Qualifying automatic vehicle crash emergency calls to public safety answering points

• US 9,020,690 B2
• Filed: 06/01/2013
• Issued: 04/28/2015
• Est. Priority Date: 06/12/2012
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Adams Family Living Trust, Al Earnest Hewitt, Conrad Family Trust, David Glen Myers, David Heath Roberts, James A. Lombardi, James Scott Hendrix, Jeffrey Craton Giles, Joseph Thomas Mader, Lauri Lafon, Leigh Ann Myers, Luis G. Manon, Mark Gary Meehlhause, Mark G. Johnson, Mary Ann Hewitt, Matthew D. Page, Patrick D. Mccullough, Raymond Scott Mcveigh, Richardson Family Living Trust, Robert Lawrence Carr, Robert Todd Wilkinson, Stephanie Lynne Byrd, Stephen Wayne Wolaver, Steven Michael Wagers, Steven Richard Zemaitis, Terry Dean Seagrave, Thomas Edward Mader, Timothy Doud, Timothy R.G. Sear, Valerie Kay Kasmiersky, Warren Blake Jenkins, Young Family Living Trust
• Original Assignee: Guardity Technologies, Inc.
• Inventors: McKown, Russell Carl, Mader, Joseph Thomas
• Primary Examiner(s): Tarcza, Thomas
• Assistant Examiner(s): Dunn, Alex C
• Application Number:
  US13/907,880
• Publication Number:
  US 20130332026A1
• Time in Patent Office: 696 Days
• Field of Search: 701/33
• US Class Current: 701/33.7
• CPC Class Codes: B60R 2021/0027 Post collision measures, e.g. notifying emergency services
• CPC Class Codes: B60R 21/013 including means for detecting collisions, impending collisions or roll-over
• CPC Class Codes: G08B 25/001 Alarm cancelling procedures or alarm forwarding decisions, e.g. based on absence of alarm confirmation
• 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 25/10 using wireless transmission systems G08B25/009 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/90 Services for handling of emergency or hazardous situations, e.g. earthquake and tsunami warning systems [ETWS]

Abstract

The present application provides methods for in-vehicle emergency telematics devices and systems to automatically qualify vehicle crash events before directly placing a 3-digit emergency call from an in-vehicle TCU to a local PSAP operator. The qualification is performed in two stages. The first stage produces a qualified crash detection decision wherein a preliminary crash detection based on impact sensors is qualified by crash related non-impact sensors and vehicle telemetry data. The second stage uses an injury severity prediction algorithm to score the detected crash and produces a decision as to whether the crash warrants an emergency call to the PSAP operator.

Claims

1. A method comprising:

receiving accelerometer data indicating a change in a motor vehicle velocity;

processing the accelerometer data to determine acceleration amplitude versus time date;

determining a preliminary crash detection decision indicating that the motor vehicle may have experienced a crash when the acceleration amplitude is greater than a predetermined accelerometer threshold;

determining a time associated with the preliminary crash detection decision;

receiving velocity data of the motor vehicle;

processing the velocity data to determining amplitude of change in velocity versus time data at time data associated with the preliminary crash decision; and

determining the motor vehicle has experienced a crash if the amplitude of change in velocity data is above at least one of a predefined velocity threshold or a percentage change velocity threshold when the value of the acceleration amplitude data was determined to be greater than the predefined accelerometer threshold.

2. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

generating accelerometer crash pulse data determined as the amplitude of the acceleration data versus time data when the acceleration amplitude is greater than the predetermined accelerometer threshold;

comparing the velocity data versus time data to the crash pulse data; and

determining whether the motor vehicle has experienced a crash based on results of the comparison.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein the velocity of the motor vehicle was obtained from at least one of the speedometer or via global position system (GPS) measurements.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein the determining the motor vehicle has been in a crash is performed via an on-board diagnostic II (OBD-II) device.

5. An apparatus comprising:

a receiver configured to receive accelerometer data indicating a change in a motor vehicle velocity;

a receiver configured to receive velocity data of the motor vehicle; and

a processor configured to

process the accelerometer data to determine acceleration amplitude versus time data;

process the acceleration amplitude versus time data to determine a preliminary crash detection decision indicating that the motor vehicle may have experienced a crash at a preliminary crash time determined by the acceleration amplitude being greater than a predetermined accelerometer threshold;

process the velocity data of the motor vehicle to determine amplitude of velocity change versus time data at the preliminary crash time;

determine the motor vehicle has been in a crash based on the comparing of the acceleration amplitude versus time data and the velocity change versus time data at the preliminary crash time;

wherein the processor is configured to compare by determining whether the value of the amplitude of velocity change is above at least one of a predefined velocity threshold or a percentage change velocity threshold when the value of acceleration amplitude was determined to be greater than the predefined accelerometer threshold.

6. The apparatus of claim 5, wherein the processor is further configured to:

generate accelerometer crash pulse data as the amplitude of the acceleration data versus time data when the acceleration amplitude is greater than the predetermined accelerometer threshold;

compare the velocity data versus time data to the crash pulse data; and

determine whether the motor vehicle has experienced a crash based on results of the comparison.

7. The apparatus of claim 5, wherein the velocity of the motor vehicle was obtained from at least one of the speedometer or via global position system (GPS) measurements.

8. The apparatus of claim 5, wherein the processor is configured to determine the motor vehicle has been in a crash via an on-board diagnostic II (OBD-II) device.

9. A non-transitory computer readable storage medium configured to store instructions that when executed causes a processor to perform:

receiving accelerometer data indicating a change in a motor vehicle velocity

receiving velocity data of the motor vehicle;

processing the accelerometer data to determine acceleration amplitude versus time data;

processing the acceleration amplitude versus time data to determine a preliminary crash detection decision indicating that the motor vehicle may have experienced a crash at a preliminary crash time determined by the acceleration amplitude being greater than a predetermined accelerometer threshold;

processing the velocity data of the motor vehicle to determine amplitude of velocity change versus time data at the preliminary crash time;

determining the motor vehicle has been in a crash based on the comparing of the acceleration amplitude versus time data and the velocity change versus time data at the preliminary crash time;

wherein the processor is configured to compare by determining whether the value of the amplitude of velocity change is above at least one of a predefined velocity threshold or a percentage change velocity threshold when the value of acceleration amplitude was determined to be greater than the predefined accelerometer threshold.

10. The non-transitory computer readable storage medium of claim 9, wherein the processor is further configured to perform:

generating accelerometer crash pulse data as the amplitude of the acceleration data versus time data when the acceleration amplitude is greater than a predetermined accelerometer threshold;

comparing the velocity data versus time data to the crash pulse data; and

determining whether the motor vehicle has experienced a crash based on results of the comparison.

11. The non-transitory computer readable storage medium of claim 9, wherein the velocity of the motor vehicle was obtained from at least one of the speedometer or via global position system (GPS) measurements and the determining the motor vehicle has been in a crash is performed via an on-board diagnostic II (OBD-II) device.