Method for tracking real time road conditions
First Claim
1. An apparatus for monitoring a mobile remote unit and the environmental conditions around the mobile remote unit from a base station and for storing the monitored information and providing access to the information via telephone, comprising:
- a mobile remote unit having a computer with means for determining the geographic position of the remote unit at predetermined time intervals;
an environmental sensor disposed on the mobile remote unit for sensing road conditions;
said computer receiving position signals from the position determining means and having a processor for processing each position signal with a time stamp, and for storing the time stamped signals;
communication means carried on the mobile remote unit and connected to the computer, for transmitting data from the mobile remote unit to a base station;
said computer programmed to accumulate said time stamped position signals and sensed road conditions for a predetermined time interval and to transmit accumulated signals as a download through the communication means to the base station;
said base station located remote from the mobile remote unit and including communication means for receiving downloads from the mobile remote unit;
said base station including a programmable computer with memory storage, connected to the communication means, for receiving, processing and storing downloads from the mobile remote unit;
said base station including a voice response unit interfaced with the computer and at least one telephone line, for interacting with a consumer on the telephone line and providing verbal information from the computer to the consumer.
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Accused Products
Abstract
The apparatus and method for monitoring real time road conditions of the present invention includes providing remote units with computers having GPS receivers for detecting location, and sensors for detecting environmental information. Each remote unit includes a transceiver which transmits the time stamped located and environmental information via a wireless communication system to a base station, where the information is processed and stored. The stored information at the base station may be accessed by telephone via a voice response unit, to permit a consumer to determine real time environmental conditions of a particular location within a region.
144 Citations
20 Claims
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1. An apparatus for monitoring a mobile remote unit and the environmental conditions around the mobile remote unit from a base station and for storing the monitored information and providing access to the information via telephone, comprising:
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a mobile remote unit having a computer with means for determining the geographic position of the remote unit at predetermined time intervals; an environmental sensor disposed on the mobile remote unit for sensing road conditions; said computer receiving position signals from the position determining means and having a processor for processing each position signal with a time stamp, and for storing the time stamped signals; communication means carried on the mobile remote unit and connected to the computer, for transmitting data from the mobile remote unit to a base station; said computer programmed to accumulate said time stamped position signals and sensed road conditions for a predetermined time interval and to transmit accumulated signals as a download through the communication means to the base station; said base station located remote from the mobile remote unit and including communication means for receiving downloads from the mobile remote unit; said base station including a programmable computer with memory storage, connected to the communication means, for receiving, processing and storing downloads from the mobile remote unit; said base station including a voice response unit interfaced with the computer and at least one telephone line, for interacting with a consumer on the telephone line and providing verbal information from the computer to the consumer. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3)
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4. A method of monitoring a mobile remote unit and the environmental conditions around the mobile remote unit from a base station and for storing the monitored information and providing access to the information via telephone, comprising the steps of:
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providing a mobile remote unit with a computer having means for determining the geographic position of the mobile remote unit, a plurality of sensors for detecting environmental data surrounding the mobile remote unit, and a transmitter for transmitting data from the mobile remote unit to a base station; said computer processing and time stamping signals from the position determining means, to determine the location of the mobile remote unit at predetermined time stamped intervals; said computer processing the detected environmental data from the sensors and associating the data with the time stamped position signals; said computer accumulating the time stamped position signals and associated environmental data and storing them in memory; said computer transmitting a set of accumulated time stamped position signals and environmental data at a predetermined time interval to a base station; and a computer at the base station receiving, processing, storing and selectively displaying the time stamped position signals and environmental data from the mobile remote unit. - View Dependent Claims (5, 6, 7)
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8. An apparatus for providing conditions of a road to a remote user comprising:
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a vehicle having a position locator device for determining the location of the vehicle at a given time; a radio transmitter on the vehicle for transmitting information including information relating to the location of the vehicle; a base station for taking the information from the vehicle and providing the information to a remote user; and a sensor disposed on the vehicle for sensing a road condition, for transmission to the base station along with the vehicle location information, wherein the information provided to the remote user includes data based on the sensed road condition. - View Dependent Claims (9, 10, 11, 12)
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13. A method of providing information relating to road conditions to a remote user comprising the steps of:
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providing a plurality of service vehicles each having a position locating device for determining the location of the vehicle and a radio transmitter for transmitting information to a central location; for each of the plurality of service vehicles, sensing a condition of the road and transmitting information relating to the sensed road condition and the location of the vehicle to the central location; processing the transmitted information to provide road condition information for roads on which the vehicles are traveling; and providing the road condition information to a remote user. - View Dependent Claims (14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20)
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Specification