Emergency communication system

• US 6,954,135 B1
• Filed: 01/27/2000
• Issued: 10/11/2005
• Est. Priority Date: 07/27/1998
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Matsushita Electric Industrial Company Limited (Panasonic Holdings Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Matsushita Electric Industrial Company Limited (Panasonic Holdings Corporation)
• Inventors: Yoshioka, Kenji, Nakama, Yasutoshi
• Primary Examiner(s): ZIMMERMAN, BRIAN A
• Application Number:
  US09/937,628
• Time in Patent Office: 2,084 Days
• Field of Search: 340/426.2, 340/436, 340/5, 342/357.09, 455/404.2, 455/346, 713/300, 744/115, 180/287, 701/1
• US Class Current: 340/5.72
• CPC Class Codes: B60R 25/04 operating on the propulsion system, e.g. engine or drive motor
• CPC Class Codes: B60R 25/102 a signal being sent to a remote location, e.g. a radio signal being transmitted to a police station, a security company or the owner
• CPC Class Codes: G01C 21/26 specially adapted for navigation in a road network
• 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

Abstract

An emergency communication system is installed on a vehicle for transmitting emergency information such as traffic accident, sudden illness, etc. to a center such as police station. It is used for the purpose of preventing inadvertent neglect of the connection of a handy phone to the system terminal unit when the handy phone is used as the emergency communication conveying means. In case it is not connected normally, a signal is set to a vehicle starting system 4 to prohibit the starting operation of the vehicle. This information is displayed on LED or LCD on a dashboard of the vehicle by the information transmitting means 6, and it is further stored in a storage unit 15 so that it can be picked up from outside via an external equipment connection interface 7.

Claims

1. An emergency communication system comprising:

an emergency communication system terminal unit installed on a vehicle;

an emergency communication device connected to said terminal unit so that a signal can be transmitted and received by said communication device, said emergency communication system transmits emergency information to a predetermined communication partner via said emergency communication device;

whereby said emergency communication system further comprises;

means for detecting whether or not said emergency communication device is connected to said emergency communication system terminal unit so that a signal can be transmitted by the communication device and received by the communication system terminal unit; and

means for prohibiting advancing movement of the vehicle when it is detected that the communication device is not within the vehicle and not connected to the communication system terminal unit.

2. An emergency communication system according to claim 1, wherein a handy phone is used as said emergency communication device, and a telephone number specific to said handy phone is collated with a telephone number stored in the communication system in advance, and if the two telephone numbers do not agree with each other, operation of a starting system of the vehicle is turned to a disable status.

3. An emergency communication system according to claim 1, wherein, in case automatic transmission is adopted in the vehicle, operation of the starting system of the vehicle is turned to a disable status so that a shift knob cannot be shifted from a parking position to a drive position.

4. An emergency communication system according to claim 1, wherein operation of a starting system of the vehicle is turned to a disable status by prohibiting the release of a parking brake of the vehicle.

5. An emergency communication system according to claim 1, wherein in case it is not possible to confirm normal connection of the emergency communication device to the emergency communication system terminal unit, there is further provided means for transmitting information to a user that it is not possible to confirm normal connection of the emergency communication device.

6. An emergency communication system according to claim 1, wherein an indicator is provided on a dashboard where instruments are installed, and said indicator is used for indicating that it is not possible to confirm normal connection of the emergency communication device.

7. An emergency communication system according to claim 1, wherein, in case it is not possible to confirm normal connection of the emergency device to the emergency communication system terminal unit, there is provided further means for recording data incident to the non-connection event.