Patent ID: 6253146
Filing Date: 2001-06-26
Classification: G01C,G08G,H04L

Abstract:
A network platform server in a PSTN for calling a subscriber if the subscriber's customary commuting route is congested, comprising:a storage in the platform, storing subscriber records organized by scheduled commuting time of a subscriber;highway records stored in the storage, organized by street name;digital voice records stored in the storage, having pre-recorded street names, standard descriptions of congestion conditions, and stock phrases needed to announce to a subscriber that the subscriber's customary commuting route is congested;a data processor in the platform, for running a traffic watching process that collects congestion measurements for respective segments of highways in a region and storing in each highway record, a congestion metric for the geographic coordinates of each segment of the respective highway;said data processor running a clock watching process that searches all subscriber records for matches of the time-of-day with the scheduled commuting time in the respective record, and selecting those subscriber records having a current match;said data processor running a call-decision process that analyzes each selected subscriber record identified by the clock watching process to determine that the subscriber's customary commuting route is congested;said data processor sequentially testing alternate routes having geographic coordinates near to the subscriber's customary route, to search for an alternate route that has an acceptable level of congestion;said data processor running a subscriber calling process that responds to the determination of congestion of the subscriber's customary route, by accessing the subscriber records to obtain the subscriber's telephone number which it outputs to a voice response unit;whereby recorded phrases are announced by the voice response unit to the subscriber describing the congestion and the alternate route that has an acceptable level of congestion.