Patents by Inventor Michael Joseph Dixon

Michael Joseph Dixon has filed for patents to protect the following inventions. This listing includes patent applications that are pending as well as patents that have already been granted by the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO).

  • Patent number: 10724870
    Abstract: The present invention combines the geographical coverage possible with fixed, pre-defined route segment costs (e.g. the legal speed limit) with, wherever possible, richer time dependent costs. A user of, for example, a portable navigation device, can therefore continue route planning as before to virtually any destination in a country covered by the stored map database, but wherever possible, can also use traffic data with time-dependent costs, so that the effect of congestion with any time predictability can be accurately taken into account as an automatic, background process. It leaves the user to simply carry on driving, following the guidance offered by the navigation device, without needing to be concerned about congestion that exists now, and whether it will impact his journey.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 20, 2013
    Date of Patent: July 28, 2020
    Assignee: TOMTOM NAVIGATION B.V.
    Inventors: Thomas Bruce Watson Adam, Ian Malcolm Atkinson, Michael Joseph Dixon
  • Patent number: 10557714
    Abstract: The present invention combines the geographical coverage possible with fixed, pre-defined route segment costs (e.g. the legal speed limit) with, wherever possible, richer time dependent costs. A user of, for example, a portable navigation device, can therefore continue route planning as before to virtually any destination in a country covered by the stored map database, but wherever possible, can also use traffic data with time-dependent costs, so that the effect of congestion with any time predictability can be accurately taken into account as an automatic, background process. It leaves the user to simply carry on driving, following the guidance offered by the navigation device, without needing to be concerned about congestion that exists now, and whether it will impact his journey.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 20, 2015
    Date of Patent: February 11, 2020
    Assignee: TOMTOM TRAFFIC B.V.
    Inventors: Thomas Bruce Watson Adam, Ian Malcolm Atkinson, Michael Joseph Dixon
  • Patent number: 10045206
    Abstract: Embodiments of the present invention relate to methods and systems for probe data management that facilitate anonymity between a device providing probe data and the probe data. Some embodiments relate to the removal of an association between a device identifier and an assigned probe identifier if no position information is received from the probe device for a predetermined time period, e.g. between 10 and 20 minutes. Other embodiments relate to periodic extraction of probe objects from a data store, such that a probe object is stored for at most a predetermined time period, e.g. 24 hours, and the use of position information from probe objects having the same probe identifier to create a historic journey trace.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 14, 2015
    Date of Patent: August 7, 2018
    Assignee: TOMTOM TRAFFIC B.V.
    Inventors: Simon Hania, Michael Joseph Dixon
  • Publication number: 20160330615
    Abstract: Embodiments of the present invention relate to methods and systems for probe data management that facilitate anonymity between a device providing probe data and the probe data. Some embodiments relate to the removal of an association between a device identifier and an assigned probe identifier if no position information is received from the probe device for a predetermined time period, e.g. between 10 and 20 minutes. Other embodiments relate to periodic extraction of probe objects from a data store, such that a probe object is stored for at most a predetermined time period, e.g. 24 hours, and the use of position information from probe objects having the same probe identifier to create a historic journey trace.
    Type: Application
    Filed: January 14, 2015
    Publication date: November 10, 2016
    Applicant: TomTom Traffic B.V.
    Inventors: Simon Hania, Michael Joseph Dixon
  • Publication number: 20150192422
    Abstract: The present invention combines the geographical coverage possible with fixed, pre-defined route segment costs (e.g. the legal speed limit) with, wherever possible, richer time dependent costs. A user of, for example, a portable navigation device, can therefore continue route planning as before to virtually any destination in a country covered by the stored map database, but wherever possible, can also use traffic data with time-dependent costs, so that the effect of congestion with any time predictability can be accurately taken into account as an automatic, background process. It leaves the user to simply carry on driving, following the guidance offered by the navigation device, without needing to be concerned about congestion that exists now, and whether it will impact his journey.
    Type: Application
    Filed: March 20, 2015
    Publication date: July 9, 2015
    Inventors: Thomas Bruce Watson Adam, Ian Malcolm Atkinson, Michael Joseph Dixon
  • Publication number: 20140163849
    Abstract: The present invention combines the geographical coverage possible with fixed, pre-defined route segment costs (e.g. the legal speed limit) with, wherever possible, richer time dependent costs. A user of, for example, a portable navigation device, can therefore continue route planning as before to virtually any destination in a country covered by the stored map database, but wherever possible, can also use traffic data with time-dependent costs, so that the effect of congestion with any time predictability can be accurately taken into account as an automatic, background process. It leaves the user to simply carry on driving, following the guidance offered by the navigation device, without needing to be concerned about congestion that exists now, and whether it will impact his journey.
    Type: Application
    Filed: December 20, 2013
    Publication date: June 12, 2014
    Applicant: TomTom International B.V.
    Inventors: Thomas Bruce Watson Adam, Ian Malcolm Atkinson, Michael Joseph Dixon
  • Patent number: 8301171
    Abstract: A subscriber database, in at least one embodiment, stores RF level and timing advance information associated with all mobile telephones on a network. A location parameters database stores location data that associates different physical locations with RF levels/timing advance data that have been measured or inferred for those locations. The subscriber database is then interpreted for the purpose of establishing the location of a specific mobile telephone at a given time by matching the RF level/timing advance data for that specific mobile telephone against the location parameters database. This generates the location of the mobile telephone. The interpretation or querying of the subscriber database only occurs, however, when there is a request to establish the location of a specific mobile telephone, and not as an automated process applied to all mobile telephones on a network.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 9, 2006
    Date of Patent: October 30, 2012
    Assignee: Tomtom International B.V.
    Inventors: Owen Robert Dando, Ian Malcolm Atkinson, Thomas Bruce Watson Adam, Michael Joseph Dixon
  • Publication number: 20100159957
    Abstract: A subscriber database, in at least one embodiment, stores RF level and timing advance information associated with all mobile telephones on a network. A location parameters database stores location data that associates different physical locations with RF levels/timing advance data that have been measured or inferred for those locations. The subscriber database is then interpreted for the purpose of establishing the location of a specific mobile telephone at a given time by matching the RF level/timing advance data for that specific mobile telephone against the location parameters database. This generates the location of the mobile telephone. The interpretation or querying of the subscriber database only occurs, however, when there is a request to establish the location of a specific mobile telephone, and not as an automated process applied to all mobile telephones on a network.
    Type: Application
    Filed: August 9, 2006
    Publication date: June 24, 2010
    Inventors: Owen Robert Dando, Ian Malcolm Atkinson, Thomas Bruce Watson Adam, Michael Joseph Dixon
  • Publication number: 20040102893
    Abstract: The present invention relates to a method for monitoring vehicular traffic flow in a road network (1) in an area served by a mobile telecommunications device network (7) having a call management system (10) provided with a mobile telecommunications device positioning system (11) providing positional data for active mobile telecommunications devices (12). The method comprises capturing geographical positioning data for individual active devices carried aboard vehicles (12) and converting these into probability vectors representing the likelihood of the vehicle having arrived at any of the possible road components (16) of the road network (7) compatible with the geographical positional data. As the vehicle (12) travels along, this process is repeated and new probability vectors constructed based on the probability of any of the available routes between the new probability vector mad component position and the immediately preceding probability vector road component position.
    Type: Application
    Filed: May 23, 2003
    Publication date: May 27, 2004
    Inventors: Ian Malcolm Atkinson, Thomas Bruce Watson Adam, Michael Joseph Dixon
  • Patent number: 6650948
    Abstract: The present invention relates to a method for monitoring vehicular traffic flow in a road network 1 in an area served by a mobile telecommunications device network 7 having a call management system 10 provided with a mobile telecommunications device positioning system 11 providing positional data for active mobile telecommunications devices 12. The method comprises capturing geographical positioning data for individual active devices carried aboard vehicles 12 and converting these into probability vectors representing the likelihood of the vehicle having arrived at any of the possible road components 16 of the road network 7 compatible with the geographical positional data. As the vehicle 12 travels along, this process is repeated and new probability vectors constructed based on the probability of any of the available routes between the new probability vector road component position and the immediately preceding probability vector road component position.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 28, 2000
    Date of Patent: November 18, 2003
    Assignee: Applied Generics Limited
    Inventors: Ian Malcolm Atkinson, Thomas Bruce Watson Adam, Michael Joseph Dixon
  • Patent number: 6118782
    Abstract: The present invention relates to an Asynchronous Transfer Mode (ATM) network, and in particular to a system and a method for a number of ATM devices to share the facilities provided by a single ATM switch port. An ATM switch has a number of switch ports which may receive and transmit the data comprising information and a routing identifier. A number of ATM devices are connected in series to each other in a device chain, and at the ends to the chain to a first ATM port. The devices are adapted to distinguish between the information and the routing identifier and may receive and transmit information through the chain, with a first or head device receiving data from the ATM port and the last device transmitting data to the ATM port. A control computer is connected to a second ATM port and may be programmed with the identities of the ATM devices and communicate through the first switch port with a device in the device chain.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 20, 1997
    Date of Patent: September 12, 2000
    Assignee: FORE Systems, Inc.
    Inventors: Michael Joseph Dixon, Ian Malcolm Atkinson