Emergency report device for vehicle

• US 7,812,714 B2
• Filed: 11/12/2007
• Issued: 10/12/2010
• Est. Priority Date: 11/24/2006
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: DENSO Corporation
• Original Assignee: DENSO Corporation
• Inventors: Sakai, Hiroshi
• Primary Examiner(s): Goins; Davetta W
• Assistant Examiner(s): NWUGO, OJIAKO K
• Application Number:
  US11/983,607
• Publication Number:
  US 20080122614A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,065 Days
• Field of Search: 340/438
• US Class Current: 340/438
• CPC Class Codes: G08B 25/016 Personal emergency signalling and security systems emergency non-personal manually actuated alarm activators G08B25/12
• CPC Class Codes: G08B 29/181 due to failing power supply

Abstract

An emergency report device comprises: a power supply control unit that switches an electric power source from a main battery to an auxiliary battery when a supply voltage of the main battery is smaller than a predetermined threshold value; and an auxiliary battery operational check unit that performs an operational check of the auxiliary battery if the operational check of the auxiliary battery is being performed at a time when the vehicle drive mechanism starts, and if the operational check of the auxiliary battery is being performed for a first time during a period between an end of a previous day and a present time. The operational checking of the auxiliary battery is based on a current input into the auxiliary battery operational check unit from the auxiliary battery.

Claims

1. An emergency report device for a vehicle having a vehicle drive mechanism, the emergency report device performing an emergency report operation by electric power supplied from an electric power source including an auxiliary battery and a main battery, the emergency report device comprising:

a power supply control unit that switches the electric power source from the main battery to the auxiliary battery when a supply voltage of the main battery is smaller than a predetermined threshold value; and

an auxiliary battery operational check unit that performs an operational check of the auxiliary battery;

wherein

the operational check of the auxiliary battery is performed at a time when the vehicle drive mechanism starts;

the operational check of the auxiliary battery is performed a first time when the vehicle drive mechanism starts a first time after an end of a previous day;

the operational check of the auxiliary battery is prohibited from being performed during the same day after the operational check of the auxiliary battery is performed the first time; and

the performing of the operational check of the auxiliary battery is based on a current input into the auxiliary battery operational check unit from the auxiliary battery.

2. The emergency report device according to claim 1, further comprising:

an operational check notification unit that notifies a result of the operational check of the auxiliary battery, the operational check performed by the auxiliary battery operational check unit.

3. The emergency report device according to claim 1, further comprising:

an operational check result sending unit that sends a result of the operational check of the auxiliary battery to an external system, the operational check performed by the auxiliary battery operational check unit.

4. The emergency report device according to claim 2, wherein

the operational check notification unit includes a display unit for displaying an information item associated with the result of the operational check of the auxiliary battery.

5. The emergency report device according to claim 3, wherein

the operational check result sending unit includes a radio communication unit for sending the result of the operational check of the auxiliary battery to the external system via a radio communications network.

6. An emergency report device for a vehicle having a vehicle drive mechanism, the emergency report device performing an emergency report by electric power supplied from an electric power source including an auxiliary battery and a main battery, the emergency report device comprising:

a power supply control unit that switches the electric power source from the main battery to the auxiliary battery when a supply voltage of the main battery is smaller than a predetermined threshold value; and

an auxiliary battery operational check unit that performs an operational check of the auxiliary battery;

wherein

the operational check of the auxiliary battery is being performed at a time when the vehicle drive mechanism starts;

the operational check of the auxiliary battery is performed if a previous operational check of the auxiliary battery was not performed during a specified time interval;

the operational check of the auxiliary battery is prohibited from being performed if the previous operational check of the auxiliary battery was performed during the specified time interval; and

the performing of the operational check is based on a current input into the auxiliary battery operational check unit from the auxiliary battery.

7. The emergency report device according to claim 6, further comprising:

an operational check notification unit that notifies a result of the operational check of the auxiliary battery, wherein

the operational check is performed by the auxiliary battery operational check unit.

8. The emergency report device according to claim 6, further comprising:

an operational check result sending unit that sends a result of the operational check of the auxiliary battery to an external, wherein

the operational check is performed by the auxiliary battery operational check unit.

9. The emergency report device according to claim 7, wherein

the operational check result notification unit includes a display unit for displaying an information item associated with the result of the operational check of the auxiliary battery.

10. The emergency report device according to claim 8, wherein

the operational check result sending unit includes a radio communication unit for sending the result of the operational check of the auxiliary battery to the external system via a radio communications network.