Traffic Management System for Freeway Queue Avoidance

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Solution Overview

Problem

Non-recurring traffic congestion on freeways, caused by irregular events like accidents or weather, leads to vehicle queues, which are difficult to manage due to lack of awareness and coordination among drivers, hindering overall traffic flow.

Innovation Solution

A traffic management system that uses connected vehicles to identify vehicle queues and transmit driving instructions to adjacent vehicles to create gaps and facilitate lane changes, thereby reducing queue length and improving traffic flow.

Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles

VSEngineering Contradiction Analysis

1Productivity

If vehicles in the lane with the vehicle queue change lanes to an adjacent lane, then overall traffic flow is improved, but it becomes difficult to change lanes when traffic in the adjacent lane is moving significantly faster

Engineering Contradiction:

Improveoverall traffic flowVSAvoidease of lane changing

Core Design Contradiction:

ProductivityVSEase of operation

Solution Approach 1:

The traffic management system acts as an intermediary that coordinates lane changes by selecting specific target vehicles in the adjacent lane and instructing them to slow down, creating a controlled gap that facilitates safe lane changes for queued vehicles

Inventive Principle:

Principle #24Intermediary (Mediator)

Solution Approach 2:

The system performs preliminary actions by pre-selecting target vehicles and pre-instructing them to slow down before the lane change maneuver, ensuring that the gap is already prepared when the queued vehicle needs to change lanes

Inventive Principle:

Principle #10Preliminary action

2Ease of operation

If one or more vehicles in the adjacent lane slow down to allow for vehicles to change lanes, then lane changing is facilitated, but it does not benefit any one vehicle in the adjacent lane individually

Engineering Contradiction:

Improveease of lane changingVSAvoidindividual vehicle incentive

Core Design Contradiction:

Ease of operationVSAdaptability or versatility

Solution Approach 1:

The system implements feedback by monitoring the responses of instructed vehicles and adjusting subsequent instructions to maintain cooperation, creating a dynamic coordination mechanism that sustains collective behavior

Inventive Principle:

Principle #23Feedback

Solution Approach 2:

The traffic management system provides a universal coordination mechanism that benefits all vehicles in the system, transforming individual self-interest into collective benefit through centralized optimization of traffic flow

Inventive Principle:

Principle #6Universality (Multi-functionality)

3Productivity

If drivers adjust their driving behavior to improve overall traffic flow, then congestion is reduced, but individual drivers are unable to act collectively without awareness of the overall traffic situation

Engineering Contradiction:

Improveoverall traffic flowVSAvoidawareness of traffic situation

Core Design Contradiction:

ProductivityVSLoss of information

Solution Approach 1:

The traffic management system serves as an intermediary that consolidates traffic information from multiple sources and distributes relevant information to individual drivers, enabling informed decision-making without requiring each driver to have complete system-wide awareness

Inventive Principle:

Principle #24Intermediary (Mediator)

Data Source

PatentUS11935404B2Integrated congested mitigation for freeway non-recurring queue avoidance

Publication Date: 2024.03.19 TOYOTA JIDOSHA KK

AI summary

A method of operating a traffic management system may comprise identifying a vehicle queue in a first lane of a road based on sensor data from one or more connected vehicles traveling along the road, determining driving instructions for a connected vehicle within a queue management region in a second lane, adjacent to the first lane, to create a gap in front of the connected vehicle for a vehicle in the vehicle queue to change lanes into the gap, and transmitting the driving instructions to the connected vehicle.