Inter-vehicle information conveyance system and method

• US 8,983,771 B2
• Filed: 03/28/2014
• Issued: 03/17/2015
• Est. Priority Date: 10/22/1997
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Intelligent Technologies International, Inc.
• Original Assignee: Intelligent Technologies International, Inc.
• Inventors: Breed, David S.
• Primary Examiner(s): Cheung, Mary
• Application Number:
  US14/228,402
• Publication Number:
  US 20140210644A1
• Time in Patent Office: 354 Days
• Field of Search: 701300-301, 701/423, 340901-905, 340/915, 340/924, 340933-936
• US Class Current: 701/423
• 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 10/20 including control of steering systems
• CPC Class Codes: B60W 2050/0071 Controller overrides driver automatically
• CPC Class Codes: B60W 2050/0073 Driver overrides controller
• CPC Class Codes: B60W 2050/0075 Automatic parameter input, automatic initialising or calibrating means
• CPC Class Codes: B60W 2556/50 of positioning data, e.g. GPS [Global Positioning System] data
• CPC Class Codes: B60W 2556/65 Data transmitted between vehicles
• CPC Class Codes: B60W 30/02 Control of vehicle driving stability
• CPC Class Codes: B60W 30/04 related to roll-over prevention
• CPC Class Codes: B60W 30/14 Adaptive cruise control
• CPC Class Codes: B60W 30/16 Control of distance between vehicles, e.g. keeping a distance to preceding vehicle
• CPC Class Codes: B60W 30/18154 Approaching an intersection
• CPC Class Codes: B60W 30/18172 Preventing, or responsive to skidding of wheels
• CPC Class Codes: B60W 40/06 Road conditions
• CPC Class Codes: B60W 40/064 Degree of grip
• CPC Class Codes: B60W 40/068 Road friction coefficient
• CPC Class Codes: B60W 40/072 Curvature of the road
• CPC Class Codes: B60W 40/076 Slope angle of the road
• CPC Class Codes: B60W 50/00 Details of control systems for road vehicle drive control not related to the control of a particular sub-unit , e.g. process diagnostic or vehicle driver interfaces
• CPC Class Codes: B60W 50/14 : Means for informing the driver, warning the driver or prompting a driver intervention
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 13/865 : Combination of radar systems with lidar systems
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 13/867 : Combination of radar systems with cameras
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 13/931 : of land vehicles
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 17/86 : Combinations of lidar systems with systems other than lidar, radar or sonar, e.g. with direction finders
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 17/89 : for mapping or imaging
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 17/931 : of land vehicles
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 19/17 : Emergency applications
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 2007/4975 : of sensor obstruction by, e.g. dirt- or ice-coating, e.g. by reflection measurement on front-screen
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 2013/9316 : combined with communication equipment with other vehicles or with base stations
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 2013/9318 : Controlling the steering
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 2013/93185 : Controlling the brakes
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 2013/9319 : Controlling the accelerator
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 2013/9329 : cooperating with reflectors or transponders
• CPC Class Codes: G08G 1/0112 : from the vehicle, e.g. floating car data [FCD]
• CPC Class Codes: G08G 1/04 : using optical or ultrasonic detectors
• CPC Class Codes: G08G 1/048 : with provision for compensation of environmental or other condition, e.g. snow, vehicle stopped at detector
• 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 1/161 : Decentralised systems, e.g. inter-vehicle communication
• CPC Class Codes: G08G 1/163 : involving continuous checking
• CPC Class Codes: G08G 1/166 : for active traffic, e.g. moving vehicles, pedestrians, bikes
• CPC Class Codes: G08G 1/167 : Driving aids for lane monitoring, lane changing, e.g. blind spot detection

Abstract

Method and system for managing data about a road condition and providing the data to vehicles includes generating information using a sensor system at a first vehicle about a condition of a surface on which the first vehicle is travelling, wirelessly communicating the surface condition information to an off-vehicle location using a first communications system on the first vehicle, and determining a position of the first vehicle using a position determining system, e.g., on the first vehicle. The surface condition information from the first vehicle is associated with the determined position of the first vehicle, to know the location at which the surface condition information is pertinent. Via a second communications system on a second vehicle, the surface condition information from the off-vehicle location is received based on location of the second vehicle, so that the operator of the second vehicle is thereby notified of a potentially hazardous road surface condition.

Claims

1. A method for managing data about the condition of the surface on which vehicles travel and providing the data to vehicles, comprising:

wirelessly receiving information about the condition of a surface on which a first vehicle is travelling during travel of the first vehicle on the surface at an off-vehicle location using a first communications system on the first vehicle, the surface condition information being generated using a sensor system at the first vehicle;

determining a position of the first vehicle using a position determining system; and

associating the surface condition information from the first vehicle with the determined position of the first vehicle such that the off-vehicle location includes position-based surface condition information, the surface condition information being received via a second communications systems on a second vehicle from the off-vehicle location based on location of the second vehicle.

2. The method of claim 1, further comprising transmitting from the off-vehicle location a warning of a slippery road that is derived from the surface condition information received from the first vehicle, and a transmission of the warning of the slippery road being received via the second communications systems on the second vehicle.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein the position determining system is arranged on the first vehicle, further comprising communicating the determined position of the first vehicle from the first vehicle to the off-vehicle location.

4. The method of claim 1, further comprising storing, at a data storage facility at the off-vehicle location, the received surface condition information.

5. The method of claim 1, further comprising analyzing the information at the off-vehicle location and performing traffic control actions based on the analysis and/or notifying additional vehicles about the analysis.

6. The method of claim 1, further comprising analyzing the information at the off-vehicle location and setting speed limits for an area including the position from which the first vehicle generated the information and which speed limits are based on the generated information.

7. The method of claim 1, further comprising audibly or visually notifying an occupant of the second vehicle about the information transmitted from the first vehicle.

8. A method for managing data about a surface condition and providing for surface condition data transfer between vehicles, comprising:

wirelessly receiving surface condition information about the condition of a surface on which each vehicle is travelling from each vehicle at an off-vehicle location using a communications system on each vehicle, the surface condition information being generated using a sensor system at each vehicle;

determining a position of each vehicle using at least one position determining system;

associating the surface condition information from each vehicle with the determined position of that vehicle such that the off-vehicle location includes position-based surface condition information; and

disseminating the surface condition information from the off-vehicle location to the vehicles based on location of each vehicle.

9. The method of claim 8, further comprising transmitting from the off-vehicle location a warning of a slippery road that is derived from the surface condition information received from one of the vehicles, and receiving via the communications system on at least one other of the vehicles, a transmission of the warning of the slippery road.

10. The method of claim 8, further comprising analyzing the information at the off-vehicle location and performing traffic control actions based on the analysis and/or notifying additional vehicles about the analysis.

11. A system for managing data about a surface condition and providing the data to vehicles, comprising:

a data generating system arranged on a first vehicle and configured to generate information about the condition of the surface on which the first vehicle is travelling;

a first vehicle position determining system that determines a position of the first vehicle; and

a first communications system arranged on the first vehicle and coupled to said data generating system and configured to wirelessly communicate the surface condition information to an off-vehicle location, the surface condition information being communicated from the first vehicle being associated with the determined position of the first vehicle;

whereby a second communications system is arranged on a second vehicle and configured to wirelessly receive the surface condition information from the off-vehicle location based on location of the second vehicle.

12. The system of claim 11, wherein said first communications system is configured to receive a transmission of a warning of a slippery road from the off-vehicle location that is derived from the surface condition information that has been communicated to the off-vehicle location from at least one other vehicle based on the location of the first vehicle.

13. The system of claim 11, wherein said first communications system is configured to wirelessly receive from the off-vehicle location, surface condition information that has been communicated to the off-vehicle location from at least one other vehicle based on the location of the first vehicle, further comprising a notification system arranged in the first vehicle for visually notifying an occupant of the first vehicle about the information received by said first communications system.

14. The system of claim 11, wherein said first communications system is configured to wirelessly receive from the off-vehicle location, surface condition information that has been communicated to the off-vehicle location from at least one other vehicle based on the location of the first vehicle, further comprising a notification system arranged in the first vehicle for audibly notifying an occupant of the first vehicle about the information received by said first communications system.

15. The system of claim 11, wherein said first vehicle position determining system is arranged on the first vehicle.

16. The system of claim 11, further comprising a data storage facility at the off-vehicle location for receiving the surface condition information and storing the surface condition information.

17. The system of claim 11, wherein said first communications system is configured to wirelessly receive from the off-vehicle location, surface condition information that has been communicated to the off-vehicle location from at least one other vehicle based on the location of the first vehicle, further comprising a reactive system arranged in the first vehicle to react to the information received by said first communications system.

18. The system of claim 11, further comprising a traffic monitoring facility at the off-vehicle location for receiving the surface condition information, said traffic monitoring facility being configured to analyze the information and perform traffic control actions based on the analysis.

19. The system of claim 11, further comprising a traffic monitoring facility at the off-vehicle location for receiving the surface condition information, said traffic monitoring facility being configured to analyze the information and notify additional vehicles about the analysis.

20. The system of claim 11, further comprising a traffic monitoring facility at the off-vehicle location for receiving the surface condition information, said traffic monitoring facility being configured to set speed limits for an area including the position from which the first vehicle generated the information and which speed limits are based on the generated information.