Google Inc. v. Traffic Information LLC

Filing 52

Brief Plaintiff's Opening Claim Construction Brief. Filed by Google Inc.. (Attachments: # 1 Exhibit A, # 2 Exhibit B, # 3 Exhibit C, # 4 Exhibit D, # 5 Exhibit E part1, # 6 Exhibit E part 2, # 7 Exhibit E part 3, # 8 Exhibit E part 4, # 9 Exhibit E part 5, # 10 Exhibit F part 1, # 11 Exhibit F part 2, # 12 Exhibit G, # 13 Exhibit H) (Markley, Julia)

Google Inc. v. Traffic Information LLC

Doc. 52 Att. 6

I hereby claim the benefit under Title 35, United States Code, 5120, of any United States application(s) listed below and, i.nsofar as the subje.ct matLer of each of the cl-aj-ms of this application is not disclosed in the prior United States application in the manner provided by the first paragraph of Title 35, United States Code, 5112, I acknowledge the duty Lo disclose materi"al information as defined in Title 37, Code of Federal Regulations, 51.56 which occurred betsween the filing date of the prior application and the national or PCT internati-onaL filing date of this application:

(Applicat.ion Ser.

No.

)

(Filing Date)

(Status)

(patented, pending,
abandoned)

(Application Ser. No.)

(Filing Date)

(Status) (patented, pending,
abandoned)

I hereby appoint Jacob E. Vilhauer, Jr., Reg. No. 24,885, Charles D. McClung, Reg. No. 26,568, Dennis E. Stenzel, Reg. No. 28,763, Donald B. Haslett, Reg. No. 28,855, William O. Geny, Reg. No. 27,444, ,J. Peter Staples, Reg. No- 30,690, Nancy ,J. Moriarty, Reg. No. 40,733, Kevj-n L. Russell, Reg. No. 38,292, Bruce W. DeKock, Reg. No. 40,585, and Timothy A. Long, Reg. No. 28,876, all of the firm of CHERNOFF, VILHAUER, McCLUNG & STENZEL, L-L.P., 1500 ODS Tower, 501- S.W. Second Avqnue, Portland, oregon 97204, telephone No. (503) 227-553L, my attorneys, jointly and individually, to prosecute this application and Lo trransact all business in the Patent and Trademaik Office connected therewith. I hereby declare that all statements made herein of my own knowledge are true and that all sLatements made on information and belief are beliewed to be true; and further that L.}.ese false statement.s were made with the knowledge that willful statements and t.he like so made are punishable by fine or imprisonment, or both, under Section 1001 of Title 18 of the false statementss may United States Code and that such willful jeopardize the validity of t,he application or any patent/-

issued thereon. t- ,^ ,-l Dared. z /t7/OO Fu11 name of 1"' ioint inventor

/-

.r7
Bruce W. DeKock Portland, Oregon

/

Residence Citizenship Post Office Address
Dared

U. S.A.

Residence Citizenship Post Office Address

ru1l nffi

, 1/, >/ou

8850 S.W. 7l-"t Place Por[7/and, Oregon 9J223

inventor

U. S.A. 29Lo SW

PorLland, Oregon PorLland, Oregon

Russe

Collins

CourL
9721-9

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Page 71 of 311

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Dated:

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Richard J. Qian
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J.rc;-

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Camas, Washington

2844 N.W. 44'" Ave. Camas, Washington 98507

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Express Mait Lsbet No. lelezztszso0us
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patqt apilication corfg

ADDRESS

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Box PatentApplication lAbshington, D.C. 20231

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Microfiche Compuler Program (Appendix)

6. Nucleotide and/orAmino Acid Sequence Submission (if applicable, all necessary)

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I hereby certify that the utility patent application attached hereto entitled SYSTEM FOR PROVIDING TRAFFIC INFORMATION t.oE.aling 51 pages, together with fifceen (15) sheets of informal drawings, a Declaration and Power of Attorney, Status of Status of Small Ent,ity, a utiliEy pat,ent, application transmit.tal form, a fee transmittal form (in duplicate), a check for $50?, IDS, L449 .. form w/references attached, this Certificate of Mailing by ' Express Mai1, and a return, acknowledgment postcard is being deposited with the Unit,ed States Postal Service "Express MaiI to Ad.d.ressee" service on the date indicated above and is addressed to Assistant Commissionei for Patents, Box Patent Application, Washington, DC 2O2gL.

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SYSTEM FOR PROVIDING TRAFFTC TNFORIVIATTON

The priority date'of Prowj.sional Application serial No. 6A/L30,399 filed April 19, !gg9, serial No. 6A/166,A68 filed November 22, Lg9g, and Serial No. 60/t89,9L3' filed March 16, 2OAO are c1aimed.
BACKGROUND OF
1-0

THE INVENTION

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The present invention rel-at.es to a syst.em for prowiding Eraffic inforrhation, and more particularly a system for prowiding tsraffic information Lo a plurality of mobile users connect.ed to a network. Commuters have a need for information relating to the congestion and traffic which they may encourrEer on a cormute over a road, a highway, or a freeway. Unfortunately, the prior art methods of prowiding traffic information to commuters do not, aIlow commuters to

20

25

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evaluate the extent to which there is congestion on a highway on which the commuter may wish Lo travel. One known method of providing traffic information consists of radio reports. A radio stration may broadcast traffic reports, such as from a helicopter that moniLors traffic conditions over portions of a freeway. Unfortunately, these reports are usually intermittent in nature. Accordingly, to hear the report, the commuEer musts be listening to the radio station at the time Ehe report is being broadcast on the radio. FurEher, the extent of Ehe information prowided is severely limited to broad generalizations. For example, the information provided during the broadcasE may be limited to the area being currently wiewed by t.he reporter, or Lhe information may be based on a previous view at a prior time of another port.ion of the freeway. Some broadcasts may j-nclude mulEiple observers of differenE portions of the freeway, yet. these sysEems also provide incomplete informati-on relating to overall traffic patterns. fn addition, the information provided is wague, subjectsive,
Exhibit E Page g1 of 311
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and usually limited to broad generalities

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flow. Another known Eraffic information system is prowided by telewision broadcasts. In these systems, Eelewision stations may mount wideo cameras pointed at certain portions of a freqway, or may broadcast wideo J-mages from a helicopter. The television station may periodically broadcast traffic reports and include in the traffic report a view of differenE portions of the freeway from the vi-deo cameras. Again, this system prowides little useful informaLion to a commuter. The commuter must. be watching the broadcast at the Eime the information is being transmitted. Howewer, by the Eime the commuter actually gets into his vehicle and enters a potentially eongested area, the traffic may have changed. Further, the informatj-on provided is limited to those areas where the traffic is being monitored and may consist of st.ale informaL.ion. OfEen Ehe 'video image is limited to a small portion of the road, and shows traffic flowing in a single direction. Yet anot,her met,hod to prowide traffic information is to provide a website Ehat is accessible using the InterneE EhaE contains traffic information. Wbile these tlpes of sysLems have the advantage of prowiding more up to date j,nformation, these systems t14gica1ly provide a map for a large area. TLrus, for a person commuting in a car, the system displays traffic information for many areas not of interest to the commuter. In addition, ttrese tlpes of systems reguire manipulation by the commuter to find the relewant traffic information. For example, while the map may allow trtre commuter to zoom in on a particular area, the user must prowide inputs Eo the system to instruct the sysEem to zoom in on a particular area. However, a commuter wtro is actiwely drivi-ng cannot operate a computer and driwe at the same tj-me. In addition, these systems may rely on manual entry of datsa received from subjectiwe traffic
Exhibit E Page 92 of 311
92

traffic

relating to

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10

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reports and/or Eraffic sensors. Thus this met.hod may additionally suffer from added cosb due tro manual 1abor, incorrect entry of data, and slow response to quickly changing traf f j-c conditions. Fan eU al-., U.S. Patent No. 5,959,577, disclose a system for processing position and travel related information through a data processing station on a data network. In particular, Fan et al. teach tstre use of a GPS receiwer to obtain a measured position fix of a mobile unj-t. The measured position f ix is report,ed to the dat,a processing station which associates the reported position wit,h a map of the area. T1pica11y, the measured position of the mobile unit is marked and identified by a marker on the map. The area map is then strored in the data processing station and made available for access by authorized monitor unit,s or mobile uniLs. An authorized monitor unit may reguest a specific area map. This permits shipping companies to monitor the location of their fleet and permits the mobile units to identify their current location in relation to a map, which Ls particularly suited for the application of nawigati-on to a particular destination. In add.it.ion, Fan eE al . Leach that the measured position data Eransmitted from the mobile units may be used to calculatse the speeds at which the wehicles travel. The collectsj-ve speed data from the mobile units is then available for use by the monitor units, such as Ehose at tshe shipping company, to rouLe the vehicles away from traffic congestions and diwersions. In this manner, the dispatcher at the shipping company, to whieh Fan et al. teaches the data is available to, may use the collectiwe speed data to decide which wehicles tro contacts in order to reroute t,hem. West,erlage et dl ., U.S. Patent Nos. 5,A9'7'377 and 5 ,g8'7,377, disclose a syetem for determining an expectsed time of arrival of a wehicle equipped with a mobile unit

Exhibit E Page 93 of 31 1
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Zijderhand, U.S. Patent No. 5,4O2,I1-7, discloses a method of collectj_ng traffic information to determine an origin-destination matrice without inf ringing upon t.he priwacy of Lhe users. Mandhyan et a1., U.S. patent No. 5,539,645, is rel-ated to monitoring movement of traffic along predetermined routes, where individual moving elements can move with a high degree of discretion as to speed except when congestion, accident or the like limit speeds. Mandhyan et al. uses the deptolrment of calibrant wehicles for collecti-ng and reporting information which describes vehj-cle speeds acEually being experienced along the rout,es of inEerest, where t.he data are processed statistically as a function of the time of day. The outrput prowides baseline daLa against which obserwations at a particular time, category, weather, event, and locaLion can be compared., to identify t.he existence of abnormal conditions, and to quantify the abnormality. To determine abnormal conditions, Mandhyan et a1- teactr the use of probe wetricles. In particular, Mandhyan et aI. is applicable to monitoring the flow of motsor wehicles along roads which are subject to delays of sufficient frequency and severity that correction action or dissemination of informaE.ion announcing a delay are economically desirable. Unfortunately, Lhe use of probe wehicles may be expensiwe and Lhe relevancy of the data is limiEed to the availability of the probe wehicles. Lappenbusch et 01., U.S. Patentr No. 5,982,298, disclose a traffic information system having servers that makes t.raffic data, images, and wideo clips available to a user intrerface on client devices. Lappenbusch et aI. enwision thatr the client devices are personal or deektsop computers, network computers, set-top boxes, or intelligent E,elevisions. The user interface includes a road map showing a plurality of road segments that a user can interactively select. Vehicular speed information is prowided to the system from traffic sensors moniEoring
Exhibit E Page 94 of 31 1
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the traffic. rn ad.dition, the user interface has a road image area that ehanges as trhe user selects different road segments to show recent images of a currently selected road segment. unfortunaE.ely, the system taught by Lappenbusch et al. is eomplicaEed to operate and reguires significant user interaction to prowide relevant data, which is suit,able for such "stationary,' traditional
computing dewices.
10

15

20

25

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35

Smith, .fr. et dI ., U.S. Patent No. 5,774,927, disclose a system to allerriate trhe need for sophisticated route guidance systems, where the commuter has a positioning system as well as a map database in a car. A central facility receiwes and stores current traffic information for preselected commuter rouE,es from warious current traffic information sources, such as 1oca1 police authorities, toll-way authorities, spottetrs, oE sensors deployed on the road ways to detect traffic f1ow. To achiewe trhe el-imination of sophisticated route juidance systems a portable dewiee receiwes a t,raweL time only for preselected commuter rout.es from the central facilitry. In this manner, Smit.h, Jr. eE a1 . teach that each user receives only the traffic information that is relewanE to the userls preselected commuter routes. If desired, the preselected commuter rouLes may be presented as a set of route segments, where each of the segments is coded to indicate commute time. In response, the user may choose an alternat,iwe rouue known by him that is different from any preselected commut.er routes. Smit,h, Jr. et aI . further suggest that. a GPS enabled portable unitr for transmitting a present position of the portable dewice to the central facility such Ehat the central facility uses each present position to calculate at least a porti-on of the current trawel information. By matching multiple positions of the portable device with known positions on the presel-ected route and measuring the time between Lwo consecutiwe matched positions trhe central facility can obtain up-tso-the minute traffic information Eo be used in
Exhibit E Page 95 of 31 1

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broadcastsing future travel times to oLher users of preselect,ed commuter routes. Unfortunately, the system

10

taught by Smith, Jr. et al. requires ttre user to define a set of preselected commuter rouEes for each route to be traveled, wtrich may be difficult if the user is unfamil-iar with ttre area. In addition, Smith, ,Jr. et aI . treach that trhe user should select alE.ernative routes that are known to the user, presumably if the commute time of the preselecEed commuter routes are too long, which is difficult if the user is not already familiar with the
area.

15

Pietzsch et a'1., U.S. Patent No- 5,673,O39, disclose a system for dynamic monitoring of the total traffic in a stsretch of road equipped with monitoring and information-prowision system, as wel-} as warnings to drivers, and hence the possibilitsy of regulating ttre traffic. The system does notr require that the vehicles be equipped with appropriate sensors and transmitting
eguipment..

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35

Akutsu et al ., U.S. Patent No. 5,987,3'74, diselose a wetricle traweling guidance system that includes data prowiding dewices laid on a road and a wehicle. The wehicle includes a data transmitter for sending a data providing dewice trawefing data of the vehicle when the vehicle passes over the vicinity of the data providing device and a daE,a receiver for receiwing datsa sent from the data prowiding dewice. The traweling data may include wehicle pass time or wehicle pass time and speed. The data providing devices laid on Etre road include a receiwer for receiving the Eraweling data from the vehicle and a transmitter for sending other passing wehicles the traveling data. A conE,rol center communicating through the data prowiding dewices laid on the road can use the received traffic data from the vehicles to predict Ehe occurrence of tsraffic congestion based on the pass time and speed of a wehicle. It is assumed that at a certai-n point, wehicles were traweling

7

Exhibit E Page 96 of 31 1
96

e
7

10

15

2A

smoothly at a certain time and t,he speed of each vehicre has decreased drastsically at the next time. rn this case it is expect,ed that. traffic congestion will occur i-n the wicinity of that point. Therefore, smooth trawel can be acLriewed by, for example, communicating to eactr rrehicre dat.a etc - indicating bypasses in order not to worsen traffic congestion. Th.erefore, a wehicle operacor can gain knowledge of Ehe traveling state of a wehicle which has already passed over Ehat. point and adjust travel considering Lraffic flow. While all of E,he above systems provide some degree of traffic information for a commutrer, nevert,heless the above systems do not prowide an efficient method of collecting and presenting objectiwe traffic information to a commuter. What is desired., therefore, is a system for providing tsraffii information which allows a commuter to obtain information at. any time desj-red by the commuter, thaE, prowides information relat.ing to a plurality of points along a road, that provides information relating E.o different traffic Iewels, Ehat provides information that is particularly relewant to the commuter, and that provides the information in an easily understood format that may be easily utilized by a commuter while driwing.
BRTEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

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30

The present invention overcqmes the limitations of t,he prior art by providing a system for prowiding traffic information to a pluraliEy of users connected to a network. In a first, aspect ttre present inwentrion prowides a syst,em comprised of a plurality of traffic monitors, each comprising at, least a traffic detsector and

35

a transmitter, the traffic detector generatingt a signal in response to wehicular tsraffic and the transmiEter transmitEing the signal. The system also includes a receiver that receives the signals from the traffic monitors. A comput,er system is conneeted to Lhe receiwer
Exhibit E Page 97 of 311
97

.w

L0

L5

20

z5

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35

I and is also connected t.o the network. The computser system, in response to a request signal received from one of the users, t,ransmits in response thereto information represenEaE,j-we of the signals transmitted by the traffic monitors , ;., fn a second,separate aspect of the inwent,ion, a system prowides traffie inforrnation to a plurality of users connected to a network. Traffic is detectred at each of a plurality of locations along a road and a signal is generaE,ed at each of the locations representatiwe of the traffic at each of the locations. Each of the signals is transmitted from each of the pluralj-ty of locations to a receiwer. These signals are sent from the receiwer to a computer system; The computer systsem receives a request from one of the users for traffic information. In response Eo the request, the computer sysEem t.ransmits information representatiwe of the trraffic at. each of the plurality of locations to the user. In a third separate aspect of the invenLion, a system prowides traffic information to a plurality of users connected to a network. The system comprises a plurality of mobile user stations, each mobile user station being assocj-ated wiLh Uhe display, a global positioning system receiver and a eommunicating dewice to allow each of the mobile user staLions to send and receiwe signals. A computer sysEem is interconnected with another communicating dewice j-n the network. The computer system is capable of sending and receiving signals tro the mobile user stations using the other communicating device in Ehe network. The computer system maintains a map datrabase and a traffic informatsion datsabase. The traffi-c informatsion datrabase contains information representative of traffic data at a pluraliLy of locations. AE. least one of the mobile user stations pfovides a request to the computer system for information Eogether with the respectiwe geographic location of Ehe
Exhibit E Page 98 of 31 1

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98

9

mobiLe user station. In response to t,he request, Ehe computrer system provides to the mobile user stsatrion

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information represent.atiwe of selected portions of the map dat,abase and selected portions of the traffic informati'on database based on the respecti-ve geographic location of the request.ing mobile user station. The mobile user station then displays graphically on the display information representative of selected portions of the map database and selected portions of the traffic information database. The traffic information database may be deriwed from information obt,ained from stationary traffic monitors, mobile user sLations, or a combinat.ion thereofThe mobile. user station allows traffic information to be displayed in a wariety of mannersr. The display can also show graphically the locatsion of tshe car on ttre displayThe user may select among different modes for displaying traffic information on the display. The warious aspects of the present invention have one or more of the following advantages. The presenE invent.ion al1ows a commuter to obtrain traffic information aE any time, without waiting for a reporE, to be broadcast. The present inwention aLso a1lows detailed information relating to trraffic condit,ions based on measurements of the traffic, such as the average wehicul-ar speed or traffic densitry, to be supplied for a plurality of locations along a road. The inwentj-on also allows ttre convenient display of informatrion in a readily understood form to the user, such as a graphical display. The foregoing and other features and adwanEages of the inwention will be more readily understood upon consideration of the following det,ailed description of the inwent.ion, traken in conjunct.ion with ttre accompanying
drawings
i

35

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Exhibit E Page 99 of 311
99

1_O

5 .
1-

RIEF DESCRIPTTON"OF THE SEVSRAL VIEWS OF THE DRAWTNGS FIG. l- sfrows a schematic of an exemplary embodiment of a system for prowiding traffic information. FIG. 2 shows a front elevational wi_ew of an exemplary traffic monitor. FfG. 3 shows an exemplary displalr for a user

station. 0 FIG. 4 shows a schematic wiew of an exemplary embodiment of a mobile user unit of the present inrrention. FIe. 5 is a partial electrical schematic for a traffic monitor of FIG. 2. FIG. 6 is an alternative exemplary display. FIG. 7 shows a schematic wiew of another exemplary embodiment of a series of traffic monit.ors along a road. FIG. I shows another exgmplary display for a uaer station, FIG. 9 is a flow chart for a method of processing wideo data to yield traffic information. FIG. 10 is a flow chart for an alternatiwe method of processing wideo data t.o yield traffic information. FIG. 1l- is a schematic representation of a road system hawing E.raffic sensors and vehicles at different locations along the road. FIG. 12 is a combined map and traffic information database representative of the road system depicted in FfG. 1l-. FIG. l-3 is an exemplary embodiment of a cent,ered display. FIG. L4 is an exemplary embodimenE of an offset display. FIG. 15 is an exemplary embodiment of a look ahead display.

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Exhibit E Pase 1oo of 311
100

11

FIG- L5 is a schemaE,ic diagram of a mobile user station having alternative mechanisms for inputting commands to the user station.
DETAILED DBSCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

Referring now to the figures, wherein like
numerals refer to like elements, FrG. 1 shows a schematic diagram of the syst.em 10 for providing traffic information to. a pluralitry of user staEions 52 connected to a network 5O. A plurality of t.raffic monitors 20 are arranged at spaced apart locations along a road 12. The traffj-c monitors 2O measure t,raffic information by detecting tshe speed (welocity) or frequency of vehicles trarreLing along the road (freeway or highway) 12. For example, in one embodiment, tl.e traffic monitors 20 may detect the speed of individual wehicles L4 traveling along the road 12. Alternatiwely, the traffic monitors 20 may measure t.he frequency with whj-ch the individuaL vehicles 14 pass specified points along the road 12. FIG. 2 sh.ows a front elewational wiew of an exemplary embodiment, of a traffic monitor 2O. The traffic monit6r 20 has a decector 22 for measuring or

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20

otherwise sensing traffic.
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FIG. 2 shows Ewo differenL embodiments 22A and 22B of a detector 22. The det.ector 22 may be any tlpe of measuring dewice which is capable of measuring or oEherwise sensing traffic and generating a'signal representat.ive of or capable of being used Lo detrermine the traffic conditions. For example, the detector 22 could measure the average speed of the wehicles (cars or trucks) t4 at locations along the road L2, or it could measure the indiwidual speed (velocities) of each vehicle 14. The detectror 22 may detect vehicle freguency, that is, the frequency at which vetricles pass a certain point, or may measure traffic flow, consisLing of the number of wehicles passing a cerEain point for a uniL of time (e.g., vehicles per second) . The detector 22 may use any suitable technigue to measure traffic

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Exhibit E Page 101 of311
' 101
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35

conditions (data) , For example, in one embodiment, the detector 22A could employ radio waves, light waves (optical or infrared), microwawes, sound waves, analog signals, digital signals, doppler shifts, or any other tlrpe of system Eo measure traffic conditions (datsa). In one embodiment, the detector 22A uses a transmit.t.ed beam to measure the velocity of Lhe vehicles 14 passing along the road 12, such as with a commercial radar gun or speed detector commonly used by police. Alternatively, the det.ector 22A may det,ect when cars hawi-ng magnetic tags or markers pass. The d.etector 22A may either detect signals reflected from the vehi-cle or signals transmitted by the vehicles. The traf f ic moni tror 2O is sflown with an alternative embodiment 22B consisting of one or more pressure sensitiwe detectors which extends across the road. 12. Preferably two spaced aparts detectors are positioned at a predet,ermined. spacing to make the welocity determination readily awailable. Ttre pressure sensitiwe detector 228 detects when a wehicle passes over the detector 22E}. Such a pressure sensitiwe detector may be used alone or in combination with detector 22A to measure tlre frequency or speed (welocity) of the traffic passing along the road l-2. Likewise, the detector 22A may be used alone or in combination with the detecLor 228 to measure the frequency or speed (wel-ocit,y) of the traffic passing along the road 12. Alternatiwely, det.ect,or 22Et could be a wi-re loop buried in Ehe road tro measure changing magnetic fields as wehicles pass over the loop. The detector 22 may measure traffic conditrions in a single lane of a freeway or road, or may measure average traffic informat.ion across several 1anes. The detector 22 could also be embedded in each lane of a road or freeway, such as with a pressure sensitive detectror 22u.. Alternatively, individual detectors could be embedded in a roadway which would sense signals or
Exhibit E Page 102of311 102

ls

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conditions generatred by passing wel- icles. For example, eacLr wehicl-e could include a magnet or could include a signaling device which would be detected by the detector, which could be an electromagnetic sensor or a signal receiwer. Referring to FIG. 5, the traffj-c monitors 20 may also include a processor and a memory for collecting, processing, and storing Eraffic information provided by Lhe detector 22. The traffic moniEor 20 preferably further includes a transmitter 25 for transmitting the traffic information collected by the detector 22. The transmitter 26 may be any type of dewice capable of transmittsing or other-wise prowiding daLa in either digital or analog form, either through tshe ai'r or Lhrough a conductor- For example, the transmitter could be a digital or analog cellular Lransmitter, a radio transmit.t,er, a microwave transmitter, or a trransmitter connected to a wire, such as a coaxial cable or a teleptrone 1ine. Ttre transmiti-er 26 is shown as transmitting the signals t,hrough the air to a receiwer 30. Alternatiwely, ttre transmitter 26 could transmit the datsa to an intermediate receiver before being transmitted to ttre receiwer 30. For example, several Eraffic monitors 20 could transmit traffie informatsion in a daisy chain manner from one end of a road 12 to the last traffic monitor 20 at the other end of the road before being transmitted to receiwer 30. To facilitate t'his t.)rpe of transmission most traffic monitors 20 would require a receiwer. Altsernatiwely, one or more traffic monitors 20 could transmit data to ottrer traffi-c monitors 20, which in tsurn tsransmit the data to the receiwer 30. In order to conserve power, the transmitter 25 and ttre detectors 22 preferably Eransmit and sense information periodically raEtrer than contsinuously. Further, the traffic information generated by t.he detector 22 is modified, preferably aweraged, or otherwise statistically

tf

Exhibit E Page 103 of 311
103

o
1_4

L0

over a period of time so as to limit the amount, of data t.hat needs to be transmitted and increase its accuracy. f n one embodiment, the traf f ic moni.toring unit 2O may further include a wideo camera 29. The video camera 29 ts also connected to Ehe Eransmit.Eer 25, so that the transmitter 25 may transmit signals corresponding to the image sensed by the video camera 29. Alternatively, the traffic monitors 20 may be replaced by video cameras 29. Multiple images may be obtained by a video camera and t.he speed of the vehicles a4 determined based on image analysis of multiple frames from the wideo
camera (s)
.

One preferred type of moniEor 20 utilizes
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20

signals from a digital wideo camera Lo provide the t.raffic information. Traffic-related information may be obtsained by analyzi-ng the video seqluences from the monitoring video cameras 29. The information may incl-ude how fast the t.raf f ic moves and how congested ttre road is. The speed of the traffic may be derived by measuring che speed of wehicles in the wideo. The degree of congestion may be estimated by counting the number of vehicles in the wideo. This invention provides trwo algorithms for estimating traffic speed and road congestion based on
vj-deo input.. The first algoriEhm is based on optical flow and it.s flow diagram is shown in Figure 9. First, the algorithm performs camera galibratsion based on the input video of the road and Ehe physical measurements of cerEain markings on the road. Then the algorithm (1) takes a number of frames from the input video; (z) computres optical flow; (3) estimatres camera motion which may be caused by wind, etc., (4) estimates independenE vehicle motion after compensating the camera motion; (5) estimates tra,ffic speed based on trtre aweraged vehicle motion and the camera parameters obtained from the camera calibraLi-on stepr estimaEes road congestion by counting

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/s

Exhibit E Page 104 of 311 104

15

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20

the number of independent motion components; and (6) outputs the estimated speed and congestion resurts. The second algorithm is based. on mot.ion blob tracking and it.s bock d.iagram is strown in Figure LO. First, the algorithm performs camera calibration based on the inpuE, wideo of the road and the physical measurements of certain markings on t.he road. The algorithm (1) takes a number of frames from the input video; (2) estimates camera motion; (3) detects independent motion blobs after compensat.ing the camera motion; (4) tracks motion blobs; (5) estimates traffic speed based on the aweraged blob motion and the camera parameters obtained. from t.he carnera caLibration stsep; estimates road congestion by counting the number of i5rdependent motion blobs; and (G) outputs the estimated speed and congestion resulEs Traffic monitor 2O further includes a power supply 24. The power supply 24 is preferably a battery, or may alternatiwely be a power line, such as a 12 ot l2O wolt power line. The traffic monit.or 2O is shown wj-th an optional solar por^rer supply 28. TLre power supply 24 or 28 prowides t.he power necessary for the detecEors 22A and/or 22F_, the transmitter 26, and any other electronics, such as a computer system and/or wideo
camera.

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"The receiver 30 receirres the signals from the traffic monitors 20 and/or wideo cameras 29. The receiwer 30 may be any device capable of receiwing information (data) such as in eiEher an analog or a digital form. For example, the receiwer 30 may be a digital or analog celtular receiver, a standard phone, a radio receiwer, drl antenna, or a data port capable of receiving analog or digital information, such as that

35

transmitted pursuant to a data protocol. The receiwer 30 receiwes the information from t.he traf f ic monitors 20 and/or.. video cameras 29 and passes that inforrnation to a computer system 40. The compuLer system 4O preferably includes a processor (such
Exhibit E Page 105 of 31 1
105

o
l6 as a general purpose processor, ASfC, DSP, etc.), a clock, a po\^rer supply, and a memory. The computer system 40 pref erably has a p,ort 42, or any tlpe of interconnection, to interconnecL the computer system 40 witrh the network 50. Preferably, Lhe computer system 40 includes informat.ion represenEative of the road 12 along which the traffic monitors 20 are locaEed, such as a map database. The comput,er system 40 receives the t.raffic infoimation transmitted by the respectiwe t,raffic monitrors 20. The information transmitted by the traffic monitors 20 includes the location or identification of each particular traffic monitor 20 together with t,he data representatiwe of the trraffic data provided by the detector 22 and/or video camera 29 aE each Eraffic monitor 20. The computer system 40 may manipulate the traffic informaEion in some manner, as necessary, so as to provide awerage speeds or other statisEical- data. In the ewent of video, the compuLer system 40 may process the images to determine the speed of vehicles. A1so, trhe wideo may be prowided. Alternatively, the user stations may process ttre traffic informaEion. In one embodimenE,, both the receiwer 25 of trhe traffic monitors and the transmittser 30 of computer system are each capable of receiving and transmitting data. This aIlows for two way communicaLion between the monitor 20 and E,tre computser system 40. Tkrus, the computrer syst,em 40 eould remoEely operate t'he tra.ff ic monitor 20 to change settings, diagnose problems, and otlrerwise prowide input Eo traffic monitor 20 to faciliLate collection of traffic data. For example, Lhe video camera 29 could be remotely posj-tioned Eo view a traffic lane of interest. Traffic information may be provided to users in any suitable manner, such as the examples that foIlow. A user stat"ion 52 is connected to t.he network 50. Preferably, the user station 52 includes a graphic display unit 54 (see FIG. 3). For example, the user
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Page 106 of 31 1

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station.52 may be a standard personal computer with a display monit.or 54. The network 50 is preferably the Internet. Howewer, the network 50 could also be a locaf area network or any other type of closed or open network, or could also be the teleptrone network. The user station 52 sends a signal over the network 50 to the computer system 40 requesting traffic information. Irr response Co receiving a request f rom t.he user station 52, the computer sysEem 40 transmits traffic information representaEive of the Eraffic information collected by the warious traffic monitors 20 to the reguesting user station 52. The computer system 40 may transmit average speeds detect.ed by each of the traffic monitors 20 at each of their respecEiwe locations. The traffic information may be presented to t.he user as a web page. The computer sysE,em may send traffic information corresponding Lo only some of the traffic monitors. The user may select which port.ions of the road 12 are of int,erest, and the compuLer system 40 may transmit t.raffic information corresponding to that porLion of the road l-2. FIG. 3 shows an exemplary display 54 displaying the Eraffic information prowided by the computer system 40. TLre computer system 40 prowides data from its memory which is representative of the road l-2, such as daLa from a map database, which is displayed as a road l-12 on the display 54. The computer system 40 also prowides traffic information collected by each, ot a selected sets, of the respective t.raffic monitors 20 which is displayed in portions l-l-4a-114d and/or the traffic information derived from individual mobiLe user stations hawing a global positioning system locator as described in det.ail below. In the exemplary display shown in FIG. 3, trhe portrions l-14a-114d display different colors or patterns representratiwe of average wetricle speeds (for example, in miles per hour) along different portions of the road 112 ' of course, the display may display other Elpes of informaLion, such as traffic flow (vehicles per second)

t{

Exhibit E Page 107 of 311
107

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or vehicle frequency. The display 54 may include information in either graphical or text format to indicate the portion of the road displayed, such as location of milepost markers or place names 1l-6. While the display 54 shows one format for displaying the information, ottrer formats for presenting the information may likewise be used, Ers desired. It is not necessary to prowide a graphical represenE,ation of the 'road l-2. Instead, information could be provided in a textual manner, such as, for example, mile post locations for each of the traffic monitors 2O and presenting textual traffic information for each location. Thus, the system may operate as fol1ows. The traffic monitors 2O detecE or otherwise sense traffic to prowide traffic information. The traffic monitors 2O may detect or otherwise calculate wehicle speed, average wehicle speed, traffic f1ow, vehicle freguency, or other daLa representative of the traffic. The t,raffic monitors 2O may sample either continuousllr, or may sample at int,ervals to conserve power. The transmitte,r 2G transmits the signals provided by the traffic monitors 20 tso tshe receiver 30 either cont.inuously or aE intervals. Such signals may be either transmitted directly to the receiwer 30, or may be transmitted through otsher Eraffic monitors 2O. The receiver 30 receiwes the si-gnaLs receiwed by the warious traffic monitors 20 and passes these signals to Ehe computer sysEem 40. The computer system 40 receives the data from the traffic monitors 20. The computer system may cal-culate or process the traffic informat.ion for the users, as necessary. It is not. necessary for the traffic monitors 20 to calculate traffic data, if desired. In response Uo a request from a user station 52, the computer system 40 prowides the t,raffic information ower the network 50 Eo Lhe user stsation 52. The system l-0 has many advanEages. It allows a user to receiwe contemporaneous traffic information from
Exhibit E Page 108 of 31 1
108

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19

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2Q

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of l-ocations. It a11ows the user to obtain immediate information rather than waiting for t,he broadcast of information at specified times. Further, the amount of information provided by the system is far superior to tshat prowided by any other traffic reporting system. A user can obtain immediate and contemporaneous t.raffic conditions, such as average.vehj-cular speed, traffic flow, or rrehicl-e frequency, for a pturality of Iocations along a road.. Where traffic monitors are prowided along seweral different roads, a comrnuter may then select among the various alEernat.iwe routes, depending on the Eraffic conditions for each road. The systsem al-so does not. rely on the manual input of information, and thus provides inforrnation more accuraLely and more quickly. It also eliminates subjectiwe descriptions of traffic information by prowiding measured data representatiwe of traffic conditions. In one embodiment, Lhe compuLer system 40 also receives t,he signals generated by the wideo cameras 29 aE Ehe respectiwe traffj-c monitors 20. FIG. 3 shows an exemplary display' 54 in which a video image Lzg is prowided. In this embod.iment, the user may select from which traffj-c monitoring unit 20 the video image L2g is to be receiwed from. For example, a user could initially select to view E,he image generated by the wideo .camera at a first location, and then later wiew the image transmilt.ed by another wideo camera 29, preferably at another traffic monitor 20, at a different location. The system 10 preferably further includes the' ability to send messages about road condiLions. FIG. 3 shows such an exemplary message L30 in text format. The computrer system 40 is capable of storing daEa messages and Eransmit,ting the data messages with Ehe traffic informat.ion, The data messages would indicate items of particular intserest to the commuler. For example, the text messrage 130 could indicate trhat there was an

a plurality

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ixrrinit

r
109

Page 109 of 31 1

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accj-dent aE a particular location or milepost, that construction wasi occurrj_ng at another location or milepost,, or that highway conditions were particularly severe and that alternative rout,es shoul-d be selected. The syst.em 1-0 could prowide multiple messrages through which tstre user could scroll so as to receive different messages in addition to the traffic information receiwed from the warious traffic moniLors 20. In anottrer embodiment, the user station 52 incfudes a woice synthesizer capable of reading t,he messages to the user. In yet anotrher embodiment, t.he system 1O may

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also provide additional graphical information relating to traffic conditions. For example, the computer system 40 could t.ransmit the location of an accident or consLrucEion siEe along Ehe road 12. The information would be displayed on display 54 as an icon or other slrmbol at the location indicating the presence of an accident or highway constructrion. Such an icon is shown at 140 in FfG. 3. Alternatively, the computer system could also display an icon representratiwe of a restaurant, gas sEation, hospital, rest area, or roadside att,raction. In sueh a systsem, the comput,er system would contain or be linked to a database containing such j-nformation. The information could be displayed auEomatically, or in response Lo a reguesL for such information from a user. In another exemplary embodiment, trhe computer system 40 automatically generates traffic reports to be sent to the user station 52 at predetermined times. For example, a user may indicaue that it wishes to receive a traffic report every morning at 7:30 a.m. The computer system 40 automatically sends to the user sLation 52 aE the predet.ermined t.ime (7:3o r.rn. , f or example) the traffic information collected from the traffic monitoring units 20. The information coul-d be sentr to be displayed, such as in FIG. 3, or could be sent alLernatiwely in a text or graphical format via e-mail. The traffic report

pt

f*niOit f Page 1 10 of 31 1
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anE,icipated (potenEial) route to be traweled. The comg)uter system 40 may also auLomatically send ttre traffic information to a display in the user's wehicle in response to some event, such as turning on the wehicle, time, key press, eEc. In another embodiment, ttre computer system 40 allows a user to cal-culate the amount of time necessary Eo t.ravel from one location to another location along the road l-2. The user sends a request to the comput.er system 40 indicating the two locations along the road along which trawel is desired. The user may, for example, indicaEe on the dispray by highlighting the two locations on the road 112 usi-ng a computer mouse. Alternatiwely, the two locationsr may include the userrs current location, ds determined by a vehicl-e based GpS system, so that only the destinat.ion needs to be entered. The computer syst.em 40 then calculat.es the anticipated amount of time it will take to Eravel from one point to the other point based upon the traffic data collected by t.he warious traffic monitors 2O between the two locations. In addition, the system may calculate alternative routes in ord.er to determine the fastest route in wiew of tshe traf.fic information. The computer system 40 then sends a signal back to the user station 52 to indicate ttre amount of time that. the travel from the first Eo the second location will take. The route determined as the best may be owerlaid on a map to assist trhe user in trawel-. In yeL anoLher embodiment of the invention, FfG. ? shows a dirrided freeway wiEh wehicle traffic flowing in opposite directions in each of Ehe divided sections. Each section of the freeway 12 has multiple Ianes I2A-L23. The traffic monitors 2O measure traffic in each of ttre lanes 12A-12C of each sectrion 12 of tshe diwided freeway. The moniLors 20 may measure traffic on only one portion of the diwided freeway, or may measure
i"r,in't

may also be provided in a format speci-f ic t,o the userrs geographic region and/or user's driwing habits., such as

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traffic conditions i-n each of the lanes of eaeh of the sections of trhe divided freelray. The monitor used to measure traffic in multiple lanes may be a digital wideo
camera.

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FIG- 8 shows yet another embodiments of a display 54, which displays traffic information for each indiwidual lane of the dj-vided f reeway shown in FIG. 7 . For example, in display 54, the traffic conditrj-ons in each indi-vidual lane 1I-2A-LL2C is displayed for Ehe road' section 1L2. By displaying conditions for each particular 1ane, the systrem has the adwantage of allowing the user to ant.icipatse particular lane problems which may occur ahead, such as a wreck 140 in lane !L2C, In addition, in an alternatiwe embodiment, the display 54 is capable of displaying the individual location of each indiwidual wehicle on the road l-12. FIG. 4 shows an alternative embodiment of a user station 52. User stauion 52 is a mobile unit in a car 50. User station 52 has transmitting and/or receiving unitss 64 for communicating with the network 50. Such transmitting and receiwing units 54 may be any dewices capable of transmiLting digital or analog data, such as, for example, a digital or analog celfular phone. Thre user statrion 52 may also be cont.ained within a car 60 that further includes an associated global positioning system (cPS) receiver 62. The GPS receiver 52 receiwes signals from GPS satellites 70 which enable the GPS receiwer to determine its location. when a commuter requests traffic information using t,he mobile user station 52, the request for traffic information may incl-ude the location of the user as determined by the GPS receiver 52. When tshe compuEer sysLem 40 receiwes this requesE, iL prowides traffie information back to the mobite user sEation 52 based on the location of Ehe car 60 as prowided by the GPS receiwer 62. Alternatiwely, the compuEer syseem 40 may provide Eraffic informaEion to the user station 52 which in combination with the
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Exhibit E Page 112of311 112

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position determined by the cps receiwer G2 displays suitable data Eo the user on a display or audibl'y. The user statrion may also be a cellular phone with an integrated or associated GpS. FIG. 5 shows a representatiwe display of the traffic i-nformation provided by the compuEer system 4o. The information provided is essentiarly the same as thar shown in FIG. 3, except. that. tshe display 54 contains at l-51 the position of t.he car 60. The mobile user stration 52 prowides a significant adwant.age in that it arlows the commuter to i-mmediately determine traffj-c information in the commuE,er I s immediat.e wicinity based on the commuter r s present location. The commuter does not hawe to wait for a periodic traffic reporE. Further, traffic condit,ions are provided at a plurality of locations, and the informat.ion is contemporaneous. Based on the receipt of such information, the commuter may deci-de Eo use an alternate route rather than continue on Ehe current
freeway.

2A

25

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Thus, in the embodiment sttown in FIG. 4, the system prowides Ehe relevant t.raffic information to the commuter or user on a timely basis. The display may be tailored to provide the information for the current. locat.ion of t,he commuLer, together with the upcoming Eraffic that lies ahead. In a preferred embodiment, ttre system obtains traffic information from users that hawe a GPS receiVer 62. In this syst.em, whenever a user station 52 requests traffic information from the computer s)rs-tem 40, the computer system 40 associates a welocJ-t,y (speed) of that particular user with its current location. The welocity may be determined through a wariety of methods,. In one system, when the user requests traffic information, the user station 52 supplies not. only its l-ocation buE also j-Es current, velocity. The user staLion 52 may obtaj-n its currenE velocity in any fashion. For example, the user stat,ion 52 may track its locaEion over time using the GPS

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113

Page 113 of311

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receiver 62, and also keep track of t.he time associated with each location by using an inLernal cIock. The welocity could then be calculated by simply divJ-ding the difference between respectiwe locations by respectiwe times. Alternatively, the user station 52 may be connectsed tro the vehicle's speedometer or odometer, and measure velocity using information prowided by the vehicle 50 itself . AlEernatively, t.tre computer system 40 itself could calculate the welocity of eactr user. fn such a system, each user station 52 would prowide t,he computer system 40 vrith a uni-gue identification code together wit.h its locaEion. The computer system 40 then associates a time using an internal clock with each location reported by eaeh user- Preferably, the GPS location is sent together with the currenE time at the user station so that delays incurred in transmj-ssion do not change the result. The welocity of each user could then be calculated by calculating the difference in location for a particular user (identified by its uniq;ue identification code) by the respective tsimes associated with each of these locations. Thus, the computer system 40 develops a database consisting of the location of a plurality of users together with the respectiwe welocities of each of the users. The computer system 40 thus has traffic informaLion consist.ing at least of the velocity of the traffic for a plurality of locaLions corresponding to the locations for each of Etre reporting users. It is preferred in such a system thaE each user station 52 would contribute Co the database, but the compuLer system could use data from fewer than all of the user stations 52 either requesting information or operating. The system may thus use the information receiwed from the Ltser stations 52 either to calibrate ttre traffic information provided by monitors 20, or Eo supplement the traffic information provided by the traffic monieors 20. Alternatively, where the number of users is sufficiently

JS

Exhibit E Page 114 of 311 114

25

10

1-5

20

25

30

35-

large, the traffic monitors 2O may no longer be necessary, because the users themselves through mobire user stat,ions 52 and GpS receivers 62 prowide enough traffic information to generate useful displays of traffic information. Thus, t'he system may provid.e traffic information without trhe use of monitors 2O at all, relying solely on information derived from the mobile user stati-ons 52. wiE.h a large number of users at a p1uraliEy of different locations, Ehe computer system 40 would dewelop a database hawing a large number of velocities associated with a large number of geographic Iocations. Ideally, if ewery commuter on a road had a user station 52 with a GpS receiwer 52, the computer system'40 would prowide not only welocity data but also traffic density or traffic frequency dat,a. Even without every wehicle having a user station 52 prowiding data to the computer system 40, t.raffic density or traffic frequency could be calculated using stat,istical t,echniques that correlate Ehe reporting user sLations Sz with known traffic patterns. Thus, the combination of the mobile user station 52, GPS receiver and trransmit.t j-ng and receiving units 64 prowides an especially advantageous method for col]ecting traffic information. Surprisingly, this system is capable of providing t.raffic information that is superior t.o that collected by stationary sensors. This is because traffic information may be potentially collected at more locations based on trLre number of mobife user statj-ons 52, and because indiwidual vehicle speed can be monj-tored rather than average vehicle speed. In addition, the system has a significant cost advantage in that it is not necessary to insEall traffic moni-Eors 20, or at least the number of traffic monitors 20 Lhat are necessary can be substantially reduced. The system also provides automatic traffic reporting, and thus does not rely on the manual inputs of data. Furthermore, the system is low maint,enance, since there are no traffic
Exhibit E Page 1 15 of 31 1
115

26

10

t5

20

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35

monitors 20 to maintain. The syst,em is also partricurarly robust, in that if a particular mobile user station 52 malfunctions, traffic information can still be collected for all l-ocat.ions based on data reported by other mobile users. fn conLrasE, if a stationary sensor 2O fai1s, rlo dat.a can be collected from trhat locat,ion. 'Thus, the coll-ection of traffic data from a plurality of mobile user stations 52 to creat,e a Eraffic information database prowides surprising advantages and a superior system for providing traffic information. In Che syst,em described above using mobile user stations 52 in vehicles, tlre user station may inj-tiatse contact with the computer system 40 by initriat,ing a telephone call to t,he computer system 40. Alternatively, the computer system 40 coufd initiate a call- to the user stsation 52, such as over the Int.ernet using a web browser. The user stat.ion 52 would respond with an appropri-ate signal if information was requested. The user station 52 could a1so, even if no information was desired, prowide its current location (preferably with currenE Lime), and opt.ionally its velocity as well, to allow the computer system 40 to gather additional traffic informat.ion. This would be useful in the case of rrehicle based Internet browsing for other purposes so that t.he traffic information would be updated for that user and ot,Lrers. In yet another alternative, tlre user station 52 would initiate the request to the computer system 40, indj-cat.ing that traffic information was desired. The computer system 40 would then respond at a series of timed inter-vals for a set length of t.ime, for example, prowiding updates every t,wo minutes for thirty minutes. fn yet another alternatiwe embodiment of the sysEem 10, the mobile user station 52 is a cellular telephone. The computrer system 4o includes a voice synthesizer. A user may telephone the computer system 4O over a cellular telephone network. In response Lo a request for highway conditj-ons, t,he computer system 40
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Page 1 16 of 31 1
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generates a traffie reporE and transmits the information using the woice s)mthesizer so that the traffic informat.j-on may be heard and understood ower the commuter's cellul-ar telephone. The locat.ion of the user may be determined by an associated GPS receiwer, or alternatiwely by triangulating the locaEion of the user by measurlng the distance between Ehe user and several different transmission receiwing towers in different
ce11s.
10

15

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In yet another embodimen-E of the present. inwention the computer system 40 or user statsion 52 may calculate the best route, such as Ehe fastest, between a starting point and a desLinaLion based on the current traffic conditions. This functionalit.y may further be prowided in the mobile user stration 52 in the car 50 so that the driwer may calcul-ate the best route to accommodate for changing traffic conditions. This also assists the driwer in unfamiliar cities where he may be unfamiliar with anticipated traffic patterns. The functionality of providing current traffic conditiong and/or best route calculations may be owerlaid on maps available for GPS sysEems, household computers, and rnobile user stations. fn addition, an early warning system may be incorporated into tshe eomputer systrem, user station, or mobile user station to prowide w