Patent Application
20220238014
The present invention relates to a reporting system in a motor vehicle.
Traffic violations committed by drivers are currently monitored by surveillance cameras and in-person by police officers. Cameras are expensive and difficult to install and maintain. Generally, drivers receive citations when a traffic rule is violated and the police are present at the time to see the violation. But violations go unnoticed if the police are not present the time of the violations.
The invention may provide a motor vehicle that is capable of identifying and reporting its own traffic violations to the traffic police department by using over the air technology. The vehicle automatically detects certain traffic violations. Traffic police department can configure what violations should be reported by the vehicles. This could be global configuration applying to all vehicles, or the configuration may be different for different vehicles based on the vehicle type. For example, the police department may want to receive reports only when the vehicle is speeding excessively (e.g., above 100 mph). Examples of traffic violations that the vehicle can monitor and report are failing to stop at a stop sign or red light, speeding excessively, etc.
The invention comprises, in one form thereof, a motor vehicle including a sensor system detecting that the motor vehicle has violated a traffic law. A wireless transmitter is communicatively coupled to the sensor system. The wireless transmitter transmits a wireless signal indicative of the violation of the traffic law.
The invention comprises, in another form thereof, a monitoring method for a motor vehicle, including detecting within the motor vehicle that the motor vehicle has violated a traffic law. A wireless signal indicative of the violation of the traffic law is transmitted.
The invention comprises, in yet another form thereof, a motor vehicle including a first system (including necessary sensors) detecting that the motor vehicle has violated a traffic law. A second system (including necessary sensors) ascertains an identity of a person driving the motor vehicle during the violation of the traffic law. A wireless transmitter system is communicatively coupled to the first system and to the second system. The wireless transmitter system transmits a wireless signal with over the air technology indicative of the violation of the traffic law and the identity of the person driving the motor vehicle during the violation of the traffic law.
An advantage of the invention is that violations get reported immediately and with more certainty. Thus, motivation is provided for people to drive their vehicles with more caution and thereby reduce the number of accidents.
The above-mentioned and other features and objects of this invention, and the manner of attaining them, will become more apparent and the invention itself will be better understood by reference to the following description of embodiments of the invention taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, wherein:
The embodiments hereinafter disclosed are not intended to be exhaustive or limit the invention to the precise forms disclosed in the following description. Rather the embodiments are chosen and described so that others skilled in the art may utilize its teachings.
Police station 16 includes computer servers 20 that wirelessly receive the reports from system 18 via servers 14. After receiving a report, servers 20 may issue a ticket or other notification of the traffic violation to the driver or the owner of vehicle 12. The ticket may include a fine that the driver must pay because of the violation. Servers 20 may also keep track of “points” or other records associated with violations that have been committed by the driver.
During use, the identity of the human driver is determined by facial recognition analysis of the images captured by interior camera 28 and/or by fingerprint sensor 30. As vehicle 12 is in motion, speed sensor 24 monitors the speed of vehicle 12, and processor 22.6 may compare this speed to the current speed limit, as determined by use of a GPS module 32, to ascertain whether vehicle 12 is exceeding the speed limit. Images captured by exterior camera 28 may be analyzed by processor 22.6 to determine whether vehicle 12 has committed a moving violation, such as failing to stop at a stop sign or a red light. Camera 28 may have a field of view that includes a scene in front of vehicle 12 so that images captured by camera 28 may include stop signs and traffic lights approached by vehicle 12. Processor 22.6 may also receive signals from roadside infrastructure (not shown) to determine when vehicle 12 is approaching a stop sign or red light. Signals from GPS module 32 may also be used to ascertain if vehicle 12 is approaching the known location (e.g., from a database) of a stop sign or traffic light.
In a final step 304, a wireless signal is transmitted that is indicative of the violation of the traffic law. For example, in response to detecting that vehicle 12 has been operated in violation of traffic laws, traffic violation monitoring system 18 may wirelessly transmit a report of the violation to police station 16 via cloud computer servers 14.
While this invention has been described as having an exemplary design, the present invention may be further modified within the spirit and scope of this disclosure. This application is therefore intended to cover any variations, uses, or adaptations of the invention using its general principles. Further, this application is intended to cover such departures from the present disclosure as come within known or customary practice in the art to which this invention pertains.
This application claims benefit of U.S. Provisional Application No. 63/141,095, filed on Jan. 25, 2021, the disclosure of which is hereby incorporated by reference in its entirety for all purposes.
| Number | Date | Country | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 63141095 | Jan 2021 | US |
