US 9,773,281 B1Granted

Accident detection and recovery

AssigneeAllstate Insurance Company

InventorRandall M. Hanson

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Abstract

One or more devices in an accident detection and recovery computing system may be configured to determine that vehicle accidents have occurred, collect and analyze accident characteristics and other related data, and providing customized accident recovery services. Mobile computing devices, alone or in combination with vehicle-based systems and external devices, may detect accidents or receive accident indication data. After determining that an accident has occurred, mobile computing devices and/or vehicle-based systems may be configured to determine accident characteristics, retrieve vehicle data and vehicle occupant data from one or external servers, determine the damages or potential damages resulting from the accident, and determine one or more accident recovery options or recommendations based on the accident damages. Various user interface screens may be generated and displayed via the user's mobile device and/or a vehicle-based display device to provide the user with accident information, damages, and recovery options or recommendations.

Claims20

Dependent claims

A mobile computing device, comprising:

one or more processors;
one or more hardware memory units;
and
one or more network interfaces,
wherein the mobile computing device is configured to access and employ the hardware memory units and processors to:
receive, via the one or more network interfaces and via a wireless communication network, an accident detection and recovery application;
execute the accident detection and recovery application, executing the accident detection and recovery application including executing computer-readable instructions to:
receive current location and time data from a Global Positioning System (GPS) associated with the mobile device;
determine, using at least one of:
movement sensors and location sensors within the mobile computing device, that the mobile computing device is within a vehicle that was involved in an accident;
determine, based at least on data received from the at least one of the movement sensors and the location sensors, one or more accident characteristics associated with the accident;
determine at least one of a type of potential damages or an amount of potential damages associated with the accident, based on the accident characteristics, determining the at least one of a type of potential damages or an amount of potential damages associated with the accident including:
comparing the accident characteristics to a plurality of predetermined impact types and speed thresholds;
identifying an impact type and speed threshold corresponding to the accident characteristics;
and
determining the at least one of a type of potential damages or an amount of potential damages based on the identified impact type and speed threshold;
determine, based on the identified impact type and speed threshold, a part of a body of one or more occupants of the vehicle to evaluate for injury;
and
generate and display an accident recovery user interface on the mobile computing device, the accident recovery user interface including recommendations based on the determined type or amount of potential damages and recommendations based on the determined part of the body of the one or more occupants of the vehicle to evaluate for injury, the recommendations based on the determined part of the body of the one or more occupants of the vehicle to evaluate for injury including a medical care facility and further being based on the location and current time data received from the GPS.

16 more elements

A method, comprising:

receiving, by a mobile computing device and via a wireless communication network, an accident detection and recovery application;
executing, by the mobile computing device, the accident detection and recovery application, executing the accident detection and recovery application including executing a series of computer-readable instructions to:
receive, from a Global Positioning System (GPS) associated with the mobile computing device, current time and location data of the mobile computing device;
determine, by the mobile computing device and using at least one of:
movement sensors and location sensors within the mobile computing device, that the mobile computing device is in a vehicle that was involved in an accident;
determine, by the mobile computing device and based at least on data received from the at least one of the movement sensors and the location sensors, one or more accident characteristics associated with the accident;
determine, by the mobile computing device, at least one of a type of potential damages or an amount of potential damages associated with the accident, based on the accident characteristics, determining the at least one of a type of potential damages or an amount of potential damages associated with the accident including:
comparing the accident characteristics to a plurality of predetermined impact types and speed thresholds;
identifying an impact type and speed threshold corresponding to the accident characteristics;
and
determining the at least one of a type of potential damages or an amount of potential damages based on the identified impact type and speed threshold;
determine, based on the identified impact type and speed threshold, a part of a body of one or more occupants of the vehicle to evaluate for injury;
and
generate and display, by the mobile computing device, an accident recovery user interface, the accident recovery user interface including recommendations based on the determined type or amount of potential damages and recommendations based on the determined part of the body of the one or more occupants of the vehicle to evaluate for injury, the recommendations based on the determined part of the body of the one or more occupants of the vehicle to evaluate for injury including a medical care facility and further being based on the location and current time data received from the GPS.

11 more elements

A system, comprising:

a mobile computing device, comprising:
a processing unit;
a hardware memory unit;
and
a wireless network interface;
a vehicle-based computing device of a first vehicle, comprising:
a processing unit;
a hardware memory unit;
and
a network interface configured to receive sensor data from vehicle sensors of the first vehicle;
and
one or computer servers, each said computer server comprising:
one or more processors;
one or more nonvolatile hardware memory units;
and
one or more networking components,
wherein the mobile computing device further includes an accident detection and recovery application executing in a background of the mobile computing device, the accident detection and recovery application configured to access and employ the hardware memory unit and processor of the mobile computing device to:
determine that the mobile computing device is within the first vehicle, based on communication with the vehicle-based computing device of the first vehicle;
determine that the first vehicle was involved in an accident;
determine one or more accident characteristics associated with the accident;
receive current location and time data from a Global Positioning System (GPS) associated with the mobile computing device;
determine at least one of a type of potential damages or an amount of potential damages associated with the accident based on the accident characteristics, determining the at least one of a type of potential damages or an amount of potential damages associated with the accident including:
comparing the accident characteristics to a plurality of predetermined impact types and speed thresholds;
identifying an impact type and speed threshold corresponding to the accident characteristics;
and
determining the at least one of a type of potential damages or an amount of potential damages based on the identified impact type and speed threshold;
determine, based on the identified impact type and speed threshold, a part of a body of one or more occupants of the vehicle to evaluate for injury;
retrieve, from the one or more computer servers, accident recovery data based on at least one of:
data identifying the first vehicle;
data identifying a user of the mobile computing device;
or
the one or more accident characteristics, and
display an accident recovery user interface on the mobile computing device, the accident recovery user interface including recommendations based on the accident recovery data retrieved from the one or more computer computers, recommendations based on the determined type of amount of potential damages, and recommendations based on the determined part of the body of the one or more occupants of the vehicle to evaluate for injury, the recommendations based on the determined part of the body of the one or more occupants of the vehicle to evaluate for injury including a medical care facility and further being based on the location and current time data received from the GPS.

30 more elements

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.