service that provides current traffic congestion information thereto. When a traffic congestion event is in the designated vicinity of the current location of the motor vehicle or on a roadway that may affect the traffic on the roadway on which the motor vehicle is traveling, a warning is generated and delivered to the GPS-based navigational system. The driver may ignore the warning or take an alternative route to avoid the traffic congestion.

Claims

1. An apparatus for monitoring traffic, comprising:

a vehicle position determination device configured to determine a position of a vehicle in substantially real time;

a wireless transceiver coupled to the vehicle position determination device and configured to transmit a first signal to a remote computer and to receive a second signal from the remote computer, the first signal representing the position of the vehicle, the second signal representing an indication that a position of a traffic affecting event is within a vicinity of the position of the vehicle; and

an indication device coupled to the wireless transceiver and configured to indicate the indication in response to the wireless transceiver receiving the second signal;

wherein the remote computer is configured to receive the first signal from the wireless transceiver and a third signal from a traffic monitoring system, to determine if the position of the traffic affecting event is within the vicinity of the position of the vehicle, and to transmit the second signal to the wireless transceiver, the third signal representing the position of the traffic affecting event.

2. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the vehicle position determination device comprises a global positioning system device.

3. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the vehicle position determination device is a component of a navigational system, the navigational system is further configured to determine a route from the position of the vehicle to a position of a destination, and the vicinity comprises the route.

4. The apparatus of claim 3, wherein the vicinity further comprises a road that affects a flow of traffic along the route.

5. The apparatus of claim 3, wherein the indication device is configured to display, on the navigational system, the position of the traffic affecting event.

6. The apparatus of claim 3, wherein the indication device is configured to broadcast audibly information about the traffic affecting event.

7. The apparatus of claim 3, wherein the navigational system is further configured to determine a second route from the position of the vehicle to the position of the destination, wherein the second route avoids the position of the traffic affecting event.

8. An apparatus for monitoring traffic, comprising:

a wireless transceiver configured to receive a first signal from a remote vehicle and to transmit a second signal to the remote vehicle, the first signal representing a position of the remote vehicle, the second signal representing an indication that a position of a traffic affecting event is within a vicinity of the position of the remote vehicle; and

a computer coupled to the wireless transceiver and configured to receive the first signal from the wireless transceiver and a third signal from a traffic monitoring system, to determine if the position of the traffic affecting event is within the vicinity of the position of the remote vehicle, and to produce the second signal, the third signal representing the position of the traffic affecting event;

wherein the traffic monitoring system is configured to determine the position of the traffic affecting event and to produce the third signal.

9. The apparatus of claim 8, wherein the computer is further configured to produce a fourth signal to determine if the position of the traffic affecting event is within the vicinity of the position of the remote vehicle, the fourth signal represents the vicinity of the position of the remote vehicle, and the traffic monitoring system is further configured to receive the fourth signal, to determine if the position of the traffic affecting event is within the vicinity of the position of the remote vehicle, and to produce the third signal if the position of the traffic affecting event is within the vicinity of the position of the remote vehicle.

10. The apparatus of claim 8, wherein the traffic monitoring system comprises a traffic monitoring service.

11. The apparatus of claim 8, wherein the traffic monitoring system comprises:

a camera positioned along a section of a road and configured to produce an image of the section of the road;

a transmitter coupled to the camera and configured to transmit a fourth signal, the fourth signal representing the image of the section of the road; and

a remote processing system configured to receive the fourth signal, to determine if the image of the section of the road shows the traffic affecting event, and to produce the third signal.

12. The apparatus of claim 11, wherein the computer includes the remote processing system.

13. The apparatus of claim 8, wherein the traffic monitoring system comprises:

a vehicle position determination device configured to determine a position of a second remote vehicle in substantially real time;

a wireless transmitter coupled to the vehicle position determination device and configured to transmit a fourth signal, the fourth signal representing the position of the second remote vehicle; and

a remote processing system configured to receive the fourth signal, to determine if the position of the second remote vehicle coincides with the position of the traffic affecting event, and to produce the third signal.

14. The apparatus of claim 13, wherein the computer includes the remote processing system.

15. The apparatus of claim 13, wherein the remote processing system is configured to determine a speed of the second remote vehicle to determine if the position of the second remote vehicle coincides with the position of the traffic affecting event.

16. The apparatus of claim 13, further comprising a vehicle speed determination device configured to determine a speed of the second remote vehicle in substantially real time, wherein the wireless transmitter is further configured to transmit a fifth signal, the fifth signal represents the speed of the second remote vehicle, and the remote processing system is further configured to receive the fifth signal to determine if the position of the second remote vehicle coincides with the position of the traffic affecting event.

17. A computer-readable medium having computer-executable instructions for monitoring traffic by a method comprising:

determining a position of a vehicle in substantially real time;

transmitting a first signal to a remote computer, the first signal representing the position of the vehicle;

receiving a second signal from the remote computer, the second signal representing an indication that a position of a traffic affecting event is within a vicinity of the position of the vehicle; and

indicating, in response to the received second signal, the indication;

wherein the computer-readable medium is configured to be coupled to the vehicle; and

wherein the remote computer is configured to receive the first signal from the computer-readable medium and a third signal from a traffic monitoring system, to determine if the position of the traffic affecting event is within the vicinity of the position of the vehicle, and to transmit the second signal to the computer-readable medium, the third signal representing the position of the traffic affecting event.

18. The computer-readable medium of claim 17, wherein the indicating comprises displaying, on a navigational system, the position of the traffic affecting event.

19. The computer-readable medium of claim 17, wherein the indicating comprises broadcasting audibly information about the traffic affecting event.

20. The computer-readable medium of claim 17 having the computer-executable instructions for monitoring traffic by the method further comprising:

determining a route from the position of the vehicle to a position of a destination, wherein the vicinity comprises the route.

21. The computer-readable medium of claim 20 having the computer-executable instructions for monitoring traffic by the method further comprising:

determining a second route from the position of the vehicle to the position of the destination, wherein the second route avoids the position of the traffic affecting event.

22. A computer-readable medium having computer-executable instructions for monitoring traffic by a method comprising:

receiving a first signal from a remote computer, the first signal representing a position of a remote vehicle;

receiving a second signal from a traffic monitoring system, the second signal representing a position of a traffic affecting event;

determining if the position of the traffic affecting event is within a vicinity of the position of the remote vehicle; and

transmitting a third signal to the remote computer, the third signal representing an indication that the position of the traffic affecting event is within the vicinity of the position of the remote vehicle;

wherein the remote computer is configured to be coupled to the remote vehicle, to determine the position of the remote vehicle, to transmit the first signal to the computer-readable medium, to receive the third signal from the computer-readable medium, and to indicate the indication; and

wherein the traffic monitoring system is configured to determine the position of the traffic affecting event and to produce the third signal.

23. The computer-readable medium of claim 22 having the computer-executable instructions for monitoring traffic by the method further comprising:

producing a fourth signal, the fourth signal representing the vicinity of the position of the remote vehicle;

wherein the traffic monitoring system is further configured to receive the fourth signal, to determine if the position of the traffic affecting event is within the vicinity of the position of the remote vehicle, and to produce the third signal if the position of the traffic affecting event is within the vicinity of the position of the remote vehicle.

24. A method for monitoring traffic, comprising:

determining, at a vehicle, a position of the vehicle in substantially real time;

transmitting, from the vehicle to a remote computer, a first signal, the first signal representing the position of the vehicle;

receiving, at the remote computer, the first signal;

receiving, at the remote computer, a second signal from a traffic monitoring system, the second signal representing a position of a traffic affecting event;

determining, at the remote computer, if the position of the traffic affecting event is within a vicinity of the position of the vehicle;

transmitting, from the remote computer to the vehicle, a third signal, the third signal representing an indication that the position of the traffic affecting event is within the vicinity of the position of the vehicle;

receiving, at the vehicle, the third signal; and

indicating, at the vehicle, in response to the received third signal, the indication that the position of the traffic affecting event is within the vicinity of the position of the vehicle.

25. The method of claim 24, further comprising:

conveying, from the remote computer to the traffic monitoring system, a fourth signal, the fourth signal representing the vicinity of the position of the vehicle;

receiving, at the traffic monitoring system, the fourth signal;

determining, at the traffic monitoring system, if the position of the traffic affecting event is within the vicinity of the position of the vehicle; and

producing, at the traffic monitoring system, the second signal if the position of the traffic affecting event is within the vicinity of the position of the vehicle.