VEHICLE EMERGENCY CALL SYSTEM FOR TRANSMITTING ADDITIONAL OR MODIFIED DATA

• US 20100267358A1
• Filed: 04/25/2008
• Published: 10/21/2010
• Est. Priority Date: 12/06/2007
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Continental Teves AG & Co. OHG (Continental AG)
• Original Assignee: Continental Teves AG & Co. OHG (Continental AG)
• Inventors: Stählin, Ulrich
• Granted Patent: US 8,254,875 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 455/404.100
• 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

An emergency call device, system and method for a vehicle is specified in which, on occurrence of a certain event, a data record is generated which thereupon is transmitted during an emergency call. The event may be an external request by an operator or a trigger signal inside a vehicle. In this way, the operator may obtain the most recent information at any time during the emergency call.

Claims

1-19. -19. (canceled)

20. An emergency call device for a vehicle for transmitting an emergency call, the emergency call device comprising:

a communication unit for transmitting the emergency call to a receiving device outside the vehicle, the emergency call being transmitted at least partially via a voice channel; and

a control unit for controlling the communication unit;

the control unit configured to, on occurrence of a certain event, generate a data record which thereupon is transmitted during the emergency call.

21. The emergency call device as claimed in claim 20, wherein the certain event is a data request from the receiving device to the control unit during the transmission of the emergency call.

22. The emergency call device as claimed in claim 21, wherein the data request is based on a predetermined tone sequence.

23. The emergency call device as claimed in claim 20, further comprising a detection unit for detecting measurement values;

and wherein the certain event being the transgression of a predetermined threshold value of a detected measurement value.

24. The emergency call device as claimed in claim 20, wherein the data record is transmitted via a voice channel.

25. The emergency call device as claimed in claim 24, wherein the control unit, for the purpose of generating the data record in the form of voice information, comprises a speech synthesizer which is configured to convert data by means of speech synthesis.

26. The emergency call device as claimed in claim 20, wherein

the data record is transmitted during the emergency call in the form of a three-party call;

the first party of the three-party call being an occupant of the vehicle the vehicle;

the second party of the three-party call being an operator of the receiving device; and

the third party of the three-party call being the control unit.

27. The emergency call device as claimed in claim 26, wherein the emergency call is transmitted from the beginning via the voice channel so that the operator may speak to the occupants of the vehicle already at the beginning of the emergency call.

28. The emergency call device as claimed in claim 20, further comprising an output unit;

and wherein the control unit is configured to transmit an output signal to the output unit in order to signal visually or audibly to the occupants of the vehicle that the data record is being transmitted to the receiving device.

29. The emergency call device as claimed in claim 20, wherein the receiving device is a mobile terminal.

30. The emergency call device as claimed in claim 20, wherein the communication unit is a permanently installed network access device.

31. The emergency call device as claimed in claim 20, wherein the emergency call is an automated emergency call.

32. An emergency call system comprising:

an emergency call device as claimed in claim 20; and

a receiving device for receiving the emergency call and for requesting data from the emergency call device.

33. The use of an emergency call device as claimed in claim 20 in a vehicle.

34. A method for transmitting an emergency call from a vehicle to a receiving device, the method comprising the steps:

transmitting the emergency call to the receiving device, the emergency call being transmitted at least partially via a voice channel; and

generating a data record on the occurrence of a certain event, which thereupon is transmitted during the emergency call.

35. The method as claimed in claim 34, wherein the certain event is a data request from the receiving device to the control unit during the transmission of the emergency call, or a transgression of a predetermined threshold value of a measurement value detected in the vehicle.

36. The method as claimed in claim 34, wherein the data record being transmitted during the emergency call in the form of a three-party call;

the first party of the three-party call being an occupant of the vehicle;

the second party of the three-party call being an operator of the receiving device; and

the third party of the three-party call being the control unit.

37. A computer program product which, when executed on a processor, instructs the processor to carry out the following steps:

transmit the emergency call to the receiving device, the emergency call being transmitted at least partially via a voice channel;

generate a data record on the occurrence of a certain event, which thereupon is transmitted during the emergency call.

38. A computer-readable medium on which a computer program product is stored which, when executed on a processor, instructs the processor to carry out the following steps:

transmit the emergency call to receiving device, the emergency call being transmitted at least partially via a voice channel;

generate a data record on the occurrence of a certain event which thereupon is transmitted during the emergency call.