Emergency vehicle alert system
OwnerMichael Aaron Siegelinventor
Life of this patent
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Abstract
An apparatus and method for an emergency vehicle alert system transmits signals from one or more emergency vehicles to nearby commuter vehicles. When an initiation switch in the emergency vehicle is activated, a transmitter broadcasts a unique identifier for the vehicle. Information regarding other characteristics such as position, speed, route, and direction of travel can also be transmitted to provide alert information to commuter vehicles in the vicinity of the emergency vehicles. The information is presented to occupants of the commuter vehicle and can include audio and visual displays such as lights, voice warnings, moving map display with symbols representing the vehicles' position relative to one another, and a textual display providing identification and distance information.
Claims50
An apparatus for alerting occupants in a commuter vehicle to the presence of a plurality of emergency vehicles in the vicinity, comprising:
- a receiver operable to receive signals transmitted by at least one of the emergency vehicles;
- a processor coupled to communicate with the receiver, wherein the processor is operable to:
- determine whether the signals include information to distinguish the at least one emergency vehicle from the other emergency vehicles;
- activate an alert when the at least one emergency vehicle is distinguished;
- indicate the number of the at least one emergency vehicles in the vicinity based on the distinguishing information;
- and
- activate an all-clear indicator when the at least one emergency vehicles have traveled past the location of the commuter vehicle.
An apparatus for transmitting alert signals to commuter vehicles in the vicinity of an emergency vehicle, comprising:
- a transmitter operable to transmit radio frequency signals;
- an encoder configured to communicate with the transmitter, wherein the encoder is operable to include information to uniquely identify the emergency vehicle from other emergency vehicles in the vicinity of the commuter vehicle;
- and
- a switch configured to allow an operator to directly control the strength of the signals transmitted by the emergency vehicle.
The apparatus of 14, wherein the apparatus is installed proximate a railroad crossing to alert the commuter vehicle to the presence of an oncoming train.
A method for alerting occupants in a commuter vehicle to the presence of a plurality of emergency vehicles in the vicinity, comprising:
- receiving signals transmitted by at least one of the emergency vehicles;
- determining whether the signals include information to distinguish the emergency vehicles from one another;
- activating an alert when at least one emergency vehicle is distinguished;
- indicating the number of emergency vehicles in the vicinity based on the distinguishing information;
- and
- activating an all-clear indicator when all of the distinguished emergency vehicles have traveled past the location of the commuter vehicle.
A system for transmitting signals from a plurality of first vehicles to a second vehicle, comprising:
- a network interface operable to transmit data to and receive data from an information network, wherein the data includes signals from the plurality of first vehicles;
- a processor operable to determine the number of first vehicles in the vicinity of the second vehicle and to generate a message to send to the second vehicle regarding the number and location of first vehicles in the vicinity of the second vehicle;
- and
- the network interface and the processor are at a remote location external to the plurality of first vehicles and the second vehicle.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.