JP5456039B2 - Vehicle-to-vehicle anonymous warning device started by driver - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates generally to vehicles and communications, and more particularly to communication of electronic warning messages initiated by a driver (driver initiated) between moving vehicles.

  In recent years, automobiles and other vehicles have become increasingly integrated with on-board computing systems, software, and other related technologies. Any feature of today's standard automobiles has become dependent on various forms of computers. From computer-controlled engine timing and injection technology to global positioning systems and navigation systems, automobiles are rapidly becoming an integration of software and hardware systems, which gives drivers a wide variety of features. And offering to passengers.

  Much research has been done in the direction of providing driver assistance and autonomous driving capabilities in automobiles. For example, advanced parking guidance systems have emerged that assist drivers in parallel parking of cars and other similar situations. Some manufacturers, such as Onstar, also implement onboard emergency response systems for use in the event of an accident or car crash. However, much room remains for improvements with automated assistance in daily driving.

  When looking at the driving situation of a day, a hazard state or event (event) often occurs, and in this case, a quick response from the driver side of the car is required. For example, a flooded area of a road, the presence of an ambulance vehicle, or an accident can occur suddenly on the road network. Communication of such events and warnings about the location of each of these events will often help the driver receiving the warning and facilitate a quick response. Most of the current standards for non-broadcast communication methods, such as cellular telephones, are not well suited for such use. Because in this case it is generally necessary to have some kind of identity (eg phone number) of the person to be warned, and in many emergency situations these are not easily obtained It is. In addition, a vehicle that has received a warning may have little time to adjust speed or change lanes before encountering a hazard situation or a dangerous situation, so use mobile phones, wireless devices or other devices. Doing so would take an excessively long time. While identifiers are not required for broadcast technology, there are still time and bandwidth constraints issues.

  In the past, drivers have provided other drivers with independent and anonymous warnings about the location of significant events or objects. This is a direct short-range broadcast communication, such as a civil band (CB) radio, or flashing headlights to alert incoming drivers of the presence of hazards on the road (eg, broken or ambulance vehicles). I was warned. However, these types of warnings are severely limited in many ways. For example, flashing a headlight cannot identify what a hazard event is, such as event description, location, importance, and other information. By using CB radio, the driver can provide any verbal command. However, this is often too inaccurate, meaning that it does not provide a meaningful benefit for too much time, and is even more cumbersome. Furthermore, most drivers do not carry CB radio and do not want to keep listening to various transmissions while driving the vehicle. Therefore, another method is necessary.

  Recently, a dedicated short range communication (DSRC) protocol has been devised. This is a protocol specially handled for communication in a situation where it is used in an automobile. DSRC is a technology based on wireless RFID, and is mainly used for communication between a vehicle such as an automatic toll collection machine and a roadside device. DSRC has also been proposed for use between vehicles for various purposes.

  In general, it is not desirable for communications to require a wide range of dedicated infrastructure, such as roadside transmitters. This is probably because such devices are likely to be spatially concentrated and not spread across the road network. There is a need for a way to quickly disseminate location-dependent anonymous information within a localized area intended by the driver or other vehicles present without requiring extensive infrastructure. Furthermore, it is desirable that the information be spread quickly and efficiently and does not require knowledge of the driver and vehicle identity or other dedicated information. The Applicant has recognized the subject matter of the present disclosure by recognizing not only the shortcomings and needs described above, but also other shortcomings and needs currently present in the art. .

    The present invention is illustrated by way of example in the accompanying drawings and is not intended to be limiting. In the drawings, like references indicate like elements. Reference to an embodiment in this disclosure does not necessarily refer to the same embodiment, which refers to at least one embodiment. While specific embodiments are discussed, it is understood that this is done for illustrative purposes only. Those skilled in the relevant art will recognize that other components and configurations may also be used, and these do not depart from the scope and spirit of the present invention.

  In the following description, numerous specific details are set forth to provide a thorough explanation of the present invention. However, it will be apparent to those skilled in the art that the present invention may be practiced without the use of these specific details. In other instances, well-known features have not been described in detail so as not to obscure the present invention.

  Embodiments of the present invention provide systems, methods, and apparatus for providing driver-initiated vehicle-to-vehicle warnings and messages. The device can be utilized in a vehicle (eg, an automobile) as a stand-alone facility or integrated with various vehicle computing systems. In one embodiment, the apparatus includes a driver input interface for receiving input from a vehicle driver or passenger. The interface can be a graphical user interface (GUI) such as a touch screen, a push button based interface, or a speech recognition based interface, or any other type of interface available in the art. It may be. The driver input interface is used to receive information about events that are occurring near the vehicle that are visually observable. The event may be any event that may be of interest to the driver of the vehicle and / or other drivers of other vehicles in the area. For example, hazards or road closures on public roads, ambulances, accidents, stuck vehicle drivers, debris, heavy traffic conditions, and other observable events are described using warning device interfaces Can be configured. In addition, events can also include moving events such as runaways, amber alerts, and other situations where locations change continuously.

  When an event-related input is received, the vehicle-to-vehicle communication component of the device generates an anonymous message and transmits the message to one or more other vehicles that are within range of the starting vehicle. can do. The message can be based on the DSRC protocol and can include embedded electronic data describing the event. In one embodiment, the message includes specific location information for the event obtained by examining the vehicle's Global Positioning System (GPS) and / or a map database. GPS systems are well known in the art, and if a GPS system is used, the position of the vehicle can be calculated by communicating with a satellite. The position of the vehicle can be used with any input from the driver / passenger to calculate the specific location of the event. This location can then be used in the receiving vehicle to generate a warning depending on the applicability of the event to the receiving vehicle. As an example, if the event is related to road conditions and affects only one lane or car moving in one direction, the message is moving in the same direction. A warning can be generated in other vehicles considered. Receiving vehicles traveling in other directions or other lanes can be filtered out and ignored as the message is not applicable.

  In one embodiment, the message is anonymous with respect to any sender, recipient, or vehicle identity. This eliminates the need for the driver to know or enter information for contacting the receiving vehicle. In one embodiment, the message can be broadcast (multicast) to multiple vehicles without requiring receipt guarantees. Then, filtering can be performed using both the digital location information and other arbitrary data embedded in the message to determine applicability to each receiving vehicle.

  In various embodiments, a receiving vehicle can relay a message to other vehicles within range of its communication. This increases the effective range of warnings. This is because the receiving vehicle can travel a certain distance before relaying the message to another vehicle. Thus, even if the maximum range of communication of the starting vehicle may be limited, the warning message may include a distance that is substantially greater than its maximum value, depending on the relay capability of the moving vehicle. is there. For example, DSRC can be used to broadcast a short message initiated by an alerting vehicle driver (or other occupants in the field) within a range of up to 1000 meters. Each vehicle receiving this message can either ignore the message or relay it to other vehicles in the vicinity, depending on the message header. In situations where there is heavy traffic, diffusion processing can occur, resulting in information being quickly communicated to other vehicles, far exceeding the scope of the vehicle-to-vehicle communication component itself. There is a possibility that it is conveyed to the distance. Such communications can be filtered in the vehicle to avoid receiving the same message and / or being processed twice. If the communication is limited to the approaching vehicle by filtering the message in the receiving vehicle based on the direction of movement of the sender and receiver, the message will also be forwarded even in sparsely populated traffic situations. be able to. In this situation, one vehicle can continuously warn a plurality of other vehicles that are moving in a direction opposite to their own moving direction. Alternatively, a vehicle that has received a warning can communicate a warning to other vehicles that are behind the vehicle and moving in the same direction as the vehicle if they are in range. In one embodiment, the alert device can optimize information diffusion to maximize or minimize the number of other vehicles that receive the alert message. Still further, the warning can be adapted to the parameters set by the receiving driver. By using digital maps in both sending and receiving vehicles, location information can be included in alerts. And if this location information is used in the embodiment, it is possible to make a logical determination as to the applicability of the warning in terms of function and spatial scope based on the location of the sender and recipient.

  According to a preferred embodiment, information about the driver's attention event, such as hazard road conditions or the presence of an ambulance vehicle, is broadcast to all similarly equipped vehicles to alert the presence of the detected event. To the receiver and the driver. The transmitted information includes the location of the event and other parameters according to the transmitting driver's intent and device logic. The location information can also be transmitted in a map-agnostic format such as AGORA-C location reference standard. In various embodiments, AGORA-C, known in the art as a map-based on-the-fly position reference, supports machine-to-machine location descriptions.

  In the case of a moving event, the transmitted information can include information about the moving vehicle, such as a license plate and description. Furthermore, the location information of the moving event can be dynamically changed based on the time, the estimated speed and departure location of the event, input from other vehicles, and the like. By using relay processing, moving events can be tracked by various vehicles on the road until blocked by law enforcement or other authorities.

  In various embodiments, the transmitter device responds to the driver's intention by any means. These means include, but are not limited to, pressing a hardware button appropriate to the situation, selecting a menu option on the navigation system or other special purpose device. . In the latter case, the driver can specify the side of the road to the event, the driver's lane or the lane approaching the event, or other detailed information about the event or event location.

  In some embodiments, the various events can also include events that are triggered by themselves, which are automatically transmitted / relayed to other vehicles in direct contact. . For example, the deployment of an airbag in one vehicle can drive the warning device to automatically broadcast a high priority warning message to all vehicles in range. Thus, the approaching driver can be alerted to possible accidents and injuries.

  In one embodiment, the location of the event or incident can be obtained in the transmitting vehicle. This can be done by examining a vehicle-mounted digital map that matches the location of the vehicle-mounted GPS, or by other automatic techniques such as a device that reads a linear reference marker by the road, or This is done by a manual operation that speaks what the driver has observed, such as “1 mile south”. The transmitted message can include the location in a raw and map-matched form, and the location in several location reference modes, such as linear reference or AGORA-C location reference.

  In various embodiments, the driver-initiated vehicle-to-vehicle communication device further includes a warning notification component that issues a warning to the driver of the receiving vehicle if the message is deemed applicable. Can do. A receiving vehicle equipped with a warning component within communication range can receive the message and read its header. Then, based on the contents and parameters previously set by the driver, the driver can be alerted or ignored about the occurrence of the event and its location. In addition, the message can be handed over (relayed) to all other vehicles in range. In one embodiment, each message is given a unique identifier (ID) by the original sending vehicle, and any equipped vehicle is any message that it has received before. Can also be ignored or relayed further. Notification of the occurrence of an event and its location can include any human machine interface (HMI), including display monitors, artificial sounds and / or sounds, visual map displays, alarm buttons / signals, and others Notifications.

  In some embodiments, the vehicle can comprise a mobile node in a mesh network, which does not require any central server to maintain communication. Thus, the vehicle can function as an independent unit and can alert each other of various road hazards, emergency situations, and other events sensed by the driver. However, in some alternative embodiments, warnings may be collected by various central authorities, such as law enforcement authorities or emergency support authorities.

1 is a diagram of the main parts of a driver start warning device inside a vehicle, according to various embodiments. FIG. 1 is a system level diagram of a driver-initiated vehicle-to-vehicle warning device according to various embodiments. FIG. 6 is an overhead view of a traffic situation involving a vehicle equipped with a driver start warning device according to various embodiments. FIG. 6 is a bird's-eye view of traffic conditions showing the relay capability of a vehicle equipped with a driver start warning device, according to various embodiments. FIG. 6 is an overhead view of a danger warning message forwarded in a lower traffic density situation, according to various embodiments. FIG. 4 illustrates a possible set of menu options for a navigation system implementing a driver-initiated vehicle-to-vehicle warning system, according to various embodiments. FIG. 4 illustrates a possible set of menu options for a navigation system implementing a driver-initiated vehicle-to-vehicle warning system, according to various embodiments. FIG. 4 illustrates possible major vehicle-mounted hardware components for a driver start warning device according to various embodiments. FIG. 6 illustrates input and output flows that occur during message transmission between various components of a device, according to various embodiments. FIG. 3 illustrates input and output flows that occur during message reception and relaying between various components of the device, according to various embodiments. 6 is an exemplary logic flow diagram of a process for sending and receiving driver-initiated vehicle-to-vehicle warnings according to various embodiments. 7 is an exemplary logic flow diagram of a process for receiving, analyzing, and relaying a driver-initiated vehicle-to-vehicle warning, according to various embodiments.

  FIG. 1 shows the main parts of a driver start warning device inside a motor vehicle according to various embodiments. Although this figure depicts an interface having certain components, such depiction is for illustration purposes only. It will be apparent to those skilled in the art that the components depicted in this figure can be arbitrarily combined, split, rearranged or completely removed from the interface. Furthermore, it will be apparent to those skilled in the art that additional components may be included in the interface and these do not depart from the scope of the various embodiments.

  Any standard vehicle may be equipped with an interface 104 for receiving input describing events that can be observed by a driver or passenger. The interface can be installed on the control panel, on the central console, or on other parts of the interior of the vehicle. Alternatively, it can be integrated into a standard GPS screen interface. In this figure, the observed event is a broken tree branch 100, which can cause road damage or cause damage to other cars traveling on the road 102. Thus, the interface provides a means for entering a description of the event and a means for initiating transmission of the message. For example, by using the interface 104, the user identifies the description, the relative location with respect to the side of the road / vehicle, and the urgency of the event with respect to other drivers traveling on the same roadway. Can do. The receiving vehicle can use this information to automatically alert the driver about road hazards. It should be noted that the interface for receiving driver input does not necessarily have to be a graphical interface, but other technologies (such as speech recognition) can also be used.

  FIG. 2 illustrates a driver-initiated vehicle-to-vehicle warning device at a system level according to various embodiments. Although the components are depicted as logically separate in this figure, such depictions are for illustration purposes only. It will be apparent to those skilled in the art that the components depicted in this figure can be combined arbitrarily or divided into separate software, firmware and / or hardware. Further, such components can be executed on the same computing device, regardless of how they are combined or divided, or by one or more suitable communication means. It will be apparent to those skilled in the art that it can also be distributed and executed across different connected computing devices.

  As shown, the warning device includes a vehicle-mounted computer unit 200. The vehicle-mounted computer 200 can include one or more processors and computer memory, which is programmed with instructions for performing the various functions of the embodiments. For example, the computer can include a danger filter application 202 and a navigation application 204. The navigation application 204 provides location information to the danger filter application 202 in response to the query. Queries from the risk filter application 202 require that all that is needed to calculate event location information is just a single location or all of the road network within the area defined by the spatial extent. It can be specified whether it is a feature. Alternatively, the selected road network feature is identified according to the parameters given in the query and in part in response to driver input provided from the hazard interface 220 within the driver input interface 218. be able to. The driver input interface 218 can also perform other navigation input functions for the navigation application 204. These are above the driver input of the hazard interface 220 and may include various directions of lookups, road traffic information, and other related data.

  In one embodiment, the navigation application 204 consults the onboard map database 206 and integrates GPS signals from the GPS unit 216 to generate location information. The location information can then be included in the warning message. Further, the location information of the receiving vehicle can be calculated, and the applicability of the message to the receiving vehicle can be determined by comparing with the location information of the event included in the message. In various embodiments, the vehicle's own location and the requested network features can be provided to the hazard filter application 202. These can be provided in the form of geographic coordinates, street addresses, and linear references, or in any other required form. Based on the internal set of parameters and the driver input provided via the hazard interface 220, the hazard filter application 202 causes a driver alert to be issued from the driver alert interface 212 via the alert unit 208. It can be determined whether or not and also a warning should be provided to other vehicles via the message unit 210 and the vehicle-to-vehicle communication unit 214. Thus, the location information can be used both for alerting other vehicles and for determining the applicability of alerts to recipient vehicles.

  In various embodiments, warnings to other vehicles can take several factors into account. For example, traffic density information on each side of a divided highway can be determined by GPS component 216 or any other means and taken into account. Similarly, the device can determine whether a particular danger event (e.g., the presence of a icy spot) is applicable to one or both sides of the highway. In the preferred embodiment, the vehicle-to-vehicle communication mode is “broadcast” so that the alert may not be selective to the location of the receiving vehicle. However, sufficient information can be included in the alert message so that the recipient can determine whether a particular alert applies to him. In one embodiment, the onboard map database 206 is sufficiently detailed so that messages with rich data can be transmitted.

  In one embodiment, the message unit 210 and the vehicle-to-vehicle communication unit 214 can be responsible for both sending and receiving messages with other vehicles. For example, the vehicle-to-vehicle communication unit can receive alerts relayed from other vehicles and communicate them to the danger filter application 202. The danger filter application then interprets the information in the warning message, queries the navigation application 204 for current location information and route information for the vehicle, and issues a warning to the driver of the vehicle. Can be determined and / or relayed to other vehicles in the vicinity. In one embodiment, this determination can be made by comparing the location of the receiving vehicle with the location of the event obtained from the input message. If these places compared are logically related in some way (eg they are both on the same side of the road, the direction of travel is the same, etc.), a warning can be issued it can. Similarly, location information and heading information can be used to determine whether a message should be relayed. For example, if the source of a message has moved too far (or too long) but information still remains due to information diffusion, it may no longer be necessary to relay it. is there. In this case, the on-board computer can decide to ignore the input message. In various embodiments, the factors used to determine message applicability and relay decisions can be configurable.

  In various embodiments, an event message has a lifetime once it is sent. This lifetime can be independent of the original sender. For example, messages depend on traffic density and the circumstances involved in automatic relaying by the recipient, and persist in a manner set by the device itself or by the driver or according to parameters set by either recipient. can do. If there is very little traffic, the message will not be repeated frequently. And low priority messages would be expected to decay rapidly because there are no relay recipients. If the traffic is dense or for a very important message (such as ice on the road), the message could last for a long time. In this manner, the lifespan and applicability of warnings can change dynamically according to the preferences of various drivers traveling on the road, how they drive, and the actions they normally take.

  In one embodiment, the driver-initiated vehicle-to-vehicle warning device is utilized in a moving vehicle and can function without the need for any dedicated roadside infrastructure device. In alternative embodiments, the device can also be mounted or integrated into a particular roadside device (such as an emergency phone box). In these embodiments, the roadside device can essentially function as a non-moving vehicle node and can relay a warning message to other vehicles passing by. For example, a roadside telephone box with a warning device can relay a message to other vehicles coming into range based on motion sensing technology or any other technology.

  FIG. 3 is an overhead view of a traffic situation involving a vehicle equipped with a driver start warning device according to various embodiments. As shown, the vehicle 302 equipped with a warning device has approached an event 300 that the driver can observe. In this depiction, the event is an ambulance 300 parked in a portion of the freeway right lane. Thus, the driver of the vehicle can initiate a message to other drivers on the road and warn them of the presence of an ambulance vehicle.

  As further shown, the starter vehicle 302 can have a certain maximum range 304 (such as 1000 meters) for communication. Accordingly, the driver of the vehicle 302 broadcasts a warning message in all directions, and the warning message is spread over its maximum range. Note that the maximum range 304, freeway, and various vehicles depicted in this figure are provided purely for illustrative purposes and are not drawn to scale. Should be. It will be apparent to those of ordinary skill in the art that this particular distance of communication can be set according to various protocols and / or preferences, and that this embodiment is not limited to any particular setting. Will.

  FIG. 4 is an overhead view of a traffic situation showing the relay capability of a vehicle equipped with a driver start warning device according to various embodiments. Similar to FIG. 3, the vehicle 402 equipped with the warning device has approached the emergency vehicle 404. The ambulance vehicle 404 is parked on one side of the road or partially closed on one side of the road. As shown, the driver of the vehicle 402 can initiate a warning message for transmission to other vehicles. Thus, the vehicle 402 can broadcast messages to other automobiles 406, 408, 416, and 420 that are in close proximity to their communications. Thereby, each of the receiving vehicles can generate a decision whether or not to relay the input message to another vehicle. In one embodiment, the determination can be made based on parameters configured on the receiving vehicle. For example, in some embodiments, the vehicle can select and relay only emergency messages for events within a defined distance (eg, 2000 meters). On the other hand, other vehicles / embodiments can relay all messages that have a lifetime shorter than a certain time interval (eg, 1 hour). Many other such parameters are possible, as will be apparent to those of ordinary skill in the art. It is also possible to develop a standard protocol that encompasses all vehicles and conditions.

  As shown in the figure, some receiving vehicles 406, 408, 410 can relay messages. On the other hand, the other vehicles 412, 414, 416, 418, 420, 422, 424, 426 can decide not to relay. In one embodiment, the driver of the starting vehicle 402 can initially set a high priority for the message, and the message will be relayed to other drivers in range. Other drivers who pass through the event location later can know that the ambulance vehicle 404 has left the road and the event itself has ended. In this case, they can issue an “end of event” message, thereby driving alert devices in other vehicles to remove priority and end the relay. Alternatively, several message types with an event lifetime can be sent, and when the event lifetime expires, the original message will be removed. The logic for processing the message includes prioritization and event life and all other processing logic, which can be implemented in the danger filter application 202 (shown in FIG. 2).

  As shown here, other vehicles equipped with the present invention can relay warnings using traffic density, thereby enabling the effective range 400 of the starting vehicle (shown in FIG. 3). It can be larger than the original maximum communication range 304. This allows the warning to travel a greater distance than would be possible if there was no relay capability. However, it should be noted that the relays in FIG. 4 are arbitrarily illustrated for the sake of simplicity only and do not necessarily depict the actual manner in which messages are expected to be transmitted and relayed. I must. In various embodiments, when and how the message is actually relayed or discarded by each vehicle will depend on the chosen embodiment and / or any configuration of the warning device. Let's go.

  FIG. 5 is an overhead view of a danger warning message forwarded in a lower traffic density situation, according to various embodiments. As shown in this figure, the vehicle 500 is moving in the opposite direction to the vehicle 504, so the vehicle 500 is not in a dangerous situation 510 in the case of a divided highway. Accordingly, the vehicle 504 simply relays the message to the vehicle 506, and the vehicle 506 receives a warning. If the vehicles 504 and 506 are not equipped with warning devices, the vehicle 508 is probably equipped. In one embodiment, all vehicles equipped with driver-initiated warning devices will issue a warning during a predetermined time interval or during a certain time interval. The latter time interval is a time interval determined by an algorithm based on traffic density and / or parameters set by the device and / or the starting driver or any receiving driver. In various embodiments, traffic density information can be obtained via the vehicle's GPS system, or via communication with other vehicles in the vicinity, or by some other means. Message spreading can also be done in a more diverted fashion than shown. However, in most traffic density conditions, many warnings will spread to other vehicles over time.

  As shown, even in sparse traffic situations, the maximum range 502 of the starting vehicle can be expanded by moving and relaying the equipped vehicle. For example, the maximum range 512 of the relay vehicle can have different coverage compared to the starting vehicle. Therefore, adding a relay transmission effectively covers a larger area. This expansion effect can be further expanded by delaying message relaying by a certain time interval while the vehicle 504 is moving. This delay interval before relaying can be calculated based on vehicle speed, traffic density and distance, or factors defined in any other manner.

  6A and 6B illustrate a possible set of menu options for a navigation system that implements a driver-initiated vehicle-to-vehicle warning system according to various embodiments. Although this figure depicts menu components in one logical configuration, such depiction is for illustrative purposes only. It will be apparent to those skilled in the art that the components depicted in this figure can be arbitrarily combined and divided or rearranged into separate menu options and separate buttons. Let's go. Furthermore, it will also be apparent that additional display options, buttons, and other components for selection can also be included in the menu.

  Although this figure shows a simple touch screen system, a voice activated system is also possible. An area 602 of the touch screen labeled “SEND WARNING” on the navigation system display 600 (FIG. 6A) continues to the submenu (FIG. 6B), where the event of interest is displayed. There are multiple options (604, 606, 608, 610, 612, 614, 616, 618, 620, 622, 624, 626, 628, 630) for entering the description, its priority, and its location. For example, the priority “MAKE URGENT” 604 is shown, but the default priority is not urgent or normal. The user is also given the option of identifying the side of the road where the event is taking place and can better filter the applicability of warnings to the recipient vehicle. On the submenu, any combination of menu options can be selected. Then, touching the “DONE” option will end the selection process and broadcast the message to nearby vehicles.

  FIG. 7 shows possible main vehicle-mounted hardware components for a driver start warning device according to various embodiments. Although this figure depicts the hardware components as being logically separated, such depiction is for illustration purposes only. It will be apparent to those skilled in the art that the components depicted in this figure can be combined arbitrarily or divided into separate hardware.

  In various embodiments, the hardware components of the device include a GPS receiver 702 and antenna 710, a processing computer such as a navigation system 700, a driver interface device, and a vehicle-to-vehicle communication device. The driver interface device is an interface (typically part of the human machine interface 704 of the navigation system, as shown) for input by the driver and for giving a warning to the driver, and vehicle-to-vehicle The communication device is illustrated as a stand-alone DSRC receiver / transmitter 706 and antenna 712. Further, the system can be connected to an acoustic output 708 device (such as a set of audio speakers) in the vehicle.

  FIG. 8 is a diagram illustrating the input and output flows that occur during message transmission between the various components of the apparatus, according to various embodiments. The data flow is shown in a particular sequence, but is not limited to this particular order. Data stream inputs and outputs can be rearranged into different sequences, which are within the scope of this embodiment.

  As shown, the driver can observe the event and enter the event description, priority and / or other parameters 802 into the alert device memory via the touch screen menu 800. . In one embodiment, the message unit in the danger filter application 804 receives this information and synthesizes it with the location information 810 received from the GPS system 808 and the digital map 814 integrated by the map matching program 812. can do. The event message 806 generated by combining this information can be transmitted to the vehicle-to-vehicle communication unit 816, and the vehicle-to-vehicle communication unit 816 can broadcast the message to other nearby vehicles. .

  FIG. 9 is a diagram illustrating the input and output flows that occur during message reception and relaying between the various components of the apparatus, according to various embodiments. The data flow is shown in a particular sequence, but is not limited to this particular order. Data stream inputs and outputs can be rearranged into different sequences, which are within the scope of this embodiment.

  As shown, a vehicle equipped with a warning system can receive an event message 902 via the vehicle-to-vehicle communication unit 900. The event message 902 can be passed to a message unit in the danger filter application 904 where the identifier of the event message 902 can be compared to a local table of other event messages previously received by the vehicle. In one embodiment, no further action is taken if the same message has been received previously. When a message is received for the first time, the danger filter application 904 can compare the input message parameters (including location and priority) with the recipient vehicle's own situation and driver set parameters. . For example, the danger filter application can receive information and a digital map 912 from the GPS 906. Information from GPS 906 includes location data 908 and digital map 912 is aligned by mapping application 910. This recipient vehicle information is then compared to the event location, priority, and / or description embedded in the input message. Based on this comparison, the danger filter application can determine the applicability of the event to the receiving vehicle and can decide to issue a warning to the driver through the driver warning interface 914. The danger filter application may also decide to relay the message to other drivers via the vehicle-to-vehicle communication unit. Further, the receiving vehicle can also initiate a new message, such as an “EVENT OVER” message, by using the touch screen interface menu 916.

  FIG. 10 is an exemplary logic flow diagram of a process for sending and receiving driver-initiated vehicle-to-vehicle warnings according to various embodiments. Although this figure depicts functional steps in a particular sequence for the process for illustration purposes, the process is not necessarily limited to this particular order or step. Those skilled in the art will appreciate that the various steps depicted in this figure can be changed, omitted, rearranged, or performed in parallel or adapted to various modes. I will.

  As shown in step 1000, input can be received from a user in the first vehicle. This input can describe a specific event and can be entered via a touch screen or other interface. In step 1002, a message is generated that is anonymous with respect to the identity of the recipient. In one embodiment, the message is independent of any identity information of the sender, recipient, or any other vehicle. The message can also include embedded electronic data regarding the event. For example, the message can include digital mapping coordinates of the event location. Once the message is generated, it is sent to at least one recipient vehicle. This is shown in step 1004. Thereafter, the receiving vehicle can receive the message (step 1006), and the second vehicle can automatically filter the message based on the electronic data embedded in the message. This is shown in step 1008. For example, the recipient vehicle can determine whether to issue a warning to the driver based on the location of the event.

  FIG. 11 is an exemplary logic flow diagram of a process for receiving, analyzing, and relaying driver-initiated vehicle-to-vehicle warnings in accordance with various embodiments. Although this figure depicts functional steps in a particular sequence for the process for illustration purposes, the process is not necessarily limited to this particular order or step. Those skilled in the art will appreciate that the various steps depicted in this figure can be changed, omitted, rearranged, or performed in parallel or adapted to various modes. I will.

  As shown, the process begins at step 1100 where the recipient vehicle receives a warning message broadcast from another vehicle. In one embodiment, the message is a DSRC message and has a heading and other information about the event. In step 1102, the receiving alert device can determine whether it has previously received the same alert. In one embodiment, this can be accomplished by assigning a unique identifier to each message and keeping a table of recently received messages in memory. If this message was previously received and processed, the device can simply ignore this message. This is shown in step 1104. Depending on the relay capability of the device, the same vehicle may receive the same message multiple times. For example, if both the starter vehicle and the second relay vehicle are within the recipient's communication range, the recipient will receive both the initial message and the message that was relayed.

  If the message is a new incoming message (ie, the message has not been received before), the message can be processed to read the information. This is shown in step 1106. In one embodiment, the information in the message includes specific event mapping coordinates. In step 1108, the warning device can also obtain location information of the recipient vehicle by examining the vehicle-mounted GPS system. In addition, the device can also search for any preference and used configuration information to determine the applicability of the event.

  In step 1110, the event mapping coordinates can be compared with the location of the recipient vehicle to determine if the event is related to the vehicle. For example, if the recipient vehicle is moving on a split freeway and the event is a road hazard affecting only the other side of the split freeway, the event It may not be applicable to vehicles. Similarly, if the vehicle is turning and the location of the event is straight ahead, the event may not apply. In some embodiments, driver preferences may also be taken into account in determining whether an event applies. For example, if a particular driver only wants to receive an emergency message alert, it can be considered that not all non-emergency input messages are applicable.

  Accordingly, in step 1112, the applicability of the event to the receiving vehicle can be analyzed. If the event is applicable, a warning can be issued to the driver of the receiving vehicle. This is shown in step 1114. If the event is not applicable, processing can continue.

  In steps 1116 and 1118, the device can determine whether to relay the message to any other vehicle. In various embodiments, a large amount of information can be considered when making this determination. For example, as shown in step 1116, the device may have message priority, message lifetime, event location, distance between receiving vehicle and event location, default device preference, any previously received “End of event” messages and other information can be considered. For example, if a particular message has been relayed for longer than a specified time interval (eg, several hours), the message will be considered stale and will not be relayed. Similarly, if the distance between the event and the vehicle is greater than a certain threshold, it may not be relayed. In addition, if the recipient vehicle has previously received an “end of event” message from a different vehicle, the recipient vehicle will likely decide not to relay its first message.

In step 1118, if the analysis results in a determination that the message should be relayed, the message can be relayed to another vehicle. This is shown in step 1120. In one embodiment, relaying can be done by waiting for a certain time interval (eg, for a few seconds) before the recipient vehicle broadcasts the message again. In one embodiment, this time interval can vary depending on traffic density, the current speed of the vehicle, and other parameters. For example, if the vehicle is moving on a highway at high speeds, the waiting time during relaying should be shorter than for vehicles moving at low speeds in rush-out traffic. .

  The various embodiments described above include a computer program, which is a storage medium having instructions on / in it. This instruction can be used to program specialized computing processors / devices to perform any of the features and processes provided herein. The storage medium can include, but is not limited to, one or more of the following. The following are: floppy disk, optical disk, DVD, CD-ROM, micro device, magneto-optical disk, holographic memory, ROM, RAM, PRAM, EPROM, EEPROM, DRAM, VRAM, flash memory device, magnetic or optical card Any type of physical media, including nanosystems (including molecular memory ICs), paper or paper-based media, and any type of media or device suitable for storing instructions and / or information is there.

  Various embodiments also include a computer program. The computer program can be transmitted in whole or in part through one or more public and / or private networks. This transmission includes instructions that can be used by one or more processors to perform any of the features provided herein. In various embodiments, the transmission can include multiple separate transmissions.

  The present disclosure is stored on one or more computer-readable storage media for controlling the hardware of both the computing device and / or the processor and the computer and / or processor is a human user or the present invention. Includes software to allow interaction with other mechanisms that utilize the results of Such software includes, but is not limited to, device drivers, operating systems, execution environments / containers, user interfaces, and applications.

  The foregoing description of the preferred embodiments of the present invention has been provided for purposes of illustration and description. The foregoing description is not intended to be exhaustive and is not intended to limit the invention to the precise form disclosed. Many modifications and variations will be apparent to practitioners skilled in this art. The embodiments have been chosen and described in order to best explain the principles of the invention and its practical application, thereby enabling others skilled in the relevant art to understand the invention. The scope of the present invention is intended to be defined by the following claims and their equivalents.

Inventor Cecil Wayne Hilton Goodwin
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Claims (15)

An apparatus for providing a driver-initiated vehicle-to-vehicle warning (driver-initiated vehicle-to-vehicle warning) that can be disposed in a first vehicle, the apparatus comprising:
The configuration input interface to receive input from a user in the first vehicle,
A vehicle-to-vehicle communication component,
From the entering force interface in response to receiving the input, and generates a message having an electronic data embedded indicating the position of the first event observed by said user,
From the first vehicle, the at least one second vehicle is within the broadcast range of the vehicle-to-vehicle communications component, broadcasts the generated message for the first event
A vehicle-to-vehicle communication component configured as described above ,
The vehicle-to-vehicle communication component is further configured to receive a message related to a second event generated and broadcast by a third vehicle;
The device is
A risk filter component configured to determine whether the received message is applicable to the first vehicle based at least on a location of the second event embedded in the received message;
A warning component configured to issue a warning to a driver of the first vehicle when the risk filter component determines that the received message is applicable to the first vehicle; Prepared,
The vehicle-to-vehicle communication component is:
In response to an input received at the input interface after a warning is generated by the warning component, generating a stop message indicating that the second event has ended;
The apparatus is further configured to broadcast the generated stop message to at least one fourth vehicle within the broadcast range of the vehicle-to-vehicle communication component . At least one of the generated message with the generated aborted message to claim 1, characterized in that the anonymous For any identity information of the vehicle for receiving the vehicle and the message broadcasting the message The device described. A global positioning system used in the first vehicle, the global positioning system tracks the location of the first vehicle, and information provided by the global positioning system is included in the message; embedded in, according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the locating of the first event. 2. The map database of claim 1, further comprising a map database storing location information regarding the first event, wherein the location information is transmitted with the generated message by the vehicle-to-vehicle communication component. apparatus.   The vehicle-to-vehicle communication component is configured to determine whether to relay the received message related to the second event to another vehicle, and to broadcast the received message based on the determination. An apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 4, characterized in that: Relaying the message to the received one or more other vehicles, claim information, characterized in that the cause information spread so carried over a distance that exceeds the broadcast range of the vehicle-to-vehicle communications component 5 The device described in 1.   The vehicle-to-vehicle communication component is:
  (I) the location of the second event;
  (Ii) the lifetime of the received message;
  (Iii) having received a stop message from another vehicle indicating that the second event has ended;
  (Iv) the priority of the received message;
  (V) the position of the first vehicle;
  (Vi) the direction of the first vehicle;
  7. The apparatus according to claim 5 or 6, wherein it is determined whether to relay the received message to one or more other vehicles based on at least one of the following.   8. The vehicle-to-vehicle communication component is configured to broadcast the received message after waiting for a predetermined time after receiving the message. The device according to item.   9. The apparatus of claim 8, wherein the predetermined time is determined based on at least one of traffic density, road type, and speed of the first vehicle. The entering force interface, the description is further configured to receive information regarding the first event, the information, characterized in that it comprises the electronic data embedded in the generated message further apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 9. A method for providing a driver- initiated vehicle-to-vehicle warning to a driver of a first vehicle, the method comprising:
Receiving input from a user in the first vehicle,
And generating a message in response to the input received from the user, the message includes an electronic data embedded indicating the position of the first event observed by the user, the steps,
A step of broadcasting the generated message for the first event, from the first vehicle, the at least one second vehicle is within the broadcast range of the first vehicle,
Receiving a message relating to a second event generated and broadcast by a third vehicle;
Determining whether the received message is applicable to the first vehicle based at least on the location of the second event embedded in the received message;
Issuing a warning to the driver of the first vehicle if it is determined that the received message is applicable to the first vehicle;
Generating a stop message indicating that the second event has ended in response to an input received from the driver of the first vehicle after the warning is issued;
Broadcasting the generated stop message to at least one fourth vehicle within the broadcast range of the first vehicle;
A method comprising the steps of: Determining whether the message has been previously received from another vehicle;
Ignoring the message if it is determined that the message has been received previously; and
12. The method of claim 11 , further comprising: automatically filtering messages received at the first vehicle based on the electronic data embedded in the messages .   An apparatus for providing a vehicle-to-vehicle warning that can be disposed in a first vehicle, the apparatus comprising:
  An input interface configured to receive input from a user in the first vehicle;
  A vehicle-to-vehicle communication component,
    In response to activation of one or more systems in the first vehicle, generating a message regarding the first event having embedded electronic data indicating the location of the first event;
    Broadcast the generated message about the first event from the first vehicle to at least one second vehicle within a broadcast range of the vehicle-to-vehicle communication component.
  A vehicle-to-vehicle communication component configured as described above,
  The vehicle-to-vehicle communication component is further configured to receive a message related to a second event generated and broadcast by a third vehicle;
  The device is
  A risk filter component configured to determine whether the received message is applicable to the first vehicle based at least on a location of the second event embedded in the received message;
  A warning component configured to issue a warning to a driver of the first vehicle when the risk filter component determines that the received message is applicable to the first vehicle; Prepared,
  The vehicle-to-vehicle communication component is:
    In response to an input received at the input interface after a warning is generated by the warning component, generating a stop message indicating that the second event has ended;
    The apparatus is further configured to broadcast the generated stop message to at least one fourth vehicle within the broadcast range of the vehicle-to-vehicle communication component.   A method for providing a vehicle-to-vehicle warning to a driver of a first vehicle, the method comprising:
  Generating a message relating to a first event in response to activation of one or more systems in the first vehicle, the message comprising embedded electronic data indicating a location of the first event. Having a step;
  Broadcasting the generated message relating to the first event from the first vehicle to at least one second vehicle within a broadcast range of the first vehicle;
  Receiving a message relating to a second event generated and broadcast by a third vehicle;
  Determining whether the received message is applicable to the first vehicle based at least on the location of the second event embedded in the received message;
  Issuing a warning to the driver of the first vehicle if it is determined that the received message is applicable to the first vehicle;
  Generating a stop message indicating that the second event has ended in response to an input received from the driver of the first vehicle after the warning is issued;
  Broadcasting the generated stop message to at least one fourth vehicle within the broadcast range of the first vehicle;
  A method comprising the steps of: A computer readable storage medium having one or more sequences of instructions for providing a driver-initiated vehicle-to-vehicle warning, the instructions being executed by one or more processors, the one or more A computer readable storage medium, characterized in that a processor according to claim 11 executes the method according to claim 11, 12 or 14 .

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