Claims
- 1: A method of determining a path traveled by a vehicle in a road network having a plurality of road segments connected into a plurality of paths, the method comprising:
obtaining a current location measurement for the vehicle,
wherein said current location measurement has an accuracy range; determining the road segments located within said accuracy range of said current location measurement to form a set of current possible positions for the vehicle; retrieving a set of stored possible paths for the vehicle; generating a new set of possible paths based on said set of current possible positions and said set of stored possible paths; and storing said new set of possible paths as said set of stored possible paths.
- 2-6 (cancelled)
- 7: The method of claim 1, further comprising filtering said current location measurement.
- 8: The method of claim 7,
wherein said set of stored possible paths includes a stored possible path having a previous current location measurement,
wherein said previous current location measurement includes a first timestamp; wherein said current location measurement includes a second timestamp; and wherein said filtering includes: eliminating said current location measurement if the difference between said first timestamp and said second timestamp is less than a minimum travel time, storing said current location measurement if the difference between said first timestamp and said second timestamp is greater than said minimum travel time.
- 9: The method of claim 7, wherein said filtering includes eliminating said current location measurement if it is obtained from a non-vehicle source.
- 10: The method of claim 1, further comprising:
storing a sub-path that is common to all paths in said new set of possible paths,
wherein said sub-path includes a common road segment; removing road segments from each path in said new set of possible paths that precede said common road segment to form a set of shortened paths; storing said set of shortened paths as said new set of possible paths; and storing said sub-path in a road segment database.
- 11: The method of claim 1, wherein said generating a new set of possible paths includes:
extending each stored possible path to each current possible position to form a set of extended paths; storing each extended path having an available travel time that is greater than a minimum travel time; and removing each extended path having an available travel time that is less than said minimum travel time.
- 12: The method of claim 11,
wherein said set of stored possible paths includes a stored possible path having a previous current location measurement, wherein said previous current location measurement includes a first timestamp; wherein said current location measurement includes a second timestamp; and wherein said available travel time is the difference between said first timestamp and said second timestamp.
- 13: The method of claim 1, wherein said obtaining includes obtaining a location measurement from a probe.
- 14: The method of claim 13, wherein said probe is a GPS receiver.
- 15: The method of claim 13, wherein said probe is a cellular phone.
- 16-39. (cancelled)
- 40: A system for determining a path traveled by a vehicle along road segments in a road network, the system comprising:
a processor configured to:
receive a current location measurement for the vehicle, determine the road segments located within an accuracy range of said current location measurement to form a set of current possible positions for said vehicle; and generate a new set of possible paths based on said set of current possible positions and a set of stored possible paths for the vehicle; and a database configured to:
store said set of stored possible paths for the vehicle, and store said new set of possible paths as said set of stored possible paths.
- 41: The system of claim 40, wherein said processor is further configured to filter said current location measurement.
- 42-58 (cancelled)
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS
[0001] The present application claims priority of an earlier filed provisional application U.S. Ser. No. 60/293,829, entitled METHOD AND SYSTEM FOR ELECTRONICALLY DETERMINING DYNAMIC TRAFFIC INFORMATION, filed on May 25, 2001, the entire content of which is incorporated herein by reference.
PCT Information
Filing Document |
Filing Date |
Country |
Kind |
PCT/US02/15740 |
5/17/2002 |
WO |
|
Provisional Applications (1)
|
Number |
Date |
Country |
|
60293829 |
May 2001 |
US |
Continuation in Parts (1)
|
Number |
Date |
Country |
Parent |
10061784 |
Jan 2002 |
US |
Child |
10478548 |
Nov 2003 |
US |