WO2003085619A1

WO2003085619A1 - System for bi-directional communication/signalling between vehicles

Info

Publication number: WO2003085619A1
Application number: PCT/IN2003/000142
Authority: WO
Inventors: Naresh Kumar Goyle
Original assignee: Naresh Kumar Goyle
Priority date: 2002-04-04
Filing date: 2003-04-04
Publication date: 2003-10-16
Also published as: AU2003231923A1; WO2003085619B1

Abstract

A system for bi-directional communication/signaling between vehicles for the transfer of signals to actuate playing of pre-recorded messages. The system comprises one or more of transceivers for transmitting/receiving wireless signals/messages and a central unit connected to the transceivers and adapted to receive/generate signals/messages, comprising means to store plurality of recorded messages, means to play signals/messages received from transceivers and plurality of means to activate signals corresponding to pre-recorded messages wherein each of plurality of means to activate messages is assigned a specific pre-recorded message. The system provides easy bi-direction communication between vehicles in traffic and is an effective substitute of car horn. The applicants refer to the system as Intelligent Silent Horn.

Description

SYSTEM FOR BI-DIRECTIONAL COMMUNICATION/SIGNALLING

BETWEEN VEHICLES

Field of invention

The present invention relates to a system for bi-directional communication between vehicles. In particular the present relates a system for bi-directional communication between vehicles enabling transfer of signal to play pre-recorded messages via suitable wireless technology. Besides other applications, the system is an effective substitute for vehicle horn, facilitating noise free communication of specific messages via signals between vehicles on road.

Background of the invention

Several apparatus are known in the art wherein wireless communication systems are used in vehicles for various applications. Such applications comprise vehicle tracking systems, vehicle collision avoidance systems, security and alarm systems and the like as clear from the prior art cited below.

US 5193141 teaches a vehicular voice storage, playback, and broadcasting device. This device for broadcasting a user's audio messages from a vehicle that includes an input device for inputting the user's audio messages, a signal processor for converting the user's messages to an electronically storable format and an erasable memory for storing the user's messages in a randomly addressable manner. The various stored messages may then be broadcast by the user in random order at the selection of the user. Additionally, the device may be activated by an alarm sensor to broadcast pre-selected user messages in the event that the alarm sensor is triggered.

US 4723737 teaches a process and device for transmitting data between vehicles moving over a track. The process and device relates to data communication in the form of messages between railways vehicles moving over a same track, short identical emissions at random times by modulating a directional microwave beam whose angular opening is sufficient in the horizontal direction for maintaining communication in bends of said track and switches and in the vertical direction for maintaining communication during changes in the profile of the track. The process for data communication is in the form of successive different messages, each consisting of multibit coded data between railways vehicles moving over a same track.

US 6,028,537 teaches a vehicle communication and remote control system which includes a transceiver for sending and receiving RF signals, a processor coupled to the transceiver, a location identifying sensor coupled to the processor for supplying vehicle location data, a user interface coupled to the processor for providing information to a user and for enabling a user to input commands to be executed by the processor, and a vehicle accessory interface for coupling the processor to a vehicle accessory control circuit to enable the processor to issue commands to a vehicle accessory. The processor is preferably adapted to perform a wide variety of functions in response to user input commands, received RF signals, and other commands received from other vehicle accessories and components coupled to the system of the present invention through the vehicle system bus. Some of these functions include establishing a two-way communication link, requesting and providing location-specific information, enabling remote tracking of the vehicle, issuing an emergency request or a request for roadside assistance, requesting and receiving navigational information, remote control of vehicle functions, enabling remote diagnostics of the vehicle, and enabling reprogramming of various vehicle accessories and components.

US 6346876 teaches a multi-vehicle compatible control system generating command signals on a data bus and associated methods. The control system includes a transmitter and a receiver for receiving signals from the remote transmitter, and a multi-vehicle compatible controller cooperating with the transmitter and receiver. The multi-vehicle compatible controller preferably generates at least one set of command signals on the data communications bus for the at least one vehicle device. The at least one set of command signals may include at least one working command signal and at least one non-working command signal for a given vehicle to thereby provide compatibility with a plurality of different vehicles. Multiple signals or codes can be generated on the data communications bus, and only that code for the given vehicle will cause an operation or response from the vehicle device. Such an arrangement provides for a relatively simple and straightforward approach to interface with a vehicle having a data communications bus. The features are also readily implemented in an adaptor to use with conventional security or other control system controllers for vehicles.

US 6320535 teaches a system that tracks and monitors a vehicle by utilizing cellular communication componentry and global positioning system componentry is disclosed. The system provides for simultaneous and continuous transmission of a voice signal and location data to a monitoring center. The monitoring center comprises componentry to communicate with the vehicle and determine the vehicle's location on a digitized map using a computer. In one embodiment, the location data is modulated onto a carrier and the modulated carrier is inserted into a relatively narrow band of frequencies that have been removed from an audio data channel such as, for example, a cellular telephone voice channel.

US 6262656 teaches a wide area wireless system for access into vehicles and fleets for control security messaging reporting and tracking. This new add-on vehicular system is capable of responding to large area or nation-wide commands over paging networks, to remotely foil the unauthorized use or theft of a vehicle or a fleet automobile or a group of fleet vehicles, as well as to help the recovery of stolen vehicles. The preferred embodiment of the system comprises a paging receiver and decoder, a micro controller with embedded programmable software and memory and a vehicular systems control interface. The system does not require central monitoring systems, or portable controls or vehicular user set controls or portable key chain controls or keypads or cellular phones or separation of vehicular transceivers from owner carried transceivers to activate the system. In a second embodiment, a two-way radio paging approach is employed in the system to expand its capabilities and to additionally provide remotely controlled transmission of data from vehicles, including data pertaining to the position coordinates of the vehicle. All of the prior art described above relate to communication systems used in vehicles for various purposes, mainly for locating position, for data transfer between vehicles on one side and control systems on other side and are complicated, expensive and generally for large area of operation. The systems do not meet the requirements of general two-way communication between vehicles in traffic for which horns are widely used. For such communication in traffic the system needs to be simple and cost effective so that it is acceptable to all vehicle users as a replacement of horns. As, for effective results the system has to be incorporated to all vehicles in traffic, the system needs to be simple and economic. More importantly, there are situations where alarms are required to be generated for general alert and situations where silence has to be maintained. Thus the system has to be equipped for handling various situations having provisions of transferring specific messages as well as alarms for general alert. Most importantly, such systems replacing horns has to be language independent. The system must transfer messages in such a way that different language-speaking users can understand and respond to the messages. In other words, the system should be such that it transfers messages in the language of the recipient even if the language of the sender is different. Moreover, the recipient must have a system, which is language compatible. None of the prior art systems meet the above requirements. Conventional systems are language specific and are not applicable to situations where the sender and the recipient of messages speak different languages. They do not provide for a simple communication system for substituting horns.

Objects of the invention Thus the object of the present invention is to provide a system for communication between vehicles, which is simple, yet would effectively substitute use of horn and facilitate noise free communication of messages between vehicles. Another object of the present invention is to provide a system for two-way communication between vehicles, which will eliminate noise pollution due to blowing of horns.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a system that incorporates silent alarms from special vehicles like fire brigade, ambulance, police etc. A further object of the present invention is to provide a system for communication between vehicles, which will be language independent and thus be universally accepted.

Summary of the invention

Thus according to the present invention there is provided a system for bi-directional communication/signaling between vehicles for the transfer of signals to actuate playing of pre-recorded messages comprising:

one or more of transceivers adapted to transmit/receive wireless signals;

a central unit connected to said transceivers, adapted to receive/generate signals/messages, comprising means to store plurality of pre-recorded messages, means to play signals/messages received from said transceivers and plurality of means to activate said recorded messages wherein each of said plurality of means to activate messages is assigned a pre-recorded message; and

a power source.

Detailed description of the invention

The system of the present invention provides for a noise free way of communicating signals to enable transfer of precise messages between vehicles and is an effective substitute of horns. Vehicles having this communication system will be able to quickly and effectively convey specific messages to nearby vehicles without honking continuously and unable to convey the exact message. The system of the present invention generates signals, which are transferred by transceivers to the other vehicles that actuate pre-recorded messages in the system of the other vehicle. The system is preferably language independent i.e. the system can be modified so that the system plays the pre-defined messages in the language of the user's choice. In such a situation the language of the message generated may be different from the language of the receiving message but of same meaning. In such a situation, users understanding different languages can also communicate with ease and the exact message will be communicated. The system is particularly useful in emergency situations where a distress signal needs to be communicated to adjacent vehicles for help or caution. The system is also adapted to target the exact recipient and thus will not generally disturb the other vehicles on road or pedestrians in the vicinity.

According to a preferred aspect of the invention the system comprises of:

Two transceivers - Each of the two transceivers are situated one at the front and the other at the rear end of the vehicle. The front transceiver receives/generates signals for communication with vehicles at the front while the rear transceiver communicates with vehicles at the back. The transceivers are to be placed in such a manner so that clear optical access to transceivers of front and rear vehicles respectively can be achieved. However, the optical alignment need not be absolutely perfect but an approximation would suffice. The transceivers are connected by suitable electronic circuitry with the central unit and means to activate situated near the driver/user. The transceivers transmit signals generated at the central unit to similar systems in recipient vehicles and receives signals from other such systems and gets transmitted to the central unit via the circuitry.

Central unit - The system of the present invention comprises a central unit, which is connected with the transceivers via wires. The central unit stores pre-recorded messages which are generated preferably by pressing buttons in a button panel. The central unit also plays messages upon receiving signal from another vehicle that has been actuated by pressing corresponding button from the sender vehicle. Such a panel consists of plurality of buttons each of which is assigned a specific pre-recorded message, which is played on actuating that specific button. Each button when pressed will transmit a signal corresponding to its assigned message to the transceiver for transmitting it to the transreceiver of the intended vehicle. The control unit with the buttons or means to activate the signals is placed such that it is easily accessible to the user. According to a preferred aspect the button panel forms a separate housing and is connected to the central unit via wires. This button panel is situated on the dashboard or steering wheel or any other convenient location to facilitate easier accessibility for the user. The central unit may also comprise means of activating the pre-recorded messages other than buttons such as touch-screen, heat detector switch or any other similar mechanical, electromechanical or purely electronic switching mechanism. According to a preferred aspect the button panel has two sets of buttons one set being meant for transmitting signals to the front vehicles through the front transceivers and another for transmitting signals to rear vehicles through the rear transceivers. The central unit also has means to play recorded messages activated by similar systems from nearby vehicles. Such means comprise a speaker being connected to the central unit and may even be the speaker of the sound system of the vehicle. The central unit may also be adapted to connect a headphone in case only the driver wants to listen to the messages without disturbing the other passengers of the vehicle.

The system has a power source and may be adapted to be connected with the vehicle battery for power supply.

The system of the present invention utilizes any of the suitable wireless technology known such as infra-red or radio or any other electromagnetic or optical and similar wireless technologies for transfer of signals. Preferably Infra-red radiation technology is used for transfer of signals.

The system according to a preferred embodiment is language independent. According to such an embodiment the messages assigned to the buttons are standardized so that the message assigned to a button has the same meaning for all systems irrespective of the language or voice of the message. This means that the electronic signal generated by a specific button for all systems will be same irrespective of the message assigned to it and the message assigned to that specific signal will have the same meaning irrespective of language. Thus in this way, the language and voice of the message of the sender may be different from the language or voice of message received by the recipient and will depend on the user's choice. In such a situation messages can be communicated easily between different language-speaking users wherein each user receives and sends messages in his choice of language.

The system of the present invention is environment friendly as all messages are played within the saloon of respective vehicles sparing any noise pollution of the environment that normal horns create. This also helps in reducing the high stress levels of the drivers caused by continuous honking of nearby vehicles. Moreover, vehicles using this system can now be made completely soundproof thus limiting the playing of messages to the car saloon only. Other than the applications described herein the system can be used as safety and emergency apparatus where the transceiver transmits distress signals or alerts nearby vehicles of fire or break fail or similar messages.

The present invention can also be used in vehicle identification for policing whereby a traffic controller can automatically receive vehicle registration etc. on a handheld transceiver with an electronic display.

According to a preferred aspect, the system may be adapted to afford feedback on receiving signals from other vehicles. There will be buttons to which messages for feedback will be assigned for replying to the received signals.

The output of the signals received may be audio, visual or vibratory. There may also be provisions of the sender being able to listen to the messages played by him i.e. the signal generate will also actuate the assigned message in the sender's unit and will be played.

The applicant has referred to the system of the present invention as "Intelligent

Silent Horn". The system is intelligent as it conveys specific messages and does not disturb vehicles other than the intended recipient vehicle. It enables a more sophisticated way of transfer in place for horns. It is termed as silent horn as it provides a noise free solution to continuous honking heard always on busy streets and highways.

The system of the present invention will now be described with reference to a non- limiting preferred embodiment and figures in which:

Figure 1 shows the communication system.

Figure 2 shows the front view of a transceiver with attachment to central unit. Figure 3 shows the mechanism of operation of the system. Figure 4 shows the general operation of the system on road in comparison to conventional horns. Figure 5 shows the operation of the system between two vehicles on road.

Description of preferred embodiment Reference is first invited to Figure 1 , which shows the communication system comprising a central unit (1) connected to two identical transceivers (2) via wires (3). Each transceiver (2) has at it front end a receiver (4) for receiving the signals and a transmitter (5) for transmitting the signals. One transceiver (front transceiver) is placed at the front of the vehicles for communication with vehicles at the front and the other at the rear of the vehicle (rear transceiver) for communication with vehicles at the back. The central unit (1) has three sections on its upper surface. The first section (12) has a plurality of buttons (6) for generation of signal for transmission to front vehicle by the front transceiver. The buttons of this section may be assigned messages like "Please allow me to overtake", "Please check your signal", "Signal clear please move" etc. The second section (13) has a plurality of buttons (7) for the transmission of the signals to rear vehicles by the rear transceiver. The buttons of this section are assigned messages in order to provide replies to messages received from the rear cars. Such replies may be "Thanks for cautioning", Please use dipper", "I am trying", "You may now overtake" etc. The third section (14) has a plurality of buttons (8) for re-recording of messages and feeding to the central unit in case the original messages have to be changed. One of the buttons is also assigned normal horn sound which when actuated plays horn sound in the recipient's system. To ensure that these pre-recordings cannot be edited without any authorization, a record lock (9) is provided. A voice control system (11) is provided for sound control of the pre-recorded messages played. There is also on optional feature (10) for inserting the headphones in case the message has to be heard only by the driver so that the other people in the vehicle remain undisturbed.

Figure 2 shows the front view of one of the transceivers (2) with its attachment to the backside of the central unit (1).

Figure 3 shows the two-way communication between devices each having a unit (1) designated as central unit (1A) and central unit (1B) taking into consideration the front transceiver (2A) of unit (1A) and the rear transceiver (2B) of unit (1B). When any of the plurality of buttons (6) of central unit (1A) is actuated by pressing, an electric current is transmitted to the voice play (18) which simultaneously passes the corresponding signal to the transmitter encoder circuit (19) and optionally plays the message assigned to the button pressed. The transmitter encoder circuit (19) further transmits the corresponding signal (15) to the transmitter (5) of the transceiver (2A) via means of the corresponding wire (3). Transmitter (5) then emits an IR radiation (16) of the frequency corresponding to the signal transferred, which in turn is received by the receiver (4) of the transceiver (2B). The receiver (4) of transceiver (2B) converts the IR radiation (16) to a corresponding signal (15), which then goes to the decoder circuit (17) of the central unit (1B). The signal (15) is decoded in the decoder circuit (17) and passed to the voice play (18) from where the pre-recorded message corresponding to the button actuated in the central unit 1A are played. These can be amplified by means of an attached amplifier (19).

For replying back to the user of the central unit 1A, the user of the central unit 1B has to follow the same procedure. One of the plurality of buttons (7) of central unit (1B) corresponding to the desired response is actuated by pressing the button and the signal is transferred to unit (1A) by similar procedure. Figure 4 shows the general operation of the system on road in comparison with conventional horns. Frame 1 shows the schematic phenomena occurring on the road when a conventional horn and Frame 2 the phenomena occurring when the system of the present invention is used. The figures show a vehicle (22) moving on a road (20) and having similar vehicles on road and also pedestrians (21).

When the vehicle (22) is desirous of overtaking or speeding and starts honking for the purpose Frame 1 shows the perimeter within which the horn can be acutely heard and can cause noise pollution and related health hazards. Not only the concerned vehicle gets to listen to it, but also all vehicles and the pedestrians within this circumference are bothered.

However as demonstrated in vehicle (22) of Frame 2 using the system of the present invention, only the vehicle ahead and one possibly on the side gets the signal that the vehicle desires to overtake. As a result other vehicles and pedestrians (21) are unaffected and can continue their pleasant journey on road (20).

In Figure 5, Frame 1 shows vehicles (23) and (24) moving on road, both vehicles using the system of the present invention. Frame 2 demonstrates a situation when vehicle (23) is desirous of overtaking vehicle (24) and thus transmits corresponding signal via transmitter (5), which is received by the receiver (4) of vehicle (24). Frame 3 shows that via mechanism described in Figure 3, this signal actuates the corresponding signal in the central unit of vehicle (24) which in turn plays a corresponding pre-recorded message that is amplified using an amplifier (19). Frame 4 shows the vehicle (24) giving side and also transmitting a corresponding response by transmitting a signal via transmitter (5), which is received by the receiver (4) of vehicle (23) and a corresponding pre-recorded message is played and amplified using an amplifier (19) in the vehicle (23).

Claims

1. A system for bi-directional communication/signaling between vehicles for the transfer of signals to actuate playing of pre-recorded messages comprising:

one or more of transceivers adapted to transmit/receive wireless signals/messages;

a central unit connected to said transceivers, adapted to receive/generate signals/messages, comprising means to store plurality of pre-recorded messages, means to play signals/messages received from said transceivers and plurality of means to activate signals corresponding to said pre-recorded messages wherein each of said plurality of means to activate messages is assigned a pre-recorded message; and

a power source.

2. A system according to claim 1, wherein the system comprises two transceivers, one placed at the front of a vehicle for communication with vehicles in the front and the other placed at the rear end for communication with rear vehicles.

3. A system according to claim 1 , wherein said plurality of means to activate prerecorded messages are suitable mechanical means preferably buttons.

4. A system according to claim 1 , wherein said plurality of buttons are in three sets, one set for generation of signals corresponding to said pre-recorded messages for said front transceiver, second set for generation of signals corresponding to said pre-recorded messages for said rear transceiver and the third set for re- recording said messages.

5. A system according to claim 1, wherein said central unit comprises a record lock to avoid unauthorized editing of pre-recorded messages.

6. A system according to claim 1, wherein said means to play signal/messages is a speaker.

7. A system according to claim 6, wherein said speaker is the speaker of the vehicle sound system.

8. A system according to claim 1, wherein said means to play signal/messages further comprises means to control the volume of the messages played.

9. A system according to claim 1 , wherein said means to play signal/messages further comprises means for inserting headphones and playing said messages in said headphones.

10. A system according to claim 1, wherein said means to store plurality of recorded messages is a recording and replay circuit.

11. A system according to claim 1, wherein said system is adapted to generate signals corresponding to messages whose language depends on the recipient's choice.

12. A system according to claim 1 , wherein one or more of said plurality of means to activate messages is assigned normal horn sound so that when said means is actuated the recipient hears normal horn sound being played in the recipient's system within the saloon of the recipient's vehicle.