Automatic crash notification using prerecorded messages

• US 7,508,298 B2
• Filed: 04/07/2006
• Issued: 03/24/2009
• Est. Priority Date: 04/11/2005
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Toyota Motor Sales USA, Inc. (Toyota Motor Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Toyota Motor Sales USA, Inc. (Toyota Motor Corporation)
• Inventors: Pisz, James T., Avary, Michelle L.
• Primary Examiner(s): Wu; Daniel
• Assistant Examiner(s): Fan; Hongmin
• Application Number:
  US11/279,020
• Publication Number:
  US 20060226960A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,082 Days
• Field of Search: 340/436, 340/435, 340/539.1, 455/404.1, 455/404.2, 455/521, 379/45
• US Class Current: 340/436
• CPC Class Codes: G08B 25/001 Alarm cancelling procedures or alarm forwarding decisions, e.g. based on absence of alarm confirmation
• CPC Class Codes: G08G 1/205 Indicating the location of the monitored vehicles as destination, e.g. accidents, stolen, rental

Abstract

An automatic crash notification system may include a crash detection system configured to detect a crash of the vehicle, a memory system containing a first prerecorded message that includes one or more words that mean that a remote location has received notice of a crash, a wireless communication system configured to wirelessly transmit a message to and wirelessly receive a message from a remote location, a user communication system configured to deliver words to an occupant of the vehicle, and a processing system. The processing system may be configured to transmit notice of a crash over the wireless communication system to a remote location in response to detection of the crash by the crash detection system, and cause the first prerecorded message to be communicated over the user communication system in response to receipt by the wireless communication system of an acknowledgement from the remote location that the remote location has received notice of the crash.

Claims

1. An automatic crash notification system for automatically providing notice of a crash of a transportation system comprising:

a crash detection system located at the transportation system configured to detect the crash of the transportation system;

a memory system located at the transportation system containing a first prerecorded message that includes one or more words that mean that a remote location has received notice of a crash;

a wireless communication system located at the transportation system configured to wirelessly transmit a message to and wirelessly receive a message from a remote location;

a user communication system located at the transportation system configured to deliver words to an occupant of the transportation system; and

a processing system located at the transportation system configured to;

transmit notice of a crash over the wireless user communication system to a remote location in response to detection of the crash by the crash detection system; and

cause the first prerecorded message located at the transportation system to be communicated over the user communication system in response to receipt by the wireless communication system of an acknowledgement from the remote location that the remote location has received notice of the crash but which does not include the prerecorded message.

2. The automatic crash notification system of claim 1 wherein the memory system contains the first prerecorded message in multiple languages and wherein the processing system is configured to select the language to be communicated.

3. The automatic crash notification system of claim 1 wherein the wireless communication system is configured not to transmit or receive words.

4. The automatic crash notification system of claim 1 wherein the wireless communication system includes a cell phone.

5. The automatic crash notification system of claim 4 wherein the cell phone is configured to communicate over an agnostic cellular network.

6. The automatic crash notification system of claim 1 wherein the wireless communication system is configured to communicate over a satellite communication system.

7. The automatic crash notification system of claim 1 wherein the first prerecorded message includes one or more words that also mean that the remote location has summoned help.

8. The automatic crash notification system of claim 1 wherein the transportation system includes an entertainment system and wherein the processing system is configured to mute the sound from the entertainment system in response to detection of a crash by the crash detection system.

9. The automatic crash notification system of claim 1 further including a GPS receiver configured to generate location information indicative of the location of the transportation system and wherein the processing system is configured to cause the location information to be included in the notice of the crash that is transmitted to the remote location.

10. The automatic crash notification system of claim 1 further including a user-actuated cancel control and wherein the processing system is configured to transmit a cancellation notice over the wireless communication system to the remote location in response to actuation of the user-actuated cancel control after the processing system transmits notice of the crash over the wireless user communication system to the remote location in response to detection of the crash by the crash detection system.

11. The automatic crash notification system of claim 10 wherein the memory system contains a second prerecorded message that includes one or more words that mean that a remote location has received a cancellation notice and wherein the processing system is configured to cause the second prerecorded message to be communicated over the user communication system in response to receipt by the wireless communication system of an acknowledgement from the remote location that the remote location has received a cancellation notice.

12. The automatic crash notification system of claim 1 wherein the crash detection system is configured to detect the crash of a vehicle.

13. An automatic crash notification process for automatically detecting the crash of a transportation system comprising:

detecting a crash of a transportation system at the transportation system;

transmitting notice of the crash from the transportation system to a remote location in response to detection of the crash;

receiving an acknowledgement at the transportation system from the remote location that the remote location has received notice of the crash but that does not include any words; and

in response to receipt of the acknowledgement, communicating over a user communication system that is part of the transportation system a first prerecorded message that was stored in the transportation system and that includes one or more words that mean that the remote location has received notice of the crash.

14. The automatic crash notification process of claim 13 wherein the process includes selecting the language of the message that is communicated.

15. The automatic crash notification process of claim 13 wherein words are not transmitted or received.

16. The automatic crash notification process of claim 13 wherein the transmitting and receiving are performed by a cell phone.

17. The automatic crash notification process of claim 16 wherein the transmitting and receiving are performed over an agnostic cellular network.

18. The automatic crash notification process of claim 13 wherein the transmitting and receiving are performed over a satellite communication system.

19. The automatic crash notification process of claim 13 wherein the first prerecorded message includes one or more words that also mean that the remote location has summoned help.

20. The automatic crash notification process of claim 13 wherein the process includes muting sound from an entertainment system in the transportation system in response detection of the crash.

21. The automatic crash notification process of claim 13 wherein the process includes generating location information indicative of the location of the transportation system and transmitting the location information as part of the notice of the crash.

22. The automatic crash notification process of claim 13 wherein the process includes actuating a user-actuated cancel control in the transportation system and transmitting a cancellation notice from the transportation system to the remote location in response to actuation of the user-actuated cancel control after the processing system transmits notice of the crash over the wireless user communication system to the remote location in response to detection of the crash by the crash detection system.

23. The automatic crash notification process of claim 22 wherein the process includes receiving an acknowledgement at the transportation system from the remote location that the remote location has received the cancellation notice and communicating a second prerecorded message that was stored in the transportation system that includes one or more words that mean that the remote location has received the cancellation notice in response to the acknowledgement of the cancellation notice.

24. The automatic crash notification process of claim 13 wherein the crash of a vehicle is detected.