Event-activated reporting of vehicle location
First Claim
1. Apparatus for notifying others that a vehicle accident or other abnormal situation has occurred and of the location of the vehicle, the apparatus comprising:
- a distance measuring system (DMS) signal antenna and receiver/processor and an activatable transmitter, attached to a vehicle to be monitored, that receives and processes DMS signals from one or more DMS signal broadcasters to determine the location of the antenna and, when the transmitter is activated, to communicate this information to another person or facility that is spaced apart from the receiver/processor;
vehicle condition sensing means, attached to the vehicle, for sensing the occurrence of at least one of a selected group of abnormal situations at the vehicle, the sensing means being electronically connected to the transmitter so that, when one or more of the selected group of abnormal events or conditions occurs at the vehicle, the sensing means activates the transmitter and communicates the location of the vehicle, at approximately the time the abnormal situation occurs;
an operations sensor for sensing the value of a vehicle operating parameter at a sequence of times; and
a temporary information storage memory, connected to the vehicle condition sensing means, that receives and holds the vehicle operating parameter values sensed by the operations sensor, for a time interval of selected length Δ
ts after each such value is received, and that holds these values for a time interval of length greater than Δ
ts as soon as a vehicle abnormal situation occurs.
2 Assignments
0 Petitions
Accused Products
Abstract
Apparatus that is carried on a land vehicle, a marine vehicle or vessel, or an airborne vehicle or vessel for notifying others that a vehicle accident or other abnormal situation has occurred and for notifying others of the location of the vehicle at the time of the accident. The vehicle carries an distance measuring system (DMS) signal antenna and receiver/processor that receives DMS-type signals from one or more DMS signal broadcasters and determines the present position of the vehicle, plus an activatable transmitter. The vehicle also carries an abnormality sensing means that senses the occurrence of an accident or other abnormal situation involving the vehicle or a vehicle occupant. When an abnormal situation is sensed, the abnormality sensing means automatically activates the transmitter, which then communicates the fact that an abnormal situation has occurred and the location of the vehicle at the time the event occurred. Alternatively, the abnormality sensing means can activate the transmitter only after a vehicle operator has taken affirmative action indicating that the transmitter should be activated. Optionally, the transmitter can also communicate the time the event occurred. If the abnormal situation is (1) a vehicle accident, (2) inoperability of the vehicle, (3) inability of the vehicle operator or other vehicle occupant to continue (e.g., because of a rapid change in a present health condition of the occupant), the transmitter can also communicate information on (1) the severity of the accident, (2) the type or cause of vehicle inoperability, (3) the reason the operator or other occupant is unable to continue. Optionally, the system can also transmit, or hold for future analysis, the values of one or more vehicle operating parameters sensed at a sequence of times preceding occurrence of the abnormal situation. The DMS may be a Satellite Positioning System, such as the Global Positioning System (GPS) or the Global Orbiting Navigation System (GLONASS), or a ground-based radionavigation system, such as LORAN, Shoran, Decca or TACAN.
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Citations
32 Claims
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1. Apparatus for notifying others that a vehicle accident or other abnormal situation has occurred and of the location of the vehicle, the apparatus comprising:
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a distance measuring system (DMS) signal antenna and receiver/processor and an activatable transmitter, attached to a vehicle to be monitored, that receives and processes DMS signals from one or more DMS signal broadcasters to determine the location of the antenna and, when the transmitter is activated, to communicate this information to another person or facility that is spaced apart from the receiver/processor; vehicle condition sensing means, attached to the vehicle, for sensing the occurrence of at least one of a selected group of abnormal situations at the vehicle, the sensing means being electronically connected to the transmitter so that, when one or more of the selected group of abnormal events or conditions occurs at the vehicle, the sensing means activates the transmitter and communicates the location of the vehicle, at approximately the time the abnormal situation occurs; an operations sensor for sensing the value of a vehicle operating parameter at a sequence of times; and a temporary information storage memory, connected to the vehicle condition sensing means, that receives and holds the vehicle operating parameter values sensed by the operations sensor, for a time interval of selected length Δ
ts after each such value is received, and that holds these values for a time interval of length greater than Δ
ts as soon as a vehicle abnormal situation occurs. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 31)
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23. A method for notifying others that a vehicle accident or other abnormal situation has occurred and of the location of the vehicle, the method comprising the steps of:
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providing a radionavigation distance measuring system (DMS) signal antenna and receiver/processor and an activatable transmitter, attached to a vehicle to be monitored, that receives and processes DMS signals from at least three DMS signal broadcasters to determine the location of the DMS antenna and to communicate this information to a recipient that is spaced apart from the receiver/processor when the transmitter is activated; monitoring the vehicle for the occurrence of at least one of a selected group of abnormal situations at the vehicle, and, when one or more of the selected group of vehicle abnormal situations occurs, activating the transmitter and communicating the location of the vehicle, at approximately the time the abnormal situation occurs; sensing and storing, for a selected time interval of length Δ
ts, a sequence of values of at least one vehicle operating parameter; andholding this sequence of vehicle operating parameter values for a time interval of length greater than Δ
ts as soon as a vehicle abnormal situation occurs. - View Dependent Claims (24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 32)
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Specification