U.S. patent application number 11/674838 was filed with the patent office on 2007-06-21 for system and method for providing information to an operator of a vehicle.
Invention is credited to Gregory A. Ehlers.
Application Number | 20070138347 11/674838 |
Document ID | / |
Family ID | 38172355 |
Filed Date | 2007-06-21 |
United States Patent
Application |
20070138347 |
Kind Code |
A1 |
Ehlers; Gregory A. |
June 21, 2007 |
SYSTEM AND METHOD FOR PROVIDING INFORMATION TO AN OPERATOR OF A
VEHICLE
Abstract
An information system and method provides information to an
operator of a motor vehicle. A destination location and a current
position of the motor vehicle are established. A planned route is
established as a function of the destination location and the
current position, and at least one required parameter of the
vehicle.
Inventors: |
Ehlers; Gregory A.; (Dacula,
GA) |
Correspondence
Address: |
HOWARD & HOWARD ATTORNEYS, P.C.
THE PINEHURST OFFICE CENTER, SUITE #101
39400 WOODWARD AVENUE
BLOOMFIELD HILLS
MI
48304-5151
US
|
Family ID: |
38172355 |
Appl. No.: |
11/674838 |
Filed: |
February 14, 2007 |
Related U.S. Patent Documents
|
|
|
|
|
|
Application
Number |
Filing Date |
Patent Number |
|
|
11614445 |
Dec 21, 2006 |
|
|
|
11674838 |
Feb 14, 2007 |
|
|
|
11127421 |
May 12, 2005 |
7174154 |
|
|
11614445 |
Dec 21, 2006 |
|
|
|
11013899 |
Dec 16, 2004 |
7174153 |
|
|
11127421 |
May 12, 2005 |
|
|
|
Current U.S.
Class: |
246/1R |
Current CPC
Class: |
G08G 1/096844 20130101;
G08G 1/096827 20130101; G01C 21/34 20130101; G01C 21/3461 20130101;
G01C 21/3476 20130101 |
Class at
Publication: |
246/001.00R |
International
Class: |
A63H 19/24 20060101
A63H019/24 |
Claims
1. An information system for a vehicle, comprising: an input system
for establishing a destination location of the vehicle; a system
for establishing at least one of a current position and a
designated starting location of the vehicle; a memory device for
storing at least one required parameter of the vehicle, the
required parameter related to a physical parameter of the vehicle;
and, a routing system coupled to the input system, the positioning
system and the memory device for establishing a route as a function
of the destination location, the current position or the designated
starting location, and the at least one required parameter of the
vehicle.
2. An information system, as set forth in claim 1, wherein the
physical parameter of the vehicle is a dimension of the
vehicle.
3. An information system, as set forth in claim 2, wherein the
dimension of the vehicle is a height and/or width and/or weight of
the vehicle.
4. An information system, as set forth in claim 1, wherein the
routing system includes data related to at least one landmark, the
routing system in establishing the route avoids any landmark which
the required parameter would prevent the vehicle from navigating
the landmark.
5. An information system, as set forth in claim 4, wherein the
landmark is a bridge and/or lane and/or tunnel.
6. An information system, as set forth in claim 4, wherein the
routing system, in establishing the route, avoids the landmark if
the required parameter would not allow the vehicle to navigate the
landmark safely.
7. An information system, as set forth in claim 1, wherein the
landmark has a scheduled change of state, the routing system
establishes the route as a function of the scheduled change of
state.
8. An information system, as set forth in claim 7, wherein the
landmark is a bridge and the scheduled change of state is from open
to closed or closed to open.
9. An information system, as set forth in claim 1, wherein the
vehicle is a motor vehicle, motor home, or a truck.
10. An information system, as set forth in claim 1, wherein the
memory device contains data related to the operating performance
and/or physical characteristics of the vehicle, the routing system
establishes the route as a function of the operating performance
and/or physical characteristics data.
11. An information system, as set forth in claim 10, wherein the
routing system establishes the route as a function of historical
and/or current environmental conditions and/or the effect of
historical and/or current environmental conditions on the operating
performance of the vehicle.
12. An information system, as set forth in claim 11, wherein the
environmental conditions include weather conditions.
13. An information system, as set forth in claim 10, wherein the
data related to operating performance of the vehicle includes one
or more of the following: turning radius, grade climbing ability,
other physical limitations, required fuel types, fuel capacity,
fuel consumption rates at a plurality of speeds, maximum travel
times without a planned stop, and a desired comfort factor.
14. An information system, as set forth in claim 1, wherein the
vehicle is a marine vessel.
15. An information system, as set forth in claim 14, wherein the
physical parameter of the vehicle is a length and/or height and/or
beam and/or draft of the marine vessel.
16. An information system, as set forth in claim 14, wherein the
routing system establishes the route as a function of historical
and/or current environmental conditions and/or the effect of
historical and/or current environmental conditions on the operating
performance of the vehicle, the weather conditions includes one or
more of the following: tides, water depths, winds, waves,
currently, or visibility.
17. An information system, as set forth in claim 14, wherein the
memory device contains data related to the operating performance of
the marine vessel, the data related to operating performance of the
marine vessel includes one or more of the following: turning
radius, other physical limitations, required fuel types, fuel
capacity, fuel consumption rates at a plurality of speeds, maximum
travel times without a planned stop, preferred cruising speed,
identification of stopping and refueling points that accommodate
the marine vessel, and a desired comfort factor.
18. An information system, as set forth in claim 1, further
comprising a traffic control system in communication with the
routing system, the routing system for sending the route over a
communications network to the traffic control system.
19. An information system, as set forth in claim 18, the traffic
control system for establishing at least one factor which may
negatively or positively impacts travel over the route as a
function of the route and responsively communicating the at least
one factor to the routing system.
20. An information system, as set forth in claim 19, the routing
system for establishing a second route as a function of the
destination location, an updated current location, the at least one
required parameter of the vehicle, and the at least one factor.
21. An information system, as set forth in claim 18, the traffic
control system for establishing an alternate route as a function of
the route and at least one factor which may negatively or
positively impact travel over the route, and communicating the
alternate route over the communications link to the routing
system.
22. An information system, as set forth in claim 1, including a
display coupled to the routing system, the routing system for
displaying on the display, the route and/or the areas that the
vehicle must avoid based on the at least one required parameter
using text and/or graphics.
23. A method for providing information related to a vehicle,
comprising: establishing a destination location of the vehicle;
establishing at least one of a current position or a designated
starting location of the vehicle; storing at least one required
parameter of the vehicle in a memory device, the required parameter
related to a physical parameter of the vehicle; and, establishing a
route as a function of the destination location, the current
position or the designated starting location, and the at least one
required parameter of the vehicle.
24. A method, as set forth in claim 23, wherein the physical
parameter of the vehicle is a dimension of the vehicle.
25. A method, as set forth in claim 24, wherein the dimension of
the vehicle is a height and/or width and/or weight of the
vehicle.
26. A method, as set forth in claim 22, wherein the step of
establishing the route includes the step of avoiding any landmark
which the required parameter would prevent the vehicle from
navigating the landmark.
27. A method, as set forth in claim 26, wherein the landmark is a
bridge and/or lane and/or tunnel.
28. A method, as set forth in claim 26, wherein the step of
establishing the route includes the step of avoiding the landmark
if the required parameter would not allow the vehicle to navigate
the landmark safely.
29. A method, as set forth in claim 23, wherein the landmark has a
scheduled change of state, the step of establishing the route
includes the step of establishing the route as a function of the
scheduled change of state.
30. A method, as set forth in claim 29, wherein the landmark is a
bridge and the scheduled change of state is from open to closed or
closed to open.
31. A method, as set forth in claim 23 wherein the vehicle is a
motor vehicle, motor home, or a truck.
32. A method, as set forth in claim 23, including the step of
establishing data related to the operating performance of the
vehicle, the step of establishing the route includes the step of
establishing the route as a function of the operating performance
and/or characteristics data.
33. A method, as set forth in claim 32, wherein the step of
establishing the route includes the step of establishing the route
as a function of historical and/or current environmental conditions
and/or the effect of historical and/or current environmental
conditions on the operating performance of the vehicle.
34. A method, as set forth in claim 33, wherein the environmental
conditions include weather conditions.
35. A method as set forth in claim 32, wherein the data related to
operating performance of the vehicle includes one or more of the
following: turning radius, grade climbing ability, other physical
limitations, required fuel types, fuel capacity, fuel consumption
rates at a plurality of speeds, maximum travel times without a
planned stop, and a desired comfort factor
36. A method, as set forth in claim 22, wherein the vehicle is a
marine vessel.
37. A method, as set forth in claim 36, wherein the physical
parameter of the vehicle is a length and/or height and/or draft
and/or beam of the marine vessel.
38. A method, as set forth in claim 36, wherein the step of
establishing the route includes the step of establishing the route
as a function of historical and/or current environmental conditions
and/or the effect of historical and/or current environmental
conditions on the operating performance of the vehicle, the weather
conditions includes one or more of the following: tides, water
depths, winds, waves, currently, or visibility.
39. A method, as set forth in claim 36, wherein the memory device
contains data related to the operating performance of the marine
vessel, the data related to operating performance of the marine
vessel includes one or more of the following: turning radius, other
physical limitations, required fuel types, fuel capacity, fuel
consumption rates at a plurality of speeds, maximum travel times
without a planned stop, preferred cruising speed, identification of
stopping and refueling points that accommodate the marine vessel,
and a desired comfort factor.
40. A method, as set forth in claim 23, including the step of
sending the route over a communications network to a traffic
control system.
41. A method, as set forth in claim 40, including the step of
establishing, at the traffic control system, at least one factor
which may negatively or positively impacts travel over the route as
a function of the route.
42. A method, as set forth in claim 41, including the step of
establishing a second route as a function of the destination
location, an updated current location, the at least one required
parameter of the vehicle, and the at least one factor.
43. A method, as set forth in claim 40, including the step of
establishing, at the traffic control system, an alternate route as
a function of the route and at least one factor which may
negatively or positively impact travel over the route.
44. A method, as set forth in claim 23, including the step of
displaying, on a display, the route and/or the areas that the
vehicle must avoid based on the at least one required parameter
using text and/or graphics.
Description
[0001] The present application is a continuation-in-part
application of co-pending U.S. patent application Ser. No.
11/614,445, filed Dec. 21, 2006, which is a continuation of U.S.
patent application Ser. No. 11/127,421, filed May 12, 2005 (now
U.S. Pat. No. 7,174,154), which is a continuation of copending U.S.
patent application Ser. No. 11/013,899, filed on Dec. 16, 2004 (now
U.S. Pat. No. 7,174,153), which claims the benefit of U.S.
Provisional Patent Application Ser. Nos. 60/531,962, filed Dec. 23,
2003, and 60/557,186, filed Mar. 29, 2004, all of which are hereby
incorporated by reference.
FIELD OF THE INVENTION
[0002] The present invention relates generally to traffic routing
system, and more particularly, to a system and method to establish
planned routes as a function of required and/or desired
parameters.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
[0003] Fire, ambulance, police and other emergency services in many
different forms have existed in society for all recorded history.
Traffic control has also existed in some form for the same period.
In today's environment, as traffic levels increase, it is
imperative that those responsible for providing for the safety and
security services to our society have access to the best methods
and systems available. Using these methods and systems, they will
be able to assist emergency response personnel and vehicles in
getting to the scene of an accident, fire, crime or other natural
or man made incident or disaster as quickly as possible.
[0004] Over the years routing of emergency vehicles and people has
taken many forms. Most of the original forms of routing were
procedural in nature, specifying routes with least traffic or
congestion based on historical traffic patterns based on day of
week and time of day. With the advent of the 2-way radio and its
use in emergency response vehicles, more real time routing was
available provided that input from traffic control points was being
supplier to dispatch facilities. Over time, with the increase use
of networks and devices used in traffic control, video monitors at
major intersections were added to the input devices available to
the dispatcher to permit direct real-time observation data as well
as direct control of the traffic control signal switches at major
intersection points.
[0005] Many rental cars and trucks, today are equipped with a GPS
driven, computer based guidance system. These systems utilize GPS
and sophisticated routing software to direct the drive, using a
synthesized voice, to their destination. The system uses GPS
tracking or some other suitable location monitoring and tracking
system to know its current location. The driver enters an address
of the desired destination and the system, using maps and
sophisticated routing software, computes the fastest, shortest or
most direct route based on the drivers preference. Once activated,
the system will tell the driver what to do every step of the way.
In addition, if the driver makes a wrong turn, the system will
perform a real time re-route process and give corrective routing
directions to the driver to get him back on course.
[0006] While this type of system is quite advanced and useful, it
lacks the ability to get real time traffic updates from a traffic
control network. Furthermore, the prior art systems are costly and
in-effective.
[0007] The present invention is aimed at one or more of the
problems identified above.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
[0008] In one aspect of the present invention, an information
system for a vehicle having an input system, a positioning system,
a memory device and a routing system is provided. The input system
establishes a destination location of the vehicle. The positioning
system establishes a current position of the vehicle. The memory
device stores at least one required parameter of the vehicle
related to a physical parameter of the vehicle. The routing system
is coupled to the input system, the positioning system and the
memory device and establishes a route as a function of the
destination location, the current position, and the at least one
required parameter of the vehicle.
[0009] In another aspect of the present invention, a method for
providing information related to a vehicle, is provided. The method
includes the steps of establishing a destination location of the
vehicle, establishing a current position of the vehicle using a
positioning system, and storing at least one required parameter of
the vehicle in a memory device. The required parameter relates to a
physical parameter of the vehicle. The method also includes the
step of establishing a route as a function of the destination
location, the current position, and the at least one required
parameter of the vehicle.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0010] Other advantages of the present invention will be readily
appreciated as the same becomes better understood by reference to
the following detailed description when considered in connection
with the accompanying drawings wherein:
[0011] FIG. 1 is a block diagram of an information system for a
motor vehicle, according to an embodiment of the present
invention;
[0012] FIG. 2 is a first flow diagram of a method for providing
information to an operator of a motor vehicle, according to an
embodiment of the present invention;
[0013] FIG. 3A is a first portion of a second flow diagram of a
method for providing information to an operator of a motor vehicle,
according to another embodiment of the present invention;
[0014] FIG. 3B is a second portion of the second flow diagram;
[0015] FIG. 4A is a first portion of a third flow diagram of a
method for providing information to an operator of a motor vehicle,
according to another embodiment of the present invention;
[0016] FIG. 4B is a second portion of the third flow diagram;
[0017] FIG. 4C is a third portion of the third flow diagram;
[0018] FIG. 5A is a first portion of a fourth flow diagram of a
method for providing information to an operator of a motor vehicle,
according to another embodiment of the present invention;
[0019] FIG. 5B is a second portion of the fourth flow diagram;
[0020] FIG. 5C is a third portion of the fourth flow diagram;
[0021] FIG. 6 is a table related to system and method for providing
information to an operator of a motor vehicle;
[0022] FIG. 7 is a first view of a map illustrating operation of
the present invention;
[0023] FIG. 8 is a second view of the map of FIG. 7;
[0024] FIG. 9 is a third view of the map of FIG. 7;
[0025] FIG. 10 is a fourth view of the map of FIG. 7;
[0026] FIG. 11 is a fifth view of the map of FIG. 7;
[0027] FIG. 12 is a sixth view of the map of FIG. 7;
[0028] FIG. 13 is a seventh view of the map of FIG. 7;
[0029] FIG. 14 is a eighth view of the map of FIG. 7; and,
[0030] FIG. 15 is a ninth view of the map of FIG. 7.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF INVENTION
[0031] With reference to the drawings and in operation, the present
invention related to an information or guidance system 10 for a
motor vehicle (not shown). The motor vehicle may be any of type of
mobile vehicle, such as an emergency vehicle, automobile,
recreational vehicle, motor home, marine vessel etc. . . .
[0032] Generally, the information system 10, beginning with a
starting location and a destination, determines a planned route for
the motor vehicle. The information system 10 may receive
information, i.e., a factor, which will impact time it takes the
motor vehicle to travel the planned route and responsively
establishes an alternative route.
[0033] With specific reference to FIG. 1, the information system 10
includes an input system 12, a positioning system 14, a routing
system 16, and a communication system 18.
[0034] The input system 10 establishes a destination location of
the motor vehicle. For example, the input system 10 system may be
used by an operator or driver, to establish the destination
location. The input system 10 may include, e.g., a keyboard or
keypad 20 and/or a microphone 22. The operator may key in a
destination (or a select from a list of known or previously used
destinations) on the keyboard. Alternatively, the information
system may include a microphone for the operator to speak into and
establish the destination through voice recognition software.
[0035] The routing system 16 is a computer based and incorporates
software for establish a route given the destination location and a
starting location. The routing system establishes the planned route
as a function of the destination location and a starting position,
receives information relating to a factor which may delay travel
over the planned route from an external source 24 and establishes
an alternate route as a function of the factor, the destination
location, and a current position of the motor vehicle.
[0036] The position positioning system 14, which may be a global
position system, is used to establish the current position of the
motor vehicle.
[0037] The communication system 18 may be used to implement to
communicate information to the operator and may include a display
device 26 and/or one or more speakers. The display device 26 may be
a touch-screen display and may be used as part of the input system
12.
[0038] The system 10 may also include a preference device 74, 132,
196 which may contain preference information related to an operator
of the motor vehicle (see below). For example, the routing system
16 may establishing the planned route and/or alternate route as a
function of the preference information.
[0039] In one aspect of the present invention, the display device
26 may graphically and/or textually display the planned route
and/or the alternate route to the operator (see FIGS. 7-15).
Alternatively, the communication system 18 may audibly communicate
the planned route and/or the alternate route to the operator
through the speaker(s) 28, such as in the form of instructors.
[0040] In one aspect of the present invention, the received
information related to the factor (received over the network 24)
may include a plurality of parameters which may affect the
estimated time of arrival. For example, the plurality of parameters
may include one or more of a location of factor, vector coordinates
of factor, radial impact of factor, or gradient impact of factor
(see below). As explained below, the routing system receives the
receiving information related to the factor from an external
system, such as a traffic control system. In another aspect of the
present invention, the routing system 16 may be able to receive
data, voice or entertainment services over any suitable network
24
[0041] In another aspect of the present invention, the routing
system 10 may monitor the current position of the motor vehicle,
determine if the operator has not followed the planned route, and
responsively modify the planned route as a function of the position
of the motor vehicle (see below).
[0042] With specific reference to FIG. 2, a method 30 for providing
information to an operator of a motor vehicle is shown. In a first
step 32, a destination location of the motor vehicle and a current
position of the motor vehicle is established. In a second step 34,
a planned route is established and communicated to the operator or
user. In a first decision block 36, if information is received
related to a factor which may delay travel over the planned route,
then the method 30 proceeds to a third step 38. Otherwise, the
method 30 proceeds to a second decision block 42. In the third step
38, a new current position of the motor vehicle 38 is established
and an new or alternative route is established in a fourth step 40.
Control then proceeds to the second decision block 42. In the
second decision block 42, if the destination location has not been
reached, then the method 30 returns to the first decision block 36.
Otherwise, the method 30 ends.
[0043] In one embodiment, the guidance system 10 may be configured
to meet the needs and preferences of the person operating the
vehicle through the use of a smart card or personal communications
gateway 52 (see FIG. 3). The specifics of these authorization and
configuration means is covered in more detail later. Properly
configured and authorized, the system 10 will be capable of
receiving over the network 24 in real time, updates on accidents,
congestion and other conditions that would impede or improve the
progress of the vehicle to the destination. This avoidance or
clearance data permits the routing system 16 and process 30, to
consider alternative routes in real time based on the current
location and provide alternative routing to the operator. The
network 24 to provide this interface would preferable be wireless
and could be cellular, data wireless IP based like 802.11, sub
carrier based off of standard broadcast radio, pager network based,
digital land and/or satellite based, land mobile data radio based,
software radio based and controlled or any other suitable or
acceptable means sufficient to deliver input to the information
system 10 permitting it to build the most efficient route to the
destination.
[0044] As an alternative for repetitive or scheduled route planning
for transports like public bus systems or commuters who travel the
same route daily, a centralized route planning function could
provide alternative route planning services and recommendations.
These types of services would be ideally suited for incorporation
into guidance systems integrated into in transport entertainment
and radio system or any system having either an audio or visual
display capable of text and graphical display.
[0045] The traffic control network could be operated by the DOT,
local police or county traffic control departments, local radio or
TV stations or may be a subscription based service offered by
private companies. The network 24 for delivery of information,
could be local, or operate over national networks like those
available from land based and/or satellite radio providers like
Sirius or XM Radio or other satellite based networks offering voice
and/or data services. The information system 10 could be stand
alone devices or could be integrated into vehicle radios, which
would share the receiver for both audio entertainment and
navigational purposes. These digital radios could also incorporate
the synthesized voice for audio output and utilize their screens to
display graphical and text data for navigational purposes. The
system 10 could also be part of an overall in vehicle data system
and network, used to control the vehicles operation as well as
provide the passengers with access to mobile data networks
providing two way data, voice and video services.
[0046] When in vehicle guidance systems gain sufficient acceptance
by the public and sufficient numbers of them exist, the system 10
will support a 2-way communications network.
[0047] The information system 10 may use the positioning system 14,
i.e., GPS or other suitable location sensing system, to provide
real time feedback to a central traffic routing and control system.
The system 10 may track at a minimum, the speed and direction of
the vehicle and in a more enhanced version, would be capable of
sensing and reporting on weather conditions, traction control
conditions or any other sensor based condition that the system or
vehicle was capable of supporting and reporting. With such real
time inputs, the central traffic control system 10 would be capable
of altering traffic control system parameters, like the posted
speed limit, warning signs as well as traffic signaling and traffic
lane directional control systems, to better regulate or improve the
flow of traffic, thus reducing congestion as well as providing in
vehicle guidance and navigation systems with needed data to perform
route analysis and redirection as needed. In a more elaborate
configuration, it could also generating an alert or alarm
condition, which would cause traffic control cameras, observation
aircraft or ground vehicles to be dispatched, to investigate the
cause of the stoppage or slowdown. By improving both real-time
from-the-field conditions with the sophisticated routing software
and systems available, the performance of the overall guidance and
navigation systems will be greatly improved.
[0048] It should be noted at this point that the 2-way
communication system, while presented as being incorporated into
the guidance system 10, might be incorporated into a vehicle in
other forms. In its simplest form, the communication system 10 may
be a speed and direction sensing system, which would be in the form
of passive devices for example but not limited to RFID tags
attached to or incorporated into a vehicle. It could take may forms
such as being embedded into the vehicles license plate or
incorporated into the vehicles inspection and renewal stickers. In
what ever form it is embodied, it would be placed into a bus, taxi,
police car, delivery vehicle or other forms of public or private
transportation and as they pass monitoring points, they would
supply additional input data points to the traffic control system.
Unlike traditional traffic control inputs which simply track
numbers of vehicles passing a sensor point, the RFID tag would
permit tracking of individual vehicles progress along any number of
routes and be better able to determine real traffic flow patterns,
speeds and preferred routes. This RFID tag would also provide a
means of tracking stolen or missing vehicles by associating a RFID
tag identification number with a specific vehicle. The data
captured by this flow monitoring and reporting system would be
recorded in a database for use in dynamically routing vehicles and
controlling traffic control devices and systems to improve overall
traffic flows.
[0049] In more elaborate forms, the navigation and guidance system
10 may be an active reporting system, incorporated into the
vehicles entertainment system, communications system or any other
system in the vehicle that would accommodate the processor and
communications needed. This would permit the sharing of on board
vehicle resources like speaker, display units, microphones, input
devices or key boards, power supplies, storage media, digital
processors and communications systems. Devices such as cellular
phones and PDA's represent some of the devices that could interface
with the 2-way communications network. As car automation and
computerization expands with integrated vehicle video entertainment
systems, built in voice and data networking system and emergency
alarm and detection systems such as GM OnStar, the incorporation of
the one or two way traffic control guidance interface becomes
increasingly easy while improving the overall driving experience.
Adoption of planar array antennas into vehicle roofs, hoods or
trunks to support high-speed data and video transmission from
satellites and/or land based stations using technologies like the
IEEE 802 LAN/MAN protocols all make transport of needed data
streams easier and cost competitive.
[0050] Another feature of the interface to the traffic control
system of the 2-way communicating system would be that it would not
be necessary for it to always have coverage. The directional, speed
and other data points gathered by the system 10 could be recorded
in a memory associated with the system. When the system at a later
time, comes into an area where 2-way communications are available,
it would upload its historical data. In this way, the system 10
will work with what today are called hot spots or tele-points until
a complete coverage network is available. It will also permit the
system 10 to be developed with the concept that always on
connectivity will never be a reality, and upload points would be
placed strategically to gather data on the most active routes first
and then the less traveled roads as needed. If deployed as a
subscription service, it could as and example, be aligned with IEEE
802 LAN/MAN hot spots or CDMA data networks of cellular carriers.
There is however no restriction or limitation as to how it could be
deployed or packaged. Batch transfer of data will require that time
and date stamps be incorporated into the message content so that
old data could be purged either before transmitting by the on board
tracking and reporting system or by the traffic control transceiver
point. In either case, old data is of no use to the traffic control
system other than for historical trending purposes. If the system
design desires to have historical data for trending purposes, it
can optionally be configured to send and record all data points
captured by the system.
[0051] Many rental cars and production passenger vehicles now come
equipped with a navigation or guidance systems that do not
interface with an outside traffic control and reporting system over
either a one or two way communications network. To improve on these
non-interfacing systems and provide for portability of the routing
service, the navigation or guidance system 10 can be equipped with
a number of different communications ports over which information
from a traffic control or reporting system can be delivered by
other devices. An example would be a business person who carries a
communicating PDA, Blackberry or other mobile computing and
communications device or personal communications gateway or
software radio and the means to configure, authorize and activate
the device, can place their device into a cradle or other docking
means that not only would have the option to power the
communicating device but would also have the ability to initiate a
communications session between the device and the navigation and or
guidance system and cause it to use either the docked systems or
the installed devices one or two way communications capabilities to
gain data on local traffic conditions and provide the navigation
and guidance systems with valuable additional data to enhance its
routing capabilities.
[0052] The use of software radio systems, configured by an
individual's preference and authorization means, like a smart card,
an RFID tag, a bio-metrics detector and identification senor or
device, a key entry device, a voice recognition device, a magnetic
card reader, a ID chip, or any other identification means or
combination of means, deemed reliable, secure and economically
justified will permit greater flexibility and customization to meet
the specific needs of each user. This same authorization means may
be used to configure one or all in vehicle systems for guidance,
routing, entertainment, data and voice systems to meet the
preference means of the operator. Other systems that could be
controlled by the individuals preference and authorization means
include settings for one or more of the following: seat settings,
mirror settings, climate control settings, peddle and steering
wheel adjustments, suspension controls, dashboard illumination
controls, radio station setting by type and or genre, seat heaters,
traction control and or drive train.
[0053] The routing and information service could be a free publicly
available service or a fee-based service provided by a service
provider specializing in route planning. It should be noted that a
device like a cell phone or PDA or any other communicating device
with a display and or speaker and or microphone on a stand alone
basis can deliver the complete navigation and guidance capability
described above, the interfacing of the communicating device with
an in vehicle navigation and or guidance system simply enhances the
ability of the communicating device by expanding its display,
processing power, position determination and ability to utilize the
one or two way interface capabilities. In addition, it helps keep
the unit cost of the cell phone or PDA or other communicating
device down to a reasonable level by off loading features and
functions it may not always need and place those in the navigation
and or guidance system. Any communicating device would be a
candidate to provide the necessary interface. As radio technology
advances, communication systems are becoming more software
controlled and will no longer be tied directly to a set piece of
hardware to operate in a particular frequency or under a particular
frequency usage scheme such as frequency hopping. Smart Cards or
personal communications gateway devices, permitting access to
wireless networks and services through adaptive circuits
dynamically configured by software, will provide added flexibility
and ease of use of these guidance and navigation systems. Through
their use, users will be able transform basic guidance and
navigation systems to meet their specific needs, access their
preferences, utilize specific service providers and authorize and
activate features and functions based on their level of service or
subscription base. This dynamic configuration and authorization
means will permit the base navigation control and guidance system
as well an any other interfaced system in the vehicle to accept the
necessary control parameters and intercommunications to all devices
and network interfaces to meet the personal preferences of the user
and interface wirelessly with the users preferred service providers
for network, data, entertainment and voice services.
[0054] Appointments in calendaring programs, meeting notices or
memos with addresses can be automatically retrieved and used by the
guidance and or navigation system if so permitted by the
communicating device, to direct the driver from their current
location to the point of their meeting, to a hotel where they have
a reservation or to the rental car agency once the meeting or trip
is completed and the car is to be returned. The ability of the
communicating device to share reservation and trip plans and
itinerary data with the navigation and guidance system to improve
the overall travel experience is another value added and
convenience feature of the system and begins to expand the vision
of the "personal digital assistant". The networks used to interface
with the navigation and guidance system would be RF, Infrared,
Optical or use any other medium that was considered suitable and
reliable and met with interface standards. This capability would
permit the end user to save route data in their personal device so
that features like "most frequently called numbers" could be
expended to include "most frequently visited destinations". These
types of saved data could be stored in either the portable device
or stored by the service provider and made available on demand over
the network to the subscriber for use at any time. In addition to
the above features, the interface will permit the end user device
to utilize the power source, display, speaker and microphone of the
navigation and or guidance system to deliver other services to the
operator without causing them to have to remove their concentration
while driving. An example of such a feature might be to read any
unread e-mail to the driver while in transit or to read inbound
text or voice mail messages to the driver. Another feature would be
to use the wireless connection, to initiate a VOIP phone
conversation with any appropriately enabled end point on the
Internet leveraging the speakers and microphone of the navigation
and or guidance system to deliver the valued added service of VOIP
calling. In association with voice services, the network would also
provide the ability to receive and display or read fax
transmissions. Service provides like Net2Phone and Vonage are
examples of companies capable of providing these types of services.
This same system could be used to tract assets and people for any
corporate, government or military organization or for the any other
purpose or reason deemed necessary or logical. This includes
tracking and reporting of personal versus business travel for tax
proposes as well as corporate allocation of expenses relating to
travel. Many other convenience and safety services can be delivered
over this interface and therefore are not limited to the above
example. An extended example could be the integration of an
accident reporting system into the navigation and/or guidance
system permitting it to notify authorities if an accident condition
alarm is activated.
[0055] Surface vehicles are also susceptible to delays caused by
railroad and marine traffic. Railroad traffic is managed by a
central control center. As a result, the traffic control management
system can obtain real time updates on scheduled and none scheduled
railroad traffic, which will cause delays at railroad crossing.
Unlike bridges, which are manned, railroad crossings operate
automatically and therefore control of conflicts with traffic on
the rails and the surface streets must be resolved at the traffic
control centers for each medium. This is especially true when
emergency vehicles are in route to an emergency and their planned
route includes at least one railroad crossing. These conflicts can
be managed at the control center level for each medium by rerouting
the emergency vehicles or causing the railroad traffic to speed up
or slow down to avoid the conflict and eliminate any computed
pending conflict and delay. More problematic is marine traffic,
which can cause delays in surface vehicle traffic when bridge opens
are required, due to height clearance restrictions of passing
vessels. While many bridges follow a schedule for openings, often
unscheduled openings occur which result in unanticipated delays for
surface vehicle traffic. A vessel tracking and bridge opening
scheduler and alarming system is described here. This system could
be used to track railroad traffic as well as marine traffic if the
properties of the railroad control system do not adequately meet
the needs of supplying sufficient real time data on train
locations, speed and crossing ETA's of surface traffic streets. A
vessel tracking and bridge opening scheduler and alarming system,
is designed to monitor a beaconing transmitter aboard any marine
vessel having a height clearance restriction sufficient to cause a
request of a bridge opening to be required. Current marine protocol
requires that ever vessel needing a bridge opening contact the
bridge tender to request such an opening to be scheduled. Depending
on the traffic conditions and the operating mode of the bridge,
openings may only occur on a scheduled basis like every half hour
or may occur on request as long as surface traffic is not
excessive. Most bridges operate under a scheduled opening basis
during peak surface traffic times and then revert to an on request
schedule during none peak surface traffic times. The beaconing
transmitter of each vessel is either a stand-alone device or is a
hybrid combination of a radio transmitter, such as a standard VHF
marine radio and a positions location system such as a global
positioning satellite (GPS) system. Since most vessels today have a
GPS receiver onboard for navigational purposes and most new VHF
radios have an interface to a GPS receiver for distress reporting
purposes, it is easy to envision that this same combination of
radio and GPS which operates on channel 16 for emergencies could
also operate on channel 9 which is the standard for bridge tender
intercommunication voice traffic. The beaconing transmitter will
transmit the vessels Identification, its position as a discrete
latitude and longitude coordinate, its speed and direction. The
Vessel Tracking and Bridge Opening and Alarming system at each
bridge within the range of the vessels radio will compute a
possibility of a crossing of the vessels track and bridge and also
will calculate an estimated time of arrival of the vessel using the
beaconing radios GPS data stream. The process it will go through is
as follows.
[0056] 1. The ID and position data of the vessel is first plotted
mathematically against all known waterway navigation channels
leading to and from the bridge. Since waterways like railroad
tracks follow a specific course and location, it will be easy to
determine if the vessel is on a waterway that intersects with the
bridge.
[0057] 2. If the vessel is determined not to be on a course with
the bridge the message is deleted and any other inbound message in
the radio receivers queue is processed.
[0058] 3. If the vessel is determined to be on a course with the
bridge, the speed over ground, location and direction are used to
determine mathematically if the vessel is headed towards the bridge
or away from it. If it is headed away from it, the message is
deleted and any other inbound message in the radio receivers queue
is processed.
[0059] 4. If the vessel is on a course with the bridge and is
headed towards the bridge, the speed of the vessel and its location
are used to compute an estimated time of arrival at the bridge.
[0060] 5. The estimated time of arrival is then posted to a log
file in a form that will allow the bridge tender to review them and
communicate with the vessel using either an automated text of voice
system informing them of the next scheduled opening time and any
special instruction necessary to maintain a safe and orderly
condition in the waterway and in the area immediately surrounding
the bridge. Such information may be a recommendation to slow or
speed up their approach so as to better time their arrival for the
scheduled or non-scheduled opening. I may include instructions to
hold behind another vessel that is in front of them in the queue of
vessels awaiting the opening. It may also include instructions
about which side of the bridge's water way will be give first
rights to pass through the bridge once it is opened. Priority is
almost always given to vessels how have a current to their stems
traveling downriver due to their restricted or diminished ability
to maneuver, to vessels who are burdened such as large barge tows
or tugs and to vessels who are experiencing mechanical
difficulties. Many factors enter into this complex queuing process
making the Vessel Tracking and Bridge Opening Scheduler and
Alarming system a valuable tool for bridge tenders to manage a safe
and orderly process much like an air traffic controller must do for
at a busy airport.
[0061] 6. As the bridge tender manages all vessel traffic requiring
a bridge opening, the planned opening time, estimated duration of
the opening will be posted to the traffic control system or posted
to a data repository used by traffic control systems and vehicle
routing and guidance systems to make them aware of the scheduled
opening and its estimated duration.
[0062] 7. As an opening occurs and is in process, the bridge tender
will update their postings to the traffic control systems or data
repositories as needed. Updates to the estimated duration time and
the time of completion will be posted along with a final posting at
the completion of the opening with an indication of the traffic
delay created as a result of the opening. The surface traffic delay
factor can be computed using electronic sensors on the surface
street approaches to the bridge or through visual observations.
[0063] 8. Because there is a direct like between the bridge tenders
Vessel Tracking and Bridge Opening Scheduler and Alarming system.
The bridge tender will be notified by the traffic control system if
an emergency vehicle is in route to an emergency and will need to
cross the bridge. This information along with an estimated time of
arrival of the emergency vehicle, update in real time, will be
included in the bridge scheduling system permitting the bridge
tender to either delay the opening or cause the emergency vehicle
to be rerouted if possible. This communication and control is
possible do to the intercommunications capabilities of the various
traffic routing and control systems covered in this disclosure.
[0064] A more elaborate embodiment of the invention is now
presented which will build on the communication interfaces to the
traffic control and monitoring and data collection system. This
elaboration will bring together the network, the capabilities of
the in-vehicle guidance and navigation system (in whatever form
meets the specific needs of the application) and the data
interchange with the traffic control system. These elements are
combined to provide public safety and security vehicles and
personnel with an exemplary means of improving their response time
in an emergency.
[0065] As is the case with most in-vehicle guidance and navigation
systems, a destination location is required along with a current
location fix to commence the processing of route planning and
navigational guidance. By the very nature of a positional location
system, the in-vehicle system will always maintain a fix as to its
current location, direction and speed. When an emergency alarm
occurs, the physical address or location of the event can either be
entered into the in-vehicle navigation or guidance system manually
through a number of input means including voice recognition or it
can be transmitted to it over any suitable network by the dispatch
person, system or function which receives the emergency alarm or
alert. As described above in the one and two-way communicating
system descriptions, the system (either the in-vehicle or traffic
control system), will determine the best possible route to the
target location and will initiate the first set of directions to
the driver. It should be noted that in an emergency response
vehicle, a visual display of the route may be helpful but an audio
directional system will permit the driver to maintain full
attention to the road and keep from having their attention diverted
to look at a video screen. Once initiated, the onboard guidance and
navigation system will initiate a communications session with the
traffic control system and operator, the dispatch system and
operator, the driver and any other system or person required to
complete the following step, to facilitate the routing of the
vehicle and response personnel from the point of origin to any
number of destinations. The communications session, people and
systems involved will:
[0066] 1. Share real time, information on the location, speed and
direction of the vehicle.
[0067] 2. Share real time, information on the vehicles initial
intended route.
[0068] 3. Share real time, information on any known delays or
obstruction along the planned route or any flow patterns that
indicate a better route may be possible based on the initially
defined route. This will include any and all railroad crossing
locations and railroad control centers, which route train traffic,
as well as bridge tenders who control the open and closing of
drawbridges, to permit boat traffic with height restrictions to
pass.
[0069] 4. Pass real time information from any authorized system or
person to the onboard system to recommend changes in or overriding
of the planned route.
[0070] 5. Cause the onboard guidance and or navigation system to
either compute a new route from its current location to the
destination or accept a new route from any authorized system on the
network as a result of known obstructions, congestion or delays,
and relay that new route to all systems on the network.
[0071] 6. Cause the onboard guidance and or navigation system to
either compute a new route from its current location to the
destination or accept a new route from any authorized system on the
network from its current location to the destination, as a result
of the driver not following the designated route. This dynamic
re-route would occur as a result of unknown obstructions in the
planned route, which cause the driver to abort the designed route
and take an alternate route.
[0072] 7. Cause the original planned and or modified routes to be
shared with the traffic control system or systems having control
over traffic signaling devices along the planned and or modified
route. These plans along with the location, speed and direction
data pertaining to the vehicle following that route, will cause the
traffic control system to perform whatever changes in state are
necessary to ensure that all in route control signals, systems or
devices are in a state, in sufficient time, to minimize or
eliminate any traffic, congestion or in route delays. Timing of the
traffic control devices at intersections is accomplished by the
in-vehicle system, which makes every intersection on the planned
route a waypoint in the route. As the vehicle travels along the
planned route and applies dynamic changes, the estimated time of
arrival will be computed and reported to the traffic control system
for each intersection waypoint by the in-vehicle system, making the
traffic control system aware of the estimated time of arrival of
the vehicle at each intersection thus improving and overall
efficiency and safety of the system. With sufficient data relating
to the route and estimated times of arrival at each intersection,
the traffic control system can effectively provide notification to
vehicles and pedestrians along the route and ensure that traffic
control are in the best state to ensure the most expedient transit
of the emergency vehicle or vehicles.
[0073] 8. The traffic control system being aware of the route and
the vehicles progress along the route as well as any changes
thereto will activate visual and audible alarms, strobes, horns,
bells, flashing lights or directional arrows and signage along the
route with sufficient time to notify vehicular and pedestrian
traffic in the area of the approaching emergency vehicle,
indicating its direction and eminent presence.
[0074] 9. In the future, as vehicles come equipped with systems
capable of receiving data related to the presence of an emergency
vehicle, its route and location, they will either audible or
visually alert the driver of its presence. This ability will be
embedded into systems capable of receiving and processing signals
like a radio or entertainment system. Today systems like radar
detection systems already possess such capabilities. More advanced
vehicle navigation and guidance systems will be able to alter their
planned route to avoid any possible interference with the planned
path of the emergency vehicle if such a feature is desired.
[0075] With reference to FIGS. 3A-3B, 4A-4B, 4C, and 5A-5C, a
method 50 for providing a guidance and routing system 10 using a
one way communications network 24, a method 100 a guidance and
routing system 10 using a two way communications network 24, a
method 141 for providing traffic control and routing using a two
way communications network 24, a method 160 for providing emergency
vehicle guidance and routing using a two way communications network
24, and a method 201 for providing traffic control and routing for
emergency vehicles using a two way communications network 24, is
shown.
[0076] The guidance system 10 is configured to meet the needs and
preferences of the person operating the vehicle through the use of
a smart card or personal communications gateway which can include a
software radio 74, 132, 196. The specifics of these authorization
and configuration means are covered in more detail later. Properly
configured and authorized, the system 10 will be capable of being
giving a destination 52, 102, 163, computing a route to the
destination 58, 108, 168, using directional and location device
like GPS 80, 107, 182 and/or Flux Gate compasses 82, 109, 184 and
receiving over a network in real time, updates on accidents,
congestion and other conditions that would impede or improve the
progress of the vehicle to the destination 62. This avoidance or
clearance data permits the routing system 10 and process, to
consider alternative routes in real time 66, 118, 178 based on the
current location and provides alternative routing 78, 136, 200 to
the driver. The network 24 to provide this interface 74, 132, 196,
84, 113, 115, 186, 188, may be wireless, such as cellular, data
wireless IP based like 802.11, sub carrier based off of standard
broadcast radio, pager network based, digital land and/or satellite
based, land mobile data radio based, software radio based and
controlled or any other suitable or acceptable means sufficient to
deliver input to the guidance system 10 permitting it to build the
most efficient route to the destination. The system 10 also is
capable of dynamic rerouting if the driver deviates from the
planned route 68, 128, 180 and based on preferences 74, 132, 196,
can force a look ahead only planning process 60, 110, 170, 88, 140,
192 if back tracking to the original route is not a preferred
option. As an alternative for repetitive or scheduled route
planning for transports like public bus systems or commuters who
travel the same route daily, a centralized route planning function
could provide alternative route planning services and
recommendations 64, 116, 176. These types of services would be
ideally suited for incorporation into guidance systems integrated
into in transport entertainment and radio system or any system
having either an audio or visual display capable of text and
graphical display.
[0077] The traffic control network 62 can be operated by the DOT,
local police or county traffic control departments, local radio or
TV stations or may be a subscription based service offered by
private companies. The network interface means Drawing 1a-74, 132,
196, 84, 113, 115, 186, 188 for receiving traffic flow factors, and
its associated network, can be local, or operate over national
networks like those available from land based and/or satellite
radio providers like Sirius or XM Radio or other satellite based
networks offering voice and/or data services. The guidance control
system Drawings 1a & 1b can be stand alone devices or can be
integrated into vehicle radios, which would share the receiver for
both audio entertainment and navigational purposes.
[0078] Vehicle guidance systems supporting 2-way communications
network are illustrated in FIGS. 4A-4C and 5A-5B. These guidance
systems 10 use GPS 107, 182 or other suitable location sensing
systems to provide real time feedback to a central traffic routing
and control system 112, 113. The system 10 may track at a minimum,
the speed and direction of the vehicle and in a more enhanced
version, would be capable of sensing and reporting on weather
condition, traction control conditions or any other sensor based
condition that the system or vehicle is capable of supporting and
reporting. With such real time inputs 112, 146, the central traffic
control system is capable of altering traffic control system
parameters 150, 152, 154, 156, like the posted speed limit, warning
signs as well as traffic signaling and traffic lane directional
control systems, to better regulate or improve the flow of traffic,
thus reducing congestion as well as providing in vehicle guidance
and navigation systems with needed data Drawing 148, 150 to perform
route analysis and redirection 116, 118, 120, 138, 140 as needed.
In a more elaborate configuration, it could also generating an
alert or alarm condition, which would cause traffic control
cameras, observation aircraft or ground vehicles to be dispatched,
to investigate the cause of the stoppage or slowdown 156. By
improving both real-time from-the-field conditions with the
sophisticated routing software and systems available today, the
performance of the overall guidance and navigation systems will be
greatly improved.
[0079] It should be noted at this point that the 2-way
communicating system, while presented as being incorporated into a
guidance system, would be incorporated into a vehicle in other
forms (not illustrated in drawings). In its simplest form, it would
be a speed and direction sensing system, which would be in the form
of passive devices for example but not limited to RFID tags
attached to or incorporated into a vehicle. It could take may forms
such as being embedded into the vehicles license plate or
incorporated into the vehicles inspection and renewal stickers. In
what ever form it is embodied, it can be placed into a bus, taxi,
police car, delivery vehicle or other forms of public or private
transportation and as they pass monitoring points, they will supply
additional input data points to the traffic control system 150,
212. Unlike traditional traffic control inputs which simply track
numbers of vehicles passing a sensor point, the RFID tag would
permit tracking of individual vehicles progress along any number of
routes and be better able to determine real traffic flow patterns,
speeds and preferred routes 150, 212. This RFID tag would also
provide a means of tracking stolen or missing vehicles by
associating a RFID tag identification number with a specific
vehicle. The data captured by this flow monitoring and reporting
system would be recorded in a database 148 for use in dynamically
routing vehicles and controlling traffic control devices and
systems 150, 152, 154, 156, 212, 214, 216, 218, 220 to improve
overall traffic flows.
[0080] In more elaborate forms, the navigation and guidance system
would be an active reporting system (not illustrated in drawings),
incorporated into the vehicles entertainment system, communications
system or any other system in the vehicle that would accommodate
the processor and communications needed. This would permit the
sharing of on board vehicle resources like speaker, display units,
microphones, input devices or key boards, power supplies, storage
media, digital processors and communications systems. Devices such
as cellular phones and PDA's represent some of the devices that
could interface with the 2-way communications network and act as a
shared communications bridge. As car automation and computerization
expands with integrated vehicle video entertainment systems, build
in voice and data networking system and emergency alarm and
detection systems such as GM OnStar, the integration of the one or
two way traffic control guidance interface (see FIGS. 3A, 3B, 4A,
4B, 4C, 5A, 5B, 5C) becomes increasingly more cost justified while
improving the overall driving experience. Adoption of planar array
antennas into vehicle roofs, hoods or trunks to support high-speed
data and video transmission from satellites and/or land based
stations using technologies like the IEEE 802 LAN/MAN protocols all
make transport of needed data streams easier and cost
competitive.
[0081] Many rental cars and production passenger vehicles now come
equipped with a navigation or guidance systems that do not
interface with an outside traffic control and reporting system (see
FIG. 6), over either a one or two way communications network. To
improve on these non-interfacing systems and provide for
portability of the routing service, the navigation or guidance
system can be equipped with a number of different communications
ports (see FIG. 6) over which information from a traffic control or
reporting system can be delivered by other devices 222, 74. An
example would be a business person who carries a communicating PDA,
Blackberry or other mobile computing and communications device or
personal communications gateway or software radio and the means to
configure, authorize and activate the device, can place their
device into a cradle or other docking means that not only would
have the option to power the communicating device but would also
have the ability to initiate a communications session 222 between
the device and the navigation and or guidance system and cause it
to use either the docked systems or the installed devices one or
two way communications capabilities to gain data on local traffic
conditions and provide the navigation and guidance systems with
valuable additional data to enhance its routing capabilities (see
FIG. 6).
[0082] The use of software radio systems, configured by an
individuals preference and authorization means 74, 132, 196, like a
smart card, an RFID tag, a bio-metrics detector and identification
senor or device, a key entry device, a voice recognition device, a
magnetic card reader, a ID chip, or any other identification means
or combination of means, deemed reliable, secure and economically
justified will permit greater flexibility and customization to meet
the specific needs of each user. This same authorization means will
be used to configure one or all in vehicle systems for guidance,
routing (58, 108, 168), entertainment, data and voice systems (not
shown in drawings) to meet the preference means of the operator.
Other systems that could be controlled by the individuals
preference and authorization means include settings for one or more
of the following: seat settings, mirror settings, climate control
settings, peddle and steering wheel adjustments, suspension
controls, dashboard illumination controls, radio station setting by
type and or genre, seat heaters, traction control and or drive
train.
[0083] The routing and information services (see FIGS. 4A, 4B, 4C
and FIGS. 5A, 5B, 5C), can be free publicly available services or
fee-based services, provided by a service organization specializing
in route planning. It should be noted that a device like a cell
phone or PDA or any other communicating device with a display and
or speaker and or microphone on a stand alone basis can deliver the
complete navigation and guidance capability described above. The
interfacing of the communicating device with an in vehicle
navigation and or guidance system (see FIG. 6), simply enhances the
ability of the communicating device by expanding its display,
processing power, position determination and ability to utilize the
one or two way network interface capabilities. Smart Cards or
personal communications gateway devices 74, 132, 196, permitting
access to wireless networks and services through adaptive circuits
dynamically configured by software, will provide added flexibility
and ease of use of these guidance and navigation systems. Through
their use, users will be able to transform basic guidance and
navigation systems to meet their specific needs, access their
preferences, utilize specific service providers and authorize and
activate features and functions based on their level of service or
subscription base. This dynamic configuration and authorization
means Drawing 9 will permit the base navigation control and
guidance system as well an any other interfaced system in the
vehicle 226 to accept the necessary control parameters and
intercommunications to all devices and network interfaces 224, to
meet the personal preferences of the user and interface wirelessly
with the users preferred service providers 222, for network, data,
entertainment and voice services.
[0084] Appointments in calendaring programs, meeting notices or
memos with addresses can be automatically retrieved and used by the
guidance and or navigation system if so permitted by the
communicating device Drawing 74, 132, 196, to direct the driver
from their current location to the point of their meeting, to a
hotel where they have a reservation or to the rental car agency
once the meeting or trip is completed and the car is to be
returned. The ability of the communicating device to share
reservation and trip plans and itinerary data with the navigation
and guidance system to improve the overall travel experience is
another value added and convenience feature of the system and
begins to expand the vision of the "personal digital assistant".
The networks Drawing 9-9.1, used to interface with the navigation
and guidance system Drawing 226, would be RF, Infrared, Optical or
use any other medium that was considered suitable and reliable and
met with interface standards. This capability would permit the end
user to save route data in their personal device 74, 132, 196, so
that features like "most frequently called numbers" could be
expended to include "most frequently visited destinations".
[0085] Surface vehicles are also susceptible to delays caused by
railroad and marine traffic. Railroad traffic is managed by a
central control center. As a result, the traffic control management
system can obtain real time updates on scheduled and none scheduled
railroad traffic 154, 216, which will cause delays at railroad
crossings. Unlike bridges, which are manned, railroad crossings
operate automatically and therefore control of conflicts with
traffic on the rails and the surface streets must be resolved at
the traffic control centers for each medium. This is especially
true when emergency vehicles are in route to an emergency and their
planned route includes at least one railroad crossing. These
conflicts can be managed at the control center level for each
medium by rerouting the emergency vehicles 66, 138, 190, or causing
the railroad traffic to speed up or slow down to avoid the conflict
and eliminate any computed pending conflict and delay 156, 218.
More problematic is marine traffic, which can cause delays in
surface vehicle traffic when bridge opens are required, due to
height clearance restrictions of passing vessels. While many
bridges follow a schedule for openings, often unscheduled openings
occur which result in unanticipated delays for surface vehicle
traffic. A system 10 for vessel tracking and bridge opening,
scheduling and alarm is described here (FIGS. 7-15). This system 10
is used to track railroad traffic as well as marine traffic if the
properties of the railroad control system do not adequately meet
the needs of supplying sufficient real time data on train
locations, speed and crossing ETA's of surface traffic streets. The
vessel tracking and bridge opening scheduler and alarming system
10, is designed to monitor a beaconing transmitter aboard any
marine vessel 8.1,7.1, having a height clearance restriction
sufficient to cause a request of a bridge opening to be required
Drawing 8.2, 7.2. Current marine protocol requires that ever vessel
needing a bridge opening contact the bridge tender to request such
an opening to be scheduled. Depending on the traffic conditions and
the operating mode of the bridge, openings may only occur on a
scheduled basis like every half hour or may occur on request as
long as surface traffic is not excessive. Most bridges operate
under a scheduled opening basis during peak surface traffic times
and then revert to an on request schedule during none peak surface
traffic times. The beaconing transmitter of each vessel 8.1, 7.1,
is either a stand-alone device or is a hybrid combination of a
radio transmitter, such as a standard VHF marine radio and a
positions location system such as a global positioning satellite
(GPS) system. Since most vessels today have a GPS receiver onboard
for navigational purposes and most new VHF radios have an interface
to a GPS receiver for distress reporting purposes, it is easy to
envision that this same combination of radio and GPS which operates
on channel 16 for emergencies could also operate on channel 9 which
is the standard for bridge tender intercommunication voice traffic.
The beaconing transmitter will transmit the vessels Identification,
its position as a discrete latitude and longitude coordinate, its
speed and direction and produce vector coordinates of its projected
path Drawing 7.5 or for railroads 7.6. Using this data, the Vessel
Tracking and Bridge Opening and Alarming system will compile all
vessels needing an opening and compute the impact the during and
time of the opening will have on surface traffic and generate a
Radial Impact Zone and Level of Impact Gradient for surface traffic
Drawing 10.5 and posts this information to the surface traffic
control system database 210. The Vessel Tracking and Bridge Opening
and Alarming system at each bridge within the range of the vessels
radio will compute a possibility of a crossing of the vessels track
and bridge and also will calculate an estimated time of arrival of
the vessel using the beaconing radios GPS data stream. The process
it will go through is as follows.
[0086] 1. The ID and position data of the vessel is first plotted
mathematically against all known waterway navigation channels
leading to and from the bridge. Since water ways like railroad
tracks follow a specific course and location, it will be easy to
determine if the vessel 7.1 is on a water way that intersects with
the bridge 7.2.
[0087] 2. If the vessel is determined not to be on a course with
the bridge the message is deleted and any other inbound message in
the radio receivers queue is processed.
[0088] 3. If the vessel is determined to be on a course with the
bridge, the speed over ground, location and direction are used to
determine mathematically if the vessel is headed towards the bridge
or away from it 7.5 Route Vector. If it is headed away from it, the
message is deleted and any other inbound message in the radio
receivers queue is processed.
[0089] 4. If the vessel is on a course with the bridge and is
headed towards the bridge 7.5, the speed of the vessel and its
location are used to compute an estimated time of arrival at the
bridge and the Radial Impact of the bridge opening 10.5.
[0090] 5. The estimated time of arrival is then posted to a log
file in a form that will allow the bridge tender to review them and
communicate with the vessel using either an automated text or voice
system informing them of the next scheduled opening time and any
special instruction necessary to maintain a safe and orderly
condition in the waterway and in the area immediately surrounding
the bridge. Such information may be a recommendation to slow or
speed up their approach so as to better time their arrival for the
scheduled or non-scheduled opening. It may include instructions to
hold behind another vessel that is in front of them in the queue of
vessels awaiting the opening. It may also include instructions
about which side of the bridge's water way will be given first
rights to pass through the bridge once it is opened. Priority is
almost always given to vessels with a current to their sterns
traveling downriver due to their restricted or diminished ability
to maneuver, to vessels who are burdened such as large barge tows
or tugs and to vessels who are experiencing mechanical
difficulties. Many factors enter into this complex queuing process
making the Vessel Tracking and Bridge Opening Scheduler and
Alarming system a valuable tool for bridge tenders to manage a safe
and orderly process much like an air traffic controller must do for
at a busy airport.
[0091] 6. As the bridge tender manages all vessel traffic requiring
a bridge opening, the planned opening time, estimated duration of
the opening will be posted to the traffic control system 156, 216
or posted to a data repository used by traffic control systems 148,
208, 210 and vehicle routing and guidance systems to make them
aware of the scheduled opening and its estimated duration.
[0092] 7. As an opening occurs and is in process, the bridge tender
will update their postings to the traffic control systems 154, 216
or data repositories 148, 208, 210, as needed. Updates to the
estimated duration time and the time of completion will be posted
along with a final posting at the completion of the opening with an
indication of the traffic delay created as a result of the opening.
The surface traffic delay factor can be computed using electronic
sensors on the surface street approaches to the bridge or through
visual observations.
[0093] 8. Because there is a direct link between the bridge tenders
Vessel Tracking and Bridge Opening Scheduler & Alarming system.
The bridge tender will be notified by the traffic control system if
an emergency vehicle is in route 156, 218 to an emergency and
request they cross the bridge as soon as possible. This information
along with an estimated time of arrival of the emergency vehicle,
update in real time, will be included in the bridge scheduling
system permitting the bridge tender to either delay the opening,
terminate the opening or cause the emergency vehicle to be rerouted
as a last resort. This communication and control is possible do to
the intercommunications capabilities of the various traffic routing
and control systems 150, 212 covered in this disclosure.
[0094] FIGS. 7-15 illustrate include a planned route (see FIG. 8)
from a location (1) to a destination (2) in the City of Fort
Lauderdale. The in vehicle guidance system 10 plots a route shown
(see FIG. 13) which travels down State Road 84 East then North on
US1 then West on Broward Blvd to the destination 3 block west of
City Hall. The original route is 4.3 miles and is estimated to take
7 minutes. In FIGS. 7-15, a vessel traveling West on the New River
using the Vessel Tracking and Bridge Opening Scheduler and Alarming
system appears as FIG. N.1 (where N is the Figure number). Thus, in
FIG. 7, the vessel is labeled 7.1. The vessel's route will take it
to a point where a bridge exists at FIG. N.2 in all drawings in
this series. In FIG. 7, the bridge is labeled 7.2. A train is also
illustrated as traveling north, paralleling SW 2nd Avenue and is
labeled N.3, so in FIG. 7, it appears as 7.3.
[0095] In FIGS. 7-15, there are three series of events.
[0096] The first series (FIGS. 7, 8, and 13) illustrates the
initial route in FIG. 8. A close-up view of the end of the route in
FIG. 7 illustrates views of the vessel traveling up the New River
as well as the Train traveling north. The last Figure in this
series, FIG. 13, illustrates the route and detailed instructions,
estimated time of arrival at each turn as well as the distance from
this point of origin.
[0097] The second series (FIGS. 9, 10, and 14), illustrate what
happens when the vessel-traveling west on the New River generates a
request for an opening based on its Route Vector and that opening
request results in a Radial Impact Zone and Level of Impact
Gradient Alarm being issued. In the overview of the route in FIG.
9, the route has been changed to direct the vehicle to use Andrews
Avenue to travel north on to Broward Blvd. instead of US1. In FIG.
10, the Radial Impact Zone can be seen and the re-route of the
vehicle can also be seen. This dynamic rerouting ends up in a
revised route shown in FIG. 14 where the total distance to be
traveled had decreased to 3.7 miles but the total travel time has
increased to 10 minutes make the trip 3 minutes longer than
originally planned.
[0098] The third and final series (FIGS. 11, 12, and 15) show what
happens then the train traveling north will cause a delay in the
planned route along Broward Blvd. The original planned route now
has 2 known delays, one from the vessel causing a bridge opening at
Los Olas and the other from the Metro Rail Train traveling north
causing the crossing on Broward Blvd to be blocked. In FIG. 11, an
overview of the second reroute is illustrated, showing the
preferred route now to be to take State Road 84 west to Interstate
95 and then to travel north to Broward Blvd and then travel east to
the destination. FIG. 12 shows a close up view of the destination
and the railroad crossing that caused the reroute. FIG. 15 shows
the final route to avoid the delays. The final route is 4.3 miles
with an estimated travel time of 10 minutes, 3 minutes longer than
the original route plan.
[0099] A more elaborate embodiment of the invention is now
presented which will build on the communication interfaces to the
traffic control and monitoring and data collection system 10. This
elaboration will bring together the network 186, 188, the
capabilities of the in-vehicle guidance and navigation system 10
(in whatever form meets the specific needs of the application) and
the data interchange with the traffic control system 202. These
elements are combined to provide public safety and security
vehicles and personnel with an exemplary means of improving their
response time in an emergency.
[0100] As is the case with most in-vehicle guidance and navigation
systems, a destination location is required 162 along with a
current location fix 166 to commence the processing of route
planning and navigational guidance 168. By the very nature of a
positional location system, the in-vehicle system will always
maintain a fix as to its current location, direction and speed 166.
When an emergency alarm occurs, the physical address or location of
the event can either be entered into the in-vehicle navigation or
guidance system manually through a number of input means including
voice recognition or it can be transmitted to it over any suitable
network by the dispatch person, system or function which receives
the emergency alarm or alert 162. As described above in the one and
two-way communicating system descriptions, the system (either the
in-vehicle or traffic control system), will determine the best
possible route to the target location and will initiate the first
set of directions to the driver 168. It should be noted that in an
emergency response vehicle, a visual display of the route may be
helpful but an audio directional system will permit the driver to
maintain full attention to the road and keep from having their
attention diverted to look at a video screen. Once initiated, the
onboard guidance and navigation system will initiate a
communications session with the traffic control system and operator
172, 174, the dispatch system and operator, the driver and any
other system or person required to complete the following steps
(not shown in drawings), to facilitate the routing of the vehicle
and response personnel from the point of origin to any number of
destinations. The communications session, people and systems
involved will:
[0101] 1. Share real time, information on the location, speed and
direction of the vehicle 174.
[0102] 2. Share real time, information on the vehicles initial
intended route Drawing 3a-3.9.
[0103] 3. Share real time, information on any known delays or
obstruction along the planned route or any flow patterns that
indicate a better route may be possible based on the initially
defined route 198, 220. This will include any and all railroad
crossing locations and railroad control centers, which route train
traffic, as well as bridge tenders who control the open and closing
of draw bridges, to permit boat traffic with height restrictions to
pass 216.
[0104] 4. Pass real time information from any authorized system or
person to the onboard system to recommend changes in or overriding
of the planned route 218.
[0105] 5. Cause the onboard guidance and or navigation system to
either compute a new route from its current location to the
destination 200, 198 or accept a new route from any authorized
system on the network 220 as a result of known obstructions,
congestion or delays, and relay that new route to all systems on
the network.
[0106] 6. Cause the onboard guidance and or navigation system to
either compute a new route from its current location to the
destination 168 or accept a new route from any authorized system on
the network from its current location to the destination 220, as a
result of the driver not following the designated route 180, 192.
This dynamic re-route would occur as a result of unknown
obstructions in the planned route, which cause the driver to abort
the designed route and take an alternate route.
[0107] 7. Cause the original planned and or modified routes to be
shared with the traffic control system or systems having control
over traffic signaling devices along the planned and or modified
route 174. These plans along with the location, speed and direction
data pertaining to the vehicle following that route, will cause the
traffic control system to perform whatever changes in state are
necessary to ensure that all in route control signals, systems or
devices are in a state, in sufficient time, to minimize or
eliminate any traffic, congestion or in route delays 214. Timing of
the traffic control devices at intersections is accomplished by the
in-vehicle system, which makes every intersection on the planned
route a waypoint in the route (not shown in drawing). As the
vehicle travels along the planned route and applies dynamic
changes, the estimated time of arrival will be computed and
reported to the traffic control system for each intersection
waypoint by the in-vehicle system, making the traffic control
system aware of the estimated time of arrival of the vehicle at
each intersection thus improving and overall efficiency and safety
of the system 202. With sufficient data relating to the route and
estimated times of arrival at each intersection, the traffic
control system can effectively provide notification to vehicles and
pedestrians along the route and ensure that traffic control are in
the best state to ensure the most expedient transit of the
emergency vehicle or vehicles 214.
[0108] 8. The traffic control system being aware of the route and
the vehicles progress along the route as well as any changes
thereto will activate visual and audible alarms, strobes, horns,
bells, flashing lights or directional arrows and signage along the
route with sufficient time to notify vehicular and pedestrian
traffic in the area of the approaching emergency vehicle,
indicating its direction and eminent presence 218.
[0109] 9. In the future, as vehicles come equipped with systems
capable of receiving data related to the presence of an emergency
vehicle, its route and location, they will either audible or
visually alert the driver of its presence. This ability will be
embedded into systems capable of receiving and processing signals
like a radio or entertainment system. Today systems like radar
detection systems already possess some early warning capabilities.
More advanced vehicle navigation and guidance systems will be able
to alter their planned route to avoid any possible interference
with the planned path of the emergency vehicle if such a feature is
desired 138.
[0110] In another aspect of the present invention, the system 10
establishes a route or planned route as a function of a required
parameter related to the vehicle. As discussed above, the input
system 12 may be used to establish a destination of the vehicle,
either by input by the user, user selection from a list of
potential destinations, or selection of a desired route. The
positioning system 14 establishes a current position of the
vehicle. The preference or memory device 74, 132, 196 may be used
to store at least one required parameter of the vehicle. In the
illustrated embodiment, the required parameter is related to a
physical parameter of the vehicle (see below). The routing system
16 establishes a route as a function of the destination location,
the current position or a designated starting location, and the at
least one required parameter of the vehicle. The physical parameter
may be, for example, a dimension of the vehicle, such as a height
or a width of the vehicle.
[0111] In one aspect of the present invention, the routing system
16 may utilize or incorporate data related to at least one
landmark. The routing system, in establishing the route avoids the
at least one landmark if the required parameter would prevent the
vehicle from navigating the landmark. The data related to the
landmark may be stored in the memory device 74, 132, 196 or any
suitable memory. For example, the landmark may be a bridge (or a
lane) with a known height (or width). If the vehicle's known height
(or width) would prevent the vehicle from safely going under the
bridge (or safely traversing the lane), then the routing system 16
would avoid passing under the bridge (or the lane) in the
established path or route.
[0112] In one embodiment, the landmark may have a scheduled change
of state. For example, if the vehicle is a marine vessel and the
landmark is a drawbridge, then the system 10 may store the schedule
of opening and closing of the drawbridge and may utilize this
schedule in the establishment of the route.
[0113] In one aspect of the present invention, the vehicle is a
motor vehicle, motor home, or a truck. The memory device 74, 132,
196 may contain data related to the operating performance of the
vehicle. The routing system may, thus, establish the route as a
function of the operating performance data. For example, the
routing system may establish the route as a function of historical
and/or current environmental conditions and/or the effect of
historical and/or current environmental conditions, such as weather
conditions, on the operating performance of the vehicle.
[0114] In one embodiment, the operating performance of the vehicle
may include one or more of the following: turning radius, grade
climbing ability, other physical limitations, required fuel types,
fuel capacity, fuel consumption rates at a plurality of speeds,
maximum travel times without a planned stop, and a desired comfort
factor (see below).
[0115] In another aspect of the present invention, the vehicle may
be a marine vessel and the physical parameter of the vehicle may be
a length or height of the marine vessel or the draft of the vessel.
The routing system 16 may establish the route as a function of
historical and/or current environmental conditions and/or the
effect of historical and/or current environmental conditions on the
operating performance of the marine vessel. The weather conditions
may include one or more of the following: tides, water depths,
winds, waves, currently, or visibility.
[0116] The memory device 74, 132, 196 may contain data related to
the operating performance of the marine vessel. For example, the
data related to operating performance of the marine vessel may
include one or more of the following: turning radius, other
physical limitations, required fuel types, fuel capacity, fuel
consumption rates at a plurality of speeds, maximum travel times
without a planned stop, preferred cruising speed, identification of
stopping and refueling points that accommodate the marine vessel,
and a desired comfort factor (see below).
[0117] As discussed, above, the system 10 may include a traffic
control system 25 in communication with the routing system 16. As
discussed, above, the routing system 16 and the traffic control
system 25 may exchange information back and forth including
alternative routes (both ways), information regarding the progress
of the vehicle along the path or route, information related or
regarding potential obstacles or factors which may positively of
negative impact the route or path traveled by the vehicle. For
example, the routing system 16 may establish a second route as a
function of the destination location, an updated current location,
the at least one required parameter of the vehicle, and the at
least one factor.
[0118] Alternatively and/or in addition, the traffic control system
25 for establishing an alternate route as a function of the route
and at least one factor which may negatively or positively impact
traffic over the route, and communicating the alternate route over
the communications link to the routing system.
[0119] In another aspect of the present invention, the display 26
may be used to display to the user the route and/or the areas that
the vehicle must avoid based on the at least one required parameter
using text and/graphics (using motion, colors, masks, boundaries,
icons, and the like to delineate areas to be avoided).
INDUSTRIAL APPLICABILITY
[0120] Navigation and guidance systems for both land and marine use
have long been in existence. The use of digitized road maps and
nautical charts has also been in use for many years. While vehicle
navigation and guidance systems have evolved more rapidly than
marine navigation systems, many parallel functional characteristics
exist in both markets that today are not addressed. It is the
purpose of this invention to address those unmet needs and provide
a system and method of improving on the current state of the art
systems.
[0121] In one aspect of the present invention, the vehicle
navigation and guidance system 10 utilizes two way communication
channels and operator preferences to plan a route from a current
location to a destination. The system 10 initially plans or
establishes a primary route, and sends that route data to a traffic
control system 25 or service, using the outbound communications
channel. The traffic control system 25 may analyze the route data
and transmits, over the inbound communications channel, factors
that may positively or negatively impact travel over the primary
route to the destination. The traffic control system 25 may also
provides suggested alternate routes to the destination. Both the
in-vehicle and remote navigation and guidance systems may use
preferences to aid in the route planning and execution process.
[0122] The system 10 may be used with any type of mobile vehicle,
including, but not limited to emergency vehicles, automobiles,
recreational vehicle, motor homes, marine vessels, etc. . . .
[0123] Marine vessels traveling inland waterways are often
restricted to designated channels that are maintained and marketed
to permit safe passage. The preference data includes required
preference data which relates to the physical and/or performance
characteristics of the vehicle or vessel for which a route is being
planned and executed. This additional enhancement will permit the
routing system 16 to take into account these "required preferences"
such as the height of the vehicle or vessel in the route planning
process. This feature will ensure that items like bridges that both
must pass under have sufficient vertical clearance to permit their
safe passage. This is not a feature that is provided in currently
available navigation systems and is a requirement for route
planning and safe operation of height restricted vehicles. In the
case of a marine vessel, the bridges may open to permit safe
passage. The routing system 16 therefore will take into account the
published schedule for bridge opens that exist for most bridges on
navigable waterways. It will use this data in planning and real
time execution of the route plan and in estimating the time of
arrival at the destination location. In the case of land vehicles,
bridges do not open to permit them to safely pass under them, so
routing around such obstacles is supported by the system. The same
is true for sailboats with tall masts that can not transit under
non-opening bridges whose vertical clearance is less than the
required preference or parameter of the vessel. Additionally, land
vehicles that must transit through landmarks like a tunnel must
ensure that their required preferences or parameters are met in the
route planning process.
[0124] Other required preferences necessary for a complete route
planning system for marine applications will include the draft of
the vessel, its beam and the impact tides, water depth, winds,
waves, currents, visibility and other weather factors will have on
its ability to safely maneuver. Course planning will optionally
include the calculation of set and drift offsets that will need to
be applied to accommodate for the effects of winds and tides on any
planned leg of the route. Using a location management input like
GPS, the need for such course correction setting is unnecessary
however, if the navigation system should fail while under way, this
data will be essential as a fall back aid to navigation. The draft,
length, beam of the vessel will be used in the route planning
process to ensure that a course is not planned that will place the
vessel in waters that are too shallow for its draft or in locations
where the impact of winds or currents will limit its ability to
transit the route safely.
[0125] Other optional preference factors, particularly applicable
to pleasure boaters, will include the power requirement of the
vessel when at dock, its fuel consumption rate at a plurality of
speeds and fuel capacity, a preferred cruising speed and maximum
permitted speed though the water and speed over ground, a desired
maximum distance to travel from shore when plotting an off shore
route, a maximum time to spend underway without a planned stop, a
preferred type of mooring location for in transit stops or
overnight stays, a desired voyage comfort factor that will be
computed using a combination of sea conditions, wind, wave and
current directions at a variety of speeds. These comfort factors
will vary greatly depending on the vessels length, beam, hull
design, displacement and use of stabilizers and gyros. These
"required" and "optional" preference factors will often make a
difference in planning coastal navigation routing solutions. As an
example, if preference factors can be met taking into account
current weather and tidal conditions, routes will be planned
offshore assuming that offshore routing is a permitted or preferred
factor. In this situation, if current conditions result in a
computed comfort factor that will not meet the established
preferences, an inland waterway route will be planned to avoid an
unpleasantly rough passage.
[0126] Additional "required preferences" related to land vehicles
may be incorporated to accommodate route planning for motor homes
that are rapidly growing in popularity and size. In a similar
fashion, the system 10 and method will provide additional support
for private, commercial and rental trucking firms that must travel
into unfamiliar territory like moving vans and long haul delivery
trucks. These land vehicles require additional "required
preferences" including the vehicles turning radius, grade climbing
and decent physical limitations, gross weight limits for roads and
bridges, fuel types necessary for operation, fuel capacity and
consumption rates at a plurality of speeds, maximum travel times
without a planned stop, routing on designated truck routes where
possible, avoidance of secondary and unpaved roads, planning or
daily route end destination at a location where overnight stops are
permitted, i.e., Walmart parking lots or State welcome stations,
identification of all box canyon street conditions and areas were
safe transit or turn around areas are not present.
[0127] Additional guidance data provided by the system 10 to the
operator that illustrates its compatibility to both marine and land
use include: identification of marinas and mooring locations that
can accommodate the vessels defined characteristics and
identification of rest areas, camp grounds, State or Federal Park,
restaurants and hotels that can accommodate the motor coaches
defined characteristics. Route planning will also ensure that
refueling facilities as defined in the required preferences are
planned out to accommodate the fuel capacity and consumption rates
of the vehicle and or vessel. This planning feature will be part of
the initial plan and will be monitored and managed in real time
while in route. Any changes in route, reported consumption rate or
reported fuel levels can trigger an automatic re-evaluation of the
route and its associated refueling plan. Slow progress in route
attributed to winds, currents or other weather factors such as snow
resistance on surface streets can result in rerouting or changes to
planned route stops and overnight destination.
[0128] The system supports a broad array of visually displayed road
maps, topographical maps, marine navigational charts, and
bathometric charts for use on a suitable display means. The system
also supports audible guidance and feedback on sensed conditions to
the driver or helmsman. The system displays the current location of
the vehicle or vessel in real time on the display showing its
relationship geographically on the map or chart. This feature
enhances the driver or helmsman's access to needed visual and
audible guidance. Using the required preferences and/or parameters
for the vehicle or vessel in use, the system will highlight roads,
passages, channels and entire areas where safe transit will not be
possible. It will do this using textural and graphical means to
highlight and annotate those areas, roads, passages or channels to
avoid. Graphical means will include the use of overlay masks,
outlines, borders, colors, still and animated icons as well as
graphical switching means to flash, blink or otherwise draw
attention to areas or map segments or elements to be avoided. This
will ensure that if the planned route develops unplanned factors
that will slow or delay passage, the driver or helmsman will be
able to avoid ad-hoc route changes that will place the vehicle or
vessel into an area or onto a road, passage or channel that can not
be safely transited based on the required preferences. If a planned
route is not active on the system, the driver or helmsman can still
utilize the display and geographic tracking feature of the system
to avoid hazards or unsafe area while transiting over an ad-hoc or
unguided route since the system will always apply the required
preferences to the display and associated maps and charts.
[0129] It should be noted that the navigation and guidance system
can be programmed with default optional and required preference
data, which can then be updated by the operator with their specific
preferences. As an additional feature, the system can receive real
time data inputs from other on board systems that monitor and or
report on operational characteristics of either the land or marine
transport. Such feedbacks include but are not limited to, rate of
travel, rate of fuel consumption, quantity of fuel used and speed
over ground. These factors combine with external factors to provide
inputs needed to determine any positive or negative impact they may
have on the planned route and the initiation of alternate route
planning by either the on board system or the remote traffic
control system or service to minimize their impact. As covered in
the parent application, changes in the planned route, when
implemented, will be transmitted to the traffic control system or
service along with in route progress updates. This exchange of
route data, enables factors and alternate route recommendations to
be evaluated and implemented by the on board and remote support
systems and services. As was the case in the parent application
tracking of vehicles and vessels is supported by the system to
support the management of assets in route.
[0130] It is the purpose therefore of this invention to introduce a
navigation and guidance system that will plan a route from a
current location to a destination location or a designed starting
point to a destination location, using a combination of optional
preference parameters and required preference parameters to
determine the best possible route to be taken. This initial route
plan will be uploaded to a traffic control system where
alternatives can be plotted and evaluated and factors applied that
might positively or negatively impact progress along the route. As
described, known factors, including proposed alternative routes
will be sent from the traffic control system or service to the
navigation and guidance system were they will be presented to the
driver or helmsman. These alternatives, depending on the systems
configuration may be presented as options for the operator to
select from or may be implemented automatically as a better
alternative over the current route in progress. The improvement to
the parent application is the emphasis being placed on the required
preference parameters to ensure that the route is compatible with
the physical requirements of the means of transport. These planned
routes will be communicated to a traffic control system or service
as defined in the parent application, when a network connection is
available. This filing expands the scope of the claims to include
maritime route planning systems and where practical route planning
for anything. This variant of the original filing includes the use
of two way communications system and a central traffic control
system or service to which progress in route is reported and
factors are continuously monitored and applied to executing route
plans in an effort to provide the best possible real time routing
to its users.
[0131] Maritime route planning systems and services like their land
counterparts will utilize all available marine charts, bathometric
data, tidal and current information based on the transports current
and in route location, US Coast Guard and other Governmental, pubic
and private hazards to navigation data. Schedules of bridge
openings and vertical clearance data coupled with weather data
feeds from all possible sources including private weather services,
NOAA weather data and online data feeds reporting sea conditions
from weather buoys and satellites will all be used to plan routes
for commercial, military and pleasure craft utilizing defined
inland waterways or plotting offshore routes to meet user defined
preferences. This process is time consuming and can be greatly
improved by an automated route planning system similar to that used
for land route planning and execution. In addition, maritime route
planning systems will provide in-route factors to vessels in real
time or batch mode depending on the design of the system and the
network used. These factors just like their land counterparts can
and do affect routes in progress. Routes at sea can be affected by
a plurality of factors, which include but are not limited to bridge
opening systems and lock operations that fail or suspend their
opening schedule for any reason, other marine traffic like tug and
barge units passing through choke points on an inland waterway,
vessels that sink or become disabled in narrow waterways, sudden
and unexpected changes in the weather, areas at sea that are
occasionally closed due to military maneuvers and matters of
Homeland security that close ports or inlets to support the
movement of military craft. For marine operations, planned route
data can be interfaced to and interconnect with an autopilot system
for use in off shore piloting of the vessel. No vessel should rely
on an autopilot system to manage the vessels progress along inland
waterways. Autopilot systems should only be used in offshore
passages to relieve the operator from having to maintain the course
heading and managing the cross track error over open waters and for
long period of time.
[0132] From a practical standpoint, marine route planning systems
provide a quick and efficient means of plotting a course to a
destination, taking into account all available data on current
conditions and the properties of the vessel that will make the
passage. No route planning system however will ever relieve the
captain of a vessel from the responsibility of reviewing the
planned route and piloting his vessel safely along the planned and
reviewed route. Missing or moved channel markers, shifting sand
bars, other water craft and a plurality of other factors will
always be present, introducing unknown factors that must be managed
by the operator. In a similar fashion, the driver of a motor
vehicle is not relieved of their duty to operate their vehicle in a
safe manner while using the route planning and guidance system. The
navigation and guidance system is only meant to be an aid to the
operator and should not be considered to be a substitute for or and
enhancement to the operators ability to safely manage the operation
of the means of transport.
[0133] Obviously, many modifications and variations of the present
invention are possible in light of the above teachings. The
invention may be practiced otherwise than as specifically described
within the scope of the appended claims.
* * * * *