US 2017/0001562 A1Published application

Traffic safety alert system

AssigneeInternational Business Machines Corporation

InventorsThomas W. Bish, Nikhil Khandelwal, Gregory E. McBride, David C. Reed, Richard A. Welp

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Abstract

An apparatus for providing traffic alerts includes a distance module, analysis module, transmission module, and signaling module. The distance module measures the distance between a vehicle and an object in front of the vehicle. The analysis decides whether to signal a presence of the object that comprises determining that the measured distance is equal to or less than a threshold distance. The transmission module transmits an alert in response to the analysis module deciding to signal a presence of the object. The signaling module transmits a visual signal to one or more vehicles behind the vehicle in response to receiving the alert from the transmission module. The visual signal has one or more characteristics.

Claims20

Dependent claims

An apparatus comprising:

a distance module that measures a distance between a vehicle and an object in front of the vehicle on a roadway;
an analysis module that decides whether to signal a presence of the object, wherein deciding whether to signal the presence of the object comprises determining that the distance is less than or equal to a threshold distance;
a transmission module that transmits an alert in response to the analysis module deciding to signal a presence of the object;
and
a signaling module transmitting a visual signal to one or more vehicles behind the vehicle in response to receiving the alert, the visual signal having one or more characteristics, wherein the signal module transmitting a visual signal to the one or more vehicles comprises displaying a visual indicator on the rear of the vehicle, the visual indicator being separate from brake lights of the vehicle, and wherein the visual indicator indicates the distance between the vehicle and the object;
wherein at least a portion of the distance module, the analysis module, the transmission module, and the signaling module comprise one or more of hardware and executable code, the executable code stored on one or more computer readable storage media.

3 more elements

A computer program product for providing traffic alerts, the computer program product comprising a computer readable storage medium having program instructions embodied therewith, the program instructions readable/executable by a processor to cause the processor to:

measure a distance between a vehicle and an object in front of the vehicle on a roadway;
decide whether to signal a presence of the object, wherein deciding whether to signal a presence of the object comprises determining that the distance is less than or equal to a threshold distance;
transmit an alert in response to deciding to signal a presence of the object;
and
transmit a visual signal to one or more vehicles behind the vehicle in response to receiving the alert, the visual signal having one or more characteristics, wherein transmitting a visual signal to the one or more vehicles comprises displaying a visual indicator on the rear of the vehicle, the visual indicator being separate from brake lights of the vehicle, and wherein the visual indicator indicates the distance between the vehicle and the object.

2 more elements

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.

Facts

Application: 14/789,418Filed 1 Jul 2015
Published: 5 Jan 2017
Term ends: Not estimatedThe source records don’t support an estimate.

Classification16 codes

G08G 1/166
Anti-collision systems: for active traffic, e.g. moving vehicles, pedestrians, bikes
B60Q 1/535
Automatically indicating risk of collision between vehicles in traffic or with pedestrians, e.g. after risk assessment using the vehicle sensor…
B60W 30/08
Purposes of road vehicle drive control systems not related to the control of a particular sub-unit, e.g. of systems using conjoint control of…:…
G01S 13/931
For anti-collision purposes: of land vehicles