Emergency call processing system for vehicle

Abstract

A vehicle E-call processing system (100) according to an embodiment of the present invention may be implemented by including: a device linkage unit (110) that performs communication linkage with an E-call (emergency call) terminal (20) installed in a vehicle; a situation analysis unit (120) that analyzes an emergency situation or emergency reserve situation related to the vehicle or a passenger in the vehicle; a situation processing unit (130) that executes an operation to process the emergency situation or the emergency reserve situation according to predefined programming information when a pre-designated emergency situation or pre-designated emergency reserve situation related to the vehicle or the passenger occurs; and a message generation unit (140) that generates a message related to notification or response to the emergency situation or the emergency reserve situation.

Description

Technology Field

[0001] The present invention relates to a vehicle E-call processing system implemented to effectively handle various emergency situations occurring to a vehicle and its occupants. Background Technology

[0002] While telematics systems are provided to handle in-vehicle emergencies, services and solutions to address coverage gaps, such as deserts, are not currently available. Currently, there is a growing demand and movement to provide satellite-based services, led by companies in developed countries like Starlink. However, due to the high costs and limited bandwidth of satellite communication, utilizing continuous connectivity with satellites poses a burden. Prior art literature

[0003] Korean Patent Publication No. 10-2022-0062939 (Published May 17, 2022) Korean Patent Registration No. 10-1601534 (Registered March 2, 2016) Korean Patent Publication No. 10-2000-0013462 (Published March 6, 2000) The problem to be solved

[0004] The present invention aims to provide a vehicle E-call processing system capable of effectively dealing with various emergency situations, such as network instability in communication blind spots like deserts and mountainous terrain, vehicle risks due to disaster areas and situations, and emergency situations involving vehicle occupants. means of solving the problem

[0005] According to one aspect of the present invention, an E-call processing system (100) for a vehicle according to an embodiment of the present invention may be implemented by comprising: a device linkage unit (110) that performs communication linkage with an E-call (emergency call) terminal (20) installed in a vehicle; a situation analysis unit (120) that analyzes an emergency situation or emergency reserve situation related to the vehicle or a passenger in the vehicle; a situation processing unit (130) that executes an operation to process the emergency situation or the emergency reserve situation according to predefined programming information when a predefined emergency situation or predefined emergency reserve situation related to the vehicle or the passenger occurs; and a message generation unit (140) that generates a message related to notification or response to the emergency situation or the emergency reserve situation. Effects of the invention

[0006] According to the vehicle E-call processing system of the embodiment of the present invention, it is possible to effectively deal with various emergency situations, such as network instability in communication blind spots like deserts and mountainous terrain, vehicle risks due to disaster areas and situations, and emergency situations occurring to vehicle occupants. Brief explanation of the drawing

[0007] FIG. 1 is a block diagram illustrating a vehicle E-call processing system according to an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating emergency situation processing processes by the vehicle E-call processing system of FIG. 1. FIG. 3 is a diagram illustrating an E-call processing process when an emergency emergency situation occurs in a high-frequency communication dead zone case, according to an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 4 is a diagram illustrating an E-call processing process when an emergency emergency situation occurs in a passenger risk preliminary monitoring case according to an embodiment of the present invention. Specific details for implementing the invention

[0008] The present invention is capable of various modifications and may have various embodiments, and specific embodiments are illustrated in the drawings and described in detail in the detailed description. However, this is not intended to limit the present invention to specific embodiments, and it should be understood that it includes all modifications, equivalents, and substitutions that fall within the spirit and scope of the invention.

[0009] In describing the present invention, detailed descriptions of related prior art are omitted if it is determined that such descriptions may unnecessarily obscure the essence of the invention. Furthermore, numbers used in the description of this specification (e.g., first, second, etc.) are merely identifiers to distinguish one component from another.

[0010] Furthermore, throughout the specification, when a component is referred to as being "connected" or "joined" with another component, it should be understood that the component may be directly connected or joined to the other component, but unless specifically stated otherwise, it may also be connected or joined through an intermediate component. Additionally, throughout the specification, when a part is described as "including" a component, unless specifically stated otherwise, this means that it does not exclude other components but may include additional components. Furthermore, terms such as "part" or "module" as used in the specification refer to a unit that processes at least one function or operation, and this implies that it may be implemented by one or more hardware or software, or a combination of hardware and software.

[0012] Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the attached drawings.

[0014] FIG. 1 is a block diagram illustrating a vehicle E-call processing system according to an embodiment of the present invention.

[0015] Referring to FIG. 1, a vehicle E-call processing system (100) according to an embodiment of the present invention may be implemented by including: a device linkage unit (110) that performs communication linkage with an E-call (emergency call) terminal (20) installed in a vehicle; a situation analysis unit (120) that analyzes an emergency situation or emergency reserve situation related to the vehicle or a passenger in the vehicle; a situation processing unit (130) that executes an operation to process the emergency situation or the emergency reserve situation according to predefined programming information when a pre-designated emergency situation or pre-designated emergency reserve situation related to the vehicle or the passenger occurs; and a message generation unit (140) that generates a message related to notification or response to the emergency situation or the emergency reserve situation.

[0017] In an embodiment of the present invention, the device linkage unit (110) may be designed to enable communication linkage with a satellite communication device (22) installed in the vehicle, communication linkage with a mobile device (50) carried by the passenger or a wearable device (55) worn by the passenger, communication linkage with a V2V device (24) that performs V2V (Vehicle to Vehicle) communication with other vehicles in the vicinity other than the vehicle, and communication linkage with a drone in the vicinity of the vehicle.

[0018] Additionally, the device linkage unit (110) can be designed to enable communication linkage between devices such as an ECU (Electronic Control Unit) (10), a GPS module (11), an external camera device (12), an internal camera device (13), and a navigation terminal (14) installed in the vehicle.

[0020] In an embodiment of the present invention, the situation analysis unit (120) can determine whether a pre-designated emergency situation or a pre-designated emergency reserve situation has occurred through data analysis based on vehicle status information (e.g., shock wave, check for failure within the vehicle, monitoring data from before the problem occurred to the point where the problem occurred, etc.) obtained from the ECU (10) and vehicle operation information, vehicle location information obtained from the GPS module (11), vehicle external environment information obtained from the external camera device (12), accident information on the vehicle operation path obtained from the navigation terminal (14), driver status information and passenger status information obtained from the internal camera device (13), and passenger status information obtained from the wearable device (52).

[0022] Hereinafter, the processing operation of the vehicle E-call processing system (100) according to an embodiment of the present invention is described by distinguishing between cases of occurrence of an emergency situation and cases of occurrence of an emergency reserve situation.

[0024] [Basic Handling Method for Emergency Cases]

[0025] Figure 2 is a diagram illustrating emergency situation processing processes by the vehicle E-call processing system of Figure 1.

[0026] In an embodiment of the present invention, when the situation processing unit (130) determines that the emergency situation has occurred based on the analysis result of the situation analysis unit (120) (S110 in FIG. 2), it generates an emergency situation notification message (S120 in FIG. 2) that includes, as basic information, vehicle location information obtained from the GPS module (11), vehicle status information and vehicle operation information obtained from the ECU (10), vehicle external environment information obtained from the external camera device (12), vehicle operation route information obtained from the navigation terminal (14), and vehicle surrounding satellite image information obtained from the satellite communication device (22) as additional information, and processes the emergency situation notification message to be transmitted to the vehicle information control center server or the emergency rescue / rescue service center server (S130 in FIG. 2).

[0028] Here, emergency situations may be designated in advance, and as a first case, an accident occurring to the vehicle itself may occur, and as an emergency situation case, for example, the occurrence of a vehicle impact exceeding a threshold (a more specific example may be the deployment of an airbag due to a vehicle collision), abnormal cessation of vehicle operation, etc. It goes without saying that various other emergency situations may also be designated as defined.

[0029] In addition, as a second case of an emergency, there may also be cases of an emergency occurring to an occupant (driver or passenger) inside the vehicle regardless of a vehicle accident.

[0030] For example, when analyzing the health / consciousness state of a driver or passenger through audio / video acquired via an internal camera of a vehicle, or voice / sound / video / biosignals acquired via a mobile device or wearable device, a case identified as a dangerous situation may be designated as an emergency situation of the second case above.

[0031] More specifically, examples include cases where dangerous situations are identified, such as the occurrence of voice-sound intensity exceeding a threshold via voice tracking, the occurrence of an anxious-surprised expression via face tracking, or the occurrence of an abnormal heart rate. In such cases, the situation processing unit (130) may execute measures to induce psychological stability in the occupant or resolve the health-consciousness risk state through a generative AI-based text message or voice message, along with the transmission of an emergency E-call message, until a rescue vehicle / personnel arrive (S140 of FIG. 2).

[0033] As described above, if it is determined that an emergency situation has occurred, the situation processing unit (130) may send an emergency situation notification message to the outside according to the E-call processing priority in the following order. Of course, it is obvious that the E-call processing priority described below can also be appropriately modified according to the system design method.

[0034] In one embodiment, the situation processing unit (130) may use the E-call terminal (20) as the first priority transmission device when transmitting an emergency situation notification message to the outside (S131 in FIG. 2), determine the mobile device (50) as the second priority transmission device so that the message is transmitted to the passenger's mobile device (50) (e.g., smartphone, etc.) through the device linkage when the E-call terminal (20) is unable to communicate or message transmission through the E-call terminal (20) is not performed smoothly according to the communication network conditions (S133 in FIG. 2), and determine the satellite communication device (22) as the third priority transmission device so that message transmission through the satellite communication device (22) is performed through the device linkage when the mobile device (50) is also unable to communicate or message transmission through the mobile device (50) is not performed smoothly according to the communication network conditions (S135 in FIG. 2).

[0035] That is, according to the vehicle e-call processing system (100) according to the embodiment of the present invention, when the vehicle is in a communication blind spot and the signal of the base station-based E-call terminal (20) is not detected at the time when the emergency situation notification message needs to be transmitted externally, the system checks whether communication is possible in the event of an emergency by connecting with a mobile device (50), such as a smartphone, that has an existing connection record (passenger, i.e., driver or co-passenger). When the signal is not detected even through the passenger's mobile device (50), the system seeks the user's opinion to attempt a connection with a satellite to prepare for the emergency situation, and attempts a connection with the satellite after obtaining consent. If a situation occurs where communication with the satellite is difficult due to a problem with the communication system, the system can notify the driver that it is an emergency situation and warn the driver to take measures to prepare for the emergency situation.

[0037] [Emergency Rescue Methods for Emergency Situations]

[0038] In the event that an emergency situation as described above occurs, the situation processing unit (130) according to the embodiment of the present invention can ensure that the emergency situation is processed (i.e., vehicle rescue, passenger rescue, emergency medical services, etc.) by sending the notification message of the emergency situation to a remote vehicle information control center server and / or an emergency rescue / rescue service center server.

[0039] However, depending on the situation, there may be cases where it is difficult to handle an emergency quickly through standard emergency procedures (e.g., dispatching from a long distance, lack of operational personnel for emergency dispatch, etc.). To prepare for such cases, a service may be operated that allows individuals with specific qualifications, such as paramedics and doctors, to register their qualifications in advance, and sends a message to the registered personnel in the vicinity when an accident occurs, thereby enabling rapid emergency rescue and treatment.

[0040] To this end, in one embodiment of the present invention, the situation processing unit (130) processes the emergency situation notification message so that it is transmitted to at least one of a remote vehicle information control center server, an emergency rescue / rescue service center server, another vehicle in the vicinity, or another person,

[0041] When priority access to the vehicle where the emergency situation has occurred is secured by a pre-registered qualified person who is qualified to provide emergency rescue / rescue services or emergency medical services based on geographical accessibility or temporal accessibility, the emergency rescue / rescue service or emergency medical service can be provided by the qualified person by notifying them of the emergency situation through communication linkage with the vehicle information control center server or the emergency rescue / rescue service center server, or through direct communication linkage with the pre-registered qualified person.

[0043] [Emergency Situation Occurrence - Case of Frequent Communication Deadlines]

[0044] FIG. 3 is a diagram illustrating an E-call processing process when an emergency emergency situation occurs in a frequently used communication dead zone case, according to an embodiment of the present invention.

[0045] If the aforementioned emergency situation occurs in a communication blind spot, notification and processing of the emergency situation via a base station-based E-call terminal or / and the passenger's mobile device may be impossible.

[0046] In preparation for such cases, an embodiment of the present invention may implement a system that operates as a system for performing preliminary management / monitoring of emergency situations by registering in advance spots where communication shadows frequently occur.

[0048] To this end, in one embodiment, the situation processing unit (130) can perform the monitoring function of the emergency reserve situation by processing so that when the driving path of the vehicle (on the actual driving path or on the driving path selected by navigation) is selected as a path passing through a pre-registered frequent communication shadow spot (S210 in FIG. 3), a message indicating that the vehicle is scheduled to enter the frequent communication shadow spot is transmitted to the outside through the E-call terminal at a predetermined time before the vehicle enters the frequent communication shadow spot (S220 in FIG. 3).

[0049] At this time, vehicle information-related data such as the location, time, vehicle identification information, and vehicle speed at that point in time may be inserted into the scheduled entry message.

[0050] Additionally, the situation processing unit (130) can process the vehicle so that a message indicating completion of passage is transmitted externally through the E-call terminal at a predetermined time after the vehicle has passed the frequently occurring communication shadow point, thereby enabling the release function of the emergency reserve situation to be performed.

[0052] Accordingly, the remote vehicle information control center server that receives the above-mentioned entry scheduled message, after receiving the above-mentioned entry scheduled message, transmits at least one message for checking the vehicle status to the E-call terminal (S233 in FIG. 3) if the above-mentioned message for passing is not received until the expected time to pass the above-mentioned point of frequent communication dead zone is elapsed according to a pre-specified criteria for calculating the expected time to pass (e.g., the regulated speed of the road, or the vehicle speed at the time of entry included in the entry scheduled message, or a valid time criterion pre-set considering the usual expected time to pass, etc.) after receiving the above-mentioned entry scheduled message (S231 in FIG. 3), and if no response to the above-mentioned message for checking the vehicle status is received, it may determine that an emergency reserve situation has occurred in the vehicle (S235 in FIG. 3).

[0054] In the above case, the vehicle information control center server can dispatch a communication relay drone to the frequently occurring communication dead zone, thereby allowing the actual status and location of the vehicle to be verified through the drone (S240 of FIG. 3).

[0055] In other words, this is because it is necessary to determine whether an actual communication dead zone has occurred and whether an emergency situation (e.g., a car accident) has taken place in the vehicle while that dead zone is present, or whether the vehicle is calmly stopped for a brief moment even though the dead zone has indeed occurred.

[0057] The vehicle information control center server can obtain, based on the vehicle information included in the scheduled entry message, at least one of the location information and image information of the vehicle directly confirmed by the communication relay drone, or at least one of the vehicle status information and passenger status information confirmed through communication linkage between the communication relay drone and the mobile device of the passenger of the vehicle, from the communication relay drone directly or through communication relay via a satellite communication system (S250 of FIG. 3).

[0058] Accordingly, the vehicle information control center server determines whether the vehicle is in an actual emergency situation based on the information obtained as above, and if an actual emergency situation occurs, it can perform processing regarding the execution of emergency rescue / rescue, etc.

[0060] [Emergency Situation Occurrence - Occupant Risk Preliminary Monitoring Case]

[0061] FIG. 4 is a diagram illustrating an E-call processing process when an emergency emergency situation occurs in a passenger risk preliminary monitoring case according to an embodiment of the present invention.

[0062] Emergency situations occurring to passengers are typically caused by vehicle accidents, or they develop into critical situations due to the passenger's physical or mental condition regardless of a vehicle accident.

[0063] Emergency situations in such standard cases should be handled according to the method described above. However, in addition to these standard cases, exceptional instances may occur where the safety of passengers is threatened by others.

[0065] As a method for preparing for an emergency situation caused by a threat from another person as described above, in an embodiment of the present invention, the situation analysis unit (120) can determine, based on data obtained from at least one device among an ECU (Electronic Control Unit) and a navigation terminal installed in the vehicle, whether there is an additional passenger who boarded the vehicle after stopping at a place unrelated to the vehicle's destination, and whether the information of the additional passenger identified by short-range communication with the additional passenger's mobile device corresponds to an unregistered passenger who is not registered in a pre-registered passenger list (S310 of FIG. 4).

[0066] If, upon verification, it is found that an unregistered passenger has boarded, the situation analysis unit (120) may perform a procedure to analyze whether a dangerous situation has occurred for the passenger based on monitoring data according to at least one of audio and video data obtained by the internal camera device, driving route data obtained by the navigation terminal, and the passenger's biometric data obtained by the existing passenger's mobile device or wearable device (S320 of FIG. 4).

[0068] In one embodiment, the situation analysis unit (120) may determine that an emergency preliminary situation has occurred if, after the unregistered passenger boards, at least one of the following occurs: 1) a change in the destination route through the navigation terminal or a route deviation frequency exceeding a predetermined number of times occurs, 2) a high noise exceeding a predetermined threshold occurs based on audio data obtained by the internal camera device, 3) a dangerous situation occurs due to face recognition or dangerous material extraction occurs due to object recognition based on video data obtained by the internal camera device, or 4) biometric data within an abnormal range is obtained based on the passenger's biometric data obtained by the existing passenger's mobile device or wearable device.

[0070] In the case described above, in an embodiment of the present invention, the situation processing unit (130) may perform a verification procedure to confirm whether the threat caused by the unregistered passenger has actually occurred.

[0071] For example, the situation processing unit (130) can determine whether an actual threat has occurred by using a deceptive message (provided that the existing passenger can recognize it) that enables message exchange based on generative AI (Artificial Intelligence) with the existing passenger, such as a driver or co-passenger, so that the verification procedure is not recognized by the unregistered passenger (provided that the existing passenger can recognize it) and, if it is determined that an actual threat has occurred, can send an emergency situation notification message to the outside through the E-call terminal (S340 in FIG. 4).

[0072] As a more specific example, the situation analysis unit (130) may, when an emergency situation is confirmed to have occurred, send an emergency situation notification message to the outside so that a police vehicle or rescue vehicle arrives at a specific point (e.g., a gas station) located on the current driving route or a changed destination route, after deceiving the driver by displaying a fuel warning light (e.g., through linkage with the ECU).

[0074] Although the present invention has been described above with reference to embodiments thereof, those skilled in the art will readily understand that various modifications and changes can be made to the present invention without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention as described in the following claims.

Claims

Claim 1 As a vehicle E-call processing system, a device linkage unit that performs communication linkage with an E-call (emergency call) terminal installed in the vehicle, communication linkage with a satellite communication device installed in the vehicle, communication linkage with a mobile device carried by a passenger in the vehicle, and communication linkage with other vehicles or drones in the vicinity other than the vehicle; A situation analysis unit that analyzes an emergency situation or emergency reserve situation related to the vehicle or the occupant; a situation processing unit that executes an action to handle the emergency situation or the emergency reserve situation according to predefined programming information when a pre-designated emergency situation or pre-designated emergency reserve situation related to the vehicle or the occupant occurs; and a message generation unit that generates a message related to notification or response to the emergency situation or the emergency reserve situation; wherein the situation processing unit processes the notification message of the emergency situation to be transmitted to at least one of a remote vehicle information control center server, an emergency rescue / rescue service center server, another nearby vehicle, or another person, and wherein, when priority access to the vehicle where the emergency situation occurred is secured by a pre-registered qualified person qualified to provide emergency rescue / rescue services or emergency medical services based on geographical or temporal accessibility, the notification message of the emergency situation is notified to the qualified person through a communication linkage with the vehicle information control center server or the emergency rescue / rescue service center server or through a direct communication linkage with the pre-registered qualified person, thereby processing the emergency rescue / rescue service or emergency medical service to be performed by the qualified person, and the emergency In transmitting a situation notification message externally, the E-call terminal is used as the first-priority transmission device, andIf, depending on the communication network conditions, the E-call terminal is unable to communicate or message transmission via the E-call terminal is not performed smoothly, the mobile device is designated as the second-priority transmission device so that message transmission via the passenger's mobile device is performed through the device linkage; if, depending on the communication network conditions, the mobile device is also unable to communicate or message transmission via the mobile device is not performed smoothly, the satellite communication device is designated as the third-priority transmission device so that message transmission via the satellite communication device is performed through the device linkage; if the driving route of the vehicle is selected as a route passing through a pre-registered frequent communication blind spot, a message indicating an upcoming entry is transmitted externally via the E-call terminal at a predetermined time before the vehicle enters the frequent communication blind spot, thereby performing the monitoring function of the emergency reserve situation; and a message indicating completion of passage is transmitted externally via the E-call terminal at a predetermined time after the vehicle passes the frequent communication blind spot, thereby performing the release function of the emergency reserve situation, wherein the message indicating an upcoming entry A vehicle E-call processing system characterized by the receiving remote vehicle information control center server transmitting at least one vehicle status check message to the E-call terminal if, after receiving the entry scheduled message, the expected time to pass the frequently occurring communication dead zone elapses according to a pre-specified expected time calculation standard for passing, and if no response to the vehicle status check message is received, determining that an emergency reserve situation has occurred in the vehicle. Claim 2 delete Claim 3 delete Claim 4 delete Claim 5 A vehicle E-call processing system according to claim 1, wherein the vehicle information control center server dispatches a communication relay drone to the frequently occurring communication blind spot when it is determined that an emergency emergency situation has occurred in the vehicle, and, based on the vehicle information included in the scheduled entry message, when the vehicle is identified by the communication relay drone, obtains at least one of the location information and image information of the vehicle directly identified by the communication relay drone, or at least one of the vehicle status information and passenger status information identified through communication linkage between the communication relay drone and the mobile device of the passenger of the vehicle, directly from the communication relay drone or through communication relay via a satellite communication system. Claim 6 A vehicle E-call processing system according to claim 1, wherein the device linkage unit enables communication linkage between the Electronic Control Unit (ECU) installed in the vehicle, the internal camera device, the navigation terminal, and the wearable device worn by the existing passenger who has boarded the vehicle, and the situation analysis unit analyzes whether a dangerous situation has occurred for the passenger based on monitoring data according to at least one of the audio and video data obtained by the internal camera device, the driving route data obtained by the navigation terminal, and the passenger's biometric data obtained by the existing passenger's mobile device or wearable device, in the case where, based on data obtained from at least one of the Electronic Control Unit (ECU) and the navigation terminal installed in the vehicle, there is an additional passenger who has boarded the vehicle after stopping the vehicle at a place unrelated to the vehicle's driving destination, and the information of the additional passenger identified by short-range communication with the additional passenger's mobile device corresponds to an unregistered passenger who is not registered in a pre-registered passenger list. Claim 7 In paragraph 6, the situation analysis unit determines that an emergency preliminary situation has occurred if, after the unregistered passenger boards, a change in the destination route via the navigation terminal occurs, or the frequency of deviation from the existing destination driving route occurs more than a predetermined number of times, or a loud noise exceeding a predetermined threshold occurs based on audio data acquired by the internal camera device, or a dangerous situation occurs due to face recognition or hazardous material extraction occurs due to object recognition based on video data acquired by the internal camera device, or biometric data within an abnormal range is acquired based on the passenger's biometric data acquired by the existing passenger's mobile device or wearable device; and the situation processing unit, when it is determined that the emergency preliminary situation has occurred, as a verification procedure to confirm whether a threat by the unregistered passenger has actually occurred, enables message exchange based on generative AI (Artificial Intelligence) with the existing passenger, the driver or co-passenger, but uses a deceptive message including a pre-agreed query that prevents the verification procedure from being perceived by the unregistered passenger, thereby preventing the actual threat from occurring A vehicle E-call processing system characterized by determining whether a threat has occurred and, if it is determined that a real threat has occurred, transmitting an emergency situation notification message externally through the E-call terminal.

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