Methods, apparatuses, and computer program products for traffic data aggregation using virtual trip lines and a combination of location and time based measurement triggers in GPS-enabled mobile handsets

• US 7,912,629 B2
• Filed: 05/13/2008
• Issued: 03/22/2011
• Est. Priority Date: 11/30/2007
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Nokia Technologies Oy (Nokia Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Nokia Corporation
• Inventors: Sutter, David William, Jacobson, Quinn, Annavaram, Murali, Hoh, Baik
• Primary Examiner(s): ARTHUR JEANGLAUDE, GERTRUDE
• Application Number:
  US12/119,943
• Publication Number:
  US 20090319163A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,043 Days
• Field of Search: 701/117, 701/118, 701/119, 701/200, 701208-212, 340/905, 340988-990, 340/995.14, 340/995.28, 340/934
• US Class Current: 701/118
• CPC Class Codes: G08G 1/0104 Measuring and analyzing of parameters relative to traffic conditions
• CPC Class Codes: G08G 1/207 with respect to certain areas, e.g. forbidden or allowed areas with possible alerting when inside or outside boundaries

Abstract

A device for determining the traffic conditions between measurement locations associated with a roadway is provided. The device includes a processor that is capable of determining when a specified measurement location is passed or traversed and measure data as well as start a time period. If a device is traveling towards another specified measurement location but does not reach the location before the time period expires, a new measurement update may be sent by the device to a server. The information in this update may be utilized by the server to determine that there is a slowdown or blockage in traffic and/or that there is a traffic jam between the measurement locations. The device is capable of receiving a traffic update(s) from the server which may specify traffic conditions between the measurement locations. The traffic conditions may indicate that there is a traffic slowdown/blockage between the measurement locations.

Claims

1. A method, comprising:

receiving one or more geometrical boundaries defined with data, each geometrical boundary comprising a plurality of location descriptors, each of the location descriptors and the geometrical boundaries corresponds to a geographic area of the world;

determining that at least one of the geometrical boundaries were traversed;

starting a predetermined time period when the at least one geometrical boundary is traversed;

generating a first set of data when the at least one geometrical boundary is traversed; and

generating a second set of data when the predetermined time period expires.

2. The method of claim 1 further comprising, receiving one or more conditions based on the second set of data, when the predetermined time period expires, the one or more conditions are associated with the geographic area.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein prior to generating the second set of data, the method further comprises sending the generated first set of data to a device.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein each of the plurality of location descriptors comprises a set of location descriptors and the method further comprises, defining each set of location descriptors as a coordinate of latitude and longitude.

5. The method of claim 4, wherein the geometrical boundaries comprise lines and the plurality of location descriptors correspond to at least two different endpoints of a line.

6. The method of claim 5, wherein determining comprises determining that the coordinate of one of the endpoints was traversed.

7. The method of claim 6, wherein generating the first set of data is triggered upon traversal of the coordinate of the endpoint.

8. The method of claim 2, further comprising receiving the one or more conditions, which comprise data identifying real-time traffic conditions associated with the geographic area.

9. The method of claim 6, wherein the geographic area corresponds to a road and at least one of the lines corresponds to the coordinates of a segment of the road and the method further comprises receiving the one or more conditions which comprise data identifying real-time traffic conditions associated with the segment of the road.

10. The method of claim 9, further comprising determining that the data identifying real-time traffic conditions indicates at least one of a traffic jam, a slowdown in traffic, or that traffic is stopped between one or more coordinates of the endpoints of the line.

11. The method of claim 4, wherein the method further comprises determining that each set of location descriptors comprise an offset within a segment of a road.

12. The method of claim 1, further comprising storing the one or more geometrical boundaries in a memory.

13. An apparatus, comprising:

at least one processor; and

at least one memory including computer program code for one or more programs,

the at least one memory and the computer program code configured to, with the at least one processor, cause the apparatus to perform at least the following,

receive one or more geometrical boundaries defined with data, each geometrical boundary comprising a plurality of location descriptors, each of the location descriptors and the geometrical boundaries corresponds to a geographic area of the world;

determine that at least one of the geometrical boundaries were traversed;

start a predetermined time period when the at least one geometrical boundary is traversed;

generate a first set of data when the at least one geometrical boundary is traversed; and

generate a second set of data when the predetermined time period expires.

14. The apparatus of claim 13, wherein the processor is further configured to receive one or more conditions based on the second set of data, when the predetermined time period expires, the one or more conditions are associated with the geographical area.

15. The apparatus of claim 13, wherein the processor is further configured to send the generated first set and the generated second set of data to a device.

16. The apparatus of claim 13, wherein each of the plurality of location descriptors comprises a set of location descriptors and the processor is further configured to define each set of location descriptors as a coordinate of latitude and longitude.

17. The apparatus of claim 16, wherein the geometrical boundaries comprise lines and the plurality of location descriptors correspond to at least two different endpoints of a line.

18. The apparatus of claim 17, wherein the processor determines that the geometrical boundaries were traversed by determining that the coordinate of one of the endpoints was traversed by the apparatus.

19. The apparatus of claim 18, wherein the processor is triggered to generate the first set of data upon traversal of the coordinate of the endpoint by the apparatus.

20. The apparatus of claim 14, wherein the processor is further configured to receive the one or more conditions, which comprise data identifying real-time traffic conditions associated with the geographic area.

21. The apparatus of claim 18, wherein the geographic area corresponds to a road and at least one of the lines corresponds to the coordinates of a segment of the road and the processor is further configured to receive the one or more conditions which comprise data identifying real-time traffic conditions associated with the segment of the road.

22. The apparatus of claim 21, wherein the processor is further configured to determine that the data identifying real-time traffic conditions indicates at least one of a traffic jam, a slowdown in traffic, or that traffic is stopped between one or more coordinates of the endpoints of the line.

23. The apparatus of claim 16, wherein the processor is further configured to determine that each set of location descriptors comprise an offset within a segment of a road.

24. The apparatus of claim 13, further comprising a memory which stores the one or more geometrical boundaries.

25. A computer program product, the computer program product comprising at least one computer-readable storage medium having computer-readable program code portions stored therein, the computer-readable program code portions comprising:

a first executable portion for receiving one or more geometrical boundaries defined with data, each geometrical boundary comprising a plurality of location descriptors, each of the location descriptors and the geometrical boundaries corresponds to a geographic area of the world;

a second executable portion for determining that at least one of the geometrical boundaries were traversed;

a third executable portion for starting a predetermined time period when the at least one geometrical boundary is traversed;

a fourth executable portion for generating a first set of data when the at least one geometrical boundary is traversed; and

a fifth executable portion for generating a second set of data when the predetermined time period expires.

26. The computer program product of claim 25 further comprising a sixth executable portion for receiving one or more conditions based on the second set of data, when the predetermined time period expires, the one or more conditions are associated with the geographical area.

27. An apparatus comprising a processor configured to:

generate one or more geometrical boundaries defined with data, each geometrical boundary a plurality of location descriptors, each of the location descriptors and the geometrical boundaries corresponds to a geographic area of the world; and

send the one or more geometrical boundaries to a terminal which uses the data to trigger generation of information that is associated with the terminal and the geographic area.

28. The apparatus of claim 27, wherein the processor is configured to define the data with a predetermined time period, wherein traversal of at least one of the geometrical boundaries triggers generation of additional information associated with the terminal and the geographic area upon expiration of the predetermined time period.

29. The apparatus of claim 27, wherein the geometrical boundaries comprise lines and the plurality of location descriptors correspond to at least two different endpoints of a line, and wherein the processor is configured to select the predetermined time period at least in part on the basis of a distance between the endpoints of the line and a time delay for reporting one or more conditions.

30. The apparatus of claim 29, wherein the one or more conditions comprise real-time traffic conditions.

31. The apparatus of claim 30, wherein the real-time traffic conditions comprise at least one of a traffic jam, a slowdown in traffic, or that traffic is stopped between one or more coordinates of the endpoints of the line.

32. The apparatus of claim 29, wherein the one or more conditions comprise data corresponding to a map indicating at least one of a slowdown in traffic, or that traffic is stopped, or a traffic jam between one or more coordinates of the endpoints of the line.

33. The apparatus of claim 29, wherein the one or more conditions comprise data specifying an alternate route in which to travel from a current location to a destination location.

34. The apparatus of claim 27, further comprising a memory which stores the one or more geometrical boundaries.

35. A method comprising:

generating one or more geometrical boundaries defined with data, each geometrical boundary comprises a plurality of location descriptors, each of the location descriptors and the geometrical boundaries corresponds to a geographic area of the world; and

sending the one or more geometrical boundaries to a terminal which uses the data to trigger generation of information that is associated with the terminal and the geographic area.

36. The method of claim 35, further comprising defining the data with a predetermined time period, wherein traversal of at least one of the geometrical boundaries triggers generation of additional information associated with the terminal and the geographic area upon expiration of the predetermined time period.

37. The method of claim 35, wherein the geometrical boundaries comprise lines and the plurality of location descriptors correspond to at least two different endpoints of a line, and wherein the method further comprises selecting the predetermined time period at least in part on the basis of a distance between the endpoints of the line and a time delay for reporting one or more conditions.

38. The method of claim 37, wherein the one or more conditions comprise real-time traffic conditions and the real-time traffic conditions comprise at least one of a traffic jam, a slowdown in traffic, or that traffic is stopped between one or more coordinates of the endpoints of the line.