Establishing a voice connection between the driver of a single-track vehicle and an emergency call center

• US 9,462,615 B2
• Filed: 07/02/2015
• Issued: 10/04/2016
• Est. Priority Date: 07/04/2014
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Bayerische Motoren Werke AG
• Original Assignee: Bayerische Motoren Werke AG
• Inventors: Dettloff, Guenter, Reiml, Wolfgang, Marburger, Ulrich
• Primary Examiner(s): Flores, Leon
• Application Number:
  US14/790,600
• Publication Number:
  US 20160007384A1
• Time in Patent Office: 460 Days
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: B62J 27/00 Safety equipment
• CPC Class Codes: B62J 45/00 Electrical equipment arrangements specially adapted for use as accessories on cycles, not otherwise provided for
• CPC Class Codes: G08B 25/016 Personal emergency signalling and security systems emergency non-personal manually actuated alarm activators G08B25/12
• 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 76/50 for emergency connections

Abstract

To establish a voice connection between the driver of a single-track vehicle and an emergency call center, a telematics unit is provided on the vehicle which transmits emergency call signals to the emergency call center. The voice connection is established between the driver and the emergency call center by way of the telematics unit and a mobile radio device carried by the driver of the vehicle.

Claims

1. A method of establishing a voice connection between a mobile radio device carried by a driver of a single-track vehicle and an emergency call center, the method comprising the acts of:

transmitting emergency call signals, by a telematics unit provided on the single-track vehicle, to the emergency call center;

transmitting, by the telematics unit to the emergency call center in connection with said transmitting of the emergency call signals, a mobile phone number of the mobile radio device carried by the driver of the single-track vehicle; and

establishing, via the mobile radio device, the voice connection to the driver, wherein the voice connection is initiated by the emergency call center using the transmitted mobile phone number.

2. The method according to claim 1, wherein the transmitting acts for both the emergency call signals and the mobile phone number are carried out by transmitting accident-specific data of the emergency call signals if the single-track vehicle is involved in an accident.

3. The method according to claim 1, wherein the mobile radio device is a cellular phone carried by the driver.

4. The method according to claim 1, wherein

the emergency call signals are transmitted via a first communication channel, and

the voice connection is established via a second communication channel, the second communication channel being separate from the first communication channel.

5. The method according to claim 1, further comprising the act of:

storing, in the telematics unit provided on the single-track vehicle, identification data of the mobile radio device.

6. The method according to claim 5, wherein the identification data is the mobile phone number of the mobile radio device.

7. The method according to claim 5, wherein several identification numbers for the mobile radio device or one each for respective mobile radio devices are stored in a data storage of the telematics unit.

8. The method according to claim 7, wherein time data are allocated and stored for multiple sets of identification data, the time data being representative of when a respective mobile radio device associated with the respective identification data was used in conjunction with the signal-track vehicle and/or was input into the data storage of the telematics unit.

9. The method according to claim 8, further comprising the act of:

deciding, based on the time data, which of the identification data are transmitted to the emergency call center in the emergency call signals.

10. The method according to claim 1, wherein the mobile radio device is integrated into a piece of protective equipment for the driver.

11. The method according to claim 1, wherein the act of establishing the voice connection uses the telematics unit as a switching center between the mobile radio device of the driver and the emergency call center.

12. An emergency call system for a single-track vehicle for establishing a voice connection between a driver of the single-track vehicle and an emergency call center, the system comprising:

a telematics unit;

a mobile radio device carried by the driver;

wherein the emergency call system is configured to;

transmit emergency call signals to the emergency call center by the telematics unit,

transmit to the emergency call center by the telematics unit and in connection with transmitting the emergency call signals, a mobile phone number of the mobile radio device carried by the driver, and

establish, via the mobile radio device, the voice connection to the driver, wherein the voice connection is initiated by the emergency call center using the transmitted mobile phone number.

13. The emergency call system according to claim 12, wherein

the telematics unit comprises a data storage in which identification data of the mobile radio device, including the mobile phone number, are stored for a communication, and

the emergency call system is configured such that the stored identification data, including the mobile phone number, is transmitted to the emergency call center via the telematics unit.

14. A telematics unit for establishing a voice connection between a mobile radio device carried by a driver and an emergency call center, the telematics unit comprising:

a processor configured to execute program code to;

transmit emergency call signals, via by a telematics unit provided on the single-track vehicle, to the emergency call center;

transmit to the emergency call center by the telematics unit and in connection with transmitting the emergency call signals, a mobile phone number of the mobile radio device carried by the driver; and

establish, via the mobile radio device, the voice connection to the driver, wherein the voice connection is initiated by the emergency call center using the transmitted mobile phone number.

15. The telematics unit according to claim 14, further comprising:

a data storage of the telematics unit, identification data of the mobile radio device, including the mobile phone number, being stored for a communication in the data storage, wherein

the stored identification data, including the mobile phone number, are transmittable to the emergency call center via the telematics unit.

16. The telematics unit according to claim 14, wherein the telematics unit is a part of a single-track vehicle.

17. The telematics unit according to claim 16, wherein the single-track vehicle is a motorcycle.