US5982298A
Expired / Lapsed
US
⏱️ 0.0 years remaining
Interactive traffic display and trip planner
Assignee: Microsoft Technology Licensing LLC
•
Filing: 1996-11-14
•
Granted: 1999-11-09
•
Expires: 2016-11-14
Abstract
Abstract The invention includes a traffic information system having servers that makes traffic data, images and video clips available to client devices in a common format that is independent of the format used within any particular public highway monitoring system that supplies the raw media elements. The invention further includes a user interface for depiction on a graphical display surface. The user interface has a road map showing a plurality of road segments that a user can interactively select. In addition, the user interface has a road image area that changes as the user selects different road segments to show recent images of a currently selected road segment. The images are obtained from public highway monitoring systems. Both a broad view and a detail view are available. In the broad view, highways are broken into high level segments and corresponding data such as average speed or travel time is shown only for the high level segments. In the detail view, a segment is shown broken into smaller sub-segments, and the user can view data at the level of the sub-segments. In addition to displaying traffic data and images, the user interface allows a user to find a shortest-time route between designated locations.
Inventors
- 👤 Richard W. Lappenbusch
- 👤 Eric T. Bauer
- 👤 Charles H. Shoemaker
Bibliographic Details
Application Number
—
Jurisdiction
US
Data Source
google_patents
Last Synchronized
2026-10-25 05:07
CPC Classifications
G; G08; G08G; G08G1/00; G08G1/09; G08G1/0962; G08G1/0968; G08G1/0969
Claims Analysis
Total Claims: 43
Claim 1
Independent Claim
81 words
A user interface for depiction on a graphical display surface, comprising: an interactive road map displayed on the graphical display surface, the interactive road map showing a plurality of road segments that are interactively selectable by a user on the graphical display surface; a road image area displayed on the graphical display surface alongside the interactive road map, wherein the road image area changes as the user selects different road segments to show recent images of a currently selected road segment.
Claim 2
Dependent Claim
81 words
A user interface for depiction on a graphical display surface, comprising: an interactive road map displayed on the graphical display surface, the interactive road map showing a plurality of road segments that are interactively selectable by a user on the graphical display surface; a road image area displayed on the graphical display surface alongside the interactive road map, wherein the road image area changes as the user selects different road segments to show recent images of a currently selected road segment.
Claim 3
Dependent Claim
28 words
A user interface as recited in claim 1, wherein the recent images shown in the road image area are recent video clips of the currently selected road segment.
Claim 4
Dependent Claim
18 words
A computer and associated display device, the computer being programmed to implement the user interface of claim 1.
Claim 5
Dependent Claim
25 words
A computer-readable medium having computer-executable instructions for implementing the user interface of claim 1 in conjunction with a display device having a graphical display surface.
Claim 6
Dependent Claim
15 words
A user interface as recited in claim 1, wherein the recent images are still images.
Claim 7
Dependent Claim
31 words
A user interface as recited in claim 1, wherein different recent images of a particular road segment are cycled in the road image area when the particular road segment remains selected.
Claim 8
Dependent Claim
36 words
A user interface as recited in claim 1, the user interface being responsive to a command from the user to cycle historical images of the selected road segment in the road image area at defined intervals.
Claim 9
Dependent Claim
46 words
A user interface as recited in claim 1, the user interface accepting a starting location and a destination location from the user and in response indicating a shortest-time route from the starting location to the destination location based on current travel times of the road segments.
Claim 10
Dependent Claim
103 words
A user interface for depiction on a graphical display surface, comprising: a road map showing a plurality of road segments that a user can interactively select; a road image area that changes as the user selects different road segments to show recent images of a currently selected road segment; the user interface being responsive to a command from the user to show a detail map of a particular selected road segment, wherein the detail map includes road sub-segments of the particular road segment that the user can interactively select; wherein the road image area shows recent images of a currently selected road sub-segment.
Claim 11
Dependent Claim
103 words
A user interface for depiction on a graphical display surface, comprising: a road map showing a plurality of road segments that a user can interactively select; a road image area that changes as the user selects different road segments to show recent images of a currently selected road segment; the user interface being responsive to a command from the user to show a detail map of a particular selected road segment, wherein the detail map includes road sub-segments of the particular road segment that the user can interactively select; wherein the road image area shows recent images of a currently selected road sub-segment.
Claim 12
Dependent Claim
39 words
A user interface as recited in claim 1, further comprising a traffic description relevant to a particular road segment, the traffic description being depicted on the graphical display surface when said particular road segment is selected by the user.
Claim 13
Dependent Claim
22 words
A user interface as recited in claim 10, wherein the traffic description includes the current average speed for the particular road segment.
Claim 14
Dependent Claim
22 words
A user interface as recited in claim 10, wherein the traffic description includes the current travel time for the particular road segment.
Claim 15
Dependent Claim
38 words
A user interface as recited in claim 10, wherein the traffic description can be designated by the user to include at least one of the current travel time and the current average speed for the particular road segment.
Claim 16
Dependent Claim
97 words
A computer-readable medium having computer-executable instructions for performing steps comprising: obtaining current traffic data for a plurality of road segments; displaying an interactive road map to a user on a graphical display surface, the interactive road map showing the plurality of road segments that are interactively selectable by a user on the graphical display surface; allowing a user to individually select road segments on the interactive road map by interactively selecting road segments on the graphical display surface; displaying recent images of the currently selected road segment alongside the interactive road map on the graphical display surface.
Claim 17
Dependent Claim
97 words
A computer-readable medium having computer-executable instructions for performing steps comprising: obtaining current traffic data for a plurality of road segments; displaying an interactive road map to a user on a graphical display surface, the interactive road map showing the plurality of road segments that are interactively selectable by a user on the graphical display surface; allowing a user to individually select road segments on the interactive road map by interactively selecting road segments on the graphical display surface; displaying recent images of the currently selected road segment alongside the interactive road map on the graphical display surface.
Claim 18
Dependent Claim
22 words
A computer-readable medium as recited in claim 14 wherein the recent images are recent video clips of the currently selected road segment.
Claim 19
Dependent Claim
52 words
A computer-readable medium as recited in claim 14 wherein the recent images are recent video clips of the currently selected road segment, the computer-readable medium having further instructions for performing an additional step of cycling historical video clips of the selected road segment at defined intervals in response to a user's request.
Claim 20
Dependent Claim
33 words
A computer-readable medium as recited in claim 14 having further instructions for performing an additional step of cycling different recent images of a particular road segment when the particular road segment remains selected.
Claim 21
Dependent Claim
34 words
A computer-readable medium as recited in claim 14 having further instructions for performing an additional step of cycling historical images of the selected road segment at defined intervals in response to a user's request.
Claim 22
Dependent Claim
155 words
A computer-readable medium having computer-executable instructions for performing steps comprising: obtaining current traffic data for a plurality of road segments; displaying a road map to a users, the road map showing the plurality of road segments; allowing a user to individually select road segments on the road map; displaying recent images of the currently selected road segment alongside the road map; showing a detail map of a particular selected road segment in response to a command from the user, wherein the detail map includes road sub-segments of the particular road segment; allowing a user to select a starting road sub-segment on the detail map; allowing a user to select a destination road sub-segment on the detail map; deriving current travel times of the road segments based on the current travel speeds; indicating a shortest-time route from the starting road sub-segment to the destination road sub-segment based on the current travel times of the road segments.
Claim 23
Dependent Claim
155 words
A computer-readable medium having computer-executable instructions for performing steps comprising: obtaining current traffic data for a plurality of road segments; displaying a road map to a users, the road map showing the plurality of road segments; allowing a user to individually select road segments on the road map; displaying recent images of the currently selected road segment alongside the road map; showing a detail map of a particular selected road segment in response to a command from the user, wherein the detail map includes road sub-segments of the particular road segment; allowing a user to select a starting road sub-segment on the detail map; allowing a user to select a destination road sub-segment on the detail map; deriving current travel times of the road segments based on the current travel speeds; indicating a shortest-time route from the starting road sub-segment to the destination road sub-segment based on the current travel times of the road segments.
Claim 24
Dependent Claim
116 words
A computer-readable medium having computer-executable instructions for performing steps comprising: obtaining current traffic data for a plurality of road segments; displaying a road map to a user, the road map showing the plurality of road segments; allowing a user to individually select road segments on the road map; displaying recent images of the currently selected road segment alongside the road map; showing a detail map of a particular selected road segment in response to a command from the user, wherein the detail map includes road sub-segments of the particular road segment; allowing a user to individually select road sub-segments on the detail map; displaying recent images of the currently selected road sub-segment alongside the detail map.
Claim 25
Dependent Claim
116 words
A computer-readable medium having computer-executable instructions for performing steps comprising: obtaining current traffic data for a plurality of road segments; displaying a road map to a user, the road map showing the plurality of road segments; allowing a user to individually select road segments on the road map; displaying recent images of the currently selected road segment alongside the road map; showing a detail map of a particular selected road segment in response to a command from the user, wherein the detail map includes road sub-segments of the particular road segment; allowing a user to individually select road sub-segments on the detail map; displaying recent images of the currently selected road sub-segment alongside the detail map.
Claim 26
Dependent Claim
37 words
A computer-readable medium as recited in claim 14 having further instructions for performing an additional step of displaying a traffic description relevant to a particular road segment when said particular road segment is selected by the user.
Claim 27
Dependent Claim
39 words
A computer-readable medium as recited in claim 21 having further instructions for performing an additional step of deriving the current average speed for the particular road segment from the traffic data, the traffic description indicating said current average speed.
Claim 28
Dependent Claim
39 words
A computer-readable medium as recited in claim 21 having further instructions for performing an additional step of deriving the current travel time for the particular road segment from the traffic data, the traffic description indicating said current travel time.
Claim 29
Independent Claim
148 words
A method of presenting traffic information comprising the following steps: obtaining current traffic data for a plurality of road sub-segments, the traffic data including travel speeds for the road sub-segments; displaying an interactive road map to a user on a graphical display surface, the road map showing a plurality of road segments, each road segment comprising a plurality of the road sub-segments that are interactively selectable by is a user on the graphical display surface; allowing a user to individually select road segments on the interactive road map by interactively selecting road segments on the graphical display surface; deriving a travel time for a selected road segment from the travel speeds of the road segment's sub-segments; displaying the travel time for the selected road segment; obtaining a recent image of the selected road segment; displaying the recent image alongside the interactive road map on the graphical display surface.
Claim 30
Independent Claim
148 words
A method of presenting traffic information comprising the following steps: obtaining current traffic data for a plurality of road sub-segments, the traffic data including travel speeds for the road sub-segments; displaying an interactive road map to a user on a graphical display surface, the road map showing a plurality of road segments, each road segment comprising a plurality of the road sub-segments that are interactively selectable by is a user on the graphical display surface; allowing a user to individually select road segments on the interactive road map by interactively selecting road segments on the graphical display surface; deriving a travel time for a selected road segment from the travel speeds of the road segment's sub-segments; displaying the travel time for the selected road segment; obtaining a recent image of the selected road segment; displaying the recent image alongside the interactive road map on the graphical display surface.
Claim 31
Dependent Claim
13 words
A computer-readable medium having computer-executable instructions for performing the steps of claim 24.
Claim 32
Dependent Claim
13 words
A programmable device that is programmed for performing the steps of claim 25.
Claim 33
Dependent Claim
28 words
A method as recited in claim 24, comprising an additional step of cycling different recent images of the selected road segment when the selected road segment remains selected.
Claim 34
Dependent Claim
23 words
A method as recited in claim 24, comprising an additional step of cycling historical images of the selected road segment at defined intervals.
Claim 35
Independent Claim
165 words
A method of presenting traffic information comprising the following steps: obtaining current traffic data for a plurality of road sub-segments, the traffic data including travel speeds for the road sub-segments; displaying a road map to a user, the road map showing a plurality of road segments, each road segment comprising a plurality of the road sub-segments; allowing a user to individually select road segments on the road map; deriving a travel time for a selected road segment from the travel speeds of the road segment's sub-segments; displaying the travel time for the selected road segment; obtaining a recent image of the selected road segment; displaying the recent image alongside the road map; showing a detail map of a particular selected road segment in response to a command from the user, wherein the detail map includes the selected road segment's sub-segments; allowing a user to individually select road sub-segments on the detail map; displaying recent images of the currently selected road sub-segments alongside the detail map.
Claim 36
Independent Claim
165 words
A method of presenting traffic information comprising the following steps: obtaining current traffic data for a plurality of road sub-segments, the traffic data including travel speeds for the road sub-segments; displaying a road map to a user, the road map showing a plurality of road segments, each road segment comprising a plurality of the road sub-segments; allowing a user to individually select road segments on the road map; deriving a travel time for a selected road segment from the travel speeds of the road segment's sub-segments; displaying the travel time for the selected road segment; obtaining a recent image of the selected road segment; displaying the recent image alongside the road map; showing a detail map of a particular selected road segment in response to a command from the user, wherein the detail map includes the selected road segment's sub-segments; allowing a user to individually select road sub-segments on the detail map; displaying recent images of the currently selected road sub-segments alongside the detail map.
Claim 37
Independent Claim
204 words
A method of presenting traffic information comprising the following steps: obtaining current traffic data for a plurality of road sub-segments, the traffic data including travel speeds for the road sub-segments; displaying a road map to a user, the road map showing a plurality of road segments, each road segment comprising a plurality of the road sub-segments; allowing a user to individually select road segments on the road map; deriving a travel time for a selected road segment from the travel speeds of the road segment's sub-segments; displaying the travel time for the selected road segment; obtaining a recent image of the selected road segment; displaying the recent image alongside the road map; showing a detail map of a particular selected road segment in response to a command from the user, wherein the detail map includes the selected road segment's sub-segments; allowing a user to select a starting road sub-segment on the detail map; allowing a user to select a destination road sub-segment on the detail map; deriving current travel times of the road segments based on the current travel speeds; indicating a shortest-time route from the starting road sub-segment to the destination road sub-segment based on the current travel times of the road segments.
Claim 38
Independent Claim
204 words
A method of presenting traffic information comprising the following steps: obtaining current traffic data for a plurality of road sub-segments, the traffic data including travel speeds for the road sub-segments; displaying a road map to a user, the road map showing a plurality of road segments, each road segment comprising a plurality of the road sub-segments; allowing a user to individually select road segments on the road map; deriving a travel time for a selected road segment from the travel speeds of the road segment's sub-segments; displaying the travel time for the selected road segment; obtaining a recent image of the selected road segment; displaying the recent image alongside the road map; showing a detail map of a particular selected road segment in response to a command from the user, wherein the detail map includes the selected road segment's sub-segments; allowing a user to select a starting road sub-segment on the detail map; allowing a user to select a destination road sub-segment on the detail map; deriving current travel times of the road segments based on the current travel speeds; indicating a shortest-time route from the starting road sub-segment to the destination road sub-segment based on the current travel times of the road segments.
Claim 39
Dependent Claim
45 words
A method as recited in claim 24, comprising an additional step of displaying a traffic description relevant to a particular road segment when said particular road segment is selected by the user, the traffic description including the current travel time for the particular road segment.
Claim 40
Dependent Claim
150 words
A traffic information system comprising: a plurality of sensors indicating speeds on sub-segments of public roads; a plurality of cameras focused on said road sub-segments; a server computer connected and programmed to gather data from the sensors and images from the cameras; a plurality of client devices configured to receive sensor data and camera images from the server computer; a display device associated with each client device; each client device being programmed to display an interactive road map to a user on the display device, the interactive road map showing a plurality of road segments, each road segment comprising a plurality of road sub-segments that are interactively selectable by a user on the display device; the client device being further programmed to display recent images of the road segments from the cameras alongside the interactive road map on the display device in response to a user selecting such road segments.
Claim 41
Dependent Claim
150 words
A traffic information system comprising: a plurality of sensors indicating speeds on sub-segments of public roads; a plurality of cameras focused on said road sub-segments; a server computer connected and programmed to gather data from the sensors and images from the cameras; a plurality of client devices configured to receive sensor data and camera images from the server computer; a display device associated with each client device; each client device being programmed to display an interactive road map to a user on the display device, the interactive road map showing a plurality of road segments, each road segment comprising a plurality of road sub-segments that are interactively selectable by a user on the display device; the client device being further programmed to display recent images of the road segments from the cameras alongside the interactive road map on the display device in response to a user selecting such road segments.
Claim 42
Dependent Claim
39 words
A traffic information system as recited in claim 32, wherein the cameras provide video images of said road sub-segments, the server computer being configured to acquire still images at periodic intervals to provide to the client devices on demand.
Claim 43
Dependent Claim
39 words
A traffic information system as recited in claim 32, wherein the cameras provide video images of said road sub-segments, the server computer being configured to acquire video clips at periodic intervals to provide to the client devices on demand.
References Cited (Backward Citations)
US4812843A
Cited
US4792803A
Cited
US5317311A
Cited
US5173691A
Cited
US5523950A
Cited
US5257023A
Cited
US5635953A
Cited
US5396429A
Cited
US5654886A
Cited
US5732383A
Cited
USPTO Annuity & Maintenance Windows
| Annuity Stage | Window Opens | Payment Deadline | Surcharge Period Until | Estimated Fee | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 3.5 Years (Year 4) | 2002-11-08 | 2003-05-10 | 2003-11-09 | $2000.00 | Window Closed / Lapsed |
| 7.5 Years (Year 8) | 2006-11-08 | 2007-05-10 | 2007-11-09 | $3760.00 | Window Closed / Lapsed |
| 11.5 Years (Year 12) | 2010-11-08 | 2011-05-10 | 2011-11-09 | $7700.00 | Window Closed / Lapsed |