Vehicles with automatic notification function and automatic emergency notification system

Abstract

In the automatic emergency notification system, even if the current location of the accident scene generated by the vehicle is inaccurate, the action force can arrive at the accident scene without excessive delay. The vehicle (10) has: a transmitting unit (60) that transmits the emergency information of the vehicle (10) to a server device (2) for requesting emergency deployment when a collision of the vehicle (10) is detected or presumed; a GNSS receiving unit (56); a storage unit (57) that stores past locations generated by the GNSS receiving unit (56); and a control unit (30) that collects information from the vehicle (10) as emergency information and transmits it from the transmitting unit (60) when a collision of the vehicle (10) is detected or presumed. If the control unit (30) cannot obtain the current location from the GNSS receiving unit (56) when a collision of the vehicle (10) is detected or predicted, it collects the past locations stored in the storage unit (57) and transmits them from the transmitting unit (60) to the server device (2).

Description

Technical Field

[0001] This invention relates to a vehicle with automatic notification function and an automatic emergency notification system. Background Technology

[0002] Consider the need for emergency reporting of accidents involving vehicles such as cars.

[0003] For example, in automobiles, automatic emergency notification systems like AACN (Advanced Automatic Collision Notification) are becoming practical. In AACN, a vehicle involved in an accident uses an automatic notification device installed in the car to send accident information to a server at a call center, including the occupant protection status, the location of the accident, and the direction and intensity of the impact. At the call center, the server confirms the accident information received and requests the dispatch of rescue helicopters and / or emergency response teams. This significantly reduces the preparation time until rescue helicopters and / or ambulances are dispatched. Because emergency response teams arrive at the accident scene within a short preparation time to provide assistance, the likelihood of saving those involved in the accident increases.

[0004] In addition, Patent Document 1 discloses a mobile body information providing system that sends location information of a mobile body to a server device.

[0005] Existing technical documents

[0006] Patent documents

[0007] Patent Document 1: Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 2003-065780 Summary of the Invention

[0008] Technical issues

[0009] However, accidents involving such vehicles are not limited to locations where the aforementioned emergency notification system can be used.

[0010] Vehicle accidents can also occur in environments such as roads inside tunnels, forest trails in dense forests, roads in deep valleys, and streets near tall buildings. If an accident occurs in such an environment where radio waves are difficult to receive, the GNSS receiver installed in the vehicle may not be able to properly receive signals from the satellite, which could result in the inability to accurately determine the vehicle's current position at the accident scene.

[0011] In addition to the GNSS receiver, the vehicle also includes a device capable of using the vehicle's driving information to calculate the vehicle's trajectory from its past position, and using the calculated position as the vehicle's current position. However, the calculated current position may be inaccurate. Therefore, in vehicles, the calculated position is often moved onto a road using methods such as map matching, and the moved position is used as the vehicle's current position. This moved current position may be a different location and / or road than the actual position. Regardless of subsequent processing, the calculated position is less reliable than the high-precision position obtained by the GNSS receiver 56.

[0012] The reason is that in the inference navigation method that uses the accumulation of vehicle speed information and orientation information, the result obtained is a two-dimensional relative position, which cannot estimate the difference in elevation.

[0013] Furthermore, when the high-precision current vehicle position obtained via GNSS is unavailable, and the current position is calculated solely using speculative navigation methods, the information used in these methods may produce anomalous data, leading to a significant discrepancy between the predicted position and the actual vehicle position. For example, on snow-covered or poorly maintained roads, when the wheels are spinning freely, the actual distance traveled relative to the wheel rotation may be small. Additionally, when driving on steep slopes, the two-dimensional relative distance traveled relative to the wheel rotation may also be small.

[0014] Furthermore, even if the location calculated in this way is taken as the location of the accident scene and an emergency response team rushes to the scene, they may not be able to locate the vehicle and / or occupants. The emergency response team will search the surrounding area. If the search is directed in the wrong direction, or in areas with complex terrain and / or roads, the emergency response team may not be able to locate the accident scene immediately. Additionally, as a result of a large-scale search, the emergency response team may arrive at the accident scene after a considerable period of time.

[0015] The goal is to ensure that, even if the current location of the accident scene generated by the vehicle is inaccurate, the action force can reach the accident scene without excessive delay in such an automated emergency notification system.

[0016] Technical solution

[0017] An embodiment of the present invention provides a vehicle with an automatic notification function, comprising: a transmitting unit that, upon detecting or presuming a collision, transmits emergency information of the vehicle to a server device for requesting emergency dispatch; a GNSS receiving unit that receives signal waves and generates the vehicle's current position; a storage unit that stores past positions generated by the GNSS receiving unit; and a control unit that, upon detecting or presuming a collision, collects information from the vehicle and transmits it as emergency information from the transmitting unit, wherein the control unit determines whether the current position can be obtained from the GNSS receiving unit when a collision is detected or presumed, and if the current position cannot be obtained from the GNSS receiving unit when a collision is detected or presumed, the control unit collects past positions stored in the storage unit and transmits them from the transmitting unit to the server device.

[0018] Preferably, the device may include an estimation unit that estimates the current position of the vehicle based on the past position generated by the GNSS receiver. When the control unit detects or estimates a collision with the vehicle, it prioritizes collecting the past position generated by the GNSS receiver and stored in the storage unit compared to the current position of the vehicle estimated by the estimation unit, and sends it from the transmission unit to the server device.

[0019] Preferably, the control unit can collect past locations stored in the storage unit when it obtains the location estimated by the estimation unit as the current location of the vehicle, and send both locations from the transmission unit to the server device.

[0020] Preferably, the storage unit can log the position generated by the GNSS receiver along with the accuracy of each position, and the control unit can select and collect the latest past position that meets the predetermined position accuracy from the multiple past positions stored in the storage unit.

[0021] A server apparatus according to one embodiment of the present invention includes: a receiving unit that receives emergency information about an accident automatically sent by a vehicle based on the detection or prediction of an accident; an output unit that outputs the received emergency information when the receiving unit receives the emergency information; and a control unit that controls the output of the received emergency information to the output unit, wherein the control unit outputs the past location to the output unit when the received emergency information contains information about the past location of the vehicle involved in the accident, indicating that it is the past location.

[0022] Invention Effects

[0023] In this invention, the positions generated in the past by the GNSS receiver that receives signal waves are stored in the storage unit. Furthermore, when the control unit detects or presumes a vehicle collision, it determines whether the current position can be obtained from the GNSS receiver. If not, it collects the past positions stored in the storage unit and sends them from the transmission unit to the server device. Thus, the server device can receive an accurate position obtained through the GNSS receiver, even if it is a past position and time, rather than a current position of the accident scene that may be inaccurate as it is obtained without the GNSS receiver. Based on the server device, call center personnel equipped with the server device, and dispatching units requesting deployment, the accurate past position can be used as a base point to quickly and accurately search for the vehicle involved in the accident and urgently proceed to the accident scene without getting lost.

[0024] In contrast, suppose, for example, the server device only receives the vehicle's current position estimated based on past positions generated by the GNSS receiver, the server device and / or the operational force might urgently head to the current position, which is highly inaccurate. Even if the operational force heads to the accident scene indicated by the information, it may not be able to find the vehicle and / or occupants involved in the accident. Then, the operational force will begin searching the surrounding area from the location it urgently headed to. In particular, if the search direction differs from the actual accident scene, or if the terrain and / or roads around the location it urgently headed to are complex, the operational force may get lost, and even if it begins searching, it may not be able to immediately find the vehicle and / or occupants involved in the accident. In this state where it is impossible to determine the direction of the accident scene, and while searching for the accident scene while lost, there is a possibility that the emergency response team will spend a long time searching a large area before finally reaching the accident scene. In this case, rescue is significantly delayed. In the present invention, since the accurate past position of the vehicle involved in the accident is obtained, the emergency response team can use this accurate past position as a base point to search along, for example, roads, thereby expecting the vehicle to reach the actual accident scene without spending too much time. The time it takes for emergency medical teams to reach the actual accident scene should not be as long as it would be in the case of a large-scale search. Attached Figure Description

[0025] Figure 1 This is an explanatory diagram illustrating an example of an automatic emergency notification system according to an embodiment of the present invention.

[0026] Figure 2 yes Figure 1 This diagram illustrates a control system for a car that functions as an automatic notification device in emergency situations such as potential accidents.

[0027] Figure 3 Is Figure 1 A diagram illustrating the server setup used in a call center.

[0028] Figure 4 Is Figure 1 A diagram illustrating the client terminals used by the operational troops.

[0029] Figure 5 It is shown in Figure 1 A sequence diagram of an example process in an automatic emergency notification system, from the moment a vehicle involved in an accident automatically notifies the server device of an emergency to the emergency response team dispatched to the accident scene.

[0030] Figure 6 It is shown Figure 2 A flowchart of the process by which the vehicle's control system generates or estimates the vehicle's current position.

[0031] Figure 7 It is shown Figure 2 The timing diagram shows the process by which the vehicle's control system performs actions to anticipate and detect accidents involving the vehicle.

[0032] Figure 8 It is shown Figure 3 The timing diagram shows the process of the server device from receiving an emergency notification from a car involved in an accident to displaying the output.

[0033] Figure 9 It is displayed Figure 3 An illustrative diagram of an example of an emergency notification screen from a server monitor regarding a car involved in an accident.

[0034] Symbol Explanation

[0035] 1…Automatic Emergency Notification System, 2…Server Device, 3…Client Terminal, 4…Automatic Notification Device, 5…Wireless Communication Network, 6…Base Station, 7…Communication Network, 10…Automobile (Vehicle), 11…Ambulance, 20…Control System, 21…Drive ECU, 22…Steering ECU, 23…Brake ECU, 24…Driving Control ECU, 25…Driving Operation ECU, 26…Detection ECU (Predictive Unit), 27…External Communication ECU, 28…Internal Communication ECU, 29…UI Operation ECU, 30…Occupant Protection ECU (Control Unit), 36…Vehicle Network, 37…Bus Cable, 38…Central Gateway, 41…Display Device, 42…Operating Device, 51…Speed ​​Sensor, 52…Triaxial Accelerometer, 54…In-Vehicle Camera, 55…Microphone, 56…GNSS Receiver, 57…Detection Memory (Storage Unit), 60…External Communication Terminal (Transmitter Unit) ), 61…External communication equipment, 71…Internal communication equipment, 80…Occupant protection device, 81…Driver's side seat belt device, 82…Passenger side seat belt device, 83…Driver's side front airbag device, 84…Driver's side curtain airbag device, 85…Passenger side front airbag device, 86…Passenger side curtain airbag device, 87…Occupant protection memory, 91…Server communication equipment, 92…Server memory, 93…Server CPU, 94…Server GNSS receiver, 95…Server monitor, 96…Server intercom equipment, 97…Server bus, 101…Client communication equipment, 102…Client memory, 103…Client CPU, 104…Client notification equipment, 105…Client GNSS receiver, 106…Client monitor, 107…Client intercom equipment, 108…Client bus, 110…GNSS satellite, 121…Mobile terminal Detailed Implementation

[0036] Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the accompanying drawings.

[0037] Figure 1 This is an explanatory diagram of an example of an automatic emergency notification system 1 according to an embodiment of the present invention.

[0038] Figure 1The automatic emergency notification system 1 includes: a server device 2 used in the call center of an organization managing road accidents caused by vehicles 10, etc.; a client terminal 3 used in fire and rescue operations; automatic notification devices 4 installed on multiple vehicles 10; and a wireless communication network 5 providing communication lines to the aforementioned devices. The wireless communication network 5 includes: base stations 6 geographically dispersed along, for example, roads for communication with wireless terminals such as the automatic notification devices 4; and a communication network 7 connecting multiple base stations 6. The base stations 6 function as access points for connecting multiple wireless terminals within the communication area. Figure 1 The communication network 7 is connected to the call center's server device 2 and the rescue operation force's client terminals 3. The automatic emergency notification system 1 in the event of such an accident includes, for example, AACN (Advanced Automatic Collision Notification). In AACN, automatic accident information is sent instantly from the vehicle 10 involved in the accident to the call center's server device 2. Based on the dispatch request from the call center's server device 2, the rescue operation force dispatches ambulance 11 and / or rescue helicopter. The call center can select the rescue operation force corresponding to the accident situation and issue a dispatch request. The ambulance 11 and / or rescue helicopter can be dispatched to the accident scene while the situation is understood. Thus, appropriate rescue treatment can be provided to the parties involved in the accident immediately within a short preparation time.

[0039] It should be noted that, although shown Figure 1 The emergency notification system 1 can be used in conjunction with multiple organizations, but it can also be used individually by organizations such as police, fire departments, government agencies, hospitals, medical institutions, security companies, and management companies that manage areas containing roads accessible to vehicles 10.

[0040] In addition, Figure 1 The image shows GNSS satellite 110. Figure 1 Each device can obtain its own position and time by receiving radio waves from multiple GNSS satellites 110, including position information such as latitude and longitude. Furthermore, multiple devices can achieve high-precision consistency in their current time by receiving radio waves from multiple cooperating GNSS satellites 110. Multiple devices can use the same time.

[0041] Figure 2 yes Figure 1 An explanatory diagram of a control system 20 that functions as an automatic notification device 4 for a car 10 in emergency situations such as accidents.

[0042] An example is shown using an ECU (Electronic Control Unit), which is equipped with multiple control devices. Figure 2 The control system 20 of the car 10. In addition to the control ECU, the control device may also have, for example, a memory for storing control programs and data, input / output ports for connecting the controlled object or its state detection device, a timer for measuring time and / or moments, and an internal bus connecting the above components.

[0043] Figure 2 The control ECUs shown specifically include, for example, drive ECU 21, steering ECU 22, braking ECU 23, driving control ECU 24, driving operation ECU 25, detection ECU 26, external communication ECU 27, internal communication ECU 28, UI operation ECU 29, and occupant protection ECU 30. The control system 20 of the vehicle 10 may have other control ECUs not shown.

[0044] Multiple control ECUs are connected to a vehicle network 36, such as CAN (Controller Area Network) and / or LIN (Local Interconnect Network), used in the vehicle 10. The vehicle network 36 can consist of multiple bus cables 37 connecting the multiple control ECUs and a central gateway (CGW) 38 acting as a relay device for the multiple bus cables 37. Each control ECU is assigned a unique ID as identification information. The control ECUs essentially periodically output data to other control ECUs. The data includes the ID of the source control ECU and the ID of the target control ECU. Other control ECUs monitor the bus cables 37, and if the target ID is, for example, their own ID, acquire data and perform data-based processing. The central gateway 38 monitors each of the connected bus cables 37, and if it detects a control ECU connected to a different bus cable 37 than the source control ECU, it outputs data to that bus cable 37. Through this relay processing by the central gateway 38, multiple control ECUs can perform data input and output between themselves and other control ECUs connected to bus cables 37 different from their respective connected bus cables 37.

[0045] The UI operation ECU 29 connects to the display device 41 and the operation device 42, serving as a user interface machine for, for example, a passenger in a vehicle. The display device 41 can be, for example, an LCD device or an image projection device. The operation device 42 can be, for example, a touchscreen, a keyboard, or a non-contact operation detection device. The display device 41 and the operation device 42 can be installed on, for example, the inner surface of a passenger compartment. The UI operation ECU 29 acquires data from the vehicle network 36 and displays it on the display device 41. The UI operation ECU 29 outputs input operations to the vehicle network 36 for the operation device 42. Additionally, the UI operation ECU 29 can perform input operation-based processing and include the processing results in the data. For example, the UI operation ECU 29 can display a navigation screen on the display device 41 for setting a destination, search for a path to the destination selected through the input operation, and include the path data in the data. The path data may include attribute information such as lane information of the road used to move from the current location to the destination.

[0046] The driving control ECU 25 is connected to operating components such as a steering wheel (not shown), brake pedal, accelerator pedal, and gearshift lever (not shown) for passengers to control the movement of the vehicle 10. When an operating component is operated, the driving control ECU 25 outputs data to the vehicle network 36 containing information such as the presence or absence of the operation and the magnitude of the operation. Furthermore, the driving control ECU 25 can perform processing regarding the operation of the operating components and include the processing results in the data. For example, if the accelerator pedal is operated while other moving objects and / or fixed objects are present in the direction of travel of the vehicle 10, the driving control ECU 25 can determine that the operation is abnormal and include the determination result in the data.

[0047] The detection ECU 26, connected to the detection memory 57, includes components such as a speed sensor 51 for detecting the speed of the vehicle 10, a three-axis accelerometer 52 for detecting the acceleration of the vehicle 10, a stereo camera 53 for capturing images of the surrounding area of ​​the vehicle 10, an in-vehicle camera 54 for capturing images of the passengers in the vehicle, a microphone 55 for digitizing sound data from inside and outside the vehicle, and a GNSS receiver 56 for detecting the position of the vehicle 10. The GNSS receiver 56 receives signal waves from multiple GNSS satellites 110 and generates with high precision the latitude, longitude, and current time of the vehicle's current position.

[0048] The detection memory 57 is a computer-readable storage medium that stores programs, set values, etc., executed by the detection ECU 26. Information regarding the control content of the detection ECU 26 can be stored in the detection memory 57. The detection ECU 26 reads programs from the detection memory 57 and executes them. Thus, the detection ECU 26 controls and manages the detection performed by various detection components of the vehicle 10.

[0049] The detection ECU 26 acquires detection information from the detection components and outputs data containing the detection information to the vehicle network 36. Additionally, the detection ECU 26 can perform processing based on the detection information and include the processing results in the data. For example, if the triaxial accelerometer 52 detects acceleration exceeding a collision detection threshold, the detection ECU 26 determines a collision and includes the collision detection result in the data. The detection ECU 26 can extract objects such as pedestrians and / or other vehicles, roadside trees and / or utility poles, and guardrails existing around the vehicle based on images from the stereo camera 53, determine the type and / or attributes of the objects, and, based on the position, size, and / or changes of the objects in the image, estimate the relative direction, relative distance, and direction of movement (if moving), and include collision prediction information with other objects containing these estimation results in the data, and output it to the vehicle network 36.

[0050] An external communication device 61 is connected to the external communication ECU 27. This constitutes an external communication terminal 60 installed in the vehicle 10. The external communication device 61 communicates wirelessly with a base station 6 of the wireless communication network 5 located near the vehicle 10. Using the wireless communication between the external communication device 61 and the base station 6, the external communication ECU 27 sends and receives data with the server device 2 via the wireless communication network 5.

[0051] An internal communication device 71 is connected to the internal communication ECU 28. The internal communication device 71 performs short-range wireless communication with a mobile terminal 121 of a passenger inside the vehicle 10. The internal communication ECU 28 uses the short-range wireless communication between the internal communication device 71 and the passenger's mobile terminal 121 to send and receive data with the passenger's mobile terminal 121 inside the vehicle. It should be noted that the mobile terminal 121 may be a device that is substantially capable of wireless communication with a base station 6 of a nearby wireless communication network 5.

[0052] The driving control ECU 24 controls the driving of the vehicle 10. The driving control ECU 24 acquires data, for example, from external communication ECU 27, detection ECU 26, and driving operation ECU 25 via the vehicle network 36, and performs automatic or manual driving assistance control on the vehicle 10. Based on the acquired data, the driving control ECU 24 generates driving control data for controlling the driving of the vehicle 10 and outputs it to the drive ECU 21, steering ECU 22, and braking ECU 23. The drive ECU 21, steering ECU 22, and braking ECU 23 control the driving of the vehicle 10 based on the input driving control data.

[0053] The occupant protection ECU 30 is connected to multiple seat belt devices, multiple airbag devices, and an occupant protection memory 87. The seat belt devices include, for example, a driver's side seat belt 81 for the driver of the vehicle 10, and a passenger-side seat belt 82 for passengers in the same vehicle 10. The airbag devices include, for example, a driver's side front airbag 83 that deploys in front of the driver of the vehicle 10, a driver's side curtain airbag 84 that deploys outside the driver of the vehicle 10, a passenger-side front airbag 85 that deploys in front of the passenger in the same vehicle 10, and a passenger-side curtain airbag 86 that deploys outside the passenger in the same vehicle 10. These devices constitute the occupant protection device 80.

[0054] Based on the predicted information or collision detection results from the detection ECU 26 regarding collisions with other objects, the occupant protection ECU 30 activates or controls the seat belt device and / or the airbag device.

[0055] The occupant protection memory 87 is a computer-readable storage medium that stores programs, settings, and other information executed by the occupant protection ECU 30. The occupant protection memory 87 can store information about the control content of the occupant protection ECU 30. The occupant protection ECU 30 reads programs from the occupant protection memory 87 and executes those programs. Therefore, the occupant protection ECU 30 can function as the occupant protection control unit of the vehicle 10.

[0056] As a passenger protection control unit, the passenger protection ECU 30 performs passenger protection processing and further performs automatic notification processing when a collision of the vehicle 10 is detected or presumed. In the automatic notification processing, the passenger protection ECU 30 collects accident information of the vehicle and sends the collected information as emergency information from the external communication terminal 60 to the server device 2.

[0057] Figure 3 Is Figure 1 A diagram illustrating the server device 2 used in the call center.

[0058] Figure 3 The server device 2 includes: server communication equipment 91, server memory 92, server CPU 93, server GNSS receiver 94, server monitor 95, server intercom equipment 96, and server bus 97 connecting the above components.

[0059] Server communication device 91 is connected to communication network 7 of wireless communication network 5. Server communication device 91 sends and receives data with other devices, such as external communication terminal 60, which serves as a wireless terminal of vehicle 10, and client terminal 3, through wireless communication network 5.

[0060] The server GNSS receiver 94 receives signal waves from the GNSS satellite 110 to obtain the current time. The server device 2 may have a server timer (not shown) that is corrected according to the current time of the server GNSS receiver 94.

[0061] Server monitor 95 displays information about server device 2. Server monitor 95 displays, for example, emergency information received by server device 2 from car 10 that has been involved in an accident.

[0062] Server communication device 96 is used for communication between call center staff and users of mobile terminals 121 connected via server communication device 91.

[0063] Server memory 92 is a computer-readable storage medium that stores programs, settings, and other data executed by server CPU 93. Server memory 92 can also store information about the control contents of server CPU 93. Server CPU 93 reads programs from server memory 92 and executes them. Thus, a server control unit is implemented in server device 2. As the server control unit, server CPU 93 manages the overall operation of server device 2.

[0064] If the server communication device 91 receives emergency information about an accident automatically sent by the vehicle 10 based on the detection or prediction of an accident, the server CPU 93 outputs the received emergency information to the server monitor 95 and displays it on the server monitor 95. Thus, the server CPU 93 can control the output to the server monitor 95, which serves as the output unit, related to the received emergency information.

[0065] Figure 4 Is Figure 1 The diagram illustrates the client terminal 3 used by the action unit.

[0066] Figure 4The client terminal 3 includes: a client communication device 101, a client memory 102, a client CPU 103, a client notification device 104, a client GNSS receiver 105, a client monitor 106, a client voice communication device 107, and a client bus 108 connecting the above components.

[0067] The client communication device 101 is connected to the communication network 7 of the wireless communication network 5. The client communication device 101 sends and receives data with other devices, such as the external communication device 61, which serves as the wireless terminal of the vehicle 10, and the server device 2, through the wireless communication network 5.

[0068] The client GNSS receiver 105 receives signal waves from the GNSS satellite 110 to obtain the current time. The client terminal 3 may have a server timer (not shown) that is corrected using the current time from the client GNSS receiver 105.

[0069] The client monitor 106 displays information from the client terminal 3. The client monitor 106 displays, for example, dispatch requests received from the server device 2.

[0070] The customer notifies device 104 to output a request for deployment to the members of the action team.

[0071] The customer communication device 107 is used to enable communication between members of the action force and users of the mobile terminal 121 connected using the customer communication device 101.

[0072] The client memory 102 is a computer-readable storage medium that stores programs, settings, and other data executed by the client CPU 103. The client memory 102 can also store information about the control functions of the client CPU 103. The client CPU 103 reads programs from the client memory 102 and executes them. Thus, a client control unit is implemented in the client terminal 3. The client CPU 103, acting as the client control unit, manages the overall operation of the client terminal 3.

[0073] Figure 5 It is shown in Figure 1 A sequence diagram of an example process in an automatic emergency notification system 1, from the automatic emergency notification from the vehicle 10 involved in the accident to the server device 2, to the emergency dispatch of action troops to the accident scene.

[0074] Figure 5 The diagram shows the control system 20 of the automatic notification device 4 of the vehicle 10, the server device 2 of the call center, and the client terminal 3 of the action unit. Time progresses from top to bottom.

[0075] In step ST11, the detection ECU 26 of the vehicle 10 detects a collision. The detection ECU 26 detects a collision if the magnitude of the acceleration detected by, for example, a triaxial accelerometer 52 is greater than a predetermined threshold. If no collision is detected, the detection ECU 26 repeats this process. If a collision is detected, the detection ECU 26 transmits collision detection information to the occupant protection ECU 30, causing the process to proceed to step ST12. It should be noted that the detection ECU 26 may terminate this process after a predetermined time has elapsed since the start of the process if no collision has been detected.

[0076] It should be noted that the detection ECU 26 can predict that a collision is unavoidable before it is detected. Furthermore, the occupant protection ECU 30 can perform pre-emptive controls for occupant protection before detecting a collision, based on the prediction that a collision is unavoidable. As a pre-emptive control, for example, the occupant protection ECU 30 can pre-tension the slack portion of the seatbelt, or it can perform other actions. For example, the occupant protection ECU 30 can pre-deploy the airbags.

[0077] In step ST12, the occupant protection ECU 30 of the vehicle 10 that detected the collision performs occupant protection processing based on the collision detection information. The occupant protection ECU 30 selects and activates the seatbelt device and the airbag device. As a result, the occupant sitting in the seat is restrained relative to the seat, and even if the occupant is dislodged from the seat, the airbag absorbs the impact.

[0078] It should be noted that, in this embodiment, although the occupant protection ECU 30 performs occupant protection control after detecting a collision in step ST11, it can also perform occupant protection control in the collision prediction stage before collision detection.

[0079] In step ST13, the occupant protection ECU 30 of the vehicle 10, which performs occupant protection control, collects accident information. This accident information is primarily collected by the AACN described above. The AACN collects accident-time information such as the operating status and position of the occupant protection device 80 at the time of the accident, and the input direction and intensity of the impact during the accident.

[0080] In step ST14, the external communication ECU 27 of the vehicle 10 performs an automatic notification. The external communication ECU 27 uses an external communication device 61, which is a transmitting device capable of communicating with the server device 2, to send collected information as an automatic notification to the server device 2 based on the detected accident situation of the vehicle 10. The external communication device 61, as the communication device of the vehicle 10, sends emergency information such as the accident of the vehicle 10 to the server device 2, which requests emergency dispatch.

[0081] In step ST15, the server communication device 91 of the call center's server device 2 receives automatic notification information from the vehicle 10 involved in the accident. The server communication device 91 can store the received automatic notification information in the server memory 92.

[0082] In step ST16, the server CPU 93 of the call center's server device 2 displays the automatically reported information received by the server communication device 91 on the server monitor 95. Based on the accident information displayed on the server monitor 95, the call center operator can confirm the accident status of the vehicle 10.

[0083] In step ST17, the server CPU 93 of the call center's server device 2 communicates with the external communication ECU 27 of the vehicle 10 involved in the accident. In step ST18, the occupant protection ECU 30 of the vehicle 10 responds to the voice call. This establishes a communication line between the server communication device 96 and, for example, the microphone 55 of the vehicle 10. The call center operator confirms the safety and health status of the occupants through voice. This allows for direct confirmation of the extent of injury to the occupants of the vehicle 10 involved in the accident. The call center operator can then input the confirmation results into the server device 2.

[0084] In step ST19, the server CPU 93 of the call center's server device 2 estimates the status. The server CPU 93 can estimate the status based on the automatically reported information received by the server communication device 91 and the input information from the call center operator. The server CPU 93 can also estimate the status by comparing it with past incident information and through artificial intelligence processing. In addition, the call center operator can also estimate the status after comprehensively considering the situation and input the estimation result into the server device 2.

[0085] In step ST20, the server CPU 93 of the call center's server device 2 schedules deployment. The server CPU 93 uses the server communication device 91 to send a deployment request to the client terminal 3 of the operational unit. The server CPU 93 can also send deployment requests based on operations performed by the call center's operators.

[0086] In step ST21, the client communication device 101 of the client terminal 3 of the action unit receives a deployment request from the server device 2. The client communication device 101 can store the received deployment request in the client memory 102.

[0087] In step ST22, the client CPU 103 of the operational unit's client terminal 3 notifies the unit of deployment. Based on the client communication device 101 receiving the deployment request, the client CPU 103 outputs a deployment request audio from the client notification device 104. Additionally, the client CPU 103 can display the deployment request screen on the client monitor 106. The deployment request screen can display automatically reported information and / or operator input from the call center.

[0088] In step ST23, the members of the action force are deployed. The members of the action force can recognize the deployment request through audio and video, and deploy the rescue helicopter and / or ambulance 11 in an emergency.

[0089] Therefore, rescue helicopters and / or emergency medical teams can be deployed without delay within the necessary minimum preparation time, based on accident information automatically reported from the vehicle 10 involved in the accident. Rescue helicopters and / or emergency medical teams can be deployed urgently with appropriate preparations based on prior accident information. Because the teams arrive at the accident scene within a short preparation time, the likelihood of rescuing those involved in the accident is increased.

[0090] However, accidents involving vehicle 10 are not limited to locations where the aforementioned emergency notification system can be used. Accidents involving vehicle 10 can also occur in environments such as roads inside tunnel 12, forest roads in dense forests, roads in deep valleys, and roads on streets with tall buildings.

[0091] If an accident occurs in such an environment where radio waves are difficult to receive, the GNSS receiver 56 installed in the vehicle 10 may not be able to properly receive the signal waves from the satellite, resulting in the possibility that the accident scene, i.e., the current location of the vehicle 10, may not be able to be generated with high accuracy.

[0092] In addition to the GNSS receiver 56, the vehicle 10 also uses its driving information to calculate a trajectory related to its movement from a past position, and uses the calculated position as its current position. However, the calculated current position may be inaccurate. Therefore, the vehicle 10 often moves its calculated position onto a road using map matching or similar methods, and uses this new position as its current position. This new position may be a different location or road than the actual position. Regardless of subsequent processing, the calculated position is unreliable compared to the high-precision position obtained from the GNSS receiver 56.

[0093] The reason is that in the inference navigation method that uses the accumulation of vehicle speed information and orientation information, the result obtained is a two-dimensional relative position, which cannot estimate the difference in elevation.

[0094] Furthermore, in situations where the high-precision current vehicle position obtained from GNSS cannot be detected, and only speculative navigation methods can be used to calculate the current position, the data used for speculative navigation may be abnormal. In such cases, the speculative result may differ significantly from the actual vehicle position. For example, on snow-covered roads and / or roads with poor road conditions, the actual distance traveled relative to the wheel rotation may be smaller than the actual distance traveled. Additionally, when driving on steep slopes, the two-dimensional relative distance traveled relative to the wheel rotation may also be smaller.

[0095] Since the speculative navigation method has multiple candidates for map matching in both the vertical and horizontal directions, it may output incorrect map matching results in the vertical direction.

[0096] In addition, since the rotation of the wheel is different from the actual distance traveled, there may be a deviation in the estimated position on the two-dimensional plane.

[0097] Furthermore, in locations where the accuracy of such calculations is low, even if emergency responders rush to the scene of the accident involving vehicle 10, they may not be able to locate vehicle 10 and / or its occupants. Emergency responders will then search the surrounding area. If the search is directed in the wrong direction, or in areas with complex terrain and / or roads, emergency responders may not be able to locate the accident scene immediately. Additionally, a large-scale search may result in emergency responders arriving at the accident scene after a considerable delay.

[0098] In such an automatic emergency notification system, even if the current location of the accident scene generated by vehicle 10 is slightly inaccurate due to the prediction results of the speculative navigation method, it is expected that the action force can arrive at the accident scene without excessive delay.

[0099] Figure 6 It is shown Figure 2 A flowchart of the process by which the control system 20 of the vehicle 10 generates or estimates the current position of the vehicle.

[0100] Figure 2 The control system 20 of the car 10 repeatedly executes Figure 6 The current position of the vehicle is generated based on the GNSS receiver 56 through processing. Figure 6 The processing and detection of ECU26 during the process Figure 6In cases where a high-precision current position cannot be obtained from the GNSS receiver 56, the vehicle 10's driving information is used to calculate the direction and amount of movement of the vehicle 10 as a track from its past position, and the calculated position is estimated as the vehicle 10's current position. Other control ECUs of the vehicle 10, such as the driving control ECU 24, can use the current position obtained from the detection ECU 26 to control the driving of the vehicle 10. In addition, the UI operation ECU 29 can display the current position obtained from the detection ECU 26 as the current position on the navigation screen. Thus, even if the GNSS receiver 56 cannot receive signal waves, or the GNSS receiver 56 cannot generate a high-precision current position, control ECUs such as the driving control ECU 24 and / or the UI operation ECU 29 can continue control from where it left off.

[0101] It should be explained that Figure 6 All or part of the processing for generating or estimating the current position of the vehicle can be set by [the relevant authority]. Figure 2 Other control ECUs of the vehicle 10 control system 20, such as occupant protection ECU 30, driving control ECU 24, driving operation ECU 25, etc., are executed.

[0102] In step ST1, the detection ECU 26 determines whether a high-precision current position can be obtained from the GNSS receiver 56. If the GNSS receiver 56 malfunctions or fails to receive a predetermined number of signal waves from GNSS satellite 110, it cannot generate a high-precision current position and time. In such cases, the detection ECU 26 determines that a high-precision current position cannot be obtained from the GNSS receiver 56, and the process proceeds to step ST4. If a high-precision current position can be obtained from the GNSS receiver 56, the detection ECU 26 proceeds to step ST2.

[0103] In step ST2, the detection ECU26 obtains the current position of the vehicle from the GNSS receiver 56.

[0104] In step ST3, the detection ECU 26 accumulates and stores the current position of the vehicle, along with the position accuracy information determined by the GNSS receiver 56, in the detection memory 57. The position accuracy information may be, for example, information representing the error range of the generated position using the radius of that range. Thus, the detection memory 57 accumulates and stores past high-precision positions and times generated by the GNSS receiver 56 as log data. In the detection memory 57, the high-precision positions and times generated by the GNSS receiver 56, along with information regarding the accuracy of each position and time, are accumulated and stored as log data.

[0105] In step ST4, the detection ECU 26 retrieves the previously generated positions from the detection memory 57 via the GNSS receiver 56. The detection ECU 26 also retrieves the latest position from among multiple past positions stored in the detection memory 57 as log data accumulation, including positions with position accuracy information lower than a predetermined level.

[0106] In step ST5, the detection ECU 26 uses information from various sensors other than the GNSS receiver 56 to estimate the acquired trajectory of movement from the past position to the current moment. The trajectory can consist of, for example, the direction of movement and the amount of movement. For example, the detection ECU 26 can perform a double integration on the acceleration detected by the triaxial accelerometer 52 after the moment corresponding to the acquired past position, thereby obtaining the direction of movement and the amount of movement from the past position. Alternatively, the detection ECU 26 can also obtain the direction of movement and the amount of movement from the past position, for example, based on information from the gyroscope sensor installed in the vehicle 10, the actual driving control data from the driving control ECU 24, and the driving data used for navigation by the UI operation ECU 29.

[0107] In step ST6, the detection ECU 26 generates an estimated current position. The detection ECU 26 can generate the current position by adding the estimated direction and amount of movement to the acquired past position. Thus, the detection ECU 26 can estimate the current position and time of the vehicle 10 based on the high-precision past position and time generated by the GNSS receiver 56. In addition, the detection ECU 26 can estimate the current position and time of the vehicle 10 based on, for example, information from the gyroscope sensor installed in the vehicle 10, actual driving control data from the driving control ECU 24, and driving data used for navigation by the UI operation ECU 29.

[0108] In step ST7, the current position or estimated current position obtained from the GNSS receiver 56 is detected by the output of ECU26.

[0109] In this way, regardless of whether the GNSS receiver 56 is in a state that can generate high-precision current position and time, the detection ECU 26 can generate usable current position and time of the vehicle in various parts of the vehicle 10.

[0110] However, since the GNSS receiver 56 is not in a state that can generate a high-precision current position and time, the detection ECU 26 will generate a usable current position and time of the vehicle 10 in various parts of the vehicle 10. Therefore, in this situation, the vehicle 10 may send a low-precision and inaccurate current position and time to the server device 2 that is different from the actual situation during the automatic emergency notification of the accident.

[0111] Figure 7 It is shown Figure 2 A timing diagram of the process executed by the control system 20 of the car 10 by presuming and detecting accidents of the vehicle.

[0112] Figure 2 The control system 20 of the car 10 repeatedly executes Figure 7 The processing.

[0113] It should be explained that Figure 7 All or part of the processing can be done through Figure 2 The vehicle 10 is set to execute other control ECUs in the control system 20, such as driving control ECU 24, driving operation ECU 25, external communication ECU 27, etc.

[0114] In step ST31, the detection ECU 26 predicts a collision. The detection ECU 26 can predict a collision by determining, for example, whether there are other moving objects approaching the vehicle based on images from the stereo camera 53. If no collision is predicted, the detection ECU 26 repeats this process. If a collision is predicted, the detection ECU 26 communicates the prediction information to the occupant protection ECU 30, causing the process to proceed to step ST32.

[0115] In step ST32, the occupant protection ECU 30 performs pre-control for occupant protection based on predictive information. The occupant protection ECU 30 selects the seatbelt and airbag. It selects the seatbelt for the seat the occupant is currently sitting in and the airbag that deploys in the direction the occupant's upper body will lean due to the collision. The occupant protection ECU 30 pre-tensions the excess portion of the selected seatbelt. Based on the predicted direction and magnitude of the collision, the occupant protection ECU 30 selects the airbag that will deploy in the direction the occupant's upper body will lean due to the collision.

[0116] In step ST11, the detection ECU 26 detects a collision. The detection ECU 26 detects a collision if the magnitude of the acceleration detected by, for example, a triaxial accelerometer 52 is greater than a predetermined threshold. If no collision is detected, the detection ECU 26 repeats this process. If a collision is detected, the detection ECU 26 communicates the detection information to the occupant protection ECU 30, causing the process to proceed to step ST12. It should be noted that the detection ECU 26 may terminate this process if no collision is detected during repeated execution of this process.

[0117] In step ST12, the occupant protection ECU 30 performs occupant protection processing based on the detected information. The occupant protection ECU 30 activates the selected seatbelt device and airbag device. As a result, the occupant seated is restrained relative to the seat, and even if the occupant is dislodged from the seat, the airbag can absorb the impact.

[0118] In step ST35, the occupant protection ECU 30 begins collecting accident information from various parts of the vehicle 10 as part of the processing in step ST13. The occupant protection ECU 30 may collect, for example, at least information on the magnitude and direction of the collision acceleration detected by the triaxial accelerometer 52, the current location and time of the accident scene, and the operational information of the seatbelt and airbag devices.

[0119] In step ST36, the occupant protection ECU30 obtains the current location and time indicating the location of the accident scene from the detection ECU26.

[0120] In step ST37, the occupant protection ECU 30 determines whether the current position and time obtained in step ST36 are high-precision current position and time generated by the GNSS receiver 56 based on the reception of a predetermined signal wave. Therefore, the occupant protection ECU 30 can determine whether it can obtain high-precision current position and time from the GNSS receiver 56 when a collision of the vehicle 10 is detected or presumed.

[0121] In step ST38, the occupant protection ECU 30 retrieves from the detection memory 57 the high-precision past position and time generated by the GNSS receiver 56 based on the reception of a predetermined signal wave. Thus, the occupant protection ECU 30 can select and collect the latest past position and time that meets the predetermined position accuracy from among the multiple past positions and times stored in the detection memory 57, which serves as a storage unit.

[0122] In step ST39, the occupant protection ECU 30 collects accident information from various parts of the vehicle 10, in addition to the current location and time.

[0123] In step ST40, the occupant protection ECU 30 terminates the collection and processing of accident information from various parts of the vehicle 10. The occupant protection ECU 30 then terminates the processing in step ST13.

[0124] In step ST14, the external communication ECU 27 automatically sends emergency information about the accident to the server device 2 using the external communication device 61, thus performing automatic notification. The emergency information sent to the server device 2 includes the current location and time indicating the location of the accident scene. However, if the current location and time obtained in step ST36 are not the high-precision current location and time generated by the GNSS receiver 56 based on the reception of a predetermined signal wave, the high-precision past location and time generated by the GNSS receiver 56 based on the reception of a predetermined signal wave in step ST38 will be used instead, or included together with the high-precision current location and time generated by the GNSS receiver 56 based on the reception of a predetermined signal wave in the emergency information.

[0125] Therefore, when the occupant protection ECU 30 detects or presumes a collision with the vehicle 10, and is unable to obtain a high-precision current position and time from the GNSS receiver 56 (i.e., when the position and time presumed by the detection ECU 26 are taken as the current position and time of the vehicle 10), it can further collect past high-precision position and time generated by the GNSS receiver 56 and stored in the detection memory 57, and transmit it to the server device 2 from the external communication terminal 60, which serves as the transmitting unit. When the occupant protection ECU 30 detects or presumes a collision with the vehicle 10, and the transmitting unit is able to send emergency information to the server device 2, it can prioritize collecting past high-precision position and time generated by the GNSS receiver 56 and stored in the detection memory 57, compared to the current position and time of the vehicle 10 presumed by the detection ECU 26, and transmit it to the server device 2.

[0126] Figure 8 It is shown Figure 3 The timing diagram shows the process flow of server device 2 from receiving an emergency notification from the car 10 involved in the accident to displaying the output.

[0127] The server CPU93 of server device 2 executes repeatedly. Figure 8 The processing.

[0128] In step ST15, the server CPU93 determines whether the server communication device 91 has received emergency information about the accident from the vehicle 10 involved in the accident. If no emergency information is received, the server CPU93 repeats this process. If emergency information is received, the server CPU93 proceeds to step ST52.

[0129] In step ST52, server CPU 93 begins the display processing of step ST16, determining whether the current location and time of the accident scene included in the received emergency information are high-precision location and time generated by GNSS receiver 56. If they are high-precision location and time, server CPU 93 proceeds to step ST53. If they are not high-precision location and time, i.e., the current location and time estimated from vehicle 10, server CPU 93 proceeds to step ST54. Cases where the location and time are not high-precision include situations where the emergency information only includes past location and time.

[0130] Step ST53 is a display output process performed when the current position and time contained in the emergency information received by server device 2 are high-precision position and time generated by GNSS receiver 56. Server CPU 93 outputs the current position and time contained in the received emergency information as the location of the accident scene and displays it on server monitor 95.

[0131] Step ST54 is a display output process performed when the current position and time contained in the emergency information received by server device 2 are not the high-precision position and time generated by GNSS receiver 56. Since the current position and time are not high-precision, server CPU 93 outputs the current position and time (not high-precision) from the received emergency information along with the past high-precision position and time contained in the emergency information and displays it on server monitor 95. Here, server CPU 93 can simply select the high-precision position and time generated by GNSS receiver 56 as the past position and time. It should be noted that if the emergency information only contains past position and time, server CPU 93 only outputs the past position and time contained in the emergency information and displays it on server monitor 95.

[0132] Figure 9 yes Figure 3 An illustrative diagram of an example of an emergency notification screen displayed by the server monitor 95 regarding the car 10 that has been involved in an accident.

[0133] Server CPU93 generates based on the emergency information received by server device 2. Figure 9 An emergency notification screen was displayed on the server monitor.

[0134] Figure 9 The emergency notification screen of (A) is the screen that is displayed when the emergency information received by the server device 2 includes, for example, the current location and time with high precision.

[0135] On the right side of the emergency notification screen, the status of the vehicle 10 that sent the emergency message at the time of the accident is graphically displayed. Information regarding the status at the time of the accident includes the number of occupants, their seating positions, the occupant protection measures implemented, the impact input point, input direction, and magnitude. Here, in vehicle 10, two occupants are seated in the driver's and front passenger seats. Each occupant can be displayed using color differentiation based on, for example, the degree of individual injury estimated in server device 2. For example, the higher the estimated degree of injury, the darker the color used to display the occupant. Solid lines indicate the deployment status of the driver's side front airbag 83 and the passenger side front airbag 85. Dashed lines indicate the non-deployment status of the driver's side curtain airbag 84 and the passenger side curtain airbag 86.

[0136] In the upper left part of the emergency notification screen, a list displays the vehicle identification number, vehicle type, color, and other inherent attribute information of the car 10 that has sent emergency information, as well as the accident location, address, and time of the accident.

[0137] The lower left section of the emergency notification screen displays a map showing the terrain and roads of the accident site and its surroundings. Here, the map shows the old main road (thick lines) passing through the mountain, the new main road (thick lines) passing through tunnel 12 in the mountain, and the finer lines branching off from the old main road in the mountain. Additionally, black dots on the map represent the current location contained in the emergency information received by server device 2. Here, the black dot is shown at the entrance of tunnel 12 in the mountain. Outside tunnel 12 in the mountain, the current location is essentially high-precision, allowing the action force to accurately advance towards the entrance of tunnel 12 in the mountain where vehicle 10 is actually located.

[0138] and, Figure 9 The emergency notification screen in (B) is used for comparison and illustration. It is the screen shown when the emergency information received by server device 2 only contains, for example, a non-precise current location and time. In this case, the current location of car 10 in tunnel 12 in the mountain is not displayed with high precision, but slightly deviates from the thick line of the Shinkansen road passing through tunnel 12. Instead, it is displayed as connecting to a fork in the road with a thin line branching off from the old main road in the mountain. Based on the displayed position of its black dot, the action team mistakenly judges that car 10, which sent the emergency information, is at the fork in the road and rushes to the fork. However, because car 10, which sent the emergency information, is actually in tunnel 12 in the mountain below, the action team cannot reach the scene where car 10 sent the emergency information is located. After heading to the position of the black dot for the fork, the action team searches its surroundings and reaches car 10, which sent the emergency information.

[0139] In response, Figure 9In the emergency notification screen of (C), the emergency information received by server device 2 includes, for example, non-high-precision current location and time, as well as high-precision past location and time generated by GNSS receiver 56. The past location is, for example, [the location is shown in the image]. Figure 9 The location of the entrance to the same mountain tunnel 12 (A). In this case, the current position of the vehicle 10 for the mountain tunnel 12 cannot be asserted with high precision as it deviates slightly from the thick line of the new main road passing through the mountain tunnel 12, and instead appears as a fork in the road connecting to a thin line branching off from the old main road on the mountain. However, with Figure 9 Unlike (B), in the map at the lower left of the emergency notification screen, black dots represent the current location and past locations. Furthermore, arrows repeatedly appear from the black dot representing past locations towards the black dot representing the current location. When the received emergency information includes the high-precision past location and time of the vehicle 10 involved in the accident, the server CPU93 can output the high-precision past location to the output unit, indicating that it represents the past location.

[0140] By displaying this information, call center staff and / or action team members can accurately understand the accident situation within the road inside tunnel 12 (indicated by the dashed line) by proceeding from the previous location along the arrows, regardless of the current location of the vehicle 10 involved in the accident or the adjacent side road. Call center staff and / or action team members can accurately understand that the vehicle 10 involved in the accident is not actually on the side road overlapping with the black dot, but inside tunnel 12. The action team can then proceed directly to tunnel 12 in the mountain to provide assistance, without going to the side road.

[0141] The GNSS receiver 56 of vehicle 10 is unable to receive signal waves from GNSS satellite 110 within tunnel 12. Therefore, vehicle 10 estimates its current location and time of the accident from within the vehicle itself. Figure 9 (A) and Figure 9 In the emergency notification screen of (B), the current location and time, derived from this assumption, are displayed. Furthermore, in... Figure 9 As shown in (A), with only the current location displayed on the map, call center staff and / or action team members are prone to misinterpreting the accident scene as being at a different fork in the road than the actual accident scene inside Tunnel 12. After initially going uphill to the fork, call center staff and / or action team members will not be able to reach the actual accident scene inside Tunnel 12 unless a large-scale search is conducted around the fork.

[0142] Conversely, in the actual accident scene at a fork in the road above tunnel 12, the GNSS receiver 56 of vehicle 10 can receive signal waves from GNSS satellite 110 to generate a high-precision current position and time. In this situation, the emergency notification screen becomes... Figure 9 (A) Call center staff and / or action team members may be able to get lost and reach the actual accident scene by climbing a mountain to a side road.

[0143] If the fork in the thin line on Tunnel 12, like the tunnel itself, is blocked from signal waves due to factors such as forests, but if the last known location is on the old main road, which is further back than the branch between the old and new main roads, then call center staff and action team members can deduce that the accident site was on the fork.

[0144] It should be noted that even in Figure 9 In case (A), when receiving past locations and times, it is possible to... Figure 9 (C) similarly displays past locations and arrows. However, in this case, the past locations are different from... Figure 9 Unlike (C), it is more likely to become a fork in an old main road or a junction. As a result, the position and direction of the arrow from the past location to the present location also differ. Figure 9 The likelihood of (C) being different is high. It is believed that call center staff and / or operational team members are capable of not conducting and Figure 9 The same judgment (C) is made by going uphill to the fork in the road, so as to reach the actual accident scene without getting lost.

[0145] As described above, in this embodiment, the high-precision position and time generated in the past by the GNSS receiver 56, which receives signal waves, are logged in the detection memory 57, which serves as the storage unit. Furthermore, when the occupant protection ECU 30, which serves as the control unit, detects or presumes a collision with the vehicle 10, it determines whether it can obtain the high-precision current position and time from the GNSS receiver 56. If it cannot obtain the current position and time, it collects the past high-precision position and time generated by the GNSS receiver 56 and stored in the detection memory 57, and sends it from the external communication terminal 60 to the server device 2. Therefore, the server device 2 does not receive the current position and time of the accident scene, which may be inaccurate as it is obtained without using the GNSS receiver 56, but rather receives the accurate position and time obtained by receiving the GNSS receiver 56, even though it is a past position and time. Based on the server device 2, staff at the call center equipped with this device and dispatched action units can quickly and accurately search for the vehicle 10 without getting lost, using its past accurate position as a base point, and urgently proceed to the accident scene of the vehicle 10.

[0146] In contrast, suppose, for example, the server device 2 only receives the current position and time of the vehicle 10, estimated based on the high-precision position and time of the last generated past position and time via GNSS receiver 56, and the server device 2 and / or the action force urgently proceed to that highly uncertain current position. For example, based on... Figure 9 The emergency notification screen (A) directs the emergency team to a fork in the road shown by a thin line, which is different from the actual accident scene. Even if the team proceeds to the accident scene shown in the screen, they will not be able to find the vehicle 10 involved in the accident and / or its occupants. The team then begins searching the surrounding area from the location they are urgently heading to. In particular, if the search direction is different from the actual accident scene, or if the terrain and / or roads around the location are complex, the team may get lost and may not be able to immediately find the vehicle 10 involved in the accident and / or its occupants even after starting the search. While searching the accident scene in a state where the actual accident scene is in an inability to determine its direction, the emergency response team may finally arrive at the accident scene after a long and extensive search. In this situation, rescue efforts will be significantly delayed.

[0147] In this embodiment, since the accurate past location of the vehicle 10 involved in the accident is obtained, it is expected that the emergency response team can simply use that accurate past location as a base point, for example, along its road, and move in a linear fashion as in an emergency, thus not taking too long to reach the actual accident scene where the vehicle 10 was involved in the accident. The time it takes for the emergency response team to reach the actual accident scene is unlikely to be as long as it would be in a large-scale search.

[0148] In this embodiment, when the position and time estimated by the estimation unit are obtained as the current position and time of the vehicle 10, the high-precision past position and time generated by the GNSS receiver 56 and stored in the storage unit are collected, and these two positions and times are sent from the transmission unit to the server device 2. Thus, the server device 2, the staff of the call center that sets up the server device 2, and the action units dispatched based on dispatch requests can utilize both the accurate past position and the current estimated position of the vehicle 10 involved in the accident.

[0149] The above embodiments are examples of preferred embodiments of the present invention, but the present invention is not limited thereto, and various modifications or alterations can be made without departing from the spirit of the invention.

[0150] In the above-described embodiments, the ECUs in the vehicle 10 are multiple, but some or all of them can be integrated into one ECU.

Claims

1. A vehicle with an automatic notification function, characterized in that, have: The transmitting unit, upon detecting or presuming a collision with the vehicle, sends the vehicle's emergency information to a server device for requesting emergency dispatch. The GNSS receiver unit receives signal waves and generates the vehicle's current position. A storage unit that stores past locations generated by the GNSS receiver; The measuring unit measures the vehicle's driving information, including its direction of movement and the amount of movement. The estimation unit calculates the trajectory related to the movement of the vehicle from the past position based on the past position generated by the GNSS receiver, using the vehicle's driving information, namely the direction of movement and the amount of movement, actually measured by the measurement unit other than the GNSS receiver after the time corresponding to the past position, and estimates the current position of the vehicle based on the calculated position. as well as The control unit, upon detecting or presuming a collision with the vehicle, collects information from the vehicle and transmits it as emergency information from the transmitting unit. The control unit determines whether it can obtain the current position from the GNSS receiver when a collision of the vehicle is detected or presumed. When the control unit detects or presumes a collision with the vehicle and is able to obtain the current position from the GNSS receiver, it transmits the current position obtained from the GNSS receiver to the server device from the transmitter. If the current position cannot be obtained from the GNSS receiver when a collision of the vehicle is detected or presumed, the position presumed by the presumption unit is obtained as the current position of the vehicle. The latest past position that meets a predetermined position accuracy is selected and collected from a plurality of past positions stored in the storage unit, and the current position and past position of the vehicle are sent from the transmission unit to the server device.

2. The vehicle with automatic notification function according to claim 1, characterized in that, In the event of a collision detected or presumed by the vehicle, the control unit prioritizes collecting past positions generated by the GNSS receiver and stored in the storage unit, compared to the current position of the vehicle presumed by the presumption unit, and sends these past positions from the transmission unit to the server device.

3. The vehicle with automatic notification function according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that, The storage unit will log the positions generated by the GNSS receiver along with the accuracy of each position.

4. An automatic emergency notification system, characterized in that, Including the vehicle and server device as described in any one of claims 1 to 3, The server device has: The receiving unit receives emergency information about accidents automatically sent by vehicles based on the detection or prediction of an accident. An output unit that outputs the received emergency information when the receiving unit receives the emergency information; as well as The control unit controls the output of the received emergency information to the output unit. If the emergency information received contains information about the past location of the vehicle involved in the accident, the control unit outputs the past location to the output unit in a state indicating that it is the past location.

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