JP2001216582A - On-vehicle emergency aviso system and terminal - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To speedily transmit an information signal at a high emergency level regardlessly of the congested situation of a mobile communication network in the case of transmitting the information signal through the mobile communication network from the side of a vehicle in occurrence of emergency. SOLUTION: When the emergency occurs on a vehicle, an abnormality detection part 11 in an emergency aviso terminal 1 gives an abnormality detecting signal including damage information showing the emergency level of the emergency to a Mayday ECU 2. When abnormality detecting signal is given, the Mayday ECU 2 performs the operation of transmitting the information signal including information showing the content of the emergency, information showing the position of the vehicle and information showing the occurrence time of the emergency in addition to damage information in the abnormality detecting signal to a rescue center from a portable telephone set through the moving object communication network 17. When transmitting operation like this is performed, the side of the network 17 preferentially perform line connecting operation concerning the information signal including the damage information showing a high emergency level.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a vehicular emergency notification system and an in-vehicle emergency notification terminal for reporting an emergency to the outside through a mobile communication network when an emergency occurs in a vehicle.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Hitherto, a system has been proposed in which when an emergency such as a traffic accident or a vehicle failure occurs in a vehicle, an emergency notification indicating the state is automatically executed through a mobile communication network. In this emergency notification system, for example, when a vehicle accident (collision, rollover, etc.) occurs, the fact is detected based on the operation state of an airbag sensor, the output of a shock detection sensor (acceleration sensor) dedicated to the system, and the like. Information indicating the contents of the emergency, information indicating the position of the vehicle (for example, obtained from the output of a vehicle-mounted GPS receiver),
A notification signal including information indicating the time of occurrence of the accident is transmitted to the rescue center via the mobile communication network. On the basis of the information contained in the received notification signal, the rescue center makes arrangements necessary for rescue activities of the accident vehicle, such as dispatching an ambulance or a tow truck.

[0003]

In the above-described conventional configuration, even when a report signal of a high urgency level is transmitted due to a serious vehicle accident, it is handled in the same manner as a signal from a general mobile communication terminal. Therefore, especially when the mobile communication network line is congested, it may be difficult to quickly send urgent notification signals to the rescue center, which is an unsolved problem. I was

The present invention has been made in view of the above circumstances, and an object of the present invention is to provide a method for transmitting a notification signal from a vehicle through a mobile communication network in the event of an emergency condition. It is an object of the present invention to provide an in-vehicle emergency call system and an in-vehicle emergency call terminal capable of prompt transmission regardless of the congestion state of a mobile communication network.

[0005]

According to the vehicle emergency notification system of the first aspect, when an emergency situation occurs in the vehicle, the emergency notification terminal mounted on the vehicle is provided with:
The mobile terminal performs an operation of transmitting a notification signal including the information indicating the content of the emergency and the information indicating the position of the vehicle through a mobile communication network. The damage information indicating the urgency level of the situation is output, and the notification signal including the damage information is transmitted. When such a notification signal transmission operation is performed, the mobile communication network side preferentially performs a line connection operation for a notification signal including damage information having a high urgency level. As a result, even when the line of the mobile communication network is congested, it is possible to quickly transmit a notification signal having a high urgency level (that is, a notification signal requiring urgent urgency) to the rescue center.

According to the second aspect of the present invention, in the emergency notification terminal mounted on the vehicle, when the emergency level indicated by the damage information in the notification signal is equal to or higher than the set level, the emergency communication terminal of the mobile communication network. Even when the base station side specifies the transmission restriction, the transmission operation of the notification signal is performed without obeying the transmission restriction, so that the operation of transmitting the notification signal having a high urgency level to the rescue center can be performed promptly and constantly. It becomes feasible.

According to a third aspect of the present invention, in a rescue center for making necessary arrangements for a rescue operation based on information contained in a received report signal, a report signal is transmitted from a plurality of emergency report terminals at the same time. In the state in which the information signal is received, the priority is given to the notification signal including the damage information with the high urgency level, so that the rescue operation corresponding to the notification signal with the high urgency level can be started promptly. .

According to the vehicle-mounted emergency notification terminal, when an emergency situation occurs in the vehicle, the signal generating means outputs damage information indicating the emergency level of the emergency situation, The transmission control means performs an operation of transmitting a notification signal including the damage information to a predetermined external organization through the mobile communication network. Therefore, the mobile communication network or the external institution can perform control such as increasing the handling priority of the notification signal based on the damage information in the notification signal, so that the notification having a high urgency level can be performed. Signals can be transmitted quickly irrespective of the congestion state of the mobile communication network, and it is possible to promptly respond to an external organization.

According to the emergency call terminal of the fifth aspect, when the emergency level at the time of occurrence of the emergency is equal to or higher than the set level, the transmission control means specifies the transmission restriction from the base station side of the mobile communication network. Even in such a case, the transmission operation of the notification signal is performed without obeying the transmission regulation, so that the transmission operation of the notification signal having a high urgency level can be promptly and reliably performed at all times.

[0010]

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS One embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 schematically shows the entire configuration of the vehicular emergency notification system according to the present embodiment by combining functional blocks. In FIG. 1, a May Day ECU 2 (corresponding to transmission control means) and an I / O interface 3 constituting a May Day unit 1 (corresponding to an in-vehicle emergency notification terminal) are connected to an in-vehicle LAN 4.
The LAN 4 is connected to a navigation ECU 5, an LCD panel 6 with a built-in driver for displaying map information for car navigation, a TV image, and the like, as well as an engine control ECU and a body ECU (not shown). ing.

In this case, the navigation ECU 5 includes:
GPS receiver 7, for example, a DVD-
A drive unit 8 and the like for a storage medium such as a ROM and a CD-ROM are connected to perform a well-known navigation process through the LCD panel 6 and the like.

A mobile phone 9 as a mobile communication terminal constituting the May Day unit 1 has a connector 10 and the I / O
It can be connected to the LAN 4 via the O interface 3, and in the connected state, the line connection and disconnection operation to the corresponding mobile communication network and the transmission operation of the notification signal described later are performed by a command from the Mayday ECU 2. It is configured to execute. Note that the mobile phone 9 referred to here is
This is a concept that includes a car phone and PHS.

An abnormality detector 11 (corresponding to a signal generator) is supplied with outputs from an emergency switch 12, an airbag sensor 13 and an impact sensor 14 as described below. The emergency switch unit 12 is used when an emergency state such as a vehicle collision accident or a rollover accident occurs.
This is for manually inputting damage information indicating the magnitude of the accompanying damage (for example, human damage) in three states of, for example, level “1”, level “2”, and level “3”. It is composed of three operation switches. In this case, the level “3” indicates the greatest damage. It is desirable that the level of the damage to be input is known to the user by a manual or a display corresponding to the emergency switch unit 12.

The airbag sensor 13 generates an operation signal for activating the airbag when an acceleration equal to or more than a predetermined level is applied, and the operation signal is given to the abnormality detecting unit 11. The shock sensor 14 includes an acceleration sensor, and an acceleration signal having a level corresponding to the detected acceleration is given to the abnormality detection unit 11. The impact sensor 14 is desirably a multi-axis type or a configuration in which a plurality of impact sensors are provided so as to be able to detect an impact from a plurality of directions. It is desirable to do.

When the damage information is input from the emergency switch section 12, the abnormality detection section 11 supplies an abnormality detection signal including the damage information to the Mayday ECU 2. Further, when receiving the operation signal from the airbag sensor 13, the abnormality detection unit 11 detects the level “1”, the level “2”, and the level “3” according to the magnitude of the acceleration signal from the impact sensor 14. An abnormality detection signal including damage information classified into stages is generated and given to the May ECU 2. Since the direction of the acceleration that can be detected by the airbag sensor 13 is limited to a predetermined angle range, the direction of the acceleration depends on the acceleration signal from the shock sensor 14 regardless of the operation signal from the airbag sensor 13 as described above. It is good also as a structure which generate | occur | produces severe damage information.

The detecting function of the abnormality detecting unit 11 is as follows.
This can be diversified as needed. For example, various variations can be developed, such as providing a sensor for detecting a vehicle failure and a road service call switch operated by a driver when a vehicle failure occurs. It is also possible to provide a collision detection sensor other than the airbag sensor 13 and the impact sensor 14 (a damage detection sensor embedded in a plurality of vehicle components such as a bumper).

Here, the notification signal transmitted through the portable telephone 9 is a signal transmitted when an emergency occurs in the vehicle, damage information indicating an emergency level of the emergency, and indicating the position of the vehicle. This is a signal obtained by encoding information (obtainable from the GPS receiver 7 through the navigation ECU 5), information indicating the emergency occurrence time, and the like in a predetermined format.

On the other hand, a large number of base stations 15 (only one station is shown) for the mobile phone 9 constitute a mobile communication network 17 together with a host station 16 connected via a communication cable. The station 16 is configured to be connectable to a rescue center 19 which is an external organization via a communication network 18 such as a public telephone line. In particular, in this case,
On the mobile communication network 17 side, a function of performing a line connection operation for a notification signal including damage information with a high urgency level (for example, information of level “3”) in preference to other line connection operations is set. ing. The host station 16 and the rescue center 19 can be connected by a dedicated line.

When the rescue center 19 receives the notification signal through the mobile communication network 17, it makes necessary arrangements for rescue activities based on the information contained in the received notification signal. Specifically, for example, when the emergency situation indicated by the notification signal is a vehicle accident, report to the police station or road service company via telephone etc. to request accident processing and dispatch of a tow truck, If there is any information that there is an injured person, also report to the fire department.

FIG. 2 shows the contents of control by the Mayday ECU 2 in the Mayday unit 1, which will be described below together with related operations. That is, May Day E
The CU 2 waits until an abnormality detection signal including damage information is input from the abnormality detection unit 11 (Step S1).
When the abnormality detection signal is input, the level of the damage information included in the abnormality detection signal is determined (Step S).
2) It is determined whether or not the determination result is level "3" (step S3). If "YES" here, it is determined whether or not the mobile phone 9 has been designated for outgoing call regulation from the mobile communication network 17 side (step S).
4).

If the transmission restriction is being performed, the line connection / report signal transmission processing routine S is performed after executing step S5 for forcibly canceling the self-regulation state for the transmission restriction.
If the call moves to No. 6 and there is no outgoing call restriction,
The process jumps from step S5 to the line connection / report signal transmission processing routine S6. In the above processing routine S6, after performing the line connection processing of the mobile phone 9, a processing of transmitting a notification signal including damage information is performed. Note that, as described above, this notification signal is damage information (level “1”,
This signal is a signal in which information indicating the level “2” or level “3”), information indicating the position of the vehicle, information indicating the emergency occurrence time, and the like are encoded in a predetermined format.

Thereafter, it is determined whether or not the line connection and the transmission of the notification signal have been successful (step S7). If the transmission has been successful, step S8 for disconnecting the line of the mobile phone 9 is executed. Return to the initial state. On the other hand, if the transmission is unsuccessful,
The control after 4 is repeated.

On the other hand, if "NO" is determined in the step S3, that is, if the content of the damage information included in the abnormality detection signal input from the abnormality detection unit 11 is level "1"
Alternatively, if the level is "2", it is determined whether or not the mobile phone 9 has been designated for outgoing call regulation from the mobile communication network 17 (step S9).

If the transmission restriction is being performed, the process waits until the transmission restriction is completed in step S9. If the transmission restriction is completed, and if the transmission restriction has not been performed from the beginning, the line The process proceeds to the connection / report signal transmission processing routine S10. In this processing routine S10, after performing the line connection processing of the mobile phone 9, a processing of transmitting a notification signal including damage information is performed.

Thereafter, it is determined whether or not the line connection and the transmission of the notification signal have been successful (step S11). If the transmission has been successful, the process returns to the initial state after executing the line disconnection step S8. . On the other hand, if the transmission is unsuccessful, the control from step S9 is repeated.

FIG. 3 shows the contents related to the gist of the present invention in the control contents of the rescue center 19, which will be described below. That is, the rescue center 19 determines whether the notification signal has been received through the mobile communication network 17 (step S21). In the non-reception state of the notification signal, the process directly proceeds to step S23, but when the notification signal is received, step S22 for additionally storing the received notification signal in the incoming call database is performed, and then step S23 is performed.
Move to 23.

In step S23, it is determined whether or not there is a report signal including damage information of level "3" in the incoming call database. If such a report signal is present, the level "3" is determined. Is extracted from the notification signals including the damage information of "", the one with the oldest emergency occurrence time included in the notification signal (step S24). still,
When there is only one notification signal including the damage information of level “3”, the notification signal is naturally extracted.

After this extraction operation, the notification operation routine S
25. Arrangements necessary for rescue activities based on the information contained in the extracted notification signal (notification operation to related organizations, etc.)
After that, the notification signal is deleted from the incoming call database (step S26). Next, it is determined whether or not the notification signal including the damage information of the level “3” has disappeared in the incoming call database (step S27). If there is a corresponding notification signal, the process returns to step S24, and the corresponding notification is performed. If there is no signal, step S
It returns to 21.

On the other hand, if "NO" is determined in the step S23, that is, if there is no report signal including the damage information of level "3" in the incoming call database,
Other notification signals (level "1",
It is determined whether there is a notification signal including the damage information of level “2” (step S28). If "NO" is determined here, the process returns to step S21.
If it is determined to be "YES", from among the notification signals stored in the incoming call database, those having an earlier emergency occurrence time included in the notification signal are extracted (step S).
29).

After this extraction operation, the notification operation routine S
30. Arrangements necessary for rescue activities based on the information contained in the extracted notification signal (notification operation to related organizations, etc.)
Is performed, the notification signal is deleted from the incoming call database (step S31), and the process returns to step S21.

In short, according to the configuration of the present embodiment, the following operations and effects can be obtained. That is,
When an emergency occurs in a vehicle equipped with the emergency notification terminal 1, the emergency notification terminal 1 transmits a notification including information indicating the content of the emergency, information indicating the position of the vehicle, and information indicating the time of occurrence of the emergency. The mobile communication network 17
Is sent through
In the emergency call terminal 1, the urgency level of the occurred emergency (level "1", level "2", level "3")
) Is output, and a notification signal transmitting operation including the damage information is performed. When such a notification signal transmission operation is performed, the mobile communication network 17 gives priority to a line connection operation for a notification signal including damage information having a high urgency level (damage information of level “3”). It will be done in a regular manner. As a result, even when the line of the mobile communication network 17 is congested, a notification signal with a high urgency level (that is, a notification signal requiring urgent urgency) is sent to the rescue center 19.
Can be transmitted quickly, and the time required for responding to an emergency can be shortened.

Moreover, in the emergency call terminal 1,
When the urgency level indicated by the damage information in the notification signal is level “3” (highest level), the notification is made without following the transmission restriction even if the transmission restriction is specified from the base station 15 side of the mobile communication network 17. Since the signal transmission operation is performed, the operation of transmitting a notification signal having a high urgency level to the rescue center 19 can be performed quickly and reliably at all times.

In the rescue center 19, when a notification signal is received from a plurality of emergency notification terminals 1 at the same time, the arrangement of the notification signal including the damage information having a high urgency level is prioritized over other notification signals. The rescue operation corresponding to the notification signal having a high degree of urgency can be promptly started.

Note that the present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiment, and the following modifications or extensions are possible. In the present embodiment, the emergency switch unit 12 and the impact sensor 14
However, the output of the collision detection sensor (a damage detection sensor embedded in a plurality of vehicle components such as a bumper) as described in the embodiment, and an imaging unit provided so as to be able to photograph the interior of the vehicle, etc. May be configured to determine the urgency level of the damage information based on the output image.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a schematic functional block diagram of an entire vehicle emergency notification system according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a flowchart showing control contents by a May Day ECU.

FIG. 3 is a flowchart showing control contents of the rescue center.

[Explanation of symbols]

1 is a May Day unit (on-board emergency call terminal), 2 is a May Day ECU (transmission control means), 4 is a LAN, 9 is a mobile phone, 15 is a base station, 17 is a mobile communication network, 19 is a rescue center (an external organization) ).

Claims (5)

[Claims] An emergency notification terminal mounted on a vehicle and performing an operation of transmitting, through a mobile communication network, a notification signal including information indicating the content of the emergency and information indicating the position of the vehicle when an emergency occurs, A vehicle configured to receive a notification signal from the emergency notification terminal through a mobile communication network and having a rescue center for making necessary arrangements for rescue activities based on information included in the received notification signal. In the emergency call system, the emergency call terminal has a signal generation function capable of outputting damage information indicating the degree of emergency when an emergency occurs, and the signal generation function outputs the damage information when the signal generation function outputs the damage information. A transmission function of transmitting a notification signal including damage information is set, and the mobile communication network side receives a communication including damage information having a high urgency level. An emergency call system for a vehicle, wherein a function of giving priority to a line connection operation for a notification signal is set. 2. The emergency call terminal according to claim 1, wherein the emergency level when an emergency occurs is equal to or higher than a set level.
2. The vehicular emergency notification system according to claim 1, wherein, even when a transmission restriction is specified from a base station side of the mobile communication network, the transmission operation of the notification signal is performed without following the transmission restriction. 3. The rescue center is provided with a function of preferentially arranging a notification signal including damage information having a high urgency level when notification signals are received from a plurality of emergency notification terminals at the same time. The vehicle emergency notification system according to claim 1 or 2, wherein: 4. An in-vehicle vehicle for performing an operation of transmitting a notification signal including information indicating the content of the emergency and information indicating the position of the vehicle to a predetermined external organization through a mobile communication network when the emergency occurs. A signal generating means capable of outputting damage information indicating an emergency level when an emergency occurs, and a state including the damage information when the damage information is output from the signal generating means. Transmission control means for transmitting a notification signal through the mobile communication network. 5. The transmission control means according to claim 1, wherein the emergency level when the emergency occurs is equal to or higher than a set level.
The in-vehicle emergency notification terminal according to claim 4, wherein even when a transmission restriction is specified by a base station side of the mobile communication network, the transmission operation of the notification signal is performed without obeying the transmission restriction.