TREA

Method of displaying traffic information on a web page

Follow

Information

  • Patent Application
  • 20070220110
  • Publication Number
    20070220110
  • Date Filed
    March 15, 2006
    18 years ago
  • Date Published
    September 20, 2007
    17 years ago
Information
Abstract
A method of displaying traffic information on a web page is provided. The traffic information includes traffic conditions of one or more specified roads. A web browser requests a web page that includes programming code related to some traffic information. The web browser interprets the programming code and requests at least some of the traffic information from a remote site specified by the programming code. The request includes a uniform resource identifier (URI) of the remote site, and a unique identifier of the traffic information. The web browser then assembles the web page using at least some of the requested traffic information obtained from the remote site. The assembled web page displays at least some of the traffic information, including traffic conditions of the one or more specified roads.
Description

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The foregoing summary, as well as the following detailed description of preferred embodiments of the invention, will be better understood when read in conjunction with the appended drawings. For the purpose of illustrating the invention, there is shown in the drawings embodiments which are presently preferred. It should be understood, however, that the invention is not limited to the precise arrangements and instrumentalities shown.


In the drawings:



FIG. 1 shows generic examples of Jam Factors for various traffic situations.



FIG. 2 shows specific examples of Jam Factors for the commute segment I-76 from the PA Turnpike to the Walt Whitman Bridge.



FIG. 3
a shows the user interface display screen for selecting a drive name and metro (metropolitan) area.



FIG. 3
b shows the user interface display screen for selecting a starting roadway.



FIG. 3
c shows the user interface display screen for selecting start and end points on starting road.



FIG. 3
d shows the user interface display screen for selecting a continuation to a connecting roadway.



FIG. 3
e shows the user interface display screen for selecting to end a commute.



FIG. 3
f shows the user interface display screen for viewing drives and overall Jam Factor for those drives.



FIG. 3
g shows the user interface display screen for viewing the Jam Factor (item 10) for the individual roadway sections along a specific previously created drive. Additionally, the display also shows incidents (item 20) on the individual roadway sections.



FIG. 4
a shows the Magnet Product Page which a user will see when they first access the magnet website (or are not logged in).



FIG. 4
b shows a screenshot of the pages of the Traffic Magnet registration page where user information is entered.



FIG. 4
c shows a screenshot of the Traffic Magnet registration page that displays the User Agreement and Privacy Policy.



FIG. 4
d shows an example of a magnet on the maintenance page.



FIG. 4
e shows a screenshot of the magnet creation page where user information is entered.



FIG. 4
f shows a screenshot of the magnet creation page where the format of the magnet is selected.



FIG. 5 shows examples of the layouts of a horizontal magnet and a vertical magnet.



FIG. 6 shows some of the different styles of magnets available to the user.



FIG. 7 shows the database schema for the Traffic Magnet data.



FIG. 8 shows a Data Flow Diagram for the user interface for the creation of a Traffic Magnet.


Claims
  • 1. A computer-implemented method of displaying traffic information on a web page, the traffic information including traffic conditions of one or more specified roads, the method comprising: (a) a web browser requesting a web page that includes programming code related to the traffic information;(b) the web browser interpreting the programming code and requesting at least some of the traffic information from a remote site specified by the programming code, the request including: (i) a uniform resource identifier (URI) of the remote site, and(ii) a unique identifier of the traffic information; and(c) the web browser assembling the web page using at least some of the requested traffic information obtained from the remote site, wherein the assembled web page displays at least some of the traffic information, including traffic conditions of the one or more specified roads.
  • 2. The method of claim 1 wherein at least some of the traffic information requested in step (b) includes information that describes a visual format in which the traffic information is to be presented on the web page, the web browser using the visual formatting information in step (c) when assembling the web page.
  • 3. The method of claim 2 wherein the information that describes the visual format is provided in a scripting language.
  • 4. The method of claim 1 wherein the real-time traffic conditions is a rating that represents the status along a specified driving route.
  • 5. The method of claim 1 wherein the requested web page includes content other than traffic information, the traffic information being displayed on only a portion of the web page.
  • 6. The method of claim 1 wherein the displayed traffic information includes: (i) information identifying the one or more specified roads, and(ii) traffic flow data on the specified one or more roads.
  • 7. The method of claim 1 wherein the displayed traffic information further includes information about the metropolitan area where the one or more specified roads are located.
  • 8. The method of claim 1 wherein the displayed traffic information further includes a timestamp of the traffic conditions on one or more specified roads.
  • 9. The method of claim 1 wherein the displayed traffic information further includes information describing characteristics of the identified road.
  • 10. The method of claim 1 wherein the displayed traffic information further includes a roadway name and/or route shield.
  • 11. The method of claim 1 wherein the displayed traffic information further includes the number of incidents on the identified road.
  • 12. The method of claim 1 wherein the displayed traffic information further includes links to a website, a promotion or an advertisement.
  • 13. The method of claim 1 further comprising: (d) tracking statistics about the number of times that the traffic information is requested for the web page.
  • 14. The method of claim 1 wherein the remote site is a web server, and the selected content is stored in a content repository connected to the web server.
  • 15. The method of claim 1 wherein the programming code is HTML.
  • 16. The method of claim 1 wherein the programming code is a scripting language.
  • 17. A computer-implemented method of displaying traffic information on a web page, the traffic information including traffic conditions of one or more specified roads, the method comprising: (a) a web browser requesting a web page that includes programming code related to the traffic information;(b) the web browser interpreting the programming code and requesting the traffic conditions from a remote site specified by the programming code; and(c) the web browser assembling the web page using the requested traffic conditions obtained from the remote site, wherein the assembled web page displays traffic conditions of the one or more specified roads.
  • 18. A computer-implemented method of causing the display of traffic information on a web page, the traffic information including traffic conditions of one or more specified roads, the method comprising: (a) selecting via a user interface: (i) one or more roads for which the traffic information is to be displayed,(ii) a visual format in which to present the display of the traffic information; and(b) generating programming code based on the selections that, when executed by a web browser, causes a display on a web page of traffic information for the selected roads in the selected visual format.
  • 22. The method of claim 18 wherein the programming code includes a remote site wherein at least a portion of the traffic information is to be retrieved from.
  • 23. The method of claim 22 wherein the programming code further includes: (i) a uniform resource identifier (URI) of the remote site, and(ii) a unique identifier of the traffic information.
  • 19. The method of claim 18 further comprising: (c) inserting the generated programming code into a web page, wherein when the web page is rendered by a web browser, the programming code is executed by the web browser and causes a display on a web page of traffic information for the selected roads in the selected visual format.
  • 20. The method of claim 19 wherein the web page includes content other than traffic information, the traffic information being displayed on only a portion of the web page.
  • 21. The method of claim 19 wherein a user must be a registered user to gain access to resources for implementing steps (a) and (b), the method further comprising: (d) inputting requested registration information, including website information, wherein steps (a) and (b) are allowed to be performed only upon acceptance of the registration information.
  • 24. The method of claim 18 wherein the traffic information includes real-time traffic conditions of one or more specified roads.
  • 25. The method of claim 18 wherein the traffic conditions is a rating that represents the status along a specified driving route.
  • 26. The method of claim 18 wherein the web page includes content other than traffic information, the traffic information being displayed on only a portion of the web page.
  • 27. The method of claim 18 wherein the displayed traffic information includes: (i) information identifying the one or more specified roads, and(ii) traffic flow data on the specified one or more roads.
  • 28. The method of claim 18 wherein the displayed traffic information further includes information about the metropolitan area where the one or more specified roads are located.
  • 29. The method of claim 18 wherein the displayed traffic information further includes a timestamp of the traffic conditions on one or more specified roads.
  • 30. The method of claim 18 wherein the displayed traffic information further includes information describing characteristics of the identified road.
  • 31. The method of claim 18 wherein the displayed traffic information further includes a roadway name and/or route shield.
  • 32. The method of claim 18 wherein the displayed traffic information further includes the number of incidents on the identified road.
  • 33. The method of claim 18 wherein the displayed traffic information further includes links to a website, a promotion or an advertisement.