Cooperative vehicle collision warning system

• US 9,293,044 B2
• Filed: 11/04/2014
• Issued: 03/22/2016
• Est. Priority Date: 12/19/2011
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Fujitsu Limited
• Original Assignee: Fujitsu Limited
• Inventors: Chen, Wei-Peng
• Primary Examiner(s): Lim, Steven
• Assistant Examiner(s): Haile, Benyam
• Application Number:
  US14/532,978
• Publication Number:
  US 20150054659A1
• Time in Patent Office: 504 Days
• Field of Search: 340/905
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: B60W 10/06 including control of combustion engines
• CPC Class Codes: B60W 10/18 including control of braking systems
• CPC Class Codes: B60W 2050/0075 Automatic parameter input, automatic initialising or calibrating means
• CPC Class Codes: B60W 2556/65 Data transmitted between vehicles
• CPC Class Codes: B60W 40/06 Road conditions
• CPC Class Codes: G08G 1/01 Detecting movement of traffic to be counted or controlled G08G1/07 - G08G1/14 take precedence
• CPC Class Codes: G08G 1/0112 from the vehicle, e.g. floating car data [FCD]
• CPC Class Codes: G08G 1/0116 from roadside infrastructure, e.g. beacons
• CPC Class Codes: G08G 1/015 with provision for distinguishing between two or more types of vehicles, e.g. between motor-cars and cycles
• CPC Class Codes: G08G 1/093 Data selection, e.g. prioritizing information, managing message queues, selecting the information to be output
• CPC Class Codes: G08G 1/094 Hardware aspects; Signal processing or signal properties, e.g. frequency bands
• CPC Class Codes: G08G 1/0967 Systems involving transmission of highway information, e.g. weather, speed limits transmission of navigation instructions to the vehicle G08G1/0968
• CPC Class Codes: G08G 1/096708 where the received information might be used to generate an automatic action on the vehicle control
• CPC Class Codes: G08G 1/096716 where the received information does not generate an automatic action on the vehicle control
• CPC Class Codes: G08G 1/096725 where the received information generates an automatic action on the vehicle control
• CPC Class Codes: G08G 1/096741 where the source of the transmitted information selects which information to transmit to each vehicle
• CPC Class Codes: G08G 1/096758 where no selection takes place on the transmitted or the received information
• CPC Class Codes: G08G 1/096783 where the origin of the information is a roadside individual element
• CPC Class Codes: G08G 1/096791 where the origin of the information is another vehicle
• CPC Class Codes: G08G 1/162 event-triggered

Abstract

According to an aspect of the invention, a traffic information communication system includes a receiver and a transmitter. The receiver may be configured to receive a message relating to traffic conditions along a thoroughfare from a communication node. The transmitter may be communicatively coupled to the receiver and may be configured to rebroadcast the message within a predetermined amount of time after receiving the message. The traffic information communication system may be implemented in a vehicle traveling along the thoroughfare.

Claims

1. A traffic information communication system comprising:

a receiver configured to receive a message relating to traffic conditions along a thoroughfare from a communication node;

a processor configured to determine that the message is an urgent message or a non-urgent message;

a transmitter communicatively coupled to the receiver and configured to rebroadcast the message within a predetermined amount of time after receiving the message, wherein the traffic information communication system is implemented in a vehicle traveling along the thoroughfare, wherein;

when the message is a non-urgent message, the transmitter is configured to rebroadcast the message at a default transmission power that indicates the message is a non-urgent message; and

when the message is an urgent message, the transmitter is configured to rebroadcast the message at an initial transmission power that is greater than the default transmission power and that indicates the message is an urgent message; and

a sensor installed in the vehicle and configured to detect a trigger, wherein the transmitter is further configured to generate and broadcast a warning message relating to a potential safety threat to other vehicles in response to detecting the trigger.

2. The traffic information communication system of claim 1, wherein:

when the message is a non-urgent message, the transmitter is further configured to rebroadcast the message using a resource block from a first set of resource blocks reserved for non-urgent messages; and

when the message is an urgent message, the transmitter is further configured to rebroadcast the message using a resource block from a second set of resource blocks reserved for urgent messages.

3. The traffic information communication system of claim 1, further comprising a deceleration module configured to determine a deceleration of the communication node by measuring a change over time in Doppler shift of a wireless carrier wave of the message.

4. The traffic information communication system of claim 1, wherein the message specifies a particular traffic condition comprising at least one of a vehicle failure or traffic congestion.

5. The traffic information communication system of claim 1, further comprising a directional antenna coupled to the transmitter, wherein the rebroadcast message is included in a wireless carrier signal emitted by the directional antenna and the directional antenna is positioned to emit the wireless carrier signal primarily toward a rearward travel path of the traffic information communication system.

6. The traffic information communication system of claim 1, wherein the receiver comprises:

a code division multiple access (CDMA) receiver;

a frequency division multiple access (FDMA) receiver;

or

an orthogonal frequency division multiple access (OFDMA) receiver.

7. The traffic information communication system of claim 1, further comprising a distance module configured to determine a distance between the communication node and the traffic information communication system by measuring attenuation of a wireless carrier wave of the received message, wherein an initial transmit power of the wireless carrier wave is known.

18. The traffic information communication system of claim 1, wherein:

the sensor comprises a brake sensor configured to detect emergent braking in the vehicle;

the sensor comprises a component sensor configured to detect failure of a particular vehicle component in the vehicle;

or

the sensor comprises both the brake sensor and the component sensor.

8. A method of providing communications regarding traffic conditions, the method comprising:

detecting a trigger by a sensor installed in a first vehicle traveling along a thoroughfare;

generating and broadcasting a warning message relating to a potential safety threat to other vehicles traveling along the thoroughfare in response to detecting the trigger;

receiving, at the first vehicle, a message from a second vehicle relating to traffic conditions along the thoroughfare;

determining that the message is an urgent message or a non-urgent message;

determining that the traffic conditions may affect the other vehicles traveling along the thoroughfare; and

in response to the determination that the traffic conditions may affect the other vehicles traveling along the thoroughfare, rebroadcasting the message within a predetermined amount of time after receiving the message, wherein;

when the message is a non-urgent message, the message is rebroadcast at a default transmission power that indicates the message is a non-urgent message; and

when the message is an urgent message, the message is rebroadcast at an initial transmission power that is greater than the default transmission power and that indicates the message is an urgent message.

9. The method of claim 8, wherein:

when the message is a non-urgent message, the message is rebroadcast using a resource block from a first set of resource blocks reserved for non-urgent messages; and

when the message is an urgent message, the message is rebroadcast using a resource block from a second set of resource blocks reserved for urgent messages.

10. The method of claim 8, further comprising:

determining that the traffic conditions represent an imminent threat to the first vehicle; and

at least one of;

initiating a warning to a driver of the first vehicle regarding the imminent threat;

or

initiating autonomous control of an aspect of operation of the first vehicle.

11. The method of claim 10, wherein:

the imminent threat comprises at least one of;

an emergency vehicle approaching the first vehicle along the thoroughfare;

or

a traffic light behind a bend in the thoroughfare ahead of the first vehicle, where the traffic light is about to transition to or has already transitioned to red;

the warning comprises at least one of a verbal warning or a visual warning; and

initiating autonomous control of an aspect of operation of the first vehicle comprises automatically causing the first vehicle to decelerate.

12. The method of claim 8, further comprising determining that the traffic conditions represent an imminent threat to the first vehicle;

wherein at least one of;

the message is rebroadcast using at least two different resource blocks;

the message is rebroadcast using a resource block reserved for urgent messages;

or

the message is rebroadcast repeatedly using a same resource block.

19. The method of claim 8, wherein detecting the trigger by the sensor installed in the first vehicle comprises at least one of detecting the trigger by a brake sensor configured to detect emergent braking in the first vehicle or detecting the trigger by a component sensor configured to detect failure of a particular vehicle component in the first vehicle.

13. A processor configured to execute computer instructions to cause a system to perform operations for providing communications regarding traffic conditions, the operations comprising:

detecting a trigger by a sensor installed in a first vehicle traveling along a thoroughfare;

generating and broadcasting a warning message relating to a potential safety threat to other vehicles traveling along the thoroughfare in response to detecting the trigger;

receiving, at the first vehicle, a message from a second vehicle relating to traffic conditions along the thoroughfare;

determining that the message is an urgent message or a non-urgent message;

determining that the traffic conditions may affect the other vehicles traveling along the thoroughfare; and

in response to the determination that the traffic conditions may affect the other vehicles traveling along the thoroughfare, rebroadcasting the message within a predetermined amount of time after receiving the message, wherein;

when the message is a non-urgent message, the message is rebroadcast at a default transmission power that indicates the message is a non-urgent message; and

when the message is an urgent message, the message is rebroadcast at an initial transmission power that is greater than the default transmission power and that indicates the message is an urgent message.

14. The processor of claim 13, wherein:

when the message is a non-urgent message, the message is rebroadcast using a resource block from a first set of resource blocks reserved for non-urgent messages; and

when the message is an urgent message, the message is rebroadcast using a resource block from a second set of resource blocks reserved for urgent messages.

15. The processor of claim 13, wherein the operations further comprise determining a deceleration of the second vehicle by measuring a change over time in Doppler shift of a wireless carrier wave of the message.

16. The processor of claim 13, wherein the operations further comprise:

determining that the traffic conditions represent an imminent threat to the first vehicle, and wherein the imminent threat comprises at least one of;

an emergency vehicle approaching the first vehicle along the thoroughfare;

or

a traffic light behind a bend in the thoroughfare ahead of the first vehicle, where the traffic light is about to transition to or has already transitioned to red; and

at least one of initiating a warning to a driver of the first vehicle regarding the imminent threat or initiating autonomous control of an aspect of operation of the first vehicle.

17. The processor of claim 13, wherein the operations further comprise determining that the traffic conditions represent an imminent threat to the first vehicle;

wherein at least one of;

the message is rebroadcast using at least two different resource blocks;

the message is rebroadcast using a resource block reserved for urgent messages;

or

the message is rebroadcast repeatedly using a same resource block.

20. The processor of claim 13, wherein detecting the trigger by the sensor installed in the first vehicle comprises at least one of detecting the trigger by a brake sensor configured to detect emergent braking in the first vehicle or detecting the trigger by a component sensor configured to detect failure of a particular vehicle component in the first vehicle.