APPARATUS, SYSTEM, AND METHOD FOR DETECTING THE PRESENCE OF AN INTOXICATED DRIVER AND CONTROLLING THE OPERATION OF A VEHICLE
First Claim
1. An apparatus for controlling vehicle operation based on a driver'"'"'s blood alcohol content comprising:
- a detector module comprising a sensor to produce an electrical signal representative of a blood alcohol content of the driver, wherein the electrical signal is generated by measuring an alcohol content of the air within a predetermined vehicle zone; and
a control module electrically coupled to the detector module, the control module to control at least one vehicle operation in response to the electrical signal received by the control module from the sensor.
4 Assignments
0 Petitions
Accused Products
Abstract
An apparatus, system, and method for detecting an intoxicated driver of a vehicle and preventing operation of the vehicle are presented. In one embodiment, a detector module comprises a sensor that produces an electrical signal corresponding to a predetermined blood alcohol content of the driver. The blood alcohol content of the driver is determined by sampling the alcohol content of the air within a predetermined vehicle zone. A control module is coupled to the detector module to control at least one vehicle operations in response to the electrical signal from the detector module. In another embodiment, a cell phone contains the detector module and is wirelessly coupled to the control module. A vehicle status module is included in some embodiments.
-
Citations
23 Claims
-
1. An apparatus for controlling vehicle operation based on a driver'"'"'s blood alcohol content comprising:
-
a detector module comprising a sensor to produce an electrical signal representative of a blood alcohol content of the driver, wherein the electrical signal is generated by measuring an alcohol content of the air within a predetermined vehicle zone; and a control module electrically coupled to the detector module, the control module to control at least one vehicle operation in response to the electrical signal received by the control module from the sensor. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12)
-
-
13. A system for controlling vehicle operation based on a driver'"'"'s blood alcohol content comprising:
a control module, responsive to a wireless signal from a mobile device, wherein the wireless signal is representative of a blood alcohol content of a user of the mobile device as determined by an alcohol sensor located within the mobile device, and wherein the control module is configured to control one or more vehicle operations. - View Dependent Claims (14, 15, 16)
-
17. A method for preventing operation of a vehicle by an intoxicated person, the method comprising:
-
detecting, via a sensor, the blood alcohol content of a person, wherein the detecting is performed by testing the alcohol content of a volume of air within a predetermined vehicle zone; signaling, by the sensor, a control module configured to control at least one vehicle operation; and controlling, by the control module, the at least one vehicle operation so as to control operation of the vehicle. - View Dependent Claims (18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23)
-
Specification