Central Server Rule Chart Distribution for Vehicle Traffic Safety

Resolve Bottlenecks,
Find Innovative Solutions
Generate Solutions

Solution Overview

Problem

Current methods for managing traffic rules in vehicles are prone to human error, leading to a high risk of accidents due to incorrect or missed traffic rules, especially in complex or technical situations such as snow-covered signs, and existing systems cannot prevent accidents when traffic rules are incorrectly detected.

Innovation Solution

A method involving a central server that creates and manages control charts containing traffic rules, allowing vehicles to receive and compare these charts, enabling reliable communication and coordination of traffic rules among vehicles, thereby reducing the risk of collisions by ensuring consistent traffic rule application across all involved vehicles.

Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles

VSEngineering Contradiction Analysis

1Reliability

If traffic rules are manually entered or locally detected by vehicles, then vehicles can operate autonomously, but human error and detection failures lead to high accident risk

Engineering Contradiction:
Improvetraffic rule accuracyVSAvoidcentral server system
Core Design Contradiction:
ReliabilityVSDevice complexity

Solution Approach 1:

A central server acts as an intermediary between traffic rule authorities and vehicles. The server receives, stores, and distributes standardized control charts to multiple vehicles, eliminating the need for each vehicle to manually enter or independently detect traffic rules. This mediator approach ensures all vehicles receive identical, verified traffic rule information, preventing accidents caused by inconsistent or erroneous local detections.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #24Intermediary (Mediator)

Solution Approach 2:

The system creates standardized copies of traffic rules in the form of control charts that are distributed to multiple vehicles. Instead of each vehicle having its own unique detection or entry system, the central server produces identical copies of verified traffic rule data, ensuring consistency and accuracy across all participating vehicles while reducing individual vehicle complexity.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #26Copying

2Adaptability or versatility

If vehicles independently detect traffic rules using local sensors, then each vehicle has autonomy, but detection failures occur in difficult situations such as snow-covered signs

Engineering Contradiction:
Improvelocal detection capabilityVSAvoidtraffic rule detection accuracy
Core Design Contradiction:
Adaptability or versatilityVSReliability

Solution Approach 1:

The central server serves as a reliable intermediary that provides traffic rule information independent of local detection conditions. When local sensors fail due to environmental factors like snow-covered signs, vehicles can still obtain accurate traffic rules from the central server, which receives and standardizes rule data from authoritative sources regardless of individual vehicle detection capabilities.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #24Intermediary (Mediator)

3Reliability

If traffic rules are centrally managed through a server, then consistency across vehicles is improved, but system complexity and infrastructure requirements increase

Engineering Contradiction:
Improvetraffic rule consistencyVSAvoidcentralized system architecture
Core Design Contradiction:
ReliabilityVSDevice complexity

Solution Approach 1:

The system distributes standardized copies of control charts containing traffic rules to multiple vehicles from a central server. This copying approach ensures all vehicles receive identical, consistent traffic rule information without requiring complex peer-to-peer communication or synchronization protocols between vehicles, thereby maintaining reliability while managing system complexity.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #26Copying

4Ease of manufacture

If vehicles use manual entry of traffic rules, then system implementation is simple, but human error leads to incorrect recording and high accident risk

Engineering Contradiction:
Improvesystem implementation simplicityVSAvoidtraffic rule accuracy
Core Design Contradiction:
Ease of manufactureVSReliability

Solution Approach 1:

The central server acts as an intermediary that eliminates manual entry by automatically receiving, storing, and distributing standardized control charts to vehicles. This removes the human error-prone manual input process while maintaining ease of deployment through a centralized management approach that handles all traffic rule data processing.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #24Intermediary (Mediator)

Solution Approach 2:

Instead of manual entry, the system distributes machine-generated copies of traffic rules from the central server to vehicles. These standardized copies eliminate transcription errors and ensure accurate recording, while the copying mechanism itself remains technically simple and easily implementable across multiple vehicles.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #26Copying

Data Source

PatentEP3204927B1Method for operating a central server and method for handling a rule chart
Publication Date: 2021.01.13 CONTINENTAL TEVES AG & CO OHG
  • EP3204927B1 patent drawingFigure 1
  • EP3204927B1 patent drawingFigure 2

AI summary

The invention relates to a method for operating a central server which allows a central administration of rule charts that contain traffic rules. The invention further relates to a method for handling rule charts in vehicles, in particular in cooperation with such a central server.