Providing an aid means after a vehicle accident

• US 10,412,568 B2
• Filed: 02/05/2018
• Issued: 09/10/2019
• Est. Priority Date: 08/11/2015
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Bayerische Motoren Werke AG
• Original Assignee: Bayerische Motoren Werke AG
• Inventors: Kaindl, Markus, Gruffke, Michael, Pilkington, Ingrid
• Primary Examiner(s): Bee, Andrew W
• Application Number:
  US15/888,908
• Publication Number:
  US 20180176757A1
• Time in Patent Office: 582 Days
• CPC Class Codes: B60R 2021/0027 Post collision measures, e.g. notifying emergency services
• 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
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/44 for communication between vehicles and infrastructures, e.g. vehicle-to-cloud [V2C] or vehicle-to-home [V2H]
• 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

A method for providing aid after a vehicle accident involving a vehicle includes establishing a wireless connection between the vehicle and a rescue center. First sensor data, which is ascertained via a first sensor in the vehicle, is transmitted to the rescue center, while second sensor data, detected by the first sensor and/or by a second sensor of the vehicle, is transmitted to and stored at a data storage unit independent of the rescue center. Contact information assigned to the data storage unit is transmitted from the vehicle to the rescue center via the wireless connection. The second sensor data and/or data derived therefrom stored in the data storage unit is retrieved by the rescue center using the contact information, where the retrieved data is usable to select aid appropriate to a type of the vehicle accident.

Claims

1. A method for providing aid after a vehicle accident involving a vehicle, the method comprises:

establishing, via an emergency call device of the vehicle after the vehicle accident, a wireless data and/or voice connection between the vehicle and a rescue center;

transmitting first sensor data, ascertained via at least one first sensor in the vehicle, to the rescue center;

transmitting second sensor data detected by the at least one first sensor and/or by at least one second sensor of the vehicle to a vehicle-manufacturer-specific data storage unit independent of the rescue center wherein the second sensor data is stored by the vehicle-manufacturer-specific data storage unit;

transmitting, via the wireless data and/or voice connection, contact information assigned to the vehicle-manufacturer-specific data storage unit from the vehicle to the rescue center;

retrieving, by the rescue center using the contact information, the second sensor data and/or data derived therefrom stored in the vehicle-manufacturer-specific data storage unit; and

selecting aid appropriate to a type of the vehicle accident based on the retrieved data.

2. The method as claimed in claim 1, wherein the vehicle-manufacturer-specific data storage unit is provided in an address-based computer network, and wherein the contact information transmitted from the vehicle to the rescue center comprises a network address assigned to the vehicle-manufacturer-specific data storage unit.

3. The method as claimed in claim 2, wherein the second sensor data comprise vehicle contact information, and wherein a further wireless data and/or voice connection is established from the rescue center to the vehicle using the vehicle contact information.

4. The method as claimed in claim 2, wherein the second sensor data stored in the vehicle-manufacturer-specific data storage unit are secured such that they cannot be changed by the rescue center.

5. The method as claimed in claim 1, wherein the second sensor data comprise vehicle contact information, and wherein a further wireless data and/or voice connection is established from the rescue center to the vehicle using the vehicle contact information.

6. The method as claimed in claim 1, wherein the second sensor data stored in the vehicle-manufacturer-specific data storage unit are secured such that they cannot be changed by the rescue center.

7. The method as claimed in claim 1, wherein the second sensor data is manufacturer-specific accident-relevant data concerning the vehicle accident.

8. The method as claimed in claim 1, wherein the vehicle-manufacturer-specific data storage unit is operated by or for a manufacturer of the vehicle.

9. An emergency call device for a vehicle, configured to:

establish, after a vehicle accident involving the vehicle, a wireless data and/or voice connection between the vehicle and a rescue center;

transmit first sensor data, ascertained via at least one first sensor in the vehicle, to the rescue center;

transmit second sensor data detected by the at least one first sensor and/or by at least one second sensor of the vehicle to a vehicle-manufacturer-specific data storage unit independent of the rescue center, wherein the second sensor data is stored by the vehicle-manufacturer-specific data storage unit; and

transmit, via the wireless data and/or voice connection, contact information assigned to the vehicle-manufacturer-specific data storage unit from the vehicle to the rescue center,

wherein aid appropriate to a type of the vehicle accident is selectable based on the second sensor data and/or data derived therefrom that is stored in the vehicle-manufacturer-specific data storage unit, which is retrieved by the rescue center using the contact information.

10. The emergency call device as claimed in claim 9, wherein the emergency call device comprises:

a first control unit configured to transmit the first sensor data and the contact information to the rescue center, and

a second control unit, functionally independent of the first control unit, configured to transmit at least the second sensor data to the vehicle-manufacturer-specific data storage unit.

11. The emergency call device as claimed in claim 10, wherein the second sensor data comprise vehicle contact information, and wherein a further wireless data and/or voice connection is established from the rescue center to the vehicle using the vehicle contact information.

12. The emergency call device as claimed in claim 9, wherein the vehicle-manufacturer-specific data storage unit is provided in an address-based computer network, and wherein the contact information transmitted from the vehicle to the rescue center comprises a network address assigned to the vehicle-manufacturer-specific data storage unit.

13. The emergency call device as claimed in claim 9, wherein the second sensor data comprise vehicle contact information, and wherein a further wireless data and/or voice connection is established from the rescue center to the vehicle using the vehicle contact information.

14. The emergency call device as claimed in claim 9, wherein the second sensor data stored in the vehicle-manufacturer-specific data storage unit are secured such that they cannot be changed by the rescue center.

15. The emergency call device as claimed in claim 9, wherein the second sensor data is manufacturer-specific accident-relevant data concerning the vehicle accident.

16. The emergency call device as claimed in claim 9, wherein the vehicle-manufacturer-specific data storage unit is operated by or for a manufacturer of the vehicle.

17. An emergency call system comprising:

an emergency call device as claimed in claim 9;

a computer of the rescue center; and

the vehicle-manufacturer-specific data storage unit,

wherein the computer of the rescue center is configured to retrieve the second sensor data stored in the vehicle-manufacturer-specific data storage unit using the contact information, and wherein the vehicle-manufacturer-specific data storage unit is configured to store and transmit the second sensor data.