Dual-Mode Emergency Vehicle Preemption Controller
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing traffic control preemption systems often fail to recognize priority requests from emergency vehicles equipped with different technologies, such as IR light emitters or GPS systems, at intersections with different control systems, limiting mutual aid and requiring costly upgrades to uniform systems.
Innovation Solution
A priority control unit that simultaneously transmits preemption requests via both light pulses and radio waves, allowing emergency vehicles to activate traffic signals regardless of the intersection's technology, using a switch to activate both light emitter and GPS-based subsystems for universal compatibility.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If a municipality uses a specific preemption system (light-based or GPS-based), then that system works reliably at local intersections, but emergency vehicles from other municipalities with different systems cannot be recognized
Solution Approach 1:
The patent implements dual-mode preemption request transmission by equipping emergency vehicles with both light-based emitters and GPS-based transmitters. This allows the vehicle to universally communicate with any intersection controller regardless of which system the intersection uses, resolving the incompatibility between different municipal systems.
Solution Approach 2:
The emergency vehicle acts as an intermediary that bridges different preemption systems. By containing both light-based and GPS-based transmission capabilities within a single vehicle, it can translate between system types and ensure recognition across municipalities with different infrastructure.
2Adaptability or versatility
If all municipalities upgrade to a uniform preemption system to ensure mutual aid, then system compatibility is achieved, but the cost of upgrading all intersections increases significantly
Solution Approach 1:
The patent divides the preemption capability into two separate transmission modes (light-based and GPS-based) that operate independently within the vehicle. This segmentation allows the vehicle to target different intersection types without requiring a unified municipal infrastructure, avoiding the need for costly system-wide upgrades.
Solution Approach 2:
The vehicle dynamically changes its transmission parameters by selecting which subsystem (light-based or GPS-based) to activate based on the detected intersection type. This adaptability allows compatibility with existing diverse infrastructure without requiring expensive uniform upgrades across all municipalities.
3Device complexity
If emergency vehicles use only one preemption transmission method, then the vehicle system is simpler, but the vehicle can only communicate with intersections using that specific method
Solution Approach 1:
The patent merges two previously separate preemption systems (light-based and GPS-based) into a single integrated vehicle unit. This combination allows the vehicle to maintain relatively simple individual subsystems while achieving enhanced versatility through their integration, resolving the contradiction between simplicity and adaptability.
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
Enables mutual aid between municipalities with different preemption systems and provides a cost-effective way to upgrade existing systems by allowing vehicles to transmit requests using multiple channels, ensuring priority recognition across various intersection technologies.
Implementation Method 1
A light emitter-based intersection module receives the light pulses and decodes the preemption request
Implementation Method 2
A GPS-based intersection module receives the radio waves and decodes the preemption request
Data Source
AI summary
A priority control unit is provided for use with light-based and GPS-based traffic control priority systems. The priority control unit includes a light emitter subsystem that is configured to emit pulses of light. The pulses of light encode a priority request for activating preemption of a traffic signal by a light-based traffic control priority system. The priority control unit also includes a GPS-based subsystem that is configured to transmit a priority request by radio waves. The priority request from the GPS-based subsystem is for activating preemption of a traffic signal by a GPS-based traffic control priority system. A switch is coupled to the light emitter subsystem and to the GPS-based subsystem. The switch simultaneously activates both the light emitter subsystem and the GPS-based subsystem for transmitting priority requests in response to user control. In another embodiment, the priority control unit further includes a broadcast based subsystem for transmitting priority requests.