Patent ID: 7162251

Claim:
A method for acquiring traffic situation data in a network of traffic routes covered by a cellular mobile radio network having a plurality of base stations communicating with operating mobile terminals in a plurality of vehicles moving in the network of traffic routes, said method comprising: (a) a calibration phase comprising the steps of: moving at least one of the mobile terminals along the traffic routes; determining at a plurality of points on the traffic routes during movement of the at least one of the mobile terminals along the traffic routes signal transit times to respective base stations having a transmission area in which the at least one of the mobile terminals is currently located, each signal transit time being representative of an elapsed time required for transmission of a wireless signal between the at least one of the mobile terminals and one of the respective base stations in the mobile network, whereby the respective base stations exhibit reference patterns of signal transit times at the plurality of points along the traffic routes; storing for the respective base stations the reference patterns of signal transit times for the traffic routes; and mapping the reference patterns of signal transit times for the traffic routes onto the traffic routes; thereby creating a database including a reference map between the reference patterns of signal transit times and the traffic routes; and (b) a utilization phase comprising the steps of: detecting signal transit times of selected ones of the mobile terminals to respective base stations comparing the detected signal transit times with the stored reference patterns of signal transit times; determining on which traffic route the selected ones of the mobile terminals are currently located using the results of said step of comparing and the reference map; thereby obtaining information for assessing the traffic situation.