Source: http://patents.com/us-8653986.html
Timestamp: 2018-07-20 03:20:09
Document Index: 133049382

Matched Legal Cases: ['Application No. 172989', 'Application No. 04744950', 'Application No. 2', 'Application No. 04744950', 'Application No. 172989', 'Application No. 172989', 'Application No. 04744950', 'Application No. 04744950', 'Application No. 60']

US Patent # 8,653,986. Traffic information system - Patents.com
United States Patent 8,653,986
Tamir , et al. February 18, 2014
Tamir; Asaf (Rechovot, IL), Topaz; Ido (Tel-Aviv, IL)
Tamir; Asaf
Topaz; Ido
Insurance Services Office, Inc. (Jersey City, NJ)
13/334,132
US 20120089423 A1 Apr 12, 2012
12876182 Sep 6, 2010 8085166
10563703 7821421
PCT/IL2004/000610 Jul 7, 2004
60484667 Jul 7, 2003
Current U.S. Class: 340/901 ; 340/438; 340/439; 705/4
Current International Class: B60Q 1/00 (20060101); G06Q 40/00 (20120101); G08G 1/00 (20060101)
5446442 August 1995 Swart et al.
7215941 May 2007 Beckmann et al.
8044809 October 2011 Farmer
2005/0137757 June 2005 Phelan et al.
1136792 Sep 2001 EP
WO 98/06080 Feb 1998 WO
WO 2005/003885 Jan 2005 WO
Office Action Dated Jan. 18, 2012 From the Israel Patent Office Re.: Application No. 172989 and Its Translation Into English. cited by applicant .
Communication Pursuant to Article 94(3) EPC Dated Feb. 20, 2012 From the European Patent Office Re.: Application No. 04744950.9. cited by applicant .
Requisition by the Examiner Dated Mar. 2, 2012 From the Canadian Intellectual Property Office Re. Application No. 2,531,662. cited by applicant .
Amendment Under 37 CFR 1.312 Dated Aug. 19, 2010 Further to Notice of Allowance of May 21, 2010 From the US Patent and Trademark Office Re. U.S. Appl. No. 10/563,703. cited by applicant .
Communication Pursuant to Article 94(3) EPC Dated Jan. 13, 2010 From the European Patent Office Re.: Application No. 04744950.9. cited by applicant .
International Search Report and the Written Opinion Dated Nov. 17, 2005 From the International Searching Authority ofthe Patent Cooperation Treaty Re:.Application No. PCT/IL04/00610. cited by applicant .
Notice of Allowance Dated May 21, 2010 From the US Patent and Trademark Office Re. U.S. Appl. No. 10/563,703. cited by applicant .
Notice of Allowance Dated Aug. 22, 2011 From the US Patent and Trademark Office Re. U.S. Appl. No. 12/876,182. cited by applicant .
Office Action Dated Feb. 1, 2010 From the Israel Patent Office Re.: Application No. 172989 and Its Translation Into English. cited by applicant .
Official Action Dated Dec. 20, 2010 From the US Patent and Trademark Office Re.: U.S. Appl. No. 12/876,182. cited by applicant .
Official Action Dated May 29, 2009 From the US Patent and Trademark Office Re.: U.S. Appl. No. 10/563,703. cited by applicant .
Response Dated Jun. 1, 2011 to Office Action of Feb. 1, 2010 From the Israel Patent Office Re.: Application No. 172989. cited by applicant .
Response Dated Jul. 12, 2010 to Communication Pursuant to Article 94(3) EPC of Jan. 13, 2010 From the European Patent Office Re.: Application No. 04744950.9. cited by applicant .
Response Dated May 19, 2011 to Official Action of Dec. 20, 2010 From the US Patent and Trademark Office Re.: U.S. Appl. No. 12/876,182. cited by applicant .
Response Dated Nov. 30, 2009 to Official Action of May 29, 2009 From the US Patent and Trademark Office Re.: U.S. Appl. No. 10/563,703. cited by applicant .
Supplementary European Search Report Dated Sep. 30, 2009 From the European Patent Office Re.: Application No. 04744950.9. cited by applicant.
This application is a continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 12/876,182 filed on Sep. 6, 2010, which is a continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 10/563,703 filed on Jul. 21, 2006, now U.S. Pat. No. 7,821,421, which is a National Phase of PCT Patent Application No. PCT/IL2004/000610 having an International Filing Date of Jul. 7, 2004, which claims the benefit of priority under 35 USC .sctn.119(e) of U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 60/484,667 filed on Jul. 7, 2003.
1. A method of analyzing the driving behavior of a driver or a vehicle, the method comprising: monitoring the driving behavior of a driver or a vehicle in a plurality of structurally similar road portions; and determining a score for the driver or vehicle in said structurally similar road portions; wherein said determining a score comprises one of: (a) comparing the driving behavior of the driver or vehicle to driving behaviors of other drivers or vehicles in said structurally similar road portions; and (b) comparing the driving behavior of the driver or vehicle to prior driving behavior of the driver or vehicle in said structurally similar road portions.
2. A method according to claim 1, wherein determining a score comprises analyzing the percentage of said road portions passed properly by the driver according to predefined thresholds.
3. A method according to claim 2, wherein said predefined thresholds are dynamic thresholds.
4. A method according to claim 1, wherein said structurally similar road portions comprise curves.
5. A method according to claim 1, wherein said structurally similar road portions comprise intersections.
6. A method according to claim 1, wherein said structurally similar road portions comprise road bumps.
7. A method according to claim 1, wherein said structurally similar road portions comprise traffic lights.
8. A method according to claim 1, wherein said structurally similar road portions comprise road portions having a similar traffic sign.
9. A method according to claim 1, wherein said structurally similar road portions comprise highways.
10. A method according to claim 1, wherein said structurally similar road portions comprise city roads.
11. A method according to claim 1, wherein said structurally similar road portions comprise rural roads.
12. A method according to claim 1, further comprising: calculating insurance rates for said vehicle based on said score.
13. A method according to claim 12, wherein said calculating is based on additional parameters.
14. A method according to claim 1, further comprising: calculating a discount on insurance rates for said vehicle based on said score.
15. A method according to claim 14, wherein said calculating is based on additional parameters.
16. A method according to claim 1, further comprising: generating a warning to the driver based on said score.
17. A method according to claim 16, further comprising, providing said warning remote from the vehicle.
18. A method according to claim 1, wherein determining a score comprises: comparing the driving behavior of the driver or vehicle to driving behaviors of other drivers or vehicles in said structurally similar road portions.
19. A method according to claim 1, further comprising: updating the score based on continuous monitoring of the driver or vehicle in said structurally similar road portions.
20. A method according to claim 1, wherein said determining a score for the driver or vehicle in said structurally similar road portions comprises determining a plurality of scores for the driver or vehicle in said structurally similar road portions.
21. A method of analyzing the driving behavior of driver or a vehicle, the method comprising: monitoring the behavior of a driver or a vehicle in a plurality of similar driving events; and determining a score for the vehicle for said similar driving events; wherein said determining a score comprises one of: (a) comparing the driving behavior of the driver or vehicle to driving behaviors of other drivers or vehicles in said similar driving events; and (b) comparing the driving behavior of the driver or vehicle to prior driving behavior of the driver or vehicle in said similar driving events.
22. A method according to claim 21, wherein determining a score comprises analyzing a percentage of said driving events performed properly further comprises according to predefined thresholds.
23. A method according to claim 22, wherein said predefined thresholds are dynamic thresholds.
24. A method according to claim 21, wherein said driving events comprise braking events.
25. A method according to claim 21, wherein said driving events comprise changing lanes.
26. A method according to claim 21, wherein said driving events comprise distance keeping.
27. A method according to claim 21, wherein said driving events comprise abrupt changes in speed.
28. A method according to claim 21, wherein said driving events comprise performing U-turns.
29. A method according to claim 21, wherein said driving events comprise reverse driving.
30. A method according to claim 21, wherein said driving events comprise slowing down towards dangerous road segments.
31. A method according to claim 21, further comprising: calculating an insurance rate for said vehicle based on said determined score.
32. A method according to claim 31, wherein said calculating is based on additional parameters.
33. A method according to claim 21, further comprising: calculating a discount on insurance rates for said vehicle based on said determined score.
34. A method according to claim 33, wherein said calculating is based on additional parameters.
35. A method according to claim 21, further comprising: generating a warning to the driver based on said determined score.
36. A method according to claim 35, further comprising, providing said warning remote from the vehicle.
37. A method according to claim 21, wherein determining a score comprises: comparing the driving behavior of the driver or vehicle to driving behaviors of other drivers or vehicles in said similar driving events.
38. A method according to claim 21, further comprising: updating the score based on continuous monitoring of the driver or vehicle in said similar driving events.
39. A method according to claim 21, wherein determining a score for the vehicle for said driving events comprises determining a plurality of scores for the vehicle for said driving events.
40. A method of analyzing the driving behavior of driver or a vehicle, the method comprising: monitoring the behavior of a driver or a vehicle in a plurality of similar times; and determining a score for the driver or vehicle for said similar times; wherein said determining comprises one of: (a) comparing the driving behavior of the driver or vehicle to driving behaviors of other drivers or vehicles during said similar driving times; and (b) comparing the driving behavior of the driver or vehicle to prior driving behavior of the driver or vehicle in said similar driving times.
41. A method according to claim 40, wherein determining a score comprises analyzing the behavior of the vehicle according to predefined thresholds.
42. A method according to claim 41, wherein said predefined thresholds are dynamic thresholds.
43. A method according to claim 40, wherein said similar times comprise a similar time of day.
44. A method according to claim 40, wherein said similar times comprise similar weather conditions.
45. A method according to claim 40, wherein said similar times comprise rush hours.
46. A method according to claim 40, wherein said similar times comprise similar dates.
47. A method according to claim 40, wherein said similar times comprise whether it is light or dark outside.
48. A method according to claim 40, wherein said similar times comprise similar types of days.
49. A method according to claim 48, wherein said type of days comprise work days.
50. A method according to claim 48, wherein said type of days comprise holidays.
51. A method according to claim 48, wherein said type of days comprise week-ends.
52. A method according to claim 40, further comprising: calculating an insurance rate for said vehicle based on said determined score.
53. A method according to claim 52, wherein said calculating is based on additional parameters.
54. A method according to claim 40, further comprising: calculating a discount on insurance rates for said vehicle based on said determined score.
55. A method according to claim 54, wherein said calculating is based on additional parameters.
56. A method according to claim 40, further comprising: generating a warning to the driver based on said determined score.
57. A method according to claim 56, further comprising, providing said warning remote from the vehicle.
58. A method according to claim 40, wherein said predefined thresholds are dynamic thresholds.
59. A method according to claim 40, wherein determining a score comprises: comparing the driving behavior of the driver or vehicle to driving behaviors of other drivers or vehicles during said similar times.
60. A method according to claim 40, further comprising: updating the score based on continuous monitoring of the driver or vehicle during said similar times.
61. A method according to claim 40, wherein determining a score for the driver or vehicle for said times comprises determining a plurality of scores for the driver or vehicle for said times.
62. A method according to claim 1, wherein said monitoring includes measuring values related to operation of the vehicle; and wherein said determining a score includes discarding a percentage of said measured values.
63. A method according to claim 62, wherein said determining a score includes discarding at least one of consecutive measurements having similar values, low values, values having low accuracy, accelerometer values beneath about 5 dB, acceleration values that do not affect vehicle speed, acceleration values that occur in the same location for nearly all vehicles.
Alternatively or additionally, memory unit 116 stores indications of areas (e.g., represented by 4 corner coordinates) in which the road(s) have a specific attribute, such as have a known quality, bumpiness and/or speed limit In some embodiments of the invention, memory unit 116 stores for some or all of the roads various average usage patterns, such as times of heavy traffic (e.g., rush hour), times at which there are many trucks and/or average speeds on the road. Alternatively or additionally, memory unit 116 stores for some or all of the roads, regulative information (e.g., the speed limit) and/or quality information (e.g., width of the road shoulders).
Alternatively or additionally to determining the absolute average speed, the average difference between the driving speed and the speed limit and/or the prevailing speed, is determined Further alternatively or additionally, the possible speeds are divided into bins, e.g., 50-60, 60-70, 70-80 km/h, and a speed profile is determined based on the time in each speed bin. In some embodiments of the invention, the speed profile is determined only for speeds above the speed limit and/or above the prevailing speed, i.e., leaving all speeds below the speed limit in a single bin. In some embodiments of the invention, the minimal and maximal speeds are registered.
The intersection parameters optionally include the number of intersections passed, the directions turned in each intersection. In some embodiments of the invention, the intersection parameters include the speed at which the intersection was passed, optionally differentiating according to the direction in which the intersection was traversed. The parameters optionally indicate the distance or time from the intersection at which the speed of the vehicle begins to decrease and/or the distance or time from the intersection at which the vehicle begins to decelerate. In some embodiments of the invention, a deceleration profile is determined for each intersection. The deceleration profile may be stored as is and/or in an alternative embodiment a set of possible deceleration profiles may be pre-defined and for at least some intersections the closest deceleration profile is determined Optionally, extreme cases are stored separately.
Following is a list of additional parameters, one or more of which are optionally monitored: 1. Braking
1.8. Average/highest acceleration level 2. Road Signs Adherence
In some embodiments of the invention, each occasion in which vehicle 150 decelerates at above a predetermined rate is analyzed to determine the cause of the deceleration. The analysis optionally determines where the deceleration occurred and what the driver did afterwards (e.g., parked, continued driving). Alternatively or additionally, patterns of deceleration are determined For example, many braking occasions occurring within a short period on a highway, at relatively low speed, are indicative of a traffic jam and are related to accordingly. Optionally, the braking and accelerating patterns are determined to suggest more economical behavior to the driver, if applicable. In some embodiments of the invention, sporadic strong brakings are assumed to be due to the vehicle not keeping a safe distance from the vehicle in front of it. Braking performed near an intersection and/or braking followed by parking maneuvers are assumed to be related to normal driving practice. In some embodiments of the invention, braking occasions that cannot be attributed to other reasons are assumed to be due to not keeping safe distance from other vehicles. The number of such braking occasions is counted and accordingly a distance keeping score is assigned. Optionally, the severity of the counted braking occasions is taken into account in assigning the distance keeping score.
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