Mannesmann Aktiengesellschaft

Mannesmann Vdo Ag

Josef Heimann

Werner Schulz

Stefan Vieweg

Uwe Albrecht

Christian Hort

Helmut Angermuller

Thomas Weber

Method and terminal unit for the spatial allocation of information referring to one location

Condensing of information is achieved by a terminal device, a traffic center and a method for informing a user of a terminal device about the traffic situation in a traffic network using traffic information transmitted from a traffic center to the terminal device over a communications channel. Traffic information relating to at least one section in the traffic network is converted to information relating to zone in the traffic network, and zone-oriented traffic information is displayed to the user of the terminal device.

Transmission of localized traffic information

The redundancy of transmitted traffic information or of traffic information which is to be transmitted is optimized by a method for transmitting traffic information from a traffic information center to at least one terminal device in a vehicle via a publicly receivable (e.g., DAB, RDS-TMC) communications channel or via a private communications channel (e.g., mobile radio), wherein a first reference zone is defined at or around the known or presumed stopping place of at least one vehicle to which information is to be conveyed at a first time point. At least a second reference zone is defined at or around at least one presumed stopping place of the vehicle at a second time point lying in the future in relation to the first time point. Traffic information generated for a reference zone and for a respective future time point with forecasting and/or traffic information determined for the current time point and for the respective current reference zone are/is compiled. Data representing traffic information with the time point to which it relates and/or the reference zone to which it relates are transmitted.

Method for transmitting traffic information and devices for implementing said method

In an illuminating system for a display screen device, there is at least one lamp located in an accessory unit (2). This lamp (3) is connected via a light guide (4) with a display field (6) of the display screen device (1). This arrangement serves for illumination of the display field (6) by transmitted light. In order that the display screen device (1) can be removed without the lamp (3), the light guides (4) at the transition between accessory unit (2) and display screen device (1) are interrupted and have a light output surface (7) of the accessory unit and a light input surface (8) of the screen device.

Display screen device

A method of updating digital road maps which are used in traffic direction and guiding vehicles to their destinations. In the method actual route data is determined, stored and transmitted to a traffic computer by at least one test vehicle provided for the purpose. The traffic computer evaluates the information items contained in the route data and assigns them as attributes to the corresponding road sections of a digital road map. At least the actual geographical position of the test vehicle is automatically continually determined as route data and the attributes of the corresponding road sections of the road map are updated by reference to the route data. The attributes include at least the permissibility of driving over the road sections in at least one direction.

Method and system for updating digital road maps

A method and system for forecasting traffic flows at selected locations or in selected sections of road network, which method includes continually determining actual location positions of a plurality of vehicles of a spot check vehicle fleet, storing on the vehicles the determined actual positions as route data of a route traveled by the vehicles, transmitting the route data at intervals from more than one vehicle to a traffic computer containing a digital road map, and determining traffic flow data from the route data using the traffic computer. The traffic flow data includes information concerning traffic density. The inventive method then continues with assigning the traffic flow data to the selected locations and/or sections using the traffic computer, determining and/or updating statistical traffic flow data as time-dependent empirical values from the traffic flow data using the computer, registering actual driving activity data with driving activity sensors over a predefined physical area surrounding the selected locations and sections, transmitting the actual driving activity data to the traffic computer, and forecasting the traffic flows, using the computer, by starting from the actual driving activity data and extrapolating associated traffic flow data and factoring in the time-dependent empirical values.

Growing community of inventors

Düsseldorf, Germany

Josef Heimann