AUTOMATED VOICE EMERGENCY CALL

• US 20100130161A1
• Filed: 03/27/2008
• Published: 05/27/2010
• Est. Priority Date: 03/29/2007
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Continental AG
• Original Assignee: Continental Teves AG & Co. OHG (Continental AG)
• Inventors: Stählin, Ulrich, Rieth, Peter
• Granted Patent: US 8,620,256 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 455/404.100
• CPC Class Codes: G08B 25/012 using recorded signals, e.g. speech G08B25/08 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: G08B 25/016 Personal emergency signalling and security systems emergency non-personal manually actuated alarm activators G08B25/12
• CPC Class Codes: G08G 1/205 Indicating the location of the monitored vehicles as destination, e.g. accidents, stolen, rental

Abstract

A data channel for the transmission of voice from a subscriber and of additional data characterizing the cause of an accident is used for an emergency call from a vehicle. These characterizing data are likewise transmitted in the form of voice. The data transmission is effected sequentially in this case.

Claims

1-20. -20. (canceled)

21. An emergency call device for a vehicle for the transmission of an emergency call, said emergency call device having:

a detection unit for capturing measurement data;

a control unit for converting data corresponding to captured measurement data into a first piece of information by media conversion;

a communication unit for transmitting an emergency call, which includes the first piece of information and a second piece of information, to a receiver;

wherein the second piece of information corresponds to an audible user input.

22. The emergency call device as claimed in claim 21,

wherein the communication unit is configured to transmit the first piece of information and the second piece of information in the same transmission channel.

23. The emergency call device as claimed in claim 21,

wherein the communication unit and the control unit are configured to transmit the first piece of information and the second piece of information serially.

24. The emergency call device as claimed in claim 21,

wherein the control unit has a voice synthesizer which is configured to convert data by voice synthesis for the purpose of converting the data into the first piece of information.

25. The emergency call device as claimed in claim 21,

Wherein, after a connection has been established, the communication unit and the control unit are configured to transmit the first piece of information directly and to transmit the second piece of information after the first piece of information has been transmitted.

26. The emergency call device as claimed in claim 21,

wherein the communication unit and the control unit are configured to transmit the first piece of information if no voices can be heard from the vehicle over a prescribable period of time.

27. The emergency call device as claimed in claim 21,

wherein the communication unit and the control unit are configured to transmit only the first piece of information or only the second piece of information in response to a request from the receiver.

28. The emergency call device as claimed in claim 21,

wherein the communication unit and the control unit are configured to transmit the data in text form or to transmit the first piece of information in response to a request from the receiver.

29. The emergency call device as claimed in claim 21, further comprising an input unit with a buffer store for recording and buffer-storing the audible user input from an occupant of the vehicle.

30. The emergency call device as claimed in claim 21,

wherein the receiver is a mobile terminal.

31. The emergency call device as claimed in claim 21,

wherein the receiver is a permanently installed network access device.

32. The emergency call device as claimed in claim 21,

wherein the communication link for transmitting the information is a narrowband communication link.

33. The emergency call device as claimed in claim 21,

wherein the control unit is configured to evaluate captured measurement data;

wherein the control unit can take the evaluation as a basis for deciding whether an accident has occurred;

wherein the information is transmitted only if the evaluation indicates that an accident has occurred.

34. The emergency call device as claimed in claim 21,

wherein converted data have at least one data type selected from the group consisting of text data, video data and audio data.

35. An emergency call system, having:

an emergency call device as claimed in claim 21; and

a receiver for receiving the first piece of information and the second piece of information.

36. The emergency call system as claimed in claim 35,

wherein the receiver is configured to automatically make a return call when an emergency call is received if no further message from the occupant of the vehicle is received within a prescribed period of time, in which case the receiver initiates rescue measures;

wherein the emergency call device is configured such that it can be called back and can accept a return call.

37. The use of an emergency call device as claimed in claim 21 in a vehicle.

38. A method for the transmission of an emergency call from a vehicle, said method comprising the steps of:

capturing measurement data;

converting data corresponding to the captured measurement data into a first piece of information;

transmitting an emergency call which has the first piece of information and the second piece of information by media conversion to a receiver, wherein the second piece of information corresponds to an audible user input.

39. A computer program product which, when executed on a processor, prompts the processor to perform the following steps:

capture measurement data;

convert data corresponding to the captured measurement data into a first piece of information;

transmit an emergency call which has the first piece of information and a second piece of information by media conversion to a receiver, wherein the second piece of information corresponds to an audible user input.

40. A computer-readable medium which stores a computer program product which, when executed on a processor prompts the processor to perform the following steps:

capture measurement data;

convert data corresponding to the captured measurement data into a first piece of information;

transmit an emergency call which has the first piece of information and a second piece of information by media conversion to a receiver, wherein the second piece of information corresponds to an audible user input.