Method and apparatus for extra-vehicular emergency updates following an accident

• US 9,117,373 B2
• Filed: 01/12/2015
• Issued: 08/25/2015
• Est. Priority Date: 03/15/2013
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Ford Global Technologies, LLC (Ford Motor Company)
• Original Assignee: Ford Global Technologies, LLC (Ford Motor Company)
• Inventors: Hatton, David Anthony
• Primary Examiner(s): Lu, Shirley
• Application Number:
  US14/594,709
• Publication Number:
  US 20150123822A1
• Time in Patent Office: 225 Days
• Field of Search: 340/989
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: G07C 5/008 communicating information to a remotely located station transmission systems for measured values G08C
• 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 1/00 Traffic control systems for road vehicles arrangement of road signs or traffic signals E01F9/00 ; automatic vehicle control B62D
• CPC Class Codes: G08G 1/127 to a central station ; Indicators in a central station
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 1/00 Arrangements for detecting or preventing errors in the information received correcting synchronisation H04L7/00
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 1/00 Substation equipment, e.g. for use by subscribers subscriber services or facilities provided at exchanges H04M3/00; prepayment telephone coin boxes H04M17/00; current supply arrangements H04M19/08
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/00 Services specially adapted for wireless communication networks; Facilities therefor
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/90 Services for handling of emergency or hazardous situations, e.g. earthquake and tsunami warning systems [ETWS]

Abstract

A system includes a processor configured to receive instructions from a vehicle computing system (VCS) to being reporting a mobile device location. The processor is also configured to access a list of emergency contacts. Further, the processor is configured to determine that a mobile device has left a predetermined perimeter around a last known vehicle location. The processor is additionally configured to periodically report mobile device GPS coordinates to members of the emergency contacts list, until the mobile device reaches a destination.

Claims

1. A system comprising:

a processor programmed to;

determine that an executing vehicular application includes a feature utilizing tracking data relating to an away-from-vehicle experience;

determine that a vehicle-stop event has occurred;

transfer data from a vehicle to a mobile device;

determine that a vehicle-start event has occurred; and

receive altered data, including transferred data changed based on away-from-vehicle user actions, from the mobile device; and

update the executing vehicular application based on the altered data.

2. The system of claim 1, wherein the data is transferred to an application executing on the mobile device.

3. The system of claim 2, wherein the data is transferred with instructions as to an aspect of the data to be tracked by the application executing on the mobile device.

4. The system of claim 3, wherein the instructions include tracking mobile phone coordinates.

5. The system of claim 4, wherein the altered data includes tracked mobile phone coordinates, representing user travel during the away-from-vehicle experience.

6. The system of claim 3, wherein the instructions include tracking mobile phone communication usage.

7. The system of claim 6, wherein the altered data includes tracked mobile phone communication usage.

8. A computer-implemented method comprising:

determining, via a computer, that an executing vehicular application includes a feature utilizing tracking data relating to an away-from-vehicle experience;

determining that a vehicle-stop event has occurred;

transferring data from a vehicle to a mobile device;

determining that a vehicle-start event has occurred; and

receiving altered data, including transferred data changed based on away-from-vehicle user actions, from the mobile device; and

updating the executing vehicular application based on the altered data.

9. The method of claim 8, wherein the data is transferred to an application executing on the mobile device.

10. The method of claim 9, wherein the data is transferred with instructions as to an aspect of the data to be tracked by the application executing on the mobile device.

11. The method of claim 10, wherein the instructions include tracking mobile phone coordinates.

12. The method of claim 11, wherein the altered data includes tracked mobile phone coordinates, representing user travel during the away-from-vehicle experience.

13. The method of claim 10, wherein the instructions include tracking mobile phone communication usage.