METHOD AND SYSTEM OF MONITORING EMERGENCY VEHICLES

• US 20160098926A1
• Filed: 10/03/2014
• Published: 04/07/2016
• Est. Priority Date: 10/03/2014
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Nissan Motor Co., Ltd.
• Original Assignee: Nissan North America Incorporated (Nissan Motor Co., Ltd.)
• Inventors: PROBERT, Neal, GOUDY, Roy, CHAMBERS, Jeremy, CHRISTENSEN, Andy
• Granted Patent: US 9,778,349 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: B60W 30/00 Purposes of road vehicle drive control systems not related to the control of a particular sub-unit, e.g. of systems using conjoint control of vehicle sub-units
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 11/02 using radio waves G01S19/00 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 19/17 Emergency applications
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 5/0072 Transmission between mobile stations, e.g. anti-collision systems
• CPC Class Codes: G08G 1/0965 responding to signals from another vehicle, e.g. emergency vehicle
• CPC Class Codes: G08G 1/123 indicating the position of vehicles, e.g. scheduled vehicles; Managing passenger vehicles circulating according to a fixed timetable, e.g. buses, trains, tramstransmission of navigation instructions to vehicles G08G1/0968

Abstract

A method of monitoring emergency vehicles includes generating host vehicle information with a navigation unit, the host vehicle information including a host vehicle location and a host vehicle heading, receiving emergency vehicle information with a receiver, the emergency vehicle information including an emergency vehicle emergency status, an emergency vehicle location and an emergency vehicle heading, determining with a controller a distance between the host vehicle location and the emergency vehicle location, determining with the controller whether the distance between host vehicle and the emergency vehicle is decreasing, and performing a mitigation operation, when the distance between host vehicle and the emergency vehicle is decreasing, and the distance between host vehicle and the emergency vehicle is a threshold distance or less.

Claims

1. A method of monitoring emergency, comprising:

generating host vehicle information with a navigation unit, the host vehicle information including a host vehicle location and a host vehicle heading;

receiving emergency vehicle information with a receiver, the emergency vehicle information including an emergency vehicle emergency status, an emergency vehicle location and an emergency vehicle heading;

determining with a controller a distance between the host vehicle location and the emergency vehicle location;

determining with the controller whether the distance between host vehicle and the emergency vehicle is decreasing; and

performing a mitigation operation, when the distance between host vehicle and the emergency vehicle is decreasing, and the distance between host vehicle and the emergency vehicle is a threshold distance or less.

2. The method according to claim 1, wherein

the threshold distance is a first threshold distance, and ceasing the mitigation operation when the distance between the host vehicle and the emergency vehicle is greater than a second threshold distance.

3. The method according to claim 2, wherein

the second threshold is less than the first threshold.

4. The method according to claim 2, wherein

the second threshold is equal to the first threshold.

5. The method according to claim 2, further comprising

performing an intervention operation when the distance between host vehicle and the emergency vehicle is decreasing, and the distance between the host vehicle and the emergency vehicle is a third threshold distance or less.

6. The method according to claim 5, wherein

the third threshold distance is less than the first threshold distance.

7. The method according to claim 6, further comprising

ceasing the intervention operation when the distance between the host vehicle and the emergency vehicle is greater than a fourth threshold distance.

8. The method according to claim 7, wherein

fourth threshold distance is less than the second threshold distance.

9. The method according to claim 5, wherein

the performing the intervention operation includes at least one of braking the host vehicle and altering the trajectory of the host vehicle.

10. The method according to claim 5, wherein

the performing the intervention operation includes maintaining at least the third threshold distance between the host vehicle and the emergency vehicle.

11. The method according to claim 10, further comprising

determining with the controller jurisdictional rules with respect to emergency vehicles at the host vehicle location.

12. The method according to claim 11, wherein

determining with the controller the jurisdictional rules includes determining the jurisdictional distance to be maintained between the host vehicle and the emergency vehicle.

13. The method according to claim 12, wherein

the performing the intervention operation includes operating brakes of the host vehicle to maintain the third threshold distance.

14. The method according to claim 12, wherein

the performing the intervention operation includes altering the trajectory of the host vehicle to maintain the third threshold distance.

15. The method according to claim 1, further comprising

determining with the controller jurisdictional rules with respect to emergency vehicles at the host vehicle location.

16. The method according to claim 15, wherein

the performing the mitigation operation includes notifying occupants of the host vehicle of the jurisdictional rules.

17. The method according to claim 1, wherein

the activating the advisory includes activating an interior warning light.

18. The method according to claim 1, wherein

the activating the advisory includes activating an auditory advisory.