Method and emergency call device for triggering an emergency call from a vehicle

• US 7,580,697 B2
• Filed: 11/12/2002
• Issued: 08/25/2009
• Est. Priority Date: 11/12/2001
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Harman Becker Automotive Systems GmbH (Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd.)
• Original Assignee: Harman Becker Automotive Systems GmbH (Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd.)
• Inventors: Lappe, Dirk, Hovestadt, Guido
• Primary Examiner(s): Appiah; Charles N
• Assistant Examiner(s): Vu; Michael T
• Application Number:
  US10/495,350
• Publication Number:
  US 20050096007A1
• Time in Patent Office: 2,478 Days
• Field of Search: 455/404, 455/404.1, 455/404.2, 455/574, 455/321, 455/426.19, 455/66.1, 455/344, 455/345, 455/466, 455/412, 340/436, 340/989, 340/988, 340/983, 340/636.1, 340/426, 340/425.5, 340/539.11, 701/45
• US Class Current: 455/404.1
• 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

Abstract

In order to be able to reliably trigger an emergency call from a vehicle with a radio telephone (T), even in the case of a heavy crash or collision, an autonomous emergency call unit (N) is arranged in a position in the vehicle particularly well protected from damage by collision or crash. An emergency call is triggered, for example, by a gyro (K), provided as a crash detector, which activates the emergency call unit (N) in a mechanical manner, which then transmits an emergency call to the radio telephone (T) over a short radio path according to the bluetooth standard for example, which then further transmits the emergency call to an emergency call exchange (Z) over a radio path (F). The autonomous emergency call unit (N) is provided with a bluetooth transceiver unit (BE), a battery (BA), a gyro (K) and a GSM transceiver (GSM) which transmits an emergency call to the emergency call exchange (Z) should the radio telephone (T) be damaged or destroyed.

Claims

1. A multimedia system mounted in a vehicle, comprising:

at least one multimedia device;

a first cellular telephony transceiver that includes a short range non-cellular wireless receiver;

an emergency call device, comprising

a sensor that detects a collision of the vehicle and provides a sensor output signal;

a short range non-cellular wireless transmitter that receives the sensor output signal and transmits a collision signal to the first cellular transceiver over a non-cellular wireless channel when the sensor output signal indicates a collision of the vehicle;

a second cellular telephony transceiver; and

a battery that provides power to the sensor, the short range non-cellular wireless transmitter and the second cellular telephony transceiver,

where when the first cellular telephony transceiver receives the collision signal it transmits an emergency event signal to a device external to the multimedia system, and where when the second cellular telephony receiver receives the collision signal it transmits the emergency event signal to the external device in the event the first cellular telephony transceiver is unable to transmit the emergency event signal.

2. The multimedia system of claim 1, where the short range wireless transmitter transmits the collision signal using a Bluetooth communication format.

3. The multimedia system of claim 1, where the sensor comprises a gyro.