Road physical condition monitoring techniques

• US 7,840,342 B1
• Filed: 02/18/2008
• Issued: 11/23/2010
• Est. Priority Date: 10/22/1997
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: American Vehicular Sciences LLC (Acacia Research Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Intelligent Technologies International, Inc.
• Inventors: Breed, David S.
• Primary Examiner(s): ARTHUR JEANGLAUDE, GERTRUDE
• Application Number:
  US12/032,761
• Publication Number:
  US 20100280751A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,009 Days
• Field of Search: 701/207, 701/214, 701/222, 701/225, 701/300, 340/425.5, 340/435, 340/436, 340/438, 340/439, 340/426.15
• US Class Current: 701/207
• CPC Class Codes: G08G 1/161 Decentralised systems, e.g. inter-vehicle communication

Abstract

Arrangement and method for managing information about the condition of travel lanes on which vehicles travel includes a sensor system arranged in each vehicle for obtaining information about the maintenance state of the travel lane, a communication system arranged in each vehicle and coupled to a respective sensor system for communicating the obtained information to a control station, and a transmission system arranged at or coupled to the control station for transmitting the obtained information to vehicles other than the one which provided the obtained information. A positioning system may be arranged on each vehicle to determine its position and the communication systems transmit the position of each vehicle along with the obtained information.

Claims

1. A method for monitoring the condition of travel lanes on which vehicles travel, comprising:

obtaining a database including data about roadways that a vehicle can travel on, the data including locations of edges of the roadways;

installing the database onboard the vehicle;

identifying a roadway on which the vehicle is traveling or approaching;

displaying a map of a roadway that a vehicle is approaching showing a shape of the roadway, edges of the roadway, and travel lanes on the roadway;

determining a corridor of travel assigned to the vehicle on the roadway that the vehicle is approaching;

determining a location of the vehicle with location determining equipment located onboard the vehicle;

displaying an indication of the location of the vehicle in association with the map of the roadway that the vehicle is approaching;

obtaining traffic control information concerning the vehicle'"'"'s impending use of the roadway that the vehicle is approaching;

identifying a hazardous condition associated with the corridor of travel assigned to the vehicle; and

activating an alarm to notify an operator of the vehicle of the hazardous condition.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the hazardous condition comprises road conditions affecting the corridor of travel assigned to the vehicle.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein the hazardous condition comprises a maintenance state of the corridor of travel assigned to the vehicle.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein the hazardous condition comprises bad weather affecting the corridor of travel assigned to the vehicle.

5. The method of claim 1, wherein the hazardous condition comprises slippery road conditions affecting the corridor of travel assigned to the vehicle.

6. The method of claim 1, wherein the hazardous condition comprises an obstacle in or approaching the corridor of travel assigned to the vehicle.

7. The method of claim 6, wherein the hazardous condition involves another vehicle.

8. The method of claim 6, wherein the obstacle comprises another vehicle traveling in the corridor of travel assigned to the vehicle.

9. The method of claim 6, wherein the obstacle comprises another vehicle traveling in another corridor of travel intersecting with the corridor of travel assigned to the vehicle.

10. The method of claim 1, wherein the hazardous condition comprises icing on the roadway that the vehicle is approaching.

11. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

determining an evasive maneuver to avoid the hazardous condition; and

communicating the evasive maneuver to an operator of the vehicle.

12. The method of claim 11, further comprising automatically controlling the vehicle without intervention by the operator of the vehicle to implement the evasive maneuver.

13. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

determining an evasive maneuver to avoid the hazardous condition;

communicating the evasive maneuver to an operator of the vehicle; and

communicating the evasive maneuver to an operator of the other vehicle.

14. The method of claim 1, further comprising broadcasting or transmitting a warning of the hazardous condition to other vehicles in the vicinity of the vehicle.

15. The method of claim 1, further comprising broadcasting or transmitting a warning of the hazardous condition to an infrastructure station in the vicinity of the vehicle.

16. The method of claim 1, wherein the vehicle comprises an airplane and the roadway comprises an airport runway.

17. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

determining that the vehicle has deviated from or is likely to deviate from the travel lane on the roadway assigned to the vehicle; and

activating an alarm to notify an operator of the vehicle of the lane deviation.

18. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

determining that the vehicle'"'"'s traveling condition is unsafe for the roadway that the vehicle is approaching; and

activating an alarm to notify an operator of the vehicle that the vehicle'"'"'s traveling condition is unsafe for the roadway that the vehicle is approaching.

19. The method of claim 18, wherein the vehicle'"'"'s speed creates the unsafe traveling condition.

20. The method of claim 18, wherein the step of determining that the vehicle'"'"'s traveling condition is unsafe comprises determining that the vehicle'"'"'s speed is too fast to safely enter the roadway that the vehicle is approaching.