Interactive traffic information providing method and apparatus

• US 20070155396A1
• Filed: 11/15/2006
• Published: 07/05/2007
• Est. Priority Date: 12/30/2005
• Status: Abandoned Application

• Current Assignee: Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd.
• Original Assignee: Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd.
• Inventors: Min, Hyun Suk, Yang, Sung Chul, Kim, Jong Hyun, Kim, Kwang Soo, Kim, Jin Won, Jung, Suk In, Yang, Hye Jung
• Application Number:
  US11/599,818
• Publication Number:
  US 20070155396A1
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 455/453
• CPC Class Codes: G08G 1/092 Coding or decoding of the information
• 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
• CPC Class Codes: H04H 20/55 for traffic information
• CPC Class Codes: H04H 20/93 which locates resources of other pieces of information, e.g. URL [Uniform Resource Locator]
• CPC Class Codes: H04H 2201/37 via a different channel

Abstract

A traffic information providing method and apparatus. The traffic information providing a method and apparatus provides for collecting real-time traffic information and supplementary information; broadcasting the collected real-time traffic information; storing the collected supplementary information in a supplementary information database; receiving a supplementary information request from a user who confirms the broadcast real-time traffic information; searching supplementary information corresponding to the received supplementary information request; and delivering the searched supplementary information to the user. In accordance with user requests, traffic information services differentiated among the users can be delivered. A benefit can also be realized among traffic information service providers, mobile network operators and the users.

Claims

1. A traffic information providing method comprising the steps of:

collecting real-time traffic information and supplementary information;

broadcasting the collected real-time traffic information;

storing the collected supplementary information in a supplementary information database;

receiving a supplementary information request from a user who confirms the broadcast real-time traffic information;

searching supplementary information corresponding to the received supplementary information request; and

delivering the searched supplementary information to the user.

2. The traffic information providing method of claim 1, wherein, in the broadcasting step, the real-time traffic information is inserted into broadcasting data and the broadcasting data is broadcast.

3. The traffic information providing method of claim 2, wherein the real-time traffic information is expressed as Transport Protocol Experts Group (TPEG) data in a TPEG protocol format, and the TPEG data is inserted into a data field of the broadcasting data.

4. The traffic information providing method of claim 3, wherein the TPEG data includes a data header, real-time traffic information, a location reference, and a link indicating existence of supplementary information associated with the real-time traffic information.

5. The traffic information providing method of claim 4, wherein the link is identification information to identify data records constituting the supplementary information in the supplementary information database, storing and managing the supplementary information.

6. The traffic information providing method of claim 1, wherein the supplementary information includes at least one of a Closed Circuit Television (CCTV) moving image, a still image, local traffic flow data and a detailed map image, corresponding to the real-time traffic information.

7. The traffic information providing method of claim 1, wherein the receiving step is performed using a mobile communication network to which the user has subscribed.

8. The traffic information providing method of claim 7, wherein the received supplementary information request includes a terminal identifier of a mobile communication terminal used by the user, and identification information to identify the supplementary information.

9. The traffic information providing method of claim 7, wherein, in the searching step, the supplementary information is searched from the supplementary information database stored in a mobile service server that utilizes the mobile communication network.

10. The traffic information providing method of claim 1, wherein, in the searching step, the supplementary information is searched from the supplementary information database stored in a traffic information server performing the collecting step.

11. The traffic information providing method of claim 1, wherein the delivering step is performed using a mobile communication network to which the user has subscribed.

12. A traffic information providing apparatus comprising:

a traffic information server for collecting real-time traffic information;

a broadcasting server for broadcasting the collected real-time traffic information;

a mobile communication terminal for receiving the broadcast real-time traffic information and providing the received real-time traffic information to a user, for inputting a user request demanding supplementary information associated with the real-time traffic information and transmitting a supplementary information, request message in response to the inputted user request; and

a mobile service server for receiving the supplementary information request message from the mobile communication terminal through a mobile communication network, for searching the demanded supplementary information from a pre-stored supplementary information database using the received supplementary information request message, and for transmitting the searched supplementary information to the mobile communication terminal through the mobile communication network.

13. The traffic information providing apparatus of claim 12, wherein the broadcasting server inserts the real-time traffic information into broadcasting data and broadcasts the broadcasting data.

14. The traffic information providing apparatus of claim 13, wherein the broadcasting server inserts the real-time traffic information expressed as Transport Protocol Experts Group (TPEG) data in a TPEG protocol format into a data field of the broadcasting data.

15. The traffic information providing apparatus of claim 14, wherein the TPEG data includes a header, real-time traffic information, a location reference, and a link indicating existence of supplementary information associated with the real-time traffic information.

16. The traffic information providing apparatus of claim 15, wherein the link is identification information to identify data records constituting the supplementary information in the supplementary information database storing and managing the supplementary information.

17. The traffic information providing apparatus of claim 16, wherein the supplementary information request message includes a terminal identifier of the mobile communication terminal and the link to the supplementary information.

18. The traffic information providing apparatus of claim 12, wherein the supplementary information includes at least one of a Closed Circuit Television (CCTV) moving image, a still image, local traffic flow data and a detailed map image, associated with the real-time traffic information.

19. The traffic information providing apparatus of claim 12, wherein the mobile service server stores the supplementary information database and searches the requested supplementary information from the supplementary information database.

20. The traffic information providing apparatus of claim 12, wherein:

the traffic information server stores the supplementary information database; and

the mobile service server searches the requested supplementary information from the supplementary information database.

21. A mobile communication terminal comprising:

a receiver for receiving broad casting data having Transport Protocol Experts Group (TPEG) data composed of real-time traffic information;

an analysis section for detecting the TPEG data in the received broadcasting data and determining existence of supplementary information associated with the real-time traffic information;

a wireless communication module for transmitting a request message requesting supplementary information to a mobile communication network in response to a user command demanding the supplementary information, and for receiving in return a reply message containing the requested supplementary information from the mobile communication network; and

a display section for displaying the real-time traffic information and the related supplementary information.

22. The mobile communication terminal of claim 21, wherein the analysis section includes an analyzer corresponding to a transmission channel of the broadcasting data, and detects the TPEG data using the corresponding analyzer.