Vehicle-to-vehicle communication

• US 20070054685A1
• Filed: 09/07/2005
• Published: 03/08/2007
• Est. Priority Date: 09/07/2005
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: GM Global Technology Operations LLC (General Motors Company)
• Original Assignee: GM Global Technology Operations Incorporated (General Motors Company)
• Inventors: Kellum, Carroll
• Granted Patent: US 7,561,846 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 455/517
• CPC Class Codes: B60G 2800/98 Intelligent Transportation System or Bus [IDB]
• CPC Class Codes: B60W 2050/0075 Automatic parameter input, automatic initialising or calibrating means
• CPC Class Codes: B60W 2554/00 Input parameters relating to objects
• CPC Class Codes: B60W 2556/65 Data transmitted between vehicles
• CPC Class Codes: B60W 50/14 Means for informing the driver, warning the driver or prompting a driver intervention
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 13/931 of land vehicles
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 2013/9316 combined with communication equipment with other vehicles or with base stations
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 2013/932 using own vehicle data, e.g. ground speed, steering wheel direction
• CPC Class Codes: G08G 1/166 for active traffic, e.g. moving vehicles, pedestrians, bikes

Abstract

A method for vehicle-to-vehicle communication. The method includes receiving data about a first vehicle and a second vehicle within a proximity of an intermediate node, where the receiving is at the intermediate node. The first vehicle is notified about the presence of the second vehicle and/or the second vehicle is notified about the presence of the first vehicle in response to the receiving.

Claims

1. A method for vehicle-to-vehicle communication, the method comprising:

receiving data about a first vehicle and a second vehicle within a proximity of an intermediate node, the receiving at the intermediate node; and

in response to the receiving, notifying one or more of the first vehicle about the presence of the second vehicle and the second vehicle about the presence of the first vehicle.

2. The method of claim 1 further comprising:

determining if the first vehicle and the second vehicle can communicate with each other directly in response to the receiving; and

performing the notifying if the first vehicle and the second vehicle cannot communicate with each other directly.

3. The method of claim 2 further comprising:

determining if the first vehicle and the second vehicle have coincident paths; and

performing the notifying if the first vehicle and the second vehicle have coincident paths and the first vehicle and the second vehicle cannot communicate with each other directly.

4. The method of claim 2 further comprising forwarding one or more of the data received from the first vehicle to the second vehicle and the data received from the second vehicle to the first vehicle if the first vehicle and the second vehicle cannot communicate with each other directly.

5. The method of claim 2 wherein the determining includes:

receiving link information from the first vehicle and the second vehicle; and

determining that the first vehicle and the second vehicle cannot communicate with each other directly if one or more of the first vehicle does not include a link to the second vehicle and the second vehicle does not include a link to the first vehicle.

6. The method of claim 1 further comprising:

determining if the first vehicle and the second vehicle have coincident paths; and

performing the notifying if the first vehicle and the second vehicle have coincident paths.

7. The method of claim 1 wherein the data about the first vehicle includes a geographic location of the first vehicle and dynamic information about the first vehicle.

8. The method of claim 7 wherein the dynamic information includes one or more of heading direction of the first vehicle and a speed of the first vehicle.

9. The method of claim 1 wherein the data about the second vehicle includes a geographic location of the second vehicle and dynamic information about the second vehicle.

10. The method of claim 9 wherein the dynamic information includes one or more of a heading direction of the second vehicle and a speed of the second vehicle.

11. The method of claim 1 wherein the notifying the first vehicle includes transmitting a geographic location of the second vehicle to the first vehicle and the notifying the second vehicle includes transmitting a geographic location of the first vehicle to the second vehicle.

12. The method of claim 11 wherein the notifying the first vehicle includes transmitting dynamic information from the second vehicle to the first vehicle and the notifying the second vehicle includes transmitting dynamic information from the first vehicle to the second vehicle.

13. The method of claim 1 wherein the intermediate node is located on a third vehicle.

14. The method of claim 1 wherein the intermediate node is located in the first vehicle.

15. The method of claim 1 wherein the intermediate node is located on a stationary object.

16. The method of claim 1 wherein the intermediate node forwards one or more of the data received from the first vehicle to the second vehicle and the data received from the second vehicle to the first vehicle.

17. A system for vehicle-to-vehicle communication, the system comprising:

a telematics unit; and

a processor in communication with the telematics unit, the processor including instructions for facilitating;

receiving data about a first vehicle and a second vehicle within a proximity of an intermediate node, the receiving at the intermediate node and via the telematics unit; and

in response to the receiving notifying one or more of the first vehicle about the presence of the second vehicle and the second vehicle about the presence of the first vehicle, the notifying via the telematics unit.

18. The system of claim 17 further wherein the instructions further facilitate:

determining if the first vehicle and the second vehicle can communicate with each other directly in response to the receiving; and

performing the notifying if the first vehicle and the second vehicle cannot communicate with each other directly.

19. The system of claim 18 wherein the instructions further facilitate:

determining if the first vehicle and the second vehicle have coincident paths; and

performing the notifying if the first vehicle and the second vehicle have coincident paths and the first vehicle and the second vehicle can communicate with each other directly.

20. A computer program product for vehicle-to-vehicle communication, the computer program product comprising:

a storage medium readable by a processing circuit and storing instructions for execution by the processing circuit for performing a method, the method including;

receiving data about a first vehicle and a second vehicle within a proximity of an intermediate node, the receiving at the intermediate node; and

in response to the receiving notifying one or more of the first vehicle about the presence of the second vehicle and the second vehicle about the presence of the first vehicle.