System and synchronization process for inductive loops in a multilane environment
First Claim
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1. A system for managing a multi-lane road, comprising:
- a plurality of vehicle detection sensors arranged on two or more lanes of the road so that each of the two or more lanes of the road contains at least one of the plurality of vehicle detection sensors, the vehicle detection sensors further arranged so that like sensors in adjacent lanes are mutually adjacent to each other;
a plurality of loop detector controllers each associated with one of the two or more lanes of the road, wherein each of the plurality of loop detector controllers is configured to control sampling periods of one or more of the vehicle detection sensors; and
a communications master controller configured to transmit one or more synchronization signals to the plurality of loop detector controllers that cause the plurality of loop detector controllers to synchronize the sampling periods of the plurality of vehicle detection sensors such that a given vehicle detection sensor samples substantially in unison with one or more other vehicle detection sensors that are not adjacent to the given vehicle detection sensor, and such that none of the vehicle detection sensors adjacent to the given vehicle sensor actively sample while the given vehicle detection sensor is actively sampling.
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Abstract
A method and system for synchronization of detection loops in a multilane environment. A plurality of loop sensors are arranged in a plurality of lanes such that loop sensors in adjacent lanes are mutually contiguous. A simultaneous synchronization signal is sent to each of the plurality of loop detector controllers, where each loop detector controller is in communication with a loop sensor. The signal causes a scheduling of sampling periods for each loop sensor, such that the sampling period of each loop sensor does not overlap with that of a contiguous loop in an adjacent lane.
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Citations
24 Claims
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1. A system for managing a multi-lane road, comprising:
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a plurality of vehicle detection sensors arranged on two or more lanes of the road so that each of the two or more lanes of the road contains at least one of the plurality of vehicle detection sensors, the vehicle detection sensors further arranged so that like sensors in adjacent lanes are mutually adjacent to each other; a plurality of loop detector controllers each associated with one of the two or more lanes of the road, wherein each of the plurality of loop detector controllers is configured to control sampling periods of one or more of the vehicle detection sensors; and a communications master controller configured to transmit one or more synchronization signals to the plurality of loop detector controllers that cause the plurality of loop detector controllers to synchronize the sampling periods of the plurality of vehicle detection sensors such that a given vehicle detection sensor samples substantially in unison with one or more other vehicle detection sensors that are not adjacent to the given vehicle detection sensor, and such that none of the vehicle detection sensors adjacent to the given vehicle sensor actively sample while the given vehicle detection sensor is actively sampling. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8)
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9. A method for intelligent vehicle identification, comprising:
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sending a synchronization signal to two or more loop detector controllers, wherein each loop detector controller is configured to control one or more of a plurality of vehicle detection sensors; and scheduling a sampling period for each vehicle detection sensor such that a given vehicle detection sensor samples substantially in unison with one or more other vehicle detection sensors that are not adjacent to the given vehicle detection sensor, and such that none of the vehicle detection sensors adjacent to the given vehicle sensor actively sample while the given vehicle detection sensor is actively sampling. - View Dependent Claims (10, 11, 12, 13)
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14. A system for managing a multi-lane toll road, comprising:
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a plurality of vehicle detection sensors arranged on two or more lanes of a multi-lane toll road, wherein the vehicle detection sensors operate in a periodic manner according to a sampling period such that each sampling period includes a primary sampling period and a secondary sampling period, and wherein during a primary sampling period for a given vehicle detection sensor the given vehicle detection sensor is active and during a secondary sampling period for the given vehicle detection sensor the given vehicle detection sensor is inactive, and wherein the plurality of vehicle detection sensors comprise; a first vehicle detection sensor arranged on a first lane of the toll road; a second vehicle detection sensor arranged on a second lane of the toll road at a position adjacent the first vehicle detection sensor; a third vehicle detection sensor arranged on the first lane of the toll road at a position adjacent the first vehicle detection sensor but not adjacent the second vehicle detection sensor; and a fourth vehicle detection sensor arranged on the second lane of the toll road at a position adjacent the second vehicle detection sensor and the third vehicle detection sensor but not adjacent the first vehicle detection sensor; one or more loop detector controllers configured to control the sampling periods of the plurality of vehicle detection sensors; and a communications master controller communicatively linked with the one or more loop detector controllers, the communications master controller being configured to transmit a synchronization signal to the one or more loop detector controllers, wherein the one or more loop detector controllers are further configured to synchronize the sampling periods of the plurality of vehicle detection sensors based on the synchronization signal transmitted by the communications master controller such that (i) the primary sampling periods of the first vehicle detection sensor and the fourth vehicle detection sensor occur substantially simultaneously during the secondary sampling periods of the second vehicle detection sensor and the third vehicle detection sensor, and (ii) the primary sampling periods of the second vehicle detection sensor and the third vehicle detection sensor occur substantially simultaneously during the secondary sampling periods of the first vehicle detection sensor and the fourth vehicle detection sensor. - View Dependent Claims (15, 16, 17, 18)
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19. A method for intelligent vehicle identification on a toll road, comprising:
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sending a synchronization signal to two or more loop detector controllers, wherein each loop detector controller is configured to control one or more of a plurality of vehicle detection sensors arranged on two or more lanes of a multi-lane toll road, wherein the plurality of vehicle detection sensors comprise; a first vehicle detection sensor arranged on a first lane of the toll road; a second vehicle detection sensor arranged on a second lane of the toll road at a position adjacent the first vehicle detection sensor; a third vehicle detection sensor arranged on the first lane of the toll road at a position adjacent the first vehicle detection sensor but not adjacent the second vehicle detection sensor; and a fourth vehicle detection sensor arranged on the second lane of the toll road at a position adjacent the second vehicle detection sensor and the third vehicle detection sensor but not adjacent the first vehicle detection sensor; and synchronizing sampling periods of the plurality of vehicle detection sensors based on the synchronization signal, wherein the sampling period of a given vehicle detection sensor includes a primary sampling period during which the given vehicle detection sensor is active and a secondary sampling period during which the given vehicle detection sensor is inactive, and wherein synchronizing the sampling periods of the plurality of vehicle detection sensors comprises controlling the sampling periods of the first vehicle detection sensor, the second vehicle detection sensor, the third vehicle detection sensor, and the fourth vehicle detection sensor such that (i) the primary sampling periods of the first vehicle detection sensor and the fourth vehicle detection sensor occur substantially simultaneously during the secondary sampling periods of the second vehicle detection sensor and the third vehicle detection sensor, and (ii) the primary sampling periods of the second vehicle detection sensor and the third vehicle detection sensor occur substantially simultaneously during the secondary sampling periods of the first vehicle detection sensor and the fourth vehicle detection sensor. - View Dependent Claims (20, 21, 22, 23, 24)
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Specification