Vehicle emergency call system for transmitting additional or modified data

• US 8,254,875 B2
• Filed: 04/25/2008
• Issued: 08/28/2012
• Est. Priority Date: 12/06/2007
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Continental Teves AG & Co. OHG (Continental AG)
• Original Assignee: Continental Teves AG & Co. OHG (Continental AG)
• Inventors: Stählin, Ulrich
• Primary Examiner(s): Gelin, Jean
• Application Number:
  US12/746,300
• Publication Number:
  US 20100267358A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,586 Days
• Field of Search: 455/404.1, 455/404.2, 455/414.1, 455/414.3, 455/466, 455/575.7, 455/575.9, 455/450, 455/451, 455/452.1, 455/569.1, 455/569.2, 340/436, 340/904, 340/989
• 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

An emergency call device, system and method for a vehicle is specified in which, on occurrence of a certain event, a data record is generated which thereupon is transmitted during an emergency call. The event may be an external request by an operator or a trigger signal inside a vehicle. In this way, the operator may obtain the most recent information at any time during the emergency call.

Claims

1. An emergency call device for a vehicle for transmitting an emergency call, the emergency call device comprising:

a communication unit for transmitting the emergency call to a receiving device outside the vehicle, the emergency call including a voice data and a vehicle data;

a control unit for controlling the communication unit to select between transmitting one of the voice data and the vehicle data over a communication channel based on the vehicle data or instructions from the receiving device, the communication channel being common to both the voice data and the vehicle data during the emergency call; and

a detection unit for detecting measurement values,

wherein the detected measurement values are compared to a predetermined threshold value, and if the predetermined threshold value is exceeded, a data record based on the measurement values is transmitted during the emergency call.

2. The emergency call device as claimed in claim 1, wherein the instructions request the vehicle data from the control unit during the transmission of the emergency call.

3. The emergency call device as claimed in claim 2, wherein the data request is based on a predetermined tone sequence.

4. The emergency call device as claimed in claim 1, wherein the vehicle data and voice data are transmitted via a voice channel.

5. The emergency call device as claimed in claim 4, wherein the control unit, for the purpose of generating the vehicle data in the form of voice information, comprises a speech synthesizer which is configured to convert data by means of speech synthesis.

6. The emergency call device as claimed in claim 1, wherein

the voice data and the vehicle data are transmitted during the emergency call in the form of a three-party call;

the first party of the three-party call being an occupant of the vehicle the vehicle;

the second party of the three-party call being an operator of the receiving device; and

the third party of the three-party call being the control unit.

7. The emergency call device as claimed in claim 6, wherein the emergency call is transmitted from the beginning via the voice channel so that the operator may speak to the occupants of the vehicle already at the beginning of the emergency call.

8. The emergency call device as claimed in claim 1, further comprising an output unit;

and wherein the control unit is configured to transmit an output signal to the output unit in order to signal visually or audibly to the occupants of the vehicle that the data record is being transmitted to the receiving device.

9. The emergency call device as claimed in claim 1, wherein the receiving device is a mobile terminal.

10. The emergency call device as claimed in claim 1, wherein the communication unit is a permanently installed network access device.

11. The emergency call device as claimed in claim 1, wherein the emergency call is an automated emergency call.

12. An emergency call system comprising:

an emergency call device as claimed in claim 1; and

a receiving device for receiving the emergency call and for requesting data from the emergency call device.

13. The use of an emergency call device as claimed in claim 1 in a vehicle.

14. A method for transmitting an emergency call from a vehicle to a receiving device, the method comprising the steps:

transmitting the emergency call to the receiving device, the emergency call including a voice data and a vehicle data;

selecting between transmitting one of the voice data and the vehicle data over a communication channel based on the vehicle data or instructions from the receiving device, the communication channel being common to both the voice data and the vehicle data; and

detecting measurement values,

wherein the detected measurement values are compared to a predetermined threshold value, and if the predetermined threshold value is exceeded, a data record based on the measurement values is transmitted during the emergency call.

15. A method as claimed in claim 14, wherein

the voice data and the vehicle data being transmitted during the emergency call in the form of a three-party call;

the first party of the three-party call being an occupant of the vehicle;

the second party of the three-party call being an operator of the receiving device; and

the third party of the three-party call being the control unit.

16. A non-transitory computer-readable medium on which a computer program product is stored which, when executed on a processor, instructs the processor to carry out the following steps:

transmit the emergency call to receiving device, the emergency call including a voice data and a vehicle data;

select between transmitting one of the voice data and the vehicle data over a common communication channel based on the vehicle data or instructions from the receiving device, the communication channel being common to both the voice data and the vehicle data; and

detect measurement values,

wherein the detected measurement values are compared to a predetermined threshold value, and if the predetermined threshold value is exceeded, a data record based on the measurement values is transmitted during the emergency call.