Robust emergency call method, vehicle controller and dispatching center
By automatically establishing multiple connections with the dispatching center after an accident by the vehicle controller, the problem of low robustness of emergency call methods in the prior art is solved, and the high success rate of emergency call dialing in various fault conditions is achieved, which enhances the Vehicle safety.
Patent Information
- Application Number
- CN202380037517.5
- Authority / Receiving Office
- CN · China
- Patent Type
- Applications(China)
- Current Assignee / Owner
- Priority Date
- 2022-05-20
- Filing Date
- 2023-05-09
- Publication Date
- 2024-12-13
AI Technical Summary
The vehicle emergency call method in the prior art is relatively robust and is susceptible to factors such as vehicle communication unit failure, dispatch center failure or occupant misbehavior, resulting in a decrease in the probability of success in making emergency calls.
After the accident occurs, the vehicle controller automatically establishes a first connection with the dispatching center and makes an emergency call through the connection. If the first connection fails, the second connection will be automatically established to increase the probability of success. The dispatching center notifies the failure message. The controller and forward emergency calls to the backend server ensures the robustness of emergency calls.
Through automatic reset and retry connection, the probability of success of emergency calls is improved, the safety of the vehicle and the robustness of the emergency call method are enhanced, ensuring that emergency calls can be made in time in various failure situations.
Smart Images
Figure CN119137928A_ABST
Abstract
Description
Technical Field
[0001] The present invention relates to a method for making a vehicle emergency call, wherein a vehicle controller automatically establishes a first connection with a dispatch center after an accident occurs, and makes an emergency call via the established first connection. The present invention also relates to a vehicle controller and a dispatch center for receiving a vehicle emergency call. Background Art
[0002] Methods of the type mentioned at the outset for making an emergency call from a vehicle (emergency call methods for short) have different designs in the prior art and are used to request appropriate assistance from a dispatch center by means of the made emergency call.
[0003] If the vehicle driver has signed a contract with a service provider (third party service provider, TPSP), such as a vehicle manufacturer, for rescue after an accident, the vehicle should make an emergency call as much as possible if a private dispatch center (i.e., a contract dispatch center) is provided by the service provider.
[0004] For this purpose, DE 11 2011 101 204 B4 discloses a method for making a vehicle emergency call, wherein the vehicle makes an emergency call to a contract dispatch center if there is a contract dispatch center corresponding to a country code transmitted by the mobile radio network, or to a non-contract dispatch center if there is a non-contract dispatch center corresponding to the transmitted country code.
[0005] The probability of achieving the requested appropriate rescue by placing an emergency call is referred to herein as the success probability of placing an emergency call or the robustness of the corresponding emergency call method. A robust emergency call method has a high success probability of the emergency call.
[0006] The necessary prerequisite for making an emergency call is to connect to the dispatch center. Therefore, an emergency call method that establishes a connection with the dispatch center with a higher probability is correspondingly more robust.
[0007] For example, DE 11 2018 000 928 T5 discloses a method for making a vehicle emergency call, wherein if the first connection to the dispatch center is unsuccessful, the vehicle establishes a second connection with the dispatch center.
[0008] US 7,991,381 B1 describes a similar method for making an emergency call to a vehicle. Here, the vehicle establishes a first voice connection with a dispatch center. If the establishment of the first voice connection is unsuccessful, the vehicle establishes a second voice connection with the dispatch center. If the establishment of the second voice connection is also unsuccessful, the vehicle finally establishes a data connection with the dispatch center.
[0009] The robustness of the emergency call method may be affected by multiple error sources. For example, a failure of the vehicle's communication unit, a failure of the dispatch center, or improper behavior of the vehicle occupants may reduce the robustness of the emergency call method. Summary of the invention
[0010] Therefore, an object of the present invention is to propose a method for making a vehicle emergency call, which method has a high degree of robustness. Other objects of the present invention are to provide a vehicle controller and a dispatch center for receiving vehicle emergency calls.
[0011] A subject of the invention is a method for making a vehicle emergency call, wherein a control unit of the vehicle automatically establishes a first connection with a dispatch center after an accident and makes an emergency call via the established connection. The emergency call method is used to automatically make an emergency call. An accident is generally understood to be an emergency situation involving a vehicle, a vehicle occupant and / or an event in the area surrounding the vehicle that is observed by a vehicle occupant and requires assistance. The automatic establishment of the first connection is triggered by a sensor signal provided by the vehicle or by the vehicle occupant operating an operating element.
[0012] According to the present invention, the dispatch center receives the emergency call made, and if the emergency call is unsuccessful, the dispatch center sends a message informing the controller that the received emergency call failed; the controller receives the sent message; and after the first connection ends, a second connection with the dispatch center that is independent of the first connection is automatically established. The message informing the controller that the received emergency call failed notifies the controller that the emergency call failed, and the controller is able to redial the emergency call via the second connection. The emergency call failure may be caused by IT problems or temporary overload of the dispatch center. The second connection increases the probability of success of the emergency call.
[0013] The dispatch center may send a message informing the emergency call failure to the controller before or after the first connection ends. If the dispatch center cannot provide appropriate rescue, the dispatch center agent may trigger the sending of the message after receiving the emergency call.
[0014] In one embodiment, the dispatch center sends a message informing the emergency call failure as an SMS message to the controller. Short Message Service (SMS) supports sending or receiving short texts via a mobile radio network. The text of the SMS message indicates that the emergency call failed. The controller is designed to receive the SMS message and interpret the text of the SMS message.
[0015] In another embodiment, the first connection is established as a digital VoIP connection, and the dispatch center sends a message informing the emergency call failure as a VoIP answer code to the controller before the first connection ends. A VoIP connection is a digital voice connection that transmits a digital audio stream of a call. The controller is designed to receive and interpret the VoIP answer code. A digital VoIP connection requires the IP functionality of the mobile radio network.
[0016] In another embodiment, the first connection is established as an analog voice connection, and the dispatch center sends a message notifying the emergency call failure as an in-band command to the controller before the first connection ends. The in-band command is an analog signal that is superimposed on the analog audio stream and is difficult to hear. The controller is designed to receive and interpret the in-band command. The in-band command requires the CS function of the fixed network.
[0017] The dispatch center can forward the received emergency call to the back-end server. In this case, the dispatch center acts as an intermediary. The operator of the back-end server can provide specialized rescue. In this way, the robustness of the emergency call method is further enhanced. The back-end server is provided by the vehicle manufacturer, for example.
[0018] Ideally, the emergency call is made simultaneously via a data channel of the first connection that is different from the voice channel. The data channel enables the emergency call to be made even if the vehicle occupant is unable to speak to the dispatch center (e.g. due to fainting or injury, or due to the activation of a restraint system such as an airbag). In this way, the robustness of the emergency call method is further improved. Alternatively, the data channel can be a connection parallel to the first connection and the vehicle is connected directly to the backend server.
[0019] Both legal dispatch centers or private dispatch centers can participate in the method as dispatch centers. Legal dispatch centers (public safety answering points, PSAPs) are provided by the government. Private dispatch centers are provided by private operators (third-party service providers, TPSPs). In this way, two types of licensed dispatch centers are supported, which further increases the robustness of the emergency call method.
[0020] Another subject of the invention relates to a vehicle controller for making an emergency call. This controller is installed in a large number of vehicles and can be designed as a controller according to the invention in a simple manner by updating the software of the controller.
[0021] According to the present invention, the controller is designed to participate in the method according to an embodiment of the present invention to make an emergency call. The controller can achieve high robustness of the emergency call method and high safety of the vehicle.
[0022] Another subject matter of the invention relates to a dispatch center for receiving emergency calls made by vehicles. The dispatch center can be designed as a dispatch center according to the invention in a simple manner by means of a software update.
[0023] According to the invention, the dispatch center is designed to participate in the method according to an embodiment of the invention. The dispatch center can achieve high robustness of the emergency call method and high safety of the vehicle.
[0024] In addition, the robustness of the emergency call method can be increased by automatically resetting and / or automatically restarting the controller and / or communication unit of the vehicle after multiple unsuccessful attempts to establish a first connection with the private dispatch center and / or the legal dispatch center. After the reset and / or restart, the controller can retry multiple times to establish the first connection with the private dispatch center and / or the legal dispatch center.
[0025] In this way, runtime error-based, i.e. dynamic, faults of the communication unit (e.g. faults due to an unfavorable mobile radio configuration of the communication unit) can be terminated accordingly and / or faults of the controller or the communication unit caused by the firmware of the controller or the communication unit which cannot be resolved or are difficult to resolve for the manufacturer of the controller or the communication unit (original equipment manufacturer, OEM) can be terminated, which achieves a high robustness of the emergency call method.
[0026] Another possibility for increasing the robustness of the emergency call method is that the dispatch center only receives an emergency call placed by the vehicle if an agent at the dispatch center answers the placed emergency call. In this way, the dispatch center's telephone equipment is prevented from receiving a placed emergency call without an agent at the dispatch center offering suitable assistance, which achieves a high degree of robustness of the emergency call method.
[0027] In addition, the robustness of the emergency call method can be increased by the controller controlling vehicle lights that can be visually perceived from the vehicle's surroundings so that vehicle occupants located around the vehicle notice the connection established with the dispatch center. In this way, it can be prevented that a possible emergency call is missed due to an occupant leaving the vehicle after an accident. The occupant can return to the vehicle and make an emergency call, which achieves a high robustness of the emergency call method. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0028] The invention is schematically illustrated with the aid of embodiments in the drawings and is described in greater detail with reference to the drawings.
[0029] in:
[0030] Figure 1 A controller for a vehicle according to an embodiment of the present invention is shown in a functional block diagram. DETAILED DESCRIPTION
[0031] Figure 1 The functional block diagram of a controller 10 for a vehicle 1 according to one embodiment of the invention is shown, which controller is assigned to the vehicle 1 and is suitable for making an emergency call 4. The vehicle 1 also includes a communication unit 11, which is designed to establish a first connection 5 and a second connection 6 with a dispatch center 2 or with a backend server 3 via a mobile radio network 7. The dispatch center 2 is suitable for receiving the emergency call 4 made by the vehicle 1.
[0032] The controller 10 and the dispatch center 2 are respectively designed to participate in the method for making an emergency call 4 according to an embodiment of the present invention.
[0033] After an accident occurs, the controller 10 of the vehicle 1 automatically establishes a first connection 5 with the dispatch center 2 and makes an emergency call 4 via the established first connection 5. The controller 10 can set the first connection 5 as a digital VoIP connection or an analog voice connection. For example, a legal dispatch center (PSAP) or a private dispatch center (TPSP) participates in the method as the dispatch center 2. Advantageously, the controller 10 controls a light 12 of the vehicle 1 that can be visually perceived from around the vehicle 1.
[0034] Advantageously, after multiple failed attempts to establish the first connection 5 with the private dispatch center and / or the legal dispatch center, the controller 10 and / or the communication unit 11 of the vehicle 1 automatically resets and / or automatically restarts. After the reset and / or restart, the controller 10 may retry multiple times to establish the first connection 5 with the private dispatch center and / or the legal dispatch center.
[0035] The dispatch center 2 receives the dialed emergency call 4 and, if the emergency call 4 is unsuccessful, sends a message 20 informing the controller 10 that the received emergency call 4 has failed. Advantageously, the dispatch center 2 forwards the received emergency call 4 to the backend server 3.
[0036] Ideally, the dispatch center 2 receives an emergency call 4 placed by the vehicle 1 only if the placed emergency call 4 is answered by an agent at the dispatch center 2 .
[0037] The dispatch center 2 may send a message 20 informing that the emergency call 4 has failed to the controller 10 before or after the first connection 5 ends.
[0038] In particular, the dispatch center 2 may send the message 20 informing that the emergency call 4 has failed as an SMS message to the controller 10. If the controller 10 has established the first connection 5 as a digital VoIP connection, the dispatch center 2 may send the message 20 informing that the emergency call 4 has failed as a VoIP answer code to the controller 10 before the first connection 5 ends. When the controller 10 has established the first connection 5 as an analog voice connection, the dispatch center 2 may send the message 20 informing that the emergency call 4 has failed as an in-band command to the controller 10 before the first connection 5 ends.
[0039] The controller 10 receives the sent message 20 and automatically establishes a second connection 6 independent of the first connection 5 with the dispatch center 2 after the first connection 5 ends.
[0040] An emergency call 4 can be made simultaneously via a data channel of the first connection 5 that is different from the voice channel, in particular directly to the backend server 3 .
[0041] List of reference numerals:
[0042] 1 Vehicle
[0043] 10 Controller
[0044] 11 Communication unit
[0045] 12 Lights
[0046] 2 Dispatch Center
[0047] 20 messages
[0048] 3 Backend Server
[0049] 4 Emergency calls
[0050] 5 First Connection
[0051] 6 Second connection
[0052] 7 Mobile radio networks
Claims
1. A method for making an emergency call (4) of a vehicle (1), wherein: - the controller (10) of the vehicle (1) automatically establishes a first connection (5) with the dispatch center (2) after the accident occurs, and makes an emergency call (4) via the established first connection (5); - the dispatch center (2) receives the emergency call (4) made, and if the emergency call (4) is unsuccessful, the dispatch center sends a message (20) informing the controller (10) that the received emergency call (4) has failed; The controller (10) receives the sent message (20) and automatically establishes a second connection (6) with the dispatch center (2) independent of the first connection (5) after the first connection (5) ends.
2. The method according to claim 1, characterized in that The dispatch center (2) sends a message (20) informing the controller (10) of the failure of the emergency call (4) before or after the first connection (5) ends.
3. The method according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that: The dispatch center (2) sends a message (20) informing that the emergency call (4) has failed to the controller (10) as an SMS message.
4. The method according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that: The first connection (5) is established as a digital VoIP connection, and the dispatch center (2) sends a message (20) informing that the emergency call (4) has failed as a VoIP response code to the controller (10) before the first connection (5) ends.
5. The method according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that: The first connection (5) is established as an analog voice connection, and the dispatch center (2) sends a message (20) informing that the emergency call (4) has failed as an in-band command to the controller (10) before the first connection (5) ends.
6. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 5, characterized in that The dispatch center (2) forwards the received emergency call (4) to the back-end server (3).
7. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 6, characterized in that At the same time, an emergency call (4) is made via a data channel of the first connection (5) that is different from the voice channel.
8. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 7, characterized in that A legal dispatch center or a private dispatch center participates in the method as a dispatch center (2).
9. A control unit (10) of a vehicle (1), the control unit being designed to participate in the method according to any one of claims 1 to 8 for making an emergency call (4).
10. A dispatch centre (2) for receiving an emergency call (4) made by a vehicle (1), the dispatch centre being designed to participate in the method according to any one of claims 1 to 8.