System for metering vehicular traffic at a toll plaza
First Claim
1. A system for metering a plurality of vehicles through a toll plaza, wherein each vehicle has a start point in a respective toll lane for movement into a travel lane, the system comprising:
- a toll collection device positioned at each start point for creating a ready signal indicating the vehicle at the start point is available to be assigned a place in a queue for the travel lane;
a computer for receiving the ready signal and managing the queue in accordance with a pre-programmed departure schedule, wherein the pre-programmed departure schedule establishes a departure time and a departure signal for the vehicle after processing the ready signals from other start points; and
an indicator positioned at the start point, the indicator being electronically connected to the computer and responsive to the departure signal from the computer to initiate movement of the vehicle from the start point into the travel lane.
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Accused Products
Abstract
A system and method is provided for metering vehicular traffic. Specifically, the system uses a computer to prevent delays as vehicles transition from a greater number of toll lanes to a lesser number of travel lanes. Toll collection devices are used to send a ready signal to a computer to indicate a vehicle is ready to leave a start point. The computer receives ready signals from the toll collection devices and uses a pre-programmed departure schedule to queue the vehicles. After the vehicles are queued, the computer uses time delay variables to ensure efficient traffic flow between the toll lanes of the plaza and the travel lanes of the bridge or tunnel. An indicator signal responsive to a departure signal sent by the computer is employed to direct vehicles from a start point towards a travel lane.
12 Citations
20 Claims
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1. A system for metering a plurality of vehicles through a toll plaza, wherein each vehicle has a start point in a respective toll lane for movement into a travel lane, the system comprising:
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a toll collection device positioned at each start point for creating a ready signal indicating the vehicle at the start point is available to be assigned a place in a queue for the travel lane; a computer for receiving the ready signal and managing the queue in accordance with a pre-programmed departure schedule, wherein the pre-programmed departure schedule establishes a departure time and a departure signal for the vehicle after processing the ready signals from other start points; and an indicator positioned at the start point, the indicator being electronically connected to the computer and responsive to the departure signal from the computer to initiate movement of the vehicle from the start point into the travel lane. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10)
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11. A system for metering a plurality of vehicles through a toll plaza, wherein each vehicle has a respective start point at a toll lane for movement into a travel lane, the system comprising:
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a means for creating a ready signal indicating a vehicle is ready to be placed into a queue for the travel lane; a means for electronically transferring the ready signal to a computer; a means for receiving the ready signal from a plurality start points and queuing the vehicles in response to a pre-programmed departure schedule; a means for establishing a departure signal for the vehicle; and a means for activating an indicator at the start point in response to the computer for advancement of the vehicle at the start point into the travel lane. - View Dependent Claims (12, 13, 14, 15)
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16. A method for metering a plurality of vehicles through a toll plaza, wherein each vehicle has a respective start point at a toll lane for movement into a travel lane, the method comprising the steps of:
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creating a ready signal to indicate the presence of a vehicle at the start point; transferring the ready signal to a computer; processing the ready signal in accordance with a pre-programmed departure schedule to establish a departure signal for the vehicle, wherein the computer uses the pre-programmed departure schedule to queue vehicles from a plurality of start points; and activating a signal at the start point in response to the departure signal for indicating advancement of the vehicle at the start point into the travel lane. - View Dependent Claims (17, 18, 19, 20)
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Specification