Vehicular emergency message system
First Claim
1. A vehicular emergency message system in a mobile vehicle for communicating with a response center, comprising:
- a position locator receiving reference broadcast signals and determining a position of said vehicle;
a cellular transceiver having an audio signal input, an audio signal output, and a control input;
a controller coupled to said position locator and said cellular transceiver for causing said cellular transceiver to communicate with said response center in a predetermined manner, wherein said controller operates in a wait mode, an activation mode, and a communication mode, said controller including a tone detector for detecting tone signals from said response center; and
an activation unit coupled to said controller responsive to a manual activation to send an activating signal to said controller to place said controller in said activation mode;
wherein said activation mode is comprised of
1) obtaining control of said cellular transceiver through said control input in order to establish a communication channel between said cellular transceiver and said response center,
2) initiating a first call to said response center including an initial transmission of audio signals responsive to a data output of said controller for specifying a unique identifier code of said vehicle while said audio output is muted,
3) detecting a failure of said first call in response to whether said tone signals are detected or not detected during said first call, and
4) initiating a second call to said response center if said first call fails, said second call being comprised of an initial transmission and reception of voice responsive to said audio input and said audio output without muting.
6 Assignments
0 Petitions
Accused Products
Abstract
A vehicle user can request emergency or roadside assistance from a response center by activating a button in the vehicle. The global positioning system is used to continuously store the vehicle location. A cellular telephone network is used to contact a response center and transfer a data string via modem containing information to assist the response center in acting on the request. If a first attempt to contact the response center at a phone number for receiving a data transfer is unsuccessful, a second call is made to a different number bypassing the data transfer and immediately placing the cellular phone into an unmuted condition. This allows the user to hear and interact with a cellular operator, if necessary, prior to being connected to the response center.
269 Citations
7 Claims
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1. A vehicular emergency message system in a mobile vehicle for communicating with a response center, comprising:
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a position locator receiving reference broadcast signals and determining a position of said vehicle; a cellular transceiver having an audio signal input, an audio signal output, and a control input; a controller coupled to said position locator and said cellular transceiver for causing said cellular transceiver to communicate with said response center in a predetermined manner, wherein said controller operates in a wait mode, an activation mode, and a communication mode, said controller including a tone detector for detecting tone signals from said response center; and an activation unit coupled to said controller responsive to a manual activation to send an activating signal to said controller to place said controller in said activation mode; wherein said activation mode is comprised of
1) obtaining control of said cellular transceiver through said control input in order to establish a communication channel between said cellular transceiver and said response center,
2) initiating a first call to said response center including an initial transmission of audio signals responsive to a data output of said controller for specifying a unique identifier code of said vehicle while said audio output is muted,
3) detecting a failure of said first call in response to whether said tone signals are detected or not detected during said first call, and
4) initiating a second call to said response center if said first call fails, said second call being comprised of an initial transmission and reception of voice responsive to said audio input and said audio output without muting. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7)
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Specification