SYSTEM AND METHOD FOR AUTOMATIC TRAFFIC ACCIDENT DETERMINATION AND NOTIFICATION
First Claim
1. A device for automatically detecting vehicular accidents and providing accident notification, the device comprising:
- a housing configured for coupling to a power source associated with the vehicle, said housing positioned in a fixed manner relative to the vehicle when coupled thereto;
a power supply residing within the housing and configured to receive power from the power source when the housing is coupled thereto;
one or more movement sensors residing within the housing and effective to generate output signals associated with movement of the vehicle;
a position sensor residing within the housing and effective to generate output signals associated with a position of the vehicle;
a communications device residing within the housing and effective to send and receive data via a communications network; and
a control unit functionally linked to each of said power supply, movement sensors, position sensor and communications device and further comprising a processor and one or more memory media, at least one of said memory media having program instructions residing thereon which upon execution by the processor are further effective toreceive and store accident threshold settings sent via the communications device,determine a location of the vehicle based on the position sensor output signals,determine a movement status of the vehicle based on the movement sensor output signals and one or more accident threshold settings, andtransmit one or more of said vehicle location and movement status via the communications device to a predetermined emergency contact upon determining a movement status associated with an accident.
3 Assignments
0 Petitions
Accused Products
Abstract
A vehicle status awareness system includes one or more devices which are plugged into a cigarette lighter socket for a vehicle to receive power and are thereby fixed in position relative to the vehicle. The devices include movement sensors which indicate changes in movement of the vehicle, a position sensor which indicates a position of the vehicle, a communications device to send and receive data to and from a remote device, and a control unit. The control unit is programmed to receive and store program parameters, determine a location of the vehicle, determine a movement status of the vehicle based on a plurality of status criteria further comprising accident threshold settings, and transmit one or more of the program parameters, vehicle location, and movement status to the remote device. Where multiple devices are included, each device may have an RF transceiver or equivalent for bidirectional communications with the other device.
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Citations
20 Claims
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1. A device for automatically detecting vehicular accidents and providing accident notification, the device comprising:
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a housing configured for coupling to a power source associated with the vehicle, said housing positioned in a fixed manner relative to the vehicle when coupled thereto; a power supply residing within the housing and configured to receive power from the power source when the housing is coupled thereto; one or more movement sensors residing within the housing and effective to generate output signals associated with movement of the vehicle; a position sensor residing within the housing and effective to generate output signals associated with a position of the vehicle; a communications device residing within the housing and effective to send and receive data via a communications network; and a control unit functionally linked to each of said power supply, movement sensors, position sensor and communications device and further comprising a processor and one or more memory media, at least one of said memory media having program instructions residing thereon which upon execution by the processor are further effective to receive and store accident threshold settings sent via the communications device, determine a location of the vehicle based on the position sensor output signals, determine a movement status of the vehicle based on the movement sensor output signals and one or more accident threshold settings, and transmit one or more of said vehicle location and movement status via the communications device to a predetermined emergency contact upon determining a movement status associated with an accident. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7)
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8. A device for automatically detecting vehicular accidents and providing accident notification, the device comprising:
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a first housing configured for coupling to a power source associated with the vehicle, said first housing positioned in a fixed manner relative to the vehicle when coupled thereto; a power supply residing within the housing and configured to receive power from the power source when the housing is coupled thereto; a second housing electrically coupled to the first housing to receive power from the power supply; one or more movement sensors residing within either the first housing or the second housing and effective to generate output signals associated with movement of the vehicle; a position sensor residing within the second housing and effective to generate output signals associated with a position of the vehicle; a communications device residing within the second housing and effective to send and receive data via a communications network; and a control unit functionally linked to each of said power supply, movement sensors, position sensor and communications device and further comprising a processor and one or more memory media, at least one of said memory media having program instructions residing thereon which upon execution by the processor are further effective to receive and store accident threshold settings sent via the communications device, determine a location of the vehicle based on the position sensor output signals, determine a movement status of the vehicle based on the movement sensor output signals and the accident threshold settings, and transmit one or more of said vehicle location and movement status via the communications device to a predetermined emergency contact upon determining a movement status associated with an accident. - View Dependent Claims (9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15)
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16. A computer program product tangibly embodied in a computer-readable memory medium, the computer program product including program instructions executable by a processor to perform a method of automatically detecting vehicular accidents and providing accident notification, the method comprising:
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receiving and storing accident threshold settings in a database functionally linked to the memory medium and the processor; receiving position sensor output signals representative of vehicle position; receiving movement sensor output signals representative of vehicle movement; determining a location of the vehicle based on the position sensor output signals; determining a movement status of the vehicle based on the movement sensor output signals and the accident threshold settings; and transmitting one or more of said vehicle location and movement status via a communications device functionally linked to the processor and the memory medium to a predetermined emergency contact upon determining a movement status associated with an accident. - View Dependent Claims (17, 18, 19, 20)
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Specification