FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present disclosure relates to electric vehicles and more particularly, relates to an accident detection and alert system and a method thereof for electric vehicles.
BACKGROUND

The working of an electric vehicle (EV) is generally based on a motor. The lack of conventional engine prevents a generation of any kind of engine or vehicle sound. Therefore, it may increase the risk of accidents and there is a possibility that a pedestrians might not be able to avert themselves when the EV approaches them from behind. In order to rectify this issue, engine sound simulators are installed in the vehicle.

Further, conventionally the accident detection modules are already incorporated in bikes. However, the conventional accident detection modules are not so efficient to detect the severity of the accident and inform necessary entities to get the help at the earliest.

Currently available system in electric vehicles uses the engine sound simulator for the simulation of the sound of the engine, as there is no sound generated by the electric motor. There are horns and speakers like arrangements for the other alert systems. The conventional system doesn’t have any integration of an accident detection unit and an alert unit to the engine sound simulator, which could be the feasible solution for the safety of the vehicle rider and could get urgent help from the necessary entities.

According to one prior art, it discloses an accident report system that has been made in view of the above-mentioned problem. The first object according to this art is to provide an accident notification system in which the situation of an occupant after an accident is detected can be understood. The second object is to provide an accident reporting system that can report on important data related to an accident.

According to one prior art, it discloses a vehicle security with accident notification and embedded driver analytics. According to this art it discloses a compact personal video recorder for applications in mobile and vehicle audio-video security for evidentiary documentation purposes, where a semiconductor non-volatile storage media is used to record audio-video in a continuous record loop. In an embodiment for vehicle video recording, two or more camera sensors are used, where video pre-processing includes Image Signal Processing (ISP) for auto exposure, auto white balance, camera sensor Bayer conversion, real-time lens barrel distortion reduction, motion adaptive spatial and temporal filtering, video motion stabilization, and adaptive Constant Bit-Rate algorithm defined here as an adaptive streaming method. H.264 video compression is used for improved video quality and reduced storage requirements and provides for high-resolution capture of multiple channels of standard definition video at 30 fps. An embodiment includes an accelerometer to record acceleration data, and derived speed data along with audio and multiple channels of video in addition to embedded GPS location and speed data.
Further, according to another state-of-the-art solution, it discloses a torque control method for electric automobile simulating manual-gear fuel vehicle. According to this prior art it discloses a torque control method for an electric automobile to simulate a manual gear fuel vehicle, which combines a simulation clutch and a simulation gear device arranged on the electric automobile and simulates and realizes the function of simulating manual gear shifting and speed changing on the electric automobile through a torque controller. The engine sound simulator emits engine simulation noise with corresponding sound and frequency according to the calculated engine simulation rotating speed. To tackle such issues, an improved accident detection and alert system is required that can improve the detection of severity and that can alert the necessary entities in a short time. Thus, there is a need for a solution that overcomes the above deficiencies.

SUMMARY
This summary is provided to introduce a selection of concepts, in a simplified format, that are further described in the detailed description of the invention. This summary is neither intended to identify key or essential inventive concepts of the invention and nor is it intended for determining the scope of the invention.
The present invention discloses an accident detection and an alert system and associated method. In particular, the present invention provides an integrated wireless engine sound simulator with accident detection and alert system. The accident detection and an alert system includes an accident detection unit comprising a sensor unit having multiple sensors placed over multiple locations on the vehicle for detecting and sending multiple parameters to a control circuitry. A processing unit of the control circuitry compares it with the predefined limiting parameters and generates a trigger signal if the predefined limiting parameters are exceeded. The alert system unit on receiving the trigger signal actuates a notification unit and an engine sound simulator unit. The notification unit provides notifications to emergency entities like the nearest hospitals, the nearest vehicles and emergency contacts. Simultaneously, the engine sound simulator generates the alert/siren sound to alert the nearest people around the vehicle.
The present invention further discloses an accident detection and alert method including a step of detecting, via at least one sensor integrated in one or more components of a vehicle, one or more parameters of the one or more components. Next, the control circuitry receives the detected parameters of the components. Upon receiving the parameters, a processing unit of the control circuitry compares the received parameters of the components with a set of predefined limiting parameters for the components. The control circuitry proceeds to generate a trigger signal based on the detected parameters exceeding the set of predefined limiting parameters of the components. Finally, upon receiving the trigger signal, an alert system unit actuates a notification unit to transmit a notification via a communications network to a computing device and actuates an engine sound simulator unit to generate an emergency audio notification.
To further clarify advantages and features of the present invention, a more particular description of the invention will be rendered by reference to specific embodiments thereof, which is illustrated in the appended drawings. It is appreciated that these drawings depict only typical embodiments of the invention and are therefore not to be considered limiting of its scope. The invention will be described and explained with additional specificity and detail with the accompanying drawings.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

These and other features, aspects, and advantages of the disclosure will become better understood when the following detailed description is read with reference to the accompanying drawings in which like characters represent like parts throughout the drawings, wherein:
FIG. 1 exemplarily illustrates a block diagram depicting an accident detection and alert system, according to an embodiment of the present disclosure; and
FIG. 2 exemplarily illustrates a flow chart depicting implementation of the accident detection and alert system, according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.
Further, skilled artisans will appreciate that elements in the drawings are illustrated for simplicity and may not have necessarily been drawn to scale. For example, the flow charts illustrate the method in terms of the most prominent steps involved to help to improve understanding of aspects of the disclosure. Furthermore, in terms of the construction of the device, one or more components of the device may have been represented in the drawings by conventional symbols, and the drawings may show only those specific details that are pertinent to understanding the embodiments of the disclosure so as not to obscure the drawings with details that will be readily apparent to those of ordinary skill in the art having benefit of the description herein.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF FIGURES

For the purpose of promoting an understanding of the principles of the invention, reference will now be made to the embodiment illustrated in the drawings and specific language will be used to describe the same. It will nevertheless be understood that no limitation of the scope of the invention is thereby intended, such alterations and further modifications in the illustrated system, and such further applications of the principles of the invention as illustrated therein being contemplated as would normally occur to one skilled in the art to which the invention relates.
It will be understood by those skilled in the art that the foregoing general description and the following detailed description are explanatory of the invention and are not intended to be restrictive thereof.
Reference throughout this specification to “an aspect”, “another aspect” or similar language means that a particular feature, structure, or characteristic described in connection with the embodiment is included in at least one embodiment of the disclosure. Thus, appearances of the phrase “in an embodiment”, “in another embodiment” and similar language throughout this specification may, but do not necessarily, all refer to the same embodiment.
The terms "comprise", "comprising", or any other variations thereof, are intended to cover a non-exclusive inclusion, such that a process or method that comprises a list of steps does not include only those steps but may include other steps not expressly listed or inherent to such process or method. Similarly, one or more devices or sub-systems or elements or structures or components proceeded by "comprises... a" does not, without more constraints, preclude the existence of other devices or other sub-systems or other elements or other structures or other components or additional devices or additional sub-systems or additional elements or additional structures or additional components.
FIG. 1 exemplarily illustrates a block diagram depicting an accident detection and alert system 100, according to an embodiment of the present disclosure The accident detection and alert system 100 may be interchangeably referred to as the system 100, without departing from the scope of the present disclosure. The accident detection and alert system 100 includes an accident detection unit 101 and an alert system unit 103. The accident detection unit 101 further includes a sensor unit 101-1 and control circuitry 102. Further, the alert system unit 103 includes a notification unit 103-1 and an engine sound simulator unit 103-2. The sensor unit 101-1 includes at least one sensor integrated in one or more components of the vehicle. As used herein, “components of the vehicle” may include but are not limited to a windscreen, a mudguard, a handlebar, and leg-guards of the vehicle. Moreover, as used herein, “control circuitry” may include one or a combination of microprocessors, suitable logic, circuits, audio interfaces, visual interfaces, haptic interfaces, or the like. The control circuitry 102 may include, but are not limited to a microcontroller, a Reduced Instruction Set Computing (RISC) processor, an Application-Specific Integrated Circuit (ASIC) processor, a Complex Instruction Set Computing (CISC) processor, a central processing unit (CPU), a graphics processing unit (GPU), a state machine, and/or other processing units 102-1 or circuits.
The control circuitry 102 may also include suitable logic, circuits, interfaces, and/or code that may be configured to execute a set of instructions stored in a memory unit 102-2. The memory unit 102-2 may additionally store various types of information related to the vehicle or preferences of the passengers, for example, a set of predefined limiting parameters for the one or more components, driver behavior, location information, vehicle registration information, historical data related to passenger preferences and driver behavior, etc. In an exemplary implementation of the memory unit 102-2 according to the present disclosure, the memory unit 102-2 may include, but are not limited to, Electrically Erasable Programmable Read-only Memory (EEPROM), Random Access Memory (RAM), Read Only Memory (ROM), Hard Disk Drive (HDD), Flash memory, Solid-State Drive (SSD), and/or CPU cache memory.
The alert system unit 103 includes a notification unit 103-1 and an engine sound simulator unit 103-2. In an embodiment according to the present disclosure, the notification unit 103-1 may include one or a combination of suitable display, audio, and haptic interfaces, and/or code that may be configured to execute a set of instructions stored in the memory unit 102-2. Each of the working of the components will be explained in detail below.
The accident detection unit 101 of the system 100 includes a sensor unit 101-1. The sensor unit 101-1 includes at least one sensor integrated in one or more components of the vehicle such that the at least one sensor is configured to detect one or more parameters of the one or more components of the vehicle. In an embodiment, the at least one sensor includes one or a combination of a pressure sensor, a tilt sensor, a motion sensor, a proximity sensor, and an image processing sensor. The motion sensor may include tilt sensors, accelerometers, and the like. Accelerometers are electromechanical devices that detect either static or dynamic forces, for example, gravity, vibrations, acceleration, etc. As such, accelerometers detect acceleration parameters along one, two, or three axes. In an embodiment, the accelerometer may be a single axis accelerometer, a dual axis accelerometer, or a triple axis accelerometer. Additionally, the accelerometer used may be a capacitive accelerometer, a potentiometric accelerometer, a piezoelectric accelerometer, a piezo-resistive accelerometer, a variable inductance accelerometer, a Hall-Effect accelerometer, a magneto resistive accelerometer, a fiber Bragg grating (FBG) accelerometer, a heated gas accelerometer, a Micro Electro-Mechanical Sensors (MEMS) based accelerometer, etc.
Similarly, pressure sensors are pressure transducers having a sensing element of constant area that responds to force applied to this area by fluid pressure. Pressure sensors help detect impact felt at various locations of the vehicle, for example, a two-wheeler and the like. Additionally, tilt sensors are integrated into multiple locations of the vehicle such as a two-wheeler for measuring the inclination of the two-wheeler in multiple axes with reference to an absolute level plane ensuring real time calculation and recording of the inclination angle and inclination speed of the vehicle. Although the use of sensors to detect multiple parameters of a vehicle are known in the art, the use of a combination of sensors integrated with a wireless engine sound simulator to create an accident detection and alert system 100 is not disclosed. Moreover, the positioning of the sensors at high impact positions on different components of the vehicle for improved detection of a collision event is also not explicitly disclosed. In an embodiment, the pressure sensors are mounted onto the bar-ends of the handlebar and leg-guards of a vehicle, for example, a two-wheeler, an electric two-wheeler, and the like. The inclusion of the pressure sensors into the bar-ends and leg-guards may improve the accident detection unit as the major impact of crashing the vehicle is towards the bar-ends. During impact of a collision, it is seen that the two-wheeler falls to the ground. Typically, during the fall, it is either the handlebar ends, the front mudguards, or the rear mudguards which are the components that are impacted most. Therefore, more pressure sensors may be provided on the front and rear mudguards for improved impact detection from the front and rear sides of the two-wheeler. Moreover, the real time detection of an inclination angle and a speed of inclination will generate the necessary parameters that will determine one of the parameters for the severity determination of an accident event. The one or more parameters detected by the sensors of the sensor unit 101-1 include one or a combination of an inclination or an acceleration of the vehicle along multiple axes, distance of surrounding objects relative to the vehicle, and pressure exerted on the components of the vehicle. In an embodiment, the sensors may be configured to detect and record the parameters at the time of an accident or collision which may be stored in the memory unit 102-2. For example, the speed at the time of the collision, the pressure exerted on the components of the vehicle at the time of the accident, etc., may be stored in the memory unit 102-2. In the event of an accident, a combination of data from other sensors, for example, proximity sensors, image processing sensors, etc., may also be used to identify the severity of the accident. According to an exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure, the sensors of the sensor unit 101-1 are mounted on components of the vehicle such as the windscreen, mudguards, handlebars, and leg-guards of an electric two-wheeler vehicle.
The control circuitry 102 is configured to receive the detected one or more parameters of the one or more components from the sensors of the sensor unit 101-1. In an embodiment, the sensors communicate with the control circuitry 102 via an in-vehicle network. The in-vehicle network may include, but is not limited to, for example, a controller area network (CAN), a Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE) network, a vehicle area network (VAN), Domestic Digital Bus (D2B), Time-Triggered Protocol (TTP), Flex Ray, IEEE 1394, Carrier Sense Multiple Access With Collision Detection (CSMA/CD) based data communication protocol, Inter-integrated Circuit (I2C), Inter Equipment Bus (IEBus), Society of Automotive Engineers, (SAE) J1708, SAE J1939, International Organization for Standardization (ISO) 11992, ISO 11783, Power-line communication (PLC), Plastic Optic Fiber (POF), Serial Peripheral Interface (SPI) bus, Local Interconnect Network (LIN), etc. Once the one or more detected parameters are received from the sensors, the processing unit 102-1 compares the received parameters of the components with a set of predefined limiting parameters for the components. The predefined limiting parameters may be set by the Original Equipment Manufacturer (OEM) and forms the baseline values with which the comparison is completed to determine the status of the vehicle. Optionally, the set of predefined limiting parameters for the one or more components is modifiable by a user via one of the control circuitry 102 of the accident detection unit 101 and the computing device 105. This means the user may adjust the predefined limiting parameters based on his/her preference to prevent unintended triggering or in case of faulty sensors. After comparison, if the processing unit 102-1 determines that the received parameters exceed the set of predefined limiting parameters, the processing unit 102-1 generates a trigger signal which is conveyed to the alert system unit 103.
The alert system unit 103 includes a notification unit 103-1 and an engine sound simulator unit 103-2. The engine sound simulator 103-2 is a component which is installed in most of the electric vehicles to generate sound that mimics the sound of a conventional combustion engine. As such, the engine sound simulator 103-2 may store various sounds and vibrations corresponding to engine sounds, transmission sounds, gas pedal sounds, brake pedal sounds, clutch pedal sounds, steering wheel sounds, automatic shift lever sounds, gear shift lever sounds, exhaust sounds, or the like. The engine sound simulator 103-2 may include a computing system capable of receiving, storing, and processing the data from external storage devices. The computing system may have additional features or functionality, and additional interfaces to facilitate communications between basic configuration and any required devices and interfaces. For example, a bus/interface controller may be used to facilitate communications between a basic configuration and one or more data storage devices via a storage interface bus. Data storage devices may be removable storage devices, non-removable storage devices, or a combination thereof. Examples of removable storage and non-removable storage devices include magnetic disk devices such as flexible disk drives and hard-disk drives (HDD), optical disk drives such as compact disk (CD) drives or digital versatile disk (DVD) drives, solid state drives (SSD), and tape drives to name a few. Example computer storage media may include volatile and nonvolatile, removable and non-removable media implemented in any method or technology for storage of information, such as computer readable instructions, data structures, program modules, or other data systems can also be used for data analysis and to determine when (e.g., acceleration and/or speed) to play certain sounds and/or emit haptic feedback during driving an electric vehicle. Such a system and method can be considered to be a traditional driving experience data recording system and method. The data collected thereby can be processed for use. Then, the data can be used in order to provide the recorded traditional driving experience to the electric vehicle for the traditional driving experience simulation.
When the alert system unit 103 receives the trigger signal, the alert system unit 103 actuates a notification unit 103-1 to transmit a notification via a communications network 104 to a computing device 105 and generate an emergency audio notification via an engine sound simulator unit 103-2. In an embodiment, the alert system unit 103 actuates the notification unit 103-1 first for a predefined duration followed by generating the emergency audio notification via the engine sound simulator unit 103-2. Alternatively, the alert system unit 103 actuates the emergency audio notification via the engine sound simulator unit 103-2 first for a predefined duration followed by the notification unit 103-1. In yet another implementation, the alert system unit 103 may actuate both the notification unit 103-1 and the emergency audio notification via the engine sound simulator unit 103-2 simultaneously. The emergency audio notification may include a loud warning siren or alarm which may be generated for a continuous or periodic interval of time. This means the emergency audio notification is audible enough for personnel or people in the immediate vicinity. The emergency audio notification is configured to be cleared or switched off based on an input received via the control circuitry 102, after which time the engine sound simulator unit 103-2 resumes to a normal indication without the emergency audio notification. The input may include an input received via a haptic interface of the vehicle, an ON/OFF switch, biometric/RFID authentication by authorized security or safety personnel, etc. This means the emergency audio notification provides the alert continuously to both people in the immediate vicinity and to a central database until a person/personnel approaches the vehicle and shuts off the notification. A detailed working of the accident detection and alert system 100 will be explained in the forthcoming paragraph.
FIG. 2 exemplarily illustrates a flow chart depicting implementation of the accident detection and alert system 100, according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.
The method 200, disclosed herein, for accident detection and notification using an integrated wireless engine sound simulator includes the following steps:
At Step 201, the at least one sensor integrated in one or more components of the vehicle detects one or more parameters of the one or more components. The one or more parameters detected by the sensors of the sensor unit 101-1 include one or a combination of an inclination or an acceleration of the vehicle along multiple axes, distance of surrounding objects relative to the vehicle, and pressure exerted on the components of the vehicle. In the event of an accident, a combination of data from other sensors, for example, proximity sensors, image processing sensors, etc., may also be used to identify the severity of the accident.
At Step 203, the control circuitry 102 receives the detected one or more parameters of the one or more components. The components of the vehicle include, but are not limited to the windscreen, mudguards, handlebars, and leg-guards of a two-wheeler vehicle and an electric two-wheeler vehicle.
At Step 205, a processing unit 102-1 of the control circuitry 102 compares the received one or more parameters of the one or more components with a set of predefined limiting parameters for the one or more components. The predefined limiting parameters may be set by the Original Equipment Manufacturer (OEM) and forms the baseline values with which the comparison is completed to determine the status of the vehicle. Optionally, the set of predefined limiting parameters for the one or more components is modifiable by a user via either the control circuitry 102 of the accident detection unit 101 or the computing device 105. This means the user may adjust the predefined limiting parameters based on his/her preference to prevent unintended triggering or in case of faulty sensors.
At Step 207, the control circuitry 102 generates a trigger signal based on the detected one or more parameters exceeding the set of predefined limiting parameters of the one or more components.
At Step 209, on receiving the generated trigger signal, the alert system unit 103 actuates a notification unit 103-1 to transmit a notification via a communications network 104 to a computing device 105. The communications network 104 may include, but is not limited to, a Wide Area Network (WAN), a cellular network, such as a 3G, 4G, or 5G network, an Internet-based mobile ad hoc networks (IMANET), etc. The communications network 104 may also include wired media such as a wired network or direct-wired connection, and wireless media such as acoustic, radio frequency (RF), microwave, infrared (IR) and other wireless media.
At Step 211, on receiving the generated trigger signal, the alert system unit 103 additionally actuates an engine sound simulator unit 103-2 to generate an emergency audio notification. The emergency audio notification may include a loud warning siren or alarm which may be generated for a continuous or periodic interval of time. This means the emergency audio notification is audible enough for personnel or people in the immediate vicinity. In some exemplary implementations of the present disclosure, the alert system unit 103 generates a visual notification in addition to the emergency audio notification via a display of the vehicle. The display may include suitable logic, circuitry, interfaces, and/or code that may be configured to render various types of information and/or entertainment content via a user interface. In an embodiment, the display may be a flashing visual indicator, such as a light emitting diode (LED), a headlamp, halogen lamps, indicator lights, or the like. The user interface may be a customized graphic user interface (GUI) configured to display vehicle information such as the predefined limiting parameters, measured parameters, etc. The display may include but is not limited to a display of the driver vehicle interface (DVI), a display of an in-vehicle infotainment head unit, a projection-based display, an electro-chromic display, and/or holographic display. In other embodiments, the display may be a touchscreen display, a tactile electronic display, and/or a touchable hologram. As such, the display may be configured to receive inputs from the passenger or driver for setting or modifying the predefined limiting parameters. In an embodiment, the driver/authorized personnel/operator may be required to clear the audio or visual notification. Alternately, the audio notification, the visual notification, or the audio-visual notification is configured to stop only based on an input received from the operator via the display which is a part of the control circuitry 102. For example, in the event of an accident when the emergency audio notification/audio-visual notification/visual notification is triggered, the control circuitry 102 controls the engine sound simulator unit 103-2 or a display unit to stop generating the emergency audio/audio-visual/ visual notification only if the control circuitry receives an input from bystanders or security personnel. The control circuitry 102 may receive the input via the display unit or by pressing a switch provided on the vehicle. Consequently, the alert system unit 103 configures the engine sound simulator unit 103-2 or the display to return to a normal indication mode.
In another embodiment according to the present disclosure, the emergency audio notification is stopped based on an input received via the computing device 105, after which time the engine sound simulator unit 103-2 resumes to a normal indication without the emergency audio notification. In an embodiment, the computing device 105 may be implemented as a portion of a small-form factor portable (or mobile) electronic device such as a cell phone, a personal data assistant (PDA), a personal media player device, a wireless web-watch device, a personal headset device, an application specific device, or a hybrid device that include any of the above functions. The computing device 105 may also be implemented as a personal computer including both laptop computer and non-laptop computer configurations. The computing device 105 can also be any type of network computing device 105. The computing device 105 can also be an automated system as described herein. The notification unit 103-1 can make radio notification with facilities outside of the vehicle such as a fire station, a police station, a vehicle management centre, and an insurance firm. The notification unit 103-1 is configured of, for example, a telematic transceiver (DCM), a mayday battery, a GPS, a data communication module ASSY, a telephone microphone ASSY, and a telephone antenna ASSY. The information transmitted from the vehicle to the facilities outside of the vehicle by the radio communication via the notification unit includes, for example, the information showing the position of the vehicle (for example, a latitude, a longitude, the name of a place, a road name, and a road shape), the vehicle information for identifying the vehicle (for example, a maker name, the model name of the vehicle, the registration number, the vehicle-mounted machine ID, the vehicle ID, and the engine chassis number at the time of manufacture). The notification unit 103-1 can make radio notification with the nearest hospitals or the nearest vehicles. Alternatively, a list of emergency contact numbers may be stored in the memory unit 102-2 of the control circuitry 102. In the event of the accident, the notification unit 103-1 communicates with the users of the computing devices 105 with the stored contact numbers.
In an embodiment, the notification unit 103-1 implemented according to the present disclosure may utilize a Global Positioning System (GPS) to determine a location where a predefined limiting parameter was exceeded and communicate the location to the computing device 105 or remote server. It will be appreciated that several location estimation techniques may be utilized to determine the location where the predefined limiting parameter was exceeded. For instance, the notification unit 103-1 may be configured to utilize image recognition methods, data transmitted by proximal vehicles that are part of the fleet, landmarks, road features, or other recognizable images to estimate the vehicle location and orientation where the predefined limiting parameters was exceeded. Alternately, GPS data can be utilized in coordination with 3D map data to approximate the location of the vehicle at which the predefined limiting parameters was exceeded. In another exemplary embodiment according to the present disclosure, the control circuitry 102 determines the severity of an accident by comparing the magnitude of deviation of the detected parameters relative to the set of predefined limiting parameters. For example, a minor increase or deviation from the set of predefined limiting parameters could be categorized as a “less severe” event and the notifications may not be sent to all the emergency facilities. On the other hand, if the increase or deviation of the detected parameters relative to the set of predefined limiting parameters is high, the event may be categorized as “highly severe” and accordingly the notifications may be sent to all the emergency facilities. As such, the notifications regarding the severity of the event may also be transmitted which will help security personnel or healthcare personnel to prioritize rescue operations thereby improving the chances of providing assistance to the accident of higher severity.
The features of the invention that provide a technical improvement are summarized as below:
- The accident detection device with the multiple sensors incorporated on the windscreen, front/rear mudguard, handlebar bar-end and the leg-guards of the bike to detect the accident.
- Incorporation of the multiple tilt sensors and the multiple accelerometer sensors to detect the inclination angle and speed of the vehicle.
- Detection of severity of an accident or collision and notifying authorized personnel and healthcare facilities with information regarding the location, vehicle numbers, and accident severity status. This feature ensures assistance or emergency facilities are prioritized based on the severity of the accident or collision.
- Integration of the accident detection system with the wireless Engine Sound Simulator. Since the Engine Sound simulator is already involved in generating sounds for electric vehicles, the integration with the accident detection system ensures no additional electronics or components apart from the existing hardware are required for improved safety features. This means lesser costs and improved use of space thereby ensuring compact design.
The present disclosure may be realized in hardware, or a combination of hardware and software. The present disclosure may be realized in a centralized fashion, in at least one computer system, or in a distributed fashion, where different elements may be spread across several interconnected computer systems. A computer system or other apparatus adapted for carrying out the methods described herein may be suited. A combination of hardware and software may be a general-purpose computer system with a computer program that, when loaded and executed, may control the computer system such that it carries out the methods described herein. The present disclosure may be realized in hardware that comprises a portion of an integrated circuit that also performs other functions. It may be understood that, depending on the embodiment, some of the steps described above may be eliminated, while other additional steps may be added, and the sequence of steps may be changed.
Unless otherwise defined, all technical and scientific terms used herein have the same meaning as commonly understood by one of ordinary skilled in the art to which this invention belongs. The system, methods, and examples provided herein are illustrative only and not intended to be limiting.
Embodiments of the disclosure will be described below in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings. Moreover, the actions of any flow diagram need not be implemented in the order shown; nor do all of the acts necessarily need to be performed. Also, those acts that are not dependent on other acts may be performed in parallel with the other acts. The scope of embodiments is by no means limited by these specific examples. Numerous variations, whether explicitly given in the specification or not, such as differences in structure, dimension, and use of material, are possible. The scope of embodiments is at least as broad as given by the following claims.
Benefits, other advantages, and solutions to problems have been described above with regard to specific embodiments. However, the benefits, advantages, solutions to problems, and any component(s) that may cause any benefit, advantage, or solution to occur or become more pronounced are not to be construed as a critical, required, or essential feature or component of any or all the claims.
While specific language has been used to describe the present subject matter, any limitations arising on account thereto, are not intended. As would be apparent to a person in the art, various working modifications may be made to the method in order to implement the inventive concept as taught herein. The drawings and the foregoing description give examples of embodiments. Those skilled in the art will appreciate that one or more of the described elements may well be combined into a single functional element. Alternatively, certain elements may be split into multiple functional elements. Elements from one embodiment may be added to another embodiment.

We CLAIMS:

1. An accident detection and alert system (100) for a vehicle comprising:
an accident detection unit (101) comprising:
a sensor unit (101-1) comprising at least one sensor integrated in one or more components of the vehicle, the at least one sensor configured to detect one or more parameters of the one or more components; and
a control circuitry (102) configured to:
receive the detected one or more parameters of the one or more components;
compare, via a processing unit (102-1), the received one or more parameters of the one or more components with a set of predefined limiting parameters for the one or more components; and
generate a trigger signal based on the detected one or more parameters exceeding the set of predefined limiting parameters of the one or more components; and
an alert system unit (103), on receiving the trigger signal, configured to:
actuate a notification unit (103-1) to transmit a notification via a communications network (104) to a computing device 105; and
generate an emergency audio notification via an engine sound simulator unit (103-2).

2. The accident detection and alert system (100) of claim 1, wherein the at least one sensor comprises one or a combination of a pressure sensor, a tilt sensor, a motion sensor, a proximity sensor, and an image processing sensor.

3. The accident detection and alert system (100) of claim 1, wherein the one or more components of the vehicle comprise a windscreen, a mudguard, a handlebar, and leg-guards of the vehicle.

4. The accident detection and alert system (100) of claim 1, wherein the one or more parameters comprise at least one of an inclination of the vehicle along multiple axes, an acceleration of the vehicle along multiple axes, a distance of surrounding objects relative toa the vehicle, and a pressure exerted on the components of the vehicle.

5. The accident detection and alert system (100) of claim 1, wherein the control circuitry (102) is configured to receive an input for stopping the emergency audio notification generated by the engine sound simulator unit (103-2).

6. The accident detection and alert system (100) of claim 1, wherein at least one of the control circuitry (102) and the computing device (105) is configured to receive an input for modifying the set of predefined limiting parameters for the one or more components101105.

7. An accident detection and alert method (200) comprising:
detecting, via at least one sensor integrated in one or more components of a vehicle, one or more parameters of the one or more components;
receiving, via control circuitry (102), the detected one or more parameters of the one or more components;
comparing, via a processing unit (102-1) of the control circuitry (102), the received one or more parameters of the one or more components with a set of predefined limiting parameters for the one or more components;
generating a trigger signal based on the detected one or more parameters exceeding the set of predefined limiting parameters of the one or more components;
actuating, via an alert system unit (103) receiving the generated trigger signal, a notification unit (103-1) to transmit a notification via a communications network 104 to a computing device 105; and
actuating, via the alert system unit (103) receiving the generated trigger signal, an engine sound simulator unit (103-2) to generate an emergency audio notification.

8. The method (200) of claim 7, wherein the control circuitry (102) is configured to receive an input for stopping the emergency audio notification generated by the engine sound simulator unit (103-2).

9. The method (200) of claim 7, wherein the one or more components of the vehicle comprise a windscreen, a mudguard, a handlebar, and leg-guards of the vehicle.

10. The method (200) of claim 7, wherein the one or more parameters comprise at least one of an inclination of the vehicle along multiple axes, an acceleration of the vehicle along multiple axes, a distance of surrounding objects relative to the vehicle, and a pressure exerted on the components of the vehicle.