Accident information transmission system and accident information transmission method

Abstract

The present application relates to an accident information transmission system and an accident information transmission method. The present application aims to promptly and appropriately notify an accident to a vehicle approaching an accident site. An accident information transmission system that can transmit accident information in the event of an accident, transmit the accident information to an oncoming vehicle traveling on a lane opposite to a lane of a host vehicle, and transmit the accident information from the oncoming vehicle to a following vehicle following the host vehicle.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] This invention relates to an accident information transmission system and an accident information transmission method. Background Technology

[0002] Previously, technologies were known for notifying external entities of accidents that occurred when a vehicle was involved in an accident. For example, Patent Document 1 discloses a technology in which, when a vehicle detects an accident based on information obtained from sensors, it notifies a police system that handles accident reports of the accident, and before and after the notification, information from images captured by a dashcam is transmitted to the police system.

[0003] Patent Document 1: Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 2021-176100 Summary of the Invention

[0004] Previously, there was a system where vehicles involved in an accident would transmit accident information (vehicle information, location information, etc.) to a server, which would then dispatch ambulances. However, in previous technologies, the server could only know the situation of the vehicles involved in the accident, but not the situation of vehicles following behind them, and therefore could not transmit accident information to those vehicles. For example, when an accident occurs on a highway, the inability to quickly share accident information with vehicles behind the accident site sometimes leads to secondary accidents.

[0005] In view of the above, the purpose of this invention is to provide an accident information transmission system and method that can quickly and appropriately notify vehicles approaching the accident location of accident information.

[0006] An accident information transmission system according to one embodiment of the present invention is capable of transmitting accident information in the event of an accident, wherein the accident information transmission system transmits the accident information to oncoming vehicles traveling in a lane opposite to the vehicle's lane, and the oncoming vehicles transmit the accident information to following vehicles.

[0007] An embodiment of the present invention relates to an accident information transmission method, which is capable of transmitting accident information in the event of an accident. The accident information transmission method includes the following steps: the vehicle involved in the accident sends the accident information to an oncoming vehicle traveling in a lane opposite to its own lane; and the oncoming vehicle sends the accident information to a following vehicle.

[0008] Invention Effects

[0009] According to one embodiment of the present invention, accident information can be shared quickly and appropriately with vehicles approaching the accident site. Attached Figure Description

[0010] Figure 1 This is a schematic diagram illustrating an accident information transmission system according to one embodiment.

[0011] Figure 2 This is a block diagram illustrating an example of the structure of a vehicle and a server in an accident information transmission system according to one embodiment.

[0012] Figure 3 This is a timing diagram illustrating an example of the steps of an accident information transmission method according to one embodiment. Detailed Implementation

[0013] Figure 1 This is a schematic diagram illustrating an accident information transmission system 1 according to one embodiment. The accident information transmission system 1 is a system capable of transmitting accident information (information related to the accident) in the event of an accident. The accident information transmission system 1 includes a vehicle 10 and a server 20.

[0014] Vehicle 10 is a vehicle traveling on a highway. Figure 1 Vehicle 10-1 is the vehicle involved in the accident. Hereinafter, vehicle 10-1 will also be referred to as the "accident vehicle" or "the vehicle itself." In the event of an accident, accident vehicle 10-1 sends accident information to server 20 and to vehicle 10-2 traveling in the opposite lane to vehicle 10-1. Hereinafter, vehicle 10-2 will also be referred to as the "opposing vehicle." The accident information includes an accident-specific identifier (an identifier used to identify the accident), information indicating the location of the accident, and information indicating the direction of travel of accident vehicle 10-1.

[0015] Oncoming vehicle 10-2 will send the accident information received from accident vehicle 10-1 to vehicle 10-3 following accident vehicle 10-1. Hereinafter, vehicle 10-3 will also be referred to as the "following vehicle". Figure 1 In the diagram, the direction of travel for the accident vehicle 10-1 and the following vehicle 10-3 is indicated by arrow A, while the direction of travel for the oncoming vehicle 10-2 is indicated by arrow B. Since vehicle 10-2 is traveling behind the accident vehicle 10-1, it can efficiently transmit accident information to multiple vehicles following it. However, if the oncoming vehicle 10-2 is traveling at high speed or if the following vehicle 10-3 is close to the accident vehicle 10-1, the transmission of accident information from the oncoming vehicle 10-2 to the following vehicle 10-3 may be delayed. Therefore, the accident vehicle 10-1 can transmit accident information to the following vehicle 10-3. However, since the accident vehicle 10-1 is stopped due to the accident, the range of information it can transmit is limited.

[0016] Figure 2This is a block diagram illustrating a structural example of vehicle 10 and server 20. Vehicle 10 and server 20 are communicatively connected via network 30.

[0017] The vehicle 10 is equipped with an accident information transmission device 11, sensors 12, and a camera 13. The accident information transmission device 11 includes an input unit 111, a storage unit 112, a control unit 113, an output unit 114, and a communication unit 115.

[0018] Sensor class 12 includes one or more sensors installed on vehicle 10. Sensor class 12 includes sensors used for detecting accidents, such as sensors that detect collisions with vehicle 10.

[0019] Camera 13 is installed on vehicle 10 and captures images (photographs) of the exterior of vehicle 10. Camera 13 can also capture images of the interior of vehicle 10.

[0020] The input unit 111 has an interface for inputting image information from the camera 13. Furthermore, the input unit 111 has interfaces such as physical keys, electrostatic capacitive keys, and a touchscreen for accepting input from the user. The input unit 111 outputs the input information to the storage unit 112.

[0021] The storage unit 112 has at least one semiconductor memory, at least one magnetic memory, at least one optical memory, or any combination thereof. The semiconductor memory is, for example, RAM, ROM, flash memory, etc. The storage unit 112 functions as, for example, a main storage device, an auxiliary storage device, or a cache memory. The storage unit 112 stores information for the operation of the accident information transmission device 11.

[0022] The control unit 113 has at least one processor, at least one programmable circuit, at least one dedicated circuit, or any combination thereof. The processor is a general-purpose processor such as a CPU or GPU, or a dedicated processor specifically designed for particular processing. The programmable circuit is, for example, an FPGA. The dedicated circuit is, for example, an ASIC.

[0023] The control unit 113 analyzes at least one of the information detected by the sensor type 12 and the image information captured by the camera 13 to determine whether an accident has occurred. If an accident is determined to have occurred, the control unit 113 controls the communication unit 115 to notify the server 20 and other vehicles 10 of the accident information. Furthermore, the control unit 113 of the opposing vehicle 10-2, which received the accident information from the accident vehicle 10-1, controls the communication unit 115 to notify the other vehicles 10 of the accident information.

[0024] The output unit 114 has interfaces such as a display and a speaker for outputting information created by the control unit 113. In addition, the input unit 111 and the output unit 114 can be integrated like a touch screen.

[0025] The communication unit 115 has a communication interface for communicating with the sensor class 12. This communication interface communicates via the Controller Area Network (CAN) protocol. Furthermore, the communication unit 115 has a communication interface for communicating with the server 20 and other vehicles 10. This communication interface can be, for example, an interface compatible with mobile communication standards such as 4G or 5G, or an interface compatible with short-range wireless communication such as Bluetooth. The communication unit 115 outputs the received information to the storage unit 112.

[0026] Server 20 is used to dispatch ambulances at the accident site. Server 20 can dispatch fire trucks at the accident site as needed. Server 20 can be cloud-based or locally deployed. Server 20 can be located in a data center. Server 20 includes a storage unit 21, a control unit 22, and a communication unit 23.

[0027] Storage unit 21 has at least one semiconductor memory, at least one magnetic memory, at least one optical memory, or any combination thereof. The semiconductor memory is, for example, RAM, ROM, flash memory, etc. Storage unit 21 functions as, for example, a main storage device, an auxiliary storage device, or a cache memory. Storage unit 21 stores information for the operation of server 20.

[0028] The control unit 22 has at least one processor, at least one programmable circuit, at least one dedicated circuit, or any combination thereof. The control unit 22 controls the various parts of the server 20 while performing processing related to the operation of the server 20.

[0029] Based on the accident information, the control unit 22 determines the location of the accident and dispatches ambulances. Furthermore, the control unit 22 sends the ambulance's progress information to the subsequent vehicles 10-3.

[0030] The communication unit 23 has a communication interface for communicating with the vehicle 10. This communication interface can be, for example, an interface compatible with mobile communication standards such as 4G or 5G. The communication unit 23 outputs the received information to the storage unit 21.

[0031] <Methods for Sending Accident Information>

[0032] Next, refer to Figure 3 The steps of the method for sending accident information on a highway based on the accident information sending system 1 are explained.

[0033] In S101, the accident vehicle 10-1 sends accident information to the server 20.

[0034] In S102, server 20 determines the direction of the pushed information based on the incident information (a direction further down than the location where the incident occurred, which is the direction in which future incidents may occur).

[0035] In S103, the vehicle involved in the accident 10-1 sends accident information to the oncoming vehicle 10-2. As described above, the vehicle involved in the accident 10-1 can also send accident information to the following vehicle 10-3.

[0036] In S104, the oncoming vehicle 10-2 sends accident information to the following vehicle 10-3 located in the direction of travel of the oncoming vehicle 10-2. Figure 1 For ease of explanation, only one follower vehicle is shown in the image, but in reality, there can be multiple follower vehicles.

[0037] In step S105, the subsequent vehicle 10-3, having received the accident information, sends the accident information, a vehicle identifier for identifying itself, and location information indicating its position to the server 20. Thus, the server 20 can identify the subsequent vehicle 10-3 through the vehicle identifier. Furthermore, the server 20 can determine, based on the location information of the subsequent vehicle 10-3, whether it can avoid the accident site and continue along its direction of travel (within...). Figure 1 The oncoming vehicle 10-2 can either travel in the direction indicated by arrow A, or be unable to avoid the accident site (stopping in a direction further downhill than the accident site). Additionally, the oncoming vehicle 10-2 can also send accident information, its vehicle identifier, and its location information to the server 20.

[0038] In S106, server 20 dispatches ambulances based on accident information and pushes the movement of ambulances to the accident site to subsequent vehicles 10-3 that cannot avoid the accident site.

[0039] In this way, vehicle 10-1 sends accident information to oncoming vehicle 10-2, and oncoming vehicle 10-2, while moving behind vehicle 10-1, sends accident information to following vehicle 10-3. Therefore, oncoming vehicle 10-2 can immediately notify following vehicle 10-3 that it is approaching the accident site after the accident, thereby preventing secondary accidents from occurring.

[0040] Furthermore, based on the accident information, server 20 transmits the movement of ambulances to the accident site to subsequent vehicles 10-3 that cannot avoid the accident site. Previously, in the event of congestion due to an accident, ambulances needed time to reach the scene, but by providing subsequent vehicles 10-3 with information such as clearing roads, server 20 enables ambulances to reach the accident site more smoothly.

[0041] <Program>

[0042] In order for the computer to function as the aforementioned incident information transmission device 11, a computer capable of executing program commands can also be used. The program enables the computer to function as the incident information transmission device 11 by causing the computer to perform the aforementioned actions.

[0043] The program can be stored on a non-transitory computer-readable medium. Non-transitory computer-readable media include flash memory, magnetic recording devices, optical discs, magneto-optical recording media, ROM, etc. Program distribution is carried out through the sale, transfer, or lending of removable media such as SD cards, DVDs, and CD-ROMs containing the program. Alternatively, the program can be stored on a server's storage device and transferred from the server to other computers, thereby distributing the program. The program can also be provided as a program product.

[0044] The computer may temporarily store programs stored on removable media or transferred from a server in storage unit 112. The processor (control unit 113) reads the program stored in storage unit 112 and executes the processing according to the read program. The computer can directly read programs from removable media and execute the processing according to the program. The computer can sequentially execute the processing according to the received program each time a program is transferred from the server to the computer. Alternatively, processing can be performed through a so-called application service provider (ASP) type service, which only executes instructions and retrieves results, without transferring programs from the server to the computer. A program is information used for processing by an electronic computer and includes information equivalent to a program. For example, data that, although not direct instructions to the computer, has the nature of defining the computer's processing is equivalent to "information equivalent to a program."

[0045] The above embodiments are representative examples, and various modifications or alterations can be made without departing from the spirit of the present invention. For example, regarding the constituent modules or processing steps described in the embodiments, multiple modules can be combined into one or one module can be split into multiple modules.

[0046] Symbol Explanation

[0047] 1-Accident information transmission system, 10-Vehicle, 10-1-Accident vehicle, 10-2-Oncoming vehicle, 10-3-Following vehicle, 11-Accident information transmission device, 12-Sensors, 13-Camera, 20-Server, 21, 112-Storage unit, 22, 113-Control unit, 23, 115-Communication unit, 30-Network, 111-Input unit, 114-Output unit.

Claims

1. An accident information transmission system, capable of transmitting accident information in the event of an accident, characterized in that, The accident information is sent to oncoming vehicles traveling in the opposite lane to the vehicle's lane, and the oncoming vehicles send the accident information to following vehicles.

2. The accident information transmission system according to claim 1, characterized in that, The vehicle and the following vehicles send the accident information to the server.

3. The accident information transmission system according to claim 2, characterized in that, Based on the accident information, the server transmits the movement of the ambulance to the accident scene to the following vehicles.

4. The accident information transmission system according to any one of claims 1 to 3, characterized in that, The accident information includes: an identifier for identifying the accident, information indicating the location of the accident, and information indicating the direction of travel of the vehicle.

5. An accident information sending method, capable of sending accident information in the event of an accident, characterized in that the accident information sending method includes the following steps: The vehicle involved in the accident sends the accident information to oncoming vehicles traveling in the opposite lane; and The oncoming vehicle sends the accident information to the following vehicles.

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