1. A method of avoiding vehicle collisions comprising:
receiving a connection request from an in-vehicle device within a moving vehicle when the moving vehicle is within a selected distance from a traffic intersection;
establishing connection with the in-vehicle device within a moving vehicle via a serving base station;
receiving position information from the in-vehicle device within a moving vehicle corresponding to a position of the moving vehicle;
receiving control information for a traffic light at the traffic intersection from a traffic management center; and
relaying the control information for the traffic light to the in-vehicle device within a moving vehicle.
2. The method of avoiding vehicle collisions according to claim 1, wherein the position information is periodically received once a connection is established.
3. The method of avoiding vehicle collisions according to claim 2, further comprising:
determining a speed of the moving vehicle based upon the periodically received position information;
determining if a notification to an in-vehicle device within a moving vehicle should be issued based upon the determined speed and the received position information; and
transmitting the notification to the in-vehicle device based upon the determination.
4. The method of avoiding vehicle collisions according to claim 1, wherein a connection request is received from a plurality of in-vehicle devices, each of the plurality of in-vehicle devices being within a corresponding moving vehicle, the method further comprising:
establishing connection with each of the plurality of in-vehicle devices via at least one serving base station based on available bandwidth;
receiving position information from each of the plurality of in-vehicle devices corresponding to a position of each of corresponding moving vehicles;
receiving control information for at least one traffic light at a corresponding traffic intersection from a traffic management center, the corresponding traffic intersection being determined based upon the position information of each of the plurality of in-vehicle devices; and
relaying the control information for the at least one traffic light at the corresponding traffic intersection to each of the plurality of in-vehicle devices via the at least one serving base station.
5. The method of avoiding vehicle collisions according to claim 4, further comprising:
transmitting the position information from each of the plurality of in-vehicle devices received, as an aggregate position information for each of the plurality of in-vehicle devices, to each of the plurality of in-vehicle devices.
6. The method of avoiding vehicle collisions according to claim 4, further comprising:
determining a speed for each of a corresponding vehicles;
determining if a notification to an in-vehicle device within a moving vehicle should be issued based upon the determination for each of the corresponding moving vehicles and the position information received; and
transmitting the notification to each of said plurality of in-vehicle devices based upon said determination.
7. The method of avoiding vehicle collisions according to claim 6, further comprising:
determining a total number of in-vehicle devices having an active connection at each intersection;
comparing the total number of in-vehicle devices with a maximum number simultaneously connectable in-vehicle devices; and
dropping a sub-set of in-vehicle devices from the active connection based upon said determination.
8. The method of avoiding vehicle collisions according to claim 7, wherein said dropping is based upon a current location of an in-vehicle device and a current speed of the corresponding moving vehicle.
9. The method of avoiding vehicle collisions according to claim 7, wherein said dropping is based upon a random selection of an in-vehicle device.
10. The method of avoiding vehicle collisions according to claim 1, further comprising:
determining the selected distance based upon traffic patterns and traffic density.
11. A method of avoiding vehicle collisions comprising:
issuing a connection request to a central controller from a moving vehicle when a moving vehicle is within a selected distance from a traffic intersection;
establishing connection with the central controller via a serving base station;
obtaining position information for the moving vehicle and transmitting the same to the central controller; and
receiving control information for a traffic light at the traffic intersection from the central controller.
12. The method of avoiding vehicle collisions according to claim 11, further comprising:
determining if a warning should issue based upon the position information and control information for a traffic light received; and
generating a warning based upon the determining.
13. The method of avoiding vehicle collisions according to claim 11, further comprising:
receiving position information for all other vehicles within a distance of the traffic intersection;
determining if a warning should issue based upon the position information, the position information for all other vehicles within a distance of the traffic intersection received and control information for a traffic light received; and
generating a warning based upon said determining.
14. The method of avoiding vehicle collisions according to claim 11, wherein the position information includes a speed, a direction of travel and current location.
15. The method of avoiding vehicle collisions according to claim 11, wherein the control information for a traffic light includes phase and time data.
16. The method of avoiding vehicle collisions according to claim 11, wherein position information is periodically transmitted once a connection is established.
17. The method of avoiding vehicle collisions according to claim 14, further comprising:
determining the selected distance based upon a current speed of a moving vehicle.
18. The method of avoiding vehicle collisions according to claim 12, further comprising:
terminating any non-collision avoiding communications for an in-vehicle device prior to generating the warning.
19. A vehicle collision avoidance management device comprising:
a processor configured to, when executing computer readable instructions provide:
a connection management section configured to manage simultaneous connectivity of a plurality of in-vehicle devices within moving vehicles with said vehicle collision avoidance management device based upon a number of the plurality of in-vehicle devices within moving vehicles having active connections with said vehicle collision avoidance management device at a given time through each of a plurality of serving base stations;
a first receiving section configured to receive traffic signal control information for traffic signals at each of a plurality of traffic intersections;
a second receiving section configured to receive communications from each of a plurality of in-vehicle devices within moving vehicles when a corresponding vehicle is within a selected distance of an intersection, the communications including location information; and
a transmitting section configured to transmit the traffic signal control information for traffic signals to each of the plurality of in-vehicle devices and to transmit the communications received from each of the plurality of in-vehicle devices to each of the other of the plurality of in-vehicle devices.
20. The vehicle collision avoidance management device according to claim 19, further comprising:
a collision detection section configured to generate a collision warning to at least one of the plurality of in-vehicle devices based upon the traffic signal control information and the communications received from each of the plurality of in-vehicle devices, wherein said transmitting section is configured to transmit the collision warning to at least one of the plurality of in-vehicle devices.
21. The vehicle collision avoidance management device according to claim 19, wherein said connection management section is configured to selectively drop a sub-set of in-vehicle devices from the active connection when a number of active connections exceed a variable maximum number.
22. The vehicle collision avoidance management device according to claim 21, wherein the drop is based upon a current location of an in-vehicle device and current speed of a corresponding moving vehicle.
23. The vehicle collision avoidance management device according to claim 21, wherein the drop is based upon a random selection of an in-vehicle device.
24. The vehicle collision avoidance management device according to claim 19, further comprising a distance determining section configured to periodically determine the selected distance based upon traffic patterns and traffic density.
25. A computer readable storage device having computer readable instructions for causing a processor to execute a method of:
receiving a connection request from an in-vehicle device within a moving vehicle when the moving vehicle is within a selected distance from a traffic intersection;
establishing connection with the in-vehicle device within the moving vehicle via a serving base station;
receiving position information from the in-vehicle device within the moving vehicle corresponding to a position of the moving vehicle;
receiving control information for a traffic light at the traffic intersection from a traffic management center; and
relaying the control information for the traffic light to the in-vehicle device within a moving vehicle.
26. A computer readable storage device having computer readable instructions for causing a processor to execute a method of:
issuing a connection request to a central controller from a moving vehicle when a moving vehicle is within a selected distance from a traffic intersection;
establishing connection with the central controller via a serving base station;
obtaining position information for the moving vehicle and transmitting the same to the central controller; and
receiving control information for a traffic light at the traffic intersection from the central controller.
27. The computer readable storage device according to claim 26, wherein the method further comprises:
receiving position information for all other vehicles within a distance of the traffic intersection;
determining if a warning should issue based upon the position information, the position information for all other vehicles within a distance of the traffic intersection received and the control information for a traffic light received; and
generating a warning based upon said determining.
The claims below are in addition to those above.
All refrences to claim(s) which appear below refer to the numbering after this setence.
1. A table top constructed from molded plastic, the table top comprising:
an upper portion forming at least a portion of an upper surface of the table top;
a lower portion forming at least a portion of a lower surface of the table top;
a hollow interior portion at least partially disposed between the upper portion and the lower portion of the table top, the upper portion, the lower portion and the hollow interior portion integrally formed during the molding process as part of a unitary, one-piece construction;
a first row of at least ten generally aligned depressions integrally formed in the lower portion of the table top as part of the unitary, one-piece construction, each depression in the first row of depressions having generally the same shape, size and configuration; and
a second row of at least ten generally aligned depressions integrally formed in the lower portion of the table top as part of the unitary, one-piece construction, each depression in the second row of depressions having generally the same shape, size and configuration.
2. The table top as in claim 1, further comprising a lip integrally formed in the lower portion of the table top as part of the unitary, one-piece construction, the lip including a first portion with an inner portion, an outer portion and a lower portion, the lip including a second portion with an inner portion, an outer portion and a lower portion;
wherein the lip is spaced apart from the first row of depressions and the second row of depressions.
3. The table top as in claim 2, further comprising:
a frame connected to the table top, the frame comprising a first portion connected to the inner portion of the first portion of the lip by a plurality of fasteners and a second portion connected to the inner portion of the second portion of the lip by a plurality of fasteners;
a first leg assembly selectively movable between an extended position and a collapsed position relative to the table top; and
a second leg assembly selectively movable between an extended position and a collapsed position relative to the table top.
4. The table top as in claim 1, wherein the first row of depressions includes at least twenty depressions and the second row of depressions includes at least twenty depressions.
5. The table top as in claim 1, wherein the first row of depressions includes at least thirty depressions and the second row of depressions includes at least thirty depressions.
6. The table top as in claim 1, further comprising a column of at least five generally aligned depressions integrally formed in the lower portion of the table top, the column being disposed generally perpendicular to the first row of at least ten generally aligned depressions.
7. The table top as in claim 1, further comprising a column of at least five generally aligned depressions integrally formed in the lower portion of the table top, the column being disposed generally perpendicular to the second row of at least ten generally aligned depressions.
8. The table top as in claim 1, wherein the first row of depressions is offset from the second row of depressions.
9. The table top as in claim 1, further comprising at least five rows of depressions integrally formed in the lower portion of the table top, each of the rows of depressions including at least ten generally aligned depressions; and
further comprising at least five columns of depressions integrally formed in the lower portion of the table top, each of the columns of depressions including at least five generally aligned depressions.
10. The table top as in claim 1, further comprising a first leg assembly movable between an extended position and a collapsed position relative to the table top, the first leg assembly generally disposed between the first row of depressions and the second row of depressions when the first leg assembly is in the collapsed position; and
further comprising a second leg assembly movable between an extended position and a collapsed position relative to the table top, the second leg assembly generally disposed between the first row of depressions and the second row of depressions when the second leg assembly is in the collapsed position.
11. A method of constructing a table top, the method comprising:
molding a table top from plastic, the table top including an upper portion, a lower portion and a hollow interior portion that are integrally formed during the molding process as part of a unitary, one-piece construction;
integrally forming a first row of at least ten generally aligned depressions in the lower portion of the table top as part of the unitary, one-piece construction, each depression in the first row of depressions having generally the generally the same shape, size and configuration; and
integrally forming a second row of at least ten generally aligned depressions in the lower portion of the table top as part of the unitary, one-piece construction, each depression in the second row of depressions having generally the same shape, size and configuration.
12. The method as in claim 11, further comprising:
integrally forming a downwardly extending lip in the lower portion of the table as part of the unitary, one-piece construction, the lip including a first portion with an inner portion, an outer portion and a lower portion, the lip including a second portion with an inner portion, an outer portion and a lower portion;
disposing a first leg assembly generally between the inner portion of the first portion of the lip and the inner portion of the second portion of the lip when the first leg assembly is in a collapsed position to facilitate stacking of the table; and
disposing a second leg assembly generally between the inner portion of the first portion of the lip and the inner portion of the second portion of the lip when the second leg assembly is in a collapsed position to facilitate stacking of the table;
wherein the first leg assembly generally does not extend beyond a plane that is generally aligned with the lower portion of the first portion of the lip and the lower portion of the second portion of the lip when the first leg assembly is in the collapsed position to facilitate stacking of the table; and
wherein the second leg assembly generally does not extend beyond a plane that is generally aligned with the lower portion of the first portion of the lip and the lower portion of the second portion of the lip when the second leg assembly is in the collapsed position to facilitate stacking of the table.
13. The method as in claim 11, further comprising:
connecting a first portion of a frame to the inner portion of the first portion of the lip by a plurality of fasteners;
connecting a second portion of the frame to the inner portion of the second portion of the lip by a plurality of fasteners;
connecting a first leg assembly to the table top, the first leg assembly selectively movable between an extended position and a collapsed position relative to the table top; and
connecting a second leg assembly to the table top, the second leg assembly selectively movable between an extended position and a collapsed position relative to the table top.
14. The method as in claim 11, wherein the first row of depressions includes at least twenty depressions and the second row of depressions includes at least twenty depressions.
15. The method as in claim 11, wherein the first row of depressions includes at least thirty depressions and the second row of depressions includes at least thirty depressions.
16. The method as in claim 11, further comprising integrally forming a column of at least five generally aligned depressions in the lower portion of the table top, the column being disposed generally perpendicular to the first row of at least ten generally aligned depressions.
17. The method as in claim 11, further comprising integrally forming a column of at least five generally aligned depressions in the lower portion of the table top, the column being disposed generally perpendicular to the second row of at least ten generally aligned depressions.
18. The method as in claim 11, wherein the first row of depressions is offset from the second row of depressions.
19. The method as in claim 11, further comprising integrally forming at least five rows of depressions in the lower portion of the table top, each of the rows of depressions including at least ten generally aligned depressions; and
further comprising integrally forming at least five columns of depressions in the lower portion of the table top, each of the columns of depressions including at least five generally aligned depressions.
20. The method as in claim 11, further comprising:
disposing a first leg assembly generally between the first row of depressions and the second row of depressions when the first leg assembly is in a collapsed position; and
disposing a second leg assembly generally between the first row of depressions and the second row of depressions when the second leg assembly is in the collapsed position.