SYSTEMS AND METHODS FOR AUTOMATICALLY DOCUMENTING AN ACCIDENT

• US 20150145695A1
• Filed: 11/26/2013
• Published: 05/28/2015
• Est. Priority Date: 11/26/2013
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Elwha LLC (Intellectual Ventures LLC)
• Original Assignee: Elwha LLC (Intellectual Ventures LLC)
• Inventors: Hyde, Roderick A., Kare, Jordin T., Wood,, Lowell L. Jr.
• Granted Patent: US 9,472,104 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 340/905
• CPC Class Codes: B60Q 1/08 automatically
• CPC Class Codes: B60Q 1/249 for illuminating the field of view of a sensor or camera
• CPC Class Codes: B60Q 2300/47 Direct command from other road users, i.e. the command for switching or changing the beam is sent by other vehicles or road devices
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 40/08 Insurance
• CPC Class Codes: G07C 5/008 communicating information to a remotely located station transmission systems for measured values G08C
• CPC Class Codes: G07C 5/085 using electronic data carriers
• CPC Class Codes: G08G 1/0175 by photographing vehicles, e.g. when violating traffic rules
• CPC Class Codes: G08G 1/04 using optical or ultrasonic detectors
• CPC Class Codes: G08G 1/16 Anti-collision systems road vehicle drive control systems for predicting or avoiding probable or impending collision otherwise than by control of a particular sub-unit B60W30/08
• CPC Class Codes: G08G 1/166 for active traffic, e.g. moving vehicles, pedestrians, bikes

Abstract

A system for documenting an accident includes a vehicle that includes a transceiver device and a processing circuit. The processing circuit is configured to receive data from a collision detection device of the vehicle, determine, based on the received data, that an accident is impending or occurring involving the vehicle, generate a request for a nearby vehicle, and transmit, via the transceiver device, the request to the nearby vehicle. The request is for the nearby vehicle to illuminate a region associated with the accident, actively acquire data related to the accident, and record actively acquired data related to the accident.

Claims

1. A system for documenting an accident, comprising:

a vehicle, comprising;

a transceiver device; and

processing circuit configured to;

receive data from a collision detection device of the vehicle;

determine, based on the received data, that an accident is impending or occurring involving the vehicle;

generate a request for a nearby vehicle to;

illuminate a region associated with the accident and actively acquire data related to the accident; and

record actively acquired data related to the accident; and

transmit, via the transceiver device, the request to the nearby vehicle.

2. The system of claim 1, wherein the data related to the accident comprises data related to the vehicle as detected by the nearby vehicle.

3. The system of claim 1, wherein the data related to the accident comprises at least one of contour data, position data, velocity data, orientation data, and timing data.

4. The system of claim 1, wherein the data related to the accident includes data related to an additional vehicle as detected by the nearby vehicle.

5. The system of claim 1, wherein the request specifies that the nearby vehicle record radar data related to the accident.

6. The system of claim 1, wherein the request specifies that the nearby vehicle record lidar data related to the accident.

7. The system of claim 1, wherein the request specifies that the nearby vehicle acquire radar data related to the accident.

8. The system of claim 1, wherein the request specifies that the nearby vehicle acquire lidar data related to the accident.

9. The system of claim 1, wherein the request directs the nearby vehicle to record identification of at least one of the nearby vehicle, an operator of the nearby vehicle, and an owner of the nearby vehicle.

10. The system of claim 1, wherein the request directs the nearby vehicle to store positioning coordinates of the nearby vehicle.

11. The system of claim 1, wherein the request directs the nearby vehicle to store a velocity and an orientation of the nearby vehicle.

13. The system of claim 1, wherein the request includes metadata related to the vehicle.

16. The system of claim 13, wherein the metadata includes insurance information related to the vehicle.

18. The system of claim 13, wherein the metadata includes an internet address, and wherein the request specifies that the data related to the accident should be sent to the internet address.

24. The system of claim 1, wherein the request directs the nearby vehicle to transmit the data related to the accident to the vehicle, and wherein the processing circuit is further configured to:

receive the data related to the accident, via the transceiver device, from the nearby vehicle; and

store the data related to the accident in a storage device.

26. The system of claim 1, wherein the system further comprises a sensor device configured to generate sensor data related to an ID of the nearby vehicle, and wherein the processing circuit is further configured to:

determine the ID of the nearby vehicle based on the sensor data; and

store the ID of the nearby vehicle in a storage device.

27. The system of claim 26, wherein the sensor device includes a camera, and wherein the ID of the nearby vehicle includes at least one of a license plate number of the nearby vehicle and a make and a model of the nearby vehicle.

29. The system of claim 26, wherein the sensor device includes an RFID sensor, and wherein the ID of the nearby vehicle is based on an RFID tag of the nearby vehicle.

12. (canceled)

14-15. -15. (canceled)

17. (canceled)

19-23. -23. (canceled)

25. (canceled)

28. (canceled)

30-87. -87. (canceled)

88. A system for documenting an accident, comprising:

a vehicle, comprising;

a collision detection device comprising at least one of a radar device and a lidar device, wherein the collision detection device is configured to illuminate and actively detect a nearby vehicle;

a storage device; and

processing circuit configured to;

receive data from the collision detection device;

analyze the received data to detect an impending or occurring accident, wherein the accident involves the nearby vehicle;

determine, accident related data in response to the detected accident, wherein the accident related data is based on the received data;

store the accident related data in the storage device; and

deliver the accident related data to the nearby vehicle.

89. The system of claim 88, wherein the accident related data includes at least one of positioning coordinates of the nearby vehicle, a velocity and an orientation of the nearby vehicle, timing information related to the nearby vehicle, data regarding an additional vehicle associated with the accident, and contour information related to the nearby vehicle.

94. The system of claim 88, wherein the processing circuit is further configured to store metadata along with the accident related data.

101. The system of claim 88, wherein the processing circuit is further configured to analyze the received data to determine an ID of the nearby vehicle, wherein the ID includes a license plate number of the nearby vehicle, and wherein the collision detection device includes a camera.

102. The system of claim 88, wherein the processing circuit is further configured to analyze the received data to determine an ID of the nearby vehicle, wherein the ID includes a make and model of the nearby vehicle, and wherein the collision detection device includes a camera.

103. The system of claim 88, wherein the processing circuit is further configured to analyze the received data to determine an ID of the nearby vehicle, wherein the ID is based on an RFID tag of the nearby vehicle, and wherein the collision detection device includes an RFID sensor.

104. The system of claim 88, further comprising a transceiver device, and wherein the processing circuit is further configured to receive a request to record data related to the accident, and wherein the request is received via the transceiver device.

106. The system of claim 104, wherein the processing circuit is further configured to deliver the accident related data, via the transceiver device, to a source of the request.

111. The system of claim 88, wherein the processing circuit is configured to deliver the accident related data to an address associated with the nearby vehicle.

90-93. -93. (canceled)

95-100. -100. (canceled)

105. (canceled)

107-110. -110. (canceled)

112-161. -161. (canceled)

162. A system for documenting an accident, comprising:

a vehicle, comprising;

a collision detection device;

a nearby vehicle detection device;

a storage device; and

processing circuit configured to;

receive data from the nearby vehicle detection device, wherein the data includes data related to a nearby vehicle;

receive data from the collision detection device;

determine, based on the received data from the collision detection device, that an accident is impending or occurring involving the vehicle;

analyze the received data from the nearby vehicle detection device to detect an ID of the nearby vehicle; and

store the detected ID in the storage device.

163. The system of claim 162, wherein analyzing the received data from the nearby vehicle detection device to detect the ID and storing the detected ID are responsive to the determining that the accident is impending or occurring.

164. The system of claim 162, wherein the processing circuit is further configured to analyze the received data to determine whether the nearby vehicle was involved in the accident, and wherein analyzing the received data from the nearby vehicle detection device to detect the ID and storing the detected ID are responsive to determining that the nearby vehicle was not involved in the accident.

165. The system of claim 162, wherein the nearby vehicle detection device includes a camera and wherein the received data from the nearby vehicle detection device includes image data from the camera.

168. The system of claim 162, wherein the nearby vehicle detection device comprises an RFID sensor, and wherein the ID of the nearby vehicle is based on an RFID tag of the nearby vehicle.

171. The system of claim 162, wherein the nearby vehicle is a vehicle to which a request was previously transmitted by the vehicle, and wherein the request is for the nearby vehicle to:

illuminate a region associated with the accident and actively acquire data related to the accident; and

record the actively acquired data related to the accident.

172. The system of claim 162, wherein the processing circuit is further configured analyze the received data from the nearby vehicle detection device to determine additional data related to the nearby vehicle, and wherein the additional data is stored in association with the detected ID.

173. The system of claim 172, wherein the additional data includes at least one of a location of the nearby vehicle, a speed of the nearby vehicle, and an orientation of the nearby vehicle relative to the accident.

174. The system of claim 162, wherein the nearby vehicle detection device comprises at least one of a radar device and a lidar device, and wherein the nearby vehicle detection device is configured to illuminate and actively detect the nearby vehicle.

175. The system of claim 162, wherein the collision detection device comprises at least one of an accelerometer, a microphone, a radar device, a lidar device, and a camera.

166-167. -167. (canceled)

169-170. -170. (canceled)

176-206. -206. (canceled)