Method and system for detecting a previous driver of a vehicle in an emergency

Abstract

A method for detecting an operator of a motor vehicle, comprising: identifying whether an emergency situation has occurred in the motor vehicle; determining whether a communication device is currently connected or previously connected in the motor vehicle; identifying the most recently connected operator of the communication device; and sending a signal identifying the occurrence of the emergency situation to the most recently connected operator of the communication device.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present disclosure relates to an emergency detection and communication system and method for motor vehicles. Background Art

[0002] Current motor vehicles, including cars, trucks, light trucks, minivans, sport utility vehicles, electric vehicles, etc., generally include a control system that monitors emergencies occurring in the motor vehicle and automatically communicates electronically with emergency service agencies (such as police departments and fire departments) when an emergency is detected. Emergencies can include, but are not limited to, traffic accidents, motor vehicle fires, vehicle battery thermal runaway events, etc. Since the emergency service agencies are contacted by the control system rather than directly by an individual or the vehicle operator, the emergency service agencies may subsequently attempt to contact the owner or operator of the motor vehicle to alert them of the emergency.

[0003] After obtaining the current information, the emergency service agencies may only call the archived phone numbers. However, this contact information may not be the contact information of the latest owner or operator of the vehicle, or it may not be the correct contact information. This situation can have an adverse impact on emergency scenarios such as battery thermal runaway events, where the main purpose of classifying the situation is to get people out of houses, indoor parking lots, or operating areas and as far away as possible from the motor vehicle where the emergency occurred, and to notify the relevant people involved in the emergency.

[0004] Therefore, although the current motor vehicle emergency detection and communication system and method achieve their intended purposes, there is still a need for a new and improved system and method for motor vehicle emergency detection and communication. Summary of the Invention

[0005] According to several aspects, a method for detecting a vehicle operator includes: identifying whether an emergency occurs in a motor vehicle; determining the status of a communication device currently or previously connected to the motor vehicle; retrieving the current dialable number of the communication device; uploading and storing the current dialable number in a system remotely connected to the motor vehicle.

[0006] In another aspect of the present disclosure, the method further includes retrieving emergency contact data and device numbers saved in the communication device.

[0007] In another aspect of the present disclosure, the method further includes storing the emergency contact data in a system remotely connected to the motor vehicle.

[0008] In another aspect of the present disclosure, the method further includes loading the device identification number of the communication device retrieved from the currently or previously connected communication device into a system remotely connected to the motor vehicle.

[0009] In another aspect of the present disclosure, the method further includes sending a signal identifying the occurrence of an emergency to the communication device when the communication device is currently connected inside a motor vehicle.

[0010] In another aspect of the present disclosure, the method further includes identifying the most recently connected operator of the communication device when the communication device is not currently connected inside a motor vehicle.

[0011] In another aspect of the present disclosure, the method further includes sending a signal identifying the occurrence of an emergency to the most recently connected operator of the communication device.

[0012] In another aspect of the present disclosure, the method further includes notifying an emergency service if contact cannot be made with the most recently connected operator of the communication device.

[0013] In another aspect of the present disclosure, the method further includes confirming whether the emergency is a thermal runaway event in the motor vehicle battery pack.

[0014] In another aspect of the present disclosure, the method further includes sending the connection status of the communication device to a system remotely connected to the motor vehicle.

[0015] According to several aspects, a method of detecting a vehicle operator includes: identifying whether an emergency has occurred in a motor vehicle; determining whether a communication device is currently connected or previously connected in the motor vehicle; identifying the most recently connected operator of the communication device; and sending a signal identifying the occurrence of the emergency to the most recently connected operator of the communication device.

[0016] In another aspect of the present disclosure, the method further includes retrieving the current dialable numbers of the communication device.

[0017] In another aspect of the present disclosure, the method further includes uploading and storing the current dialable numbers in a system remotely connected to the motor vehicle.

[0018] In another aspect of the present disclosure, the method further includes identifying the name of the communication device and saving the name in a system remotely connected to the motor vehicle.

[0019] In another aspect of the present disclosure, the method further includes identifying emergency contact data stored in the communication device and saving the emergency contact data to a system remotely connected to the motor vehicle.

[0020] In another aspect of the present disclosure, the method further includes confirming whether there is one or more occupants in the motor vehicle currently.

[0021] In another aspect of the present disclosure, the method further includes: if there is no occupant in the current motor vehicle and no communication device is currently connected, determining the last known occupant by identifying the most recently connected communication device; and contacting the last known occupant.

[0022] According to several aspects, a system for detecting a vehicle operator includes: a detection device for identifying an emergency situation in a motor vehicle; a communication device currently connected to or previously connected to the motor vehicle; the most recently connected operator of the communication device, which is identified by accessing the communication device; and a signal for identifying the occurrence of the emergency situation, which is forwarded to the most recently connected operator of the communication device.

[0023] In another aspect of the present disclosure, a system remotely connected to a motor vehicle has the currently dialable numbers of a communication device uploaded and stored therein; the name of the communication device is saved in the system remotely connected to the motor vehicle. Emergency contact data is saved in the communication device and retrieved therefrom, and uploaded to the system remotely connected to the motor vehicle.

[0024] In another aspect of the present disclosure, a battery pack is provided on the motor vehicle, wherein the emergency situation is defined as a thermal runaway event occurring in the battery pack.

[0025] Based on the description provided herein, further applicable fields will become apparent. It should be understood that the specification and specific examples are for illustrative purposes only and are not intended to limit the scope of the present disclosure. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0026] The drawings described herein are only for illustrative purposes of the present disclosure and are not intended to limit the scope of the present disclosure in any way.

[0027] Figure 1 is a forward left rear perspective view of a motor vehicle having a system for detecting a vehicle operator according to an exemplary aspect;

[0028] Figure 2 is Figure 1 a forward left rear perspective view of the motor vehicle shown parked in a parking lot; and

[0029] Figure 3 is a flowchart of the method steps for operating a system implementing the present disclosure. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0030] The following description is merely exemplary in nature and is not intended to limit the present disclosure, application, or use.

[0031] Reference Figure 1, a system for detecting a previous operator of a motor vehicle 12 in an emergency 10 is provided for the motor vehicle 12. The communication and control device 14 of the motor vehicle 12 identifies the operating data of the motor vehicle 12, including whether an emergency has occurred. Emergencies can include, for example, a thermal runaway event occurring in the battery pack 16, where the motor vehicle 12 is driven by electricity as the main propulsion source or a hybrid auxiliary propulsion source. Emergencies can also include, but are not limited to, traffic accidents, vehicle fires, occupants being left in the vehicle, etc. Emergencies can be detected by detection means such as one or more sensors, cameras or similar devices installed at multiple locations on the motor vehicle 12, including, for example, sensors installed in the battery pack 16.

[0032] The communication and control device 14 can communicate with at least one of a plurality of portable communication devices 18, and the plurality of communication devices 18 can be associated with the current or previous occupants of the motor vehicle 12. The portable communication device 18 is, for example, one of a plurality of telephones or ultra-high frequency (UHF) smartphones having a short-range wireless technology standard including, for example, for using ultra-high frequency radio waves within the ISM (Industrial, Scientific and Medical) band to exchange data between fixed and mobile devices, which defines a portion of the radio spectrum internationally reserved for industrial, scientific and medical use, typically in the range of 2.402 GHz to 2.48 GHz.

[0033] The operating data of the motor vehicle 12 can be directly transmitted wirelessly to a remote network 20 remotely connected to the motor vehicle 12, and the network can define a telematics department, a "logistics department", a cloud network, etc. According to several aspects, the portable communication device 18 can also communicate the operating data with the remote network 20 wirelessly.

[0034] Refer to Figure 2 And refer again to Figure 1 , according to several aspects, the motor vehicle 12 can be an electric vehicle located at a designated parking position 22. The parking position 22 provides access to a charging station 26 to charge the battery pack 16. During the charging process, the occupants / operators of the motor vehicle 12 may not be present. The owner of the motor vehicle 12 is usually its most recent operator. However, the most recent operator may be determined to be the occupant who most recently communicated using the portable communication device 18 connected through the communication and control device 14. Therefore, this is beneficial for identifying and subsequently notifying the most recent operator of the motor vehicle 12 and emergency services in the event of an emergency such as a thermal runaway event occurring in the battery pack 16.

[0035] Refer to Figure 3 And refer again to Figure 1 And Figure 2, a method for detecting a previous operator of a motor vehicle in an emergency situation 28, which is initiated by detecting an emergency event 30. After detecting the emergency event, in the detection and collection step 32, a system for detecting a previous operator of a motor vehicle in an emergency situation 10 detects and collects stored information from one of the currently connected portable communication devices 18, or if there is no currently connected communication device, from another portable communication device 18 defined as a previously connected portable communication device 34. In the subsequent upload step 36, the data detected and collected in the detection and collection step 32 is uploaded to the remote network 20. In the subsequent determination step 38, the data detected and collected in the detection and collection step 32 is used to determine whether there is currently one or more occupants in the motor vehicle 12 using one of the existing connected communication devices 18; if no occupants are currently detected, one of the most recently connected communication devices 18 is used to identify the last known occupant 42. In the first contact step 44, the previous occupant is contacted using a dialable telephone number retrieved from the memory of one of the communication devices 18; if the previous occupant cannot be contacted, in the second contact step 46, a close emergency contact is contacted using the emergency contact information saved in one of the communication devices 18. In the last step 48, the emergency service is contacted to provide the above-mentioned occupant data and the emergency status of the motor vehicle 12.

[0036] Continuing to refer Figure 3 , associated with the detection and collection step 32, the method for detecting a previous operator of a motor vehicle in an emergency situation 28 further includes the following storage and upload steps: a first storage and upload step 50, uploading and storing the current dialable telephone number of one of the communication devices 18 determined to be the current or previous connected telephone in the remote network 20; a second storage and upload step 52, retrieving the device identification number of the current or previous connected communication device 18 from the communication device 18 and uploading and storing it in the remote network 20; a third storage and upload step 54, uploading and storing the emergency contact data saved in the current or previous connected communication device 18 in the remote network 20; a fourth storage and upload step 56, uploading and storing the connection status of the current or previous connected communication device 18 in the remote network 20.

[0037] The systems and methods of the present disclosure employ the latest short-range wireless technology standards (including, for example, A connection device) is used to identify the most recent owner of the motor vehicle 12, even if the current owner is not in the motor vehicle 12. The most recent owner of the motor vehicle 12 can be determined using an ordered list, which can include features such as timestamps. The connection status can be different from the ordered list, such as paired devices, connected devices, devices present but not paired, devices present but not connected, and so on. Timestamps can be developed by maintaining an inventory of each paired, connected, present, etc. device and determining which device should be contacted first in chronological order.

[0038] The systems and methods of the present disclosure utilize short-range wireless technology standard telephone information to store and upload the current dialable telephone number of the connected communication device 18, store and upload the device identification number of the connected communication device 18, store and upload the emergency contacts stored in the communication device 18, and store and upload the connection status of the communication device 18. The methods of the present disclosure utilize the above stored and uploaded information to: determine whether there are currently occupants in the motor vehicle 12 through the existing connected communication device; use the most recently connected communication device 18 to determine the last known vehicle occupants; contact the previous occupants through the dialable telephone number; if the previous vehicle occupants cannot be contacted, contact the close emergency contacts determined in the database of the communication device 18; and transmit relevant information to the public safety agency.

[0039] The systems and methods of the present disclosure can utilize: wireless technology standards, such as or hands-free protocols; electric vehicle thermal runaway emergency calls; and telematics emergency services.

[0040] The systems and methods of the present disclosure provide a method for determining one or more of the most recently connected vehicle occupants in the motor vehicle 12 using a currently connected or previously connected communication device (such as a smartphone) in an emergency event. An example scenario could be a thermal runaway event that may occur while the vehicle battery pack 16 is charging when there are no occupants in the current vehicle. The emergency service agency needs to know who to contact best. The contact information archived in the remote network may not match the most recently connected operator of the motor vehicle 12 or the person who needs to be notified by the emergency service agency. By using the most recently connected wireless technology standards, such as device information, the following elements can be determined to assess the emergency situation: 1) Detect any additional wireless technology standards, such as a mobile phone, to determine the occupancy of the motor vehicle; 2) When there is no operator in the motor vehicle 12, detect the previously connected communication device 18 to obtain the contact phone number of the most recent operator; and 3) Use ICE to upload contacts in case of no answer. Another method for determining the most recently connected operator could be to use relevant telematics emergencies.

[0041] The system and method for detecting a previous operator of a motor vehicle in an emergency situation of the present disclosure has multiple advantages, including identifying emergency contact information from the last-connected or most recently-connected communication device (such as a smartphone), contacting the last-known operator of the motor vehicle, or contacting emergency services when the most recently-connected operator cannot be found or contacted.

[0042] The description of the present disclosure is merely exemplary in nature, and variations that do not depart from the gist of the present disclosure are intended to fall within the scope of the present disclosure. Such variations should not be regarded as a departure from the spirit and scope of the present disclosure.

Claims

1. A method for using a vehicle for detection and communication, comprising: Detecting an emergency occurring in the vehicle by a detection device in the vehicle; Determining whether the most recently connected communication device is currently connected to the vehicle by the communication and control device in the vehicle; When the most recently connected communication device is currently connected to the vehicle, retrieving and contacting the currently dialable number of the most recently connected communication device; And When the most recently connected communication device is not currently connected to the vehicle, retrieving and contacting the dialable number of a previously connected communication device stored previously.

2. The method according to claim 1, further comprising, when the most recently connected communication device or the previously connected communication device cannot be successfully contacted, retrieving and contacting the emergency contact data stored in the most recently connected communication device or the previously connected communication device.

3. The method according to claim 2, further comprising storing the emergency contact data in a network remotely connected to the vehicle.

4. The method according to claim 3, further comprising loading the device identification number of the most recently connected communication device or the previously connected communication device retrieved from the communication device into the network remotely connected to the vehicle.

5. The method according to claim 4, further comprising, when the most recently connected communication device is currently connected to the vehicle, sending a signal identifying the occurrence of an emergency to the most recently connected communication device.

6. The method according to claim 1, further comprising, when the communication device is not currently connected within the vehicle, identifying the most recently connected operator of the communication device.

7. The method according to claim 6, further comprising sending a signal identifying the occurrence of an emergency to the most recently connected operator of the communication device to the communication device.

8. The method according to claim 7, further comprising notifying an emergency service agency when contact cannot be made with the most recently connected operator of the communication device.

9. The method according to claim 1, further comprising distinguishing whether the emergency is a thermal runaway event occurring in the vehicle's battery pack or an occupant left-behind event.

10. The method according to claim 1, further comprising sending the connection state of the most recently connected communication device to a network remotely connected to the vehicle, wherein the connection state includes one of being connected to the vehicle or not being connected to the vehicle.

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