Failure detecting structure of emergency call terminal device

• US 6,574,463 B1
• Filed: 04/20/2000
• Issued: 06/03/2003
• Est. Priority Date: 04/28/1999
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Matsushita Electric Industrial Company Limited (Panasonic Holdings Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Matsushita Electric Industrial Company Limited (Panasonic Holdings Corporation)
• Inventors: Yoshioka, Kenji
• Primary Examiner(s): Urban, Edward F.
• Assistant Examiner(s): BEAMER, TEMICA M
• Application Number:
  US09/553,024
• Time in Patent Office: 1,139 Days
• Field of Search: 455/404, 455/414, 455/456, 455/521, 455/565, 455/550, 342/357.06, 342/357.08, 342/357.1, 340/901, 340/902, 340/903, 340/904, 340/991, 340/989, 340/517, 340/521, 340/522, 340/523, 701/213, 701/214
• US Class Current: 455/404.2
• CPC Class Codes: G08B 25/016 Personal emergency signalling and security systems emergency non-personal manually actuated alarm activators G08B25/12
• CPC Class Codes: G08G 1/205 Indicating the location of the monitored vehicles as destination, e.g. accidents, stolen, rental
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 11/04 with alarm systems, e.g. fire, police or burglar alarm systems
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 84/025 with acknowledge back capability

Abstract

An emergency call terminal device is provided which may be employed in automotive vehicles to transmit, in the event of an emergency, data on the current location of the vehicle and registered information about the vehicle to an emergency center. The emergency call terminal device is designed to produce signals different in voltage level from each other depending upon operating states of an emergency call push button for discriminating between an open circuit-caused failure resulting from formation of an open circuit of an internal circuit of the device caused by an accidental disconnection of the internal circuit from the emergency call push button and a short circuit-caused failure resulting from formation of a short circuit of the internal circuit to ground caused by an accidental disconnection of the internal circuit from the emergency call push button.

Claims

1. An emergency call terminal device comprising:

an emergency call circuit responsive to a call request signal to output an emergency call signal to a preselected emergency center;

an emergency call switch connected to said emergency call circuit, said emergency call switch being designed to be switched between an ON-state and an OFF-state, the call request signal being provided to said emergency call circuit when said emergency call switch is brought into the ON-state; and

an operating state signal producing circuit producing a first, a second, a third, and a fourth operating state signal different in voltage level from each other for enabling said emergency call circuit to discriminate the ON-state, the OFF-state, an open circuit-caused failure, and a short circuit-caused failure, the first operating state signal being produced when said emergency call switch is in the ON-state, the second operating state signal being produced when said emergency call switch is in the OFF-state, the third operating state signal being produced when an open circuit is caused by a disconnection of said emergency call circuit from said emergency call switch, the fourth operating state signal being produced when a short circuit is caused between said emergency call circuit and said emergency call switch.

2. An emergency call terminal device as set forth in claim 1, wherein said operating state signal producing circuit includes a first resistor connected to a first and a second end of said emergency call switch, a second resistor connected between the first end of said emergency call switch and ground, and a third resistor connected between a voltage source and a junction of said emergency call circuit and the second end of said emergency call switch.

3. An emergency call terminal device as set forth in claim 1, wherein said operating state signal producing circuit includes a first resistor connected between a first end of said emergency call switch and ground, a second resistor connected between a second end of said emergency call switch and ground, and a third resistor connected between a voltage source and a junction of said emergency call circuit and the second end of said emergency call switch.

4. An emergency call terminal device as set forth in claim 1, wherein said operating state signal producing circuit includes a first and a second resistor connected in series between a first end of said emergency call switch and ground, a third resistor connected between a junction of the first and second resistors and the second end of said emergency call switch, and a fourth resistor connected between a voltage source and a junction of said emergency call circuit and the second end of said emergency call switch.

5. An emergency call terminal device as set forth in claim 1, wherein said operating state signal producing circuit includes a first and a second resistor connected in series between a first end of said emergency call switch and ground, a third resistor connected between ground and a second end of said emergency call switch, and a fourth resistor connected between a voltage source and a junction of said emergency call circuit and the second end of said emergency call switch.

6. An emergency call terminal device as set forth in claim 1, wherein said operating state signal producing circuit includes a first resistor connected to a first end of said emergency call switch leading to ground and a second end of said emergency call switch, a second resistor connected between the second end of said emergency call switch and said emergency call circuit, and a third resistor connected between a voltage source and a junction of said emergency call circuit and the second end of said emergency call switch.

7. An emergency call terminal device as set forth in claim 1, wherein said operating state signal producing circuit includes a first resistor connected to a first end of said emergency call switch and a first junction leading to said emergency call circuit, a second resistor connected to the first junction and ground in parallel to said emergency call switch and the first resistor, and a third resistor connected between a voltage source and a second junction which connects said emergency call circuit and the first junction.

8. An emergency call terminal device as set forth in claim 1, wherein said operating state signal producing circuit includes a first resistor connected between a first end of said emergency call switch and ground, a second resistor connected between a second end of said emergency call switch and said emergency call circuit, a third resistor connected between the second end of said emergency call switch and ground in parallel to said emergency call switch and the first resistor, and a fourth resistor connected between a voltage source and a junction of said emergency call circuit and the second resistor.

9. An emergency call terminal device as set forth in claim 1, wherein said operating state signal producing circuit includes a first resistor connected between a first end of said emergency call switch and ground, a second resistor connected between a second end of said emergency call switch and a first junction leading to said emergency call circuit, a third resistor connected between the first junction and ground in parallel to said emergency call switch and the first and second resistors, and a fourth resistor connected between a voltage source and a second junction which connects the first junction and said emergency call circuit.

10. An emergency call terminal device as set forth in claim 1, wherein said operating signal producing circuit produces the third and fourth operating state signals using functions of pull-up and pull-down resistors.

11. An emergency call terminal device as set forth in claim 1, wherein said emergency call circuit receives the first, the second, the third, and the fourth operating state signals through one of an A/D converter and an A/D converter built in a microcomputer.

12. An emergency call system comprising:

an emergency center; and

an emergency call terminal device including,

(a) an emergency call circuit responsive to a call request signal to output an emergency call signal to said emergency center,

(b) an emergency call switch connected to said emergency call circuit, said emergency call switch being designed to be switched between an ON-state and an OFF-state, the call request signal being provided to said emergency call circuit when said emergency call switch is brought into the ON-state, and

c) an operating state signal producing circuit producing a first, a second, a third, and a fourth operating state signal different in voltage level from each other for enabling said emergency call circuit to discriminate the ON-state, the OFF-state, an open circuit-caused failure, and a short circuit-caused failure, the first operating state signal being produced when said emergency call switch is in the ON-state, the second operating state signal being produced when said emergency call switch is in the OFF-state, the third operating state signal being produced when an open circuit is caused by a disconnection of said emergency call circuit from said emergency call switch, the fourth operating state signal being produced when a short circuit is caused between said emergency call circuit and said emergency call switch.

13. An emergency call terminal device comprising:

an emergency call circuit responsive to a call request signal to output an emergency call signal to a preselected emergency center;

an emergency call switch connected to said emergency call circuit, said emergency call switch being designed to be switched between an ON-state and an OFF-state, the call request signal being provided to said emergency call circuit; and

an operating state signal producing circuit producing a first, a second, a third, and a fourth operating state signal different in voltage level from each other for enabling said emergency call circuit to discriminate the ON-state, the OFF-state, an open circuit state between said emergency call circuit and said emergency call switch, and a short circuit state between said emergency call circuit and said emergency call switch.

14. An emergency call system comprising:

an emergency call center; and

an emergency call terminal device including,

(a) an emergency call circuit responsive to a call request signal to output an emergency call signal to a preselected emergency center;

(b) an emergency call switch connected to said emergency call circuit, said emergency call switch being designed to be switched between an ON-state and an OFF-state, the call request signal being provided to said emergency call circuit; and

(c) an operating state signal producing circuit producing a first, a second, a third, and a fourth operating state signal different in voltage level from each other for enabling said emergency call circuit to discriminate the ON-state, the OFF-state, an open circuit state between said emergency call circuit and said emergency call switch, and a short circuit state between said emergency call circuit and said emergency call switch.