Apparatus and method for providing travel information
First Claim
1. A vehicle computer for providing travel information, comprising:
- a receiver and a transmitter configured to communicate signals directly with at least one traffic control device;
a processor coupled to the receiver and the transmitter, the processor being configured to process a request for information regarding an optimal travel route from a present location of a vehicle to a destination; and
an output device coupled to the processor, for outputting the information contained in a message;
wherein the at least one traffic control device is configured to identify each of at least two possible travel routes to the destination, identify the optimal travel route to the destination from the at least two possible travel routes, and generate the message, the information contained in the message comprising travel directions or instructions corresponding to the optimal travel route, the message being received by the vehicle computer from the at least one traffic control device, the at least two possible travel routes and the optimal travel route being identified by the at least one traffic control device.
1 Assignment
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Accused Products
Abstract
An apparatus and method for providing travel information, including a database for storing information regarding a travel area, wherein the information includes at least one of road information, street information, intersection information, and traffic control device information, a processor for processing a request for information regarding an optimal travel route from a present location of a vehicle to a destination, wherein the processor processes the request by utilizing the information stored in the database, and further wherein the processor identifies at least two possible travel routes to the destination, and further wherein the processor identifies an optimal travel route to the destination, wherein the processor generates a message containing travel directions or instructions corresponding to the optimal travel route, and an output device for outputting the information contained in the message.
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Citations
27 Claims
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1. A vehicle computer for providing travel information, comprising:
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a receiver and a transmitter configured to communicate signals directly with at least one traffic control device; a processor coupled to the receiver and the transmitter, the processor being configured to process a request for information regarding an optimal travel route from a present location of a vehicle to a destination; and an output device coupled to the processor, for outputting the information contained in a message; wherein the at least one traffic control device is configured to identify each of at least two possible travel routes to the destination, identify the optimal travel route to the destination from the at least two possible travel routes, and generate the message, the information contained in the message comprising travel directions or instructions corresponding to the optimal travel route, the message being received by the vehicle computer from the at least one traffic control device, the at least two possible travel routes and the optimal travel route being identified by the at least one traffic control device. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 25)
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6. A method for providing travel information, comprising:
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storing information regarding a travel area in a memory device, wherein the information includes traffic control device information and at least one of road information, street information, and intersection information; processing a request for information regarding an optimal travel route from a present location of a vehicle to a destination; identifying each of at least two possible travel routes from the present location of the vehicle to the destination utilizing the stored traffic control device information; identifying an optimal travel route from the present location of the vehicle to the destination from the at least two possible travel routes; generating a message containing travel directions or instructions corresponding to the optimal travel route; and outputting the information contained in the message via an output device; wherein the steps of storing, identifying each of the at least two possible travel routes, and identifying the optimal travel route are performed by a first traffic control device. - View Dependent Claims (7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 26)
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12. A traffic control device comprising:
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traffic control device equipment comprising at least one of a traffic light, a flashing light, a blinking light, a traffic message display device, and a controllable traffic sign; a memory storing program code; at least one processor coupled to the memory to execute the program code; a data storage device coupled to the at least one processor; a traffic speed sensor; and a receiver and a transmitter configured to communicate signals directly with at least one vehicle computer; wherein; the at least one processor and the data storage device are configured to implement a database storing a map information for an area, the map information comprising traffic control device information for at least some traffic control devices in the area; and the at least one processor, under control of the code, is configured to; receive a request for a travel route between a first point and a second point within the area; identify each of a plurality of travel routes between the first and the second points utilizing the traffic control device information; and select a first route from the plurality of travel routes using the traffic control device information by generating an equation for computing travel time from the present location to the destination using average speed of travel of vehicles observed by the traffic speed sensor. - View Dependent Claims (13, 14, 15, 16)
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17. A computer-assisted method of navigating roads in an area, the method comprising:
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obtaining traffic control device information for the area; receiving a request for a travel route between a first point and a second point within the area; identifying a plurality of travel routes between the first and the second points, wherein each travel route of the plurality of travel routes is identified using the traffic control device information; selecting a first route from the plurality of travel routes; and determining directions for travel between the first point and the second point along the first route; wherein the steps of identifying, selecting, and determining are performed at a first traffic control device. - View Dependent Claims (18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 27)
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Specification