Mobile station having waiting process with main power off

• US 7,587,194 B2
• Filed: 03/23/2006
• Issued: 09/08/2009
• Est. Priority Date: 09/20/2001
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: DENSO Corporation
• Original Assignee: DENSO Corporation
• Inventors: Kouchiyama, Satoshi, Karashima, Teruhiko
• Primary Examiner(s): Maung; Nay A
• Assistant Examiner(s): Chan; Richard
• Application Number:
  US11/386,895
• Publication Number:
  US 20060197654A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,265 Days
• Field of Search: 340/439, 340/539.18, 455/522, 455/343, 455/574
• US Class Current: 455/343.1
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/90 Services for handling of emergency or hazardous situations, e.g. earthquake and tsunami warning systems [ETWS]
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 52/0274 by switching on or off the equipment or parts thereof
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 76/50 for emergency connections
• CPC Class Codes: Y02D 30/70 in wireless communication networks

Abstract

While main power in an automobile is off, a telematics station in the automobile intermittently runs to execute a process. The station has a first CPU in a wireless section for a wireless signal waiting process and a second CPU, having active and sleep modes, in a control section for resetting the first CPU. At resetting timing, if the first CPU is executing the process, it outputs a signal indicating that it is executing the process for the second CPU not to reset it. When the main power turns on, the second CPU determines that the signal is not outputted in order to reset the first CPU.

Claims

1. An emergency report system for a vehicle, the system comprising:

a wireless section that informs an emergency report center by transmitting data, when an airbag of the vehicle is expanded;

a reset section that resets a CPU of the wireless section when an ignition switch of the vehicle is turned on from an off state;

a determination section that determines whether or not the wireless section executes one process of a wireless signal waiting process and a wireless communicating process when the ignition switch is turned on from the off state;

a reset prohibiting section that prohibits the reset section from resetting the CPU when the wireless section is determined to be executing the one process when the ignition switch of the vehicle is turned on from the off state; and

a control section that controls the reset section to thereby reset the CPU of the wireless section, and

receives (i) a reset signal for detecting that the ignition switch is turned on from the off state and (ii) an airbag-expansion signal for indicating an expansion of the airbag,

the control section being coupled with the wireless section via a connector, and

the control section executing, via the connector, the resetting of the CPU of the wireless section by the reset section.

2. An emergency report system for a vehicle, the system comprising:

a wireless section that informs, when an airbag of the vehicle is expanded, to an emergency report center by transmitting airbag expansion information;

a reset section that resets a CPU of the wireless section when an ignition switch of the vehicle is turned on from an off state;

a determination section that determines whether or not the wireless section is executing a wireless communicating process for transmitting the airbag expansion information when the ignition switch is turned on from the off state;

a reset prohibiting section that prohibits the reset section from resetting the CPU when the wireless section is determined to be executing the wireless communicating process for transmitting the airbag expansion information;

a control section that includes the reset section, the determination section, and the reset prohibiting section; and

a connector coupling the control section with the wireless section, wherein;

(i) if the determination section determines that the wireless section is not executing the wireless communicating process for transmitting the airbag expansion information when the ignition switch is turned on from the off state,

the control section causing the reset section to reset, via the connector, the CPU of the wireless section; and

(ii) if the determination section determines that the wireless section is executing the wireless communicating process for transmitting the airbag expansion information when the ignition switch is turned on from the off state,

the control section prohibits the reset section from resetting, via the connector, the CPU of the wireless section.