Vehicle impact avoidance system

• US 20070124078A1
• Filed: 11/25/2005
• Published: 05/31/2007
• Est. Priority Date: 11/25/2005
• Status: Abandoned Application

• Current Assignee: Garry Vinje
• Original Assignee: Garry Vinje
• Inventors: Vinje, Garry
• Application Number:
  US11/286,430
• Publication Number:
  US 20070124078A1
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 701/301
• CPC Class Codes: G08G 1/161 Decentralised systems, e.g. inter-vehicle communication

Abstract

A system whereby vehicles travelling on unmapped roadways, such as logging or industrial roadways, may initially record a linear distance electronic image of the roadway being travelled, based upon position data received and stored from a remote satellite global positioning system, and, using the position data, to continuously broadcast a radio frequency signal identifying that position on that roadway and receive from at least one other suitably equipped vehicle a continuously broadcast radio frequency signal of the other vehicles'"'"' coordinates so that a suitable visual or auditory signal may be activated to warn the operator of the vehicles when the vehicles close within a predetermined range.

Claims

1. A vehicle impact avoidance system comprising a means for determining that a first vehicle is travelling off-highway, means for processing GPS-derived position coordinates for said first vehicle so as to create a linear distance map of a working roadway being travelled by said first vehicle and storing said map if no corresponding map has already been made and stored, and means for re-broadcasting said position coordinates for said first vehicle locally by radio frequency transmission to other vehicles in the adjacent area, means for receiving radio-frequency transmissions from said other vehicles of the GPS-derived position co-ordinates for said other vehicles, means for comparing said position co-ordinates for said other vehicles with said position coordinates for said first vehicle, means for indicating to a driver of said first vehicle a threat level corresponding to a likelihood of impending collision based on said comparison.

2. The system of claim 1 further comprising means for identifying, within said stored roadways, roadways which are not hazardous and deactivating any indication of said threat level due to said impending collision.

3. The system of claim 1 further comprising means for determining which of said other vehicles are vehicles that pose a direct impact threat to said first vehicle of those said other vehicles which are tracked and displayed as a threat level when off-highway, and filtering out other non-threatening traffic patterns involving said first vehicle and said other vehicles, wherein said non-threatening traffic patterns include wherein said first vehicle and said other vehicles are within a pre-set warning proximity but are moving along paths which will not intersect.

4. The system of claim 1 further comprising means for creating electronic zones of detection, each zone of said zones of detection corresponding to one vehicle of said first vehicle or said other vehicles, each said zone radiating outwardly from and surrounding a corresponding said vehicle, and means for identifying said zones and determining a potential impact hazard based on a comparison of distance between and direction of travel of said zones.

5. The system of claim 3 wherein said pre-set warning proximity is substantially equal to a distance at which said radio frequency transmissions are received between said first vehicle and said other vehicles with a pre-set statistical certainty of accurate transfer of said position co-ordinates.

6. The system of claim 5 wherein said pre-set statistical certainty is ninety-five percent.

7. The system of claim 1 wherein when said map has already been made and stored and wherein when said means for comparing determines said position coordinates for said first vehicle and said other vehicles lie on said map which has already been made and stored, then said comparison by said means for comparing is a comparison of at least distances between said first vehicle and said other vehicles along a path coinciding with that portion of said map which has been made and stored between said first vehicle and said other vehicles, otherwise said means for comparing compares a linear distance directly and linearly between said first vehicle and said other vehicles.

8. A method for avoiding impact between approaching vehicles comprising the steps of:

a) providing a first transceiver/processor unit

b) receiving in said first unit position coordinates for present position from a remote/satellite based positioning system,

c) broadcasting from said first unit a radio frequency signal containing the position coordinates for said present position (continuously/intermittently),

d) receiving in said first unit RF signals containing position coordinates broadcast from at least a second transceiver/processor unit when within radio frequency range of said first unit,

e) computing in said first unit a linear distance in a straight line from said first unit to said second unit,

f) comparing in said first unit said present position of said first unit with stored maps stored in said first unit to locate a stored map having a vehicular first roadway coinciding, along said roadway, with said present position of said first unit,

g) comparing in said first unit said present position of said second unit with said stored maps to locate a second roadway coinciding, along said second roadway, with said present position of said second unit,

h) comparing said first and second roadways to determine if they respectively form part of a common roadway containing both said first and second roadways and identifying said common roadway, and if so identified then determining a path distance along said common roadway from said first unit to said second unit and comparing said path distance to a set of distance range values, ignoring said second unit if said path distance is above an outer distance threshold, triggering a proximity warning indicator to indicate to a user from a set of proximity warning indicators corresponding to said set of distance range values of said first unit a proximity warning corresponding to said path distance and a corresponding distance range value from said set of distance range values,

i) in the event said common roadway is not identified then comparing said linear distance to said set of distance range values and substituting said linear distance for said path distance and repeating step (h),

j) repeatedly repeating steps (b)-(h) according to a refresh frequency.