GEOGRAPHICALLY SPECIFIC EMERGENCY NOTIFICATION

• US 20110018736A1
• Filed: 07/21/2009
• Published: 01/27/2011
• Est. Priority Date: 07/21/2009
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Verizon Patent and Licensing Incorporated (Verizon Communications Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Verizon Patent and Licensing Incorporated (Verizon Communications Inc.)
• Inventors: CARR, Jeffrey Thomas
• Granted Patent: US 8,350,721 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 340/902
• CPC Class Codes: G08G 1/0965 responding to signals from another vehicle, e.g. emergency vehicle
• CPC Class Codes: G08G 1/205 Indicating the location of the monitored vehicles as destination, e.g. accidents, stolen, rental

Abstract

A mobile device is associated with navigational information of a client vehicle and provides the navigational information of the client vehicle to an emergency vehicle notification service. The mobile also receives an emergency vehicle message from the emergency vehicle notification service, where the emergency vehicle message includes navigational information of an emergency responder vehicle. The mobile device determines updated navigational information of the client vehicle, and identifies a projected intersection between a path of the emergency responder vehicle and a path of the client vehicle based on the emergency vehicle message and the updated navigational information of the client vehicle. The mobile device generates an alert signal to a user of the mobile device based on the identification of the projected intersection.

Claims

1. A method implemented by a client device, the method comprising:

associating the client device with navigational information of a client vehicle;

providing, by the client device, the navigational information of the client vehicle to an emergency vehicle notification service;

receiving, by the client device, an emergency vehicle message from the emergency vehicle notification service, the emergency vehicle message including navigational information of an emergency responder vehicle;

determining, by the client device, updated navigational information of the client vehicle;

identifying a projected intersection between a path of the emergency responder vehicle and a path of the client vehicle based on the emergency vehicle message and the updated navigational information of the client vehicle; and

generating, by the client device, an alert signal to a user of the client device based on the identification of the projected intersection.

2. The method of claim 1, where associating the client device with navigational information of the client vehicle includes one of:

manually activating a driving mode in the client device, or

communicating with a vehicle information system of the vehicle.

3. The method of claim 2, where communicating with the vehicle information system of the vehicle comprises:

identifying, by the client device, a paired device within the short-range wireless network, the paired device comprising access to the vehicle information system; and

receiving, from the paired device, vehicle status information from the vehicle information system.

4. The method of claim 1, where the navigational information of the client vehicle includes one or more of:

a geographic position of the client vehicle,

a direction of the client vehicle,

a destination of the client vehicle,

a projected route of the client vehicle, or

a speed of the client vehicle.

5. The method of claim 1, where the alert signal includes one or more of:

an audible tone,

a message provided via a speaker of the client device, or

a text message.

6. The method of claim 1, where the alert signal includes multiple alert signals provided at intervals as the projected intersection between a path of the emergency responder vehicle and a path of the client vehicle becomes closer in time.

7. The method of claim 1, where the client device includes one of:

a radiotelephone,

a personal communications system (PCS) terminal,

a personal digital assistant (PDA), or

a laptop computer.

8. The method of claim 1, where the navigational information of the emergency responder vehicle is within a particular distance of a position indicated in the navigational information of the client vehicle.

9. The method of claim 1, where the navigational information of the client vehicle includes a geographic position of the client vehicle, and where the updated navigational information of the client vehicle includes one or more of:

a geographic position of the client vehicle,

a direction of the client vehicle,

a destination of the client vehicle,

a projected route of the client vehicle, or

a speed of the client vehicle.

10. A client device associated with a client vehicle, the client device comprising:

a memory to store a plurality of instructions; and

a processor to execute instructions in the memory to;

receive an emergency vehicle message from an emergency vehicle notification service, the emergency vehicle message including navigational information of an emergency responder vehicle,

determine navigational information of the client vehicle,

identify a projected intersection between a path of the emergency responder vehicle and a path of the client vehicle based on the emergency vehicle message and the navigational information of the client vehicle, and

generate an alert signal to a user of the client device based on the identification of the projected intersection.

11. The client device of claim 10, where the processor is further to execute instructions in the memory to:

associate the client device with navigational information of the client vehicle, and

provide position information of the client vehicle to an emergency vehicle notification service.

12. The client device of claim 10, where the navigational information of the client vehicle includes one or more of:

a geographic position of the client vehicle,

a direction of the client vehicle,

a destination of the client vehicle,

a projected route of the client vehicle, or

a speed of the client vehicle.

13. The client device of claim 10, where the client device comprises one or more of:

a radiotelephone,

a personal communications system (PCS) terminal,

a personal digital assistant (PDA), or

a laptop computer.

14. The client device of claim 10, where the processor is further to execute instructions in the memory to:

detect that a driving mode is activated for the client device.

15. A system comprising:

a client device to identify navigational information associated with a client vehicle;

one or more server devices to;

receive the navigational information associated with the client vehicle,

receive an emergency vehicle message, the emergency vehicle message including navigational information of an emergency responder vehicle, and

provide the navigational information of the emergency responder vehicle to the client device based on the navigational information associated with the client vehicle.

16. The system of claim 15, where the navigational information of the emergency responder vehicle includes one or more of:

a geographic position of the emergency responder vehicle,

a direction of the emergency responder vehicle,

a destination of the emergency responder vehicle,

a projected route of the emergency responder vehicle, or

a speed of the emergency responder vehicle.

17. A method performed by one or more computing devices, the method comprising:

receiving, by the one or more computing devices, a message from an emergency responder vehicle, the message including navigational information associated with a geographic position of the emergency responder vehicle;

selecting, by the one or more computing devices and from a group of client devices, a client device associated with a vehicle within a particular distance of the geographic position of the emergency responder vehicle; and

forwarding, by the one or more computing devices and to the client device, the navigational information with the geographic position of the emergency responder vehicle.

18. The method of claim 17, where the message from an emergency responder vehicle includes:

a radio frequency (RF) signal sent via a wireless communications network.

19. The method of claim 17, further comprising:

receiving, from the group of client devices, geographic position information for vehicles associated with each of the client devices in the group of client devices.

20. An electronic device comprising:

means for receiving an emergency vehicle message, the emergency vehicle message including route information for an emergency responder vehicle;

means for determining navigation information of a client vehicle associated with the electronic device;

means for identifying a projected intersection between a path based on the route information for the emergency responder vehicle and a path based on the navigation information of the client vehicle; and

means for generating an alert signal to a user of the electronic device based on the identification of the projected intersection.

21. The electronic device of claim 20, where the navigation information of the client vehicle includes one or more of:

a geographic position of the client vehicle,

a direction of the client vehicle,

a destination of the client vehicle,

a projected route of the client vehicle, or

a speed of the client vehicle.