Data processing: vehicles – navigation – and relative location – Vehicle control – guidance – operation – or indication – Automatic route guidance vehicle
Reexamination Certificate
1998-10-28
2001-06-19
Cuchlinski, Jr., William A. (Department: 3661)
Data processing: vehicles, navigation, and relative location
Vehicle control, guidance, operation, or indication
Automatic route guidance vehicle
C701S200000, C340S915000, C340S988000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06249725
ABSTRACT:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
1. Technical Field
The invention concerns a method of controlling at least one station display, where a vehicle transmits its current location to a central control station which calculates the estimated waiting time until the vehicle reaches the station, and controls the station display to visually signal this waiting time, as well as a central control station with a computer for calculating the estimated travel time of a vehicle along a defined line segment between two locations.
2. Discussion of Related Art
The signal of the waiting time until the next vehicle arrives in a station, particularly a bus or a streetcar of the local public passenger transportation system, is usually based on the momentary distance of the vehicle from the station. However, the cyclic changes in the traffic density during the day, the week or even spontaneously, lead to different travel times between a particular location and the station.
SUMMARY OF INVENTION
The object of the invention is to propose a generic type of method which enables a more accurate calculation of the estimated waiting time.
According to a first aspect of the invention, the waiting time is calculated as a function of the trend line of actual travel times of a number of immediately preceding vehicles. In principle the solution is based on considering not only the dependence on the location, but also the actual time used by immediately preceding vehicles, to travel from this location to the station. This has the advantage that a realistic waiting time until the next vehicle arrives is signalled to the passenger during traffic blockages. The passenger can rely on the indicated waiting time, so that an improvement of the user-friendliness is achieved in the end, thereby increasing the acceptance of the local public passenger transportation system.
According further to the first aspect of the invention, the number of the vehicles being considered is reduced when the trend changes. With a constant trend, for example with a steady increase in the traveling time, as many vehicles as possible are being considered, while fewer vehicles are included in the prediction, for example during a decrease or a reversal of the trend. In this way a quick adaptation to the actual traffic conditions is made possible.
According to a second aspect of the present invention, a central control station as described above is characterized in that the computer has storage means for storing the actual travel times of a maximum number of vehicles which immediately preceded along the line segment, and reference means for determining a trend line of a predetermined number of immediately preceding vehicles, as well as evaluation means for the trend-line-dependent calculation of the estimated travel time of the vehicle. These features are provided to improve the accuracy of the travel time calculation. It allows to compare the actual travel time of the last vehicles which traveled along this section of the path, and a derivation of a mathematical sequence in the form of a trend line.
In further accord with the second aspect of the invention, the reference means contain a selection circuit for establishing the number of the vehicles being considered, as a function of the trend line's constancy. The selection circuit determines the number of sequential elements, where a deviation from the last measured value outside of a predetermined variational width leads to a reduction in the number of sequential elements being considered. In the event a trend reversal is determined, i.e., a reduction in the travel time along a predetermined section of the path takes place instead of an increase in the travel time, the number of measured values used to form the sequence can be reduced to one or two.
In still further accord with the second aspect of the invention, the central control station is for use in a traffic routing system. In the widest sense, this traffic routing system is a monitoring and control system for any vehicular fleet. It could be imagined to route the traffic of a fleet of trucks for example, in this case with the possibility of providing corresponding changes in the travel routes and travel times in the event of a distinct trend line toward a traffic jam and full backup. Such flexible traffic routes and travel times can also be advantageous for bus routing systems. In addition to routing the individual travel path of buses, the control of a station display in further accord with the second aspect of the invention, is for signalling the estimated waiting time to a potential passenger, which can be an advantage for the potential passenger. A further application possibility of the claimed central control station is provided by the statistical evaluation of the measured values over a longer period of time, in order to derive therefrom a realistic timetable for a predetermined line segment which is composed of evaluated path sections.
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Dziedzioch Werner
Kauer Helmut
Alcatel
Beaulieu Yonel
Cuchlinski Jr. William A.
Ware Fressola Van der Sluys & Adolphson LLP
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