Patent Issued for Generating Emergency Vehicle Warnings (USPTO 10,403,137)

2019 SEP 13 (NewsRx) -- By a News Reporter-Staff News Editor at Insurance Daily News -- A patent by the inventor Grant, Rosemarie Geier (Ellsworth, IL), filed on January 23, 2019, was published online on September 16, 2019, according to news reporting originating from Alexandria, Virginia, by NewsRx correspondents.

Patent number 10,403,137 is assigned to State Farm Mutual Automobile Insurance Company (Bloomington, Illinois, United States).

The following quote was obtained by the news editors from the background information supplied by the inventors: “Emergency response vehicles are often slowed down on their way to fires and accidents by other vehicles that do not move out of the way. Newer cars have better sound-proofing and drivers maybe listening to loud music which prevents them from hearing approaching sirens. Additionally, not all people know where to move to get out of the way of emergency vehicles. This condition (blocked roads) often slows first responders when time is of the essence. These circumstances may lead to accidents and collisions between emergency responders and other vehicles.

“Additionally, conventionally lights and sirens have long been used to alert drivers of approaching EMS vehicles. Lately, with some vehicles, the sirens have been moved from the top of emergency trucks to bumper level in order to direct the associated sound and illumination toward other drivers. However, there are still deficiencies associated with these systems, such as drawbacks related to accidents and time.”

In addition to the background information obtained for this patent, NewsRx journalists also obtained the inventor’s summary information for this patent: “Systems and methods are provided for generating data representative of emergency vehicle warnings, and/or generating data representative of insurance policies based upon data representative of emergency vehicle warnings. The systems and methods may reduce EMS/auto collision accidents, speed response time (e.g., fire trucks, ambulances, police, etc.) which might reduce fire losses, and/or faster response to auto accidents may reduce injuries/save lives.

“In one aspect, a computer implemented method for generating data representative of an emergency vehicle warning and/or alternate vehicle route may be provided. The method may include (1) receiving, via or at one or more processors mounted on a non-emergency vehicle, emergency vehicle data via wireless communication and/or data transmission, wherein the emergency vehicle data is representative of: emergency vehicle (i) origination location, (ii) current location, (iii) current route, (iv) current destination, (v) current speed, and/or (vi) type of emergency, such as vehicle accident, house fire, or other emergency: (2) generating or collecting, via or at the one or more processors mounted on the non-emergency vehicle, non-emergency vehicle data, wherein the non-emergency vehicle data is representative of: non-emergency vehicle (a) origination location, (b) current location, © route data, (d) destination, and/or (e) speed; (3) determining or generating, via or at the one or more processors mounted on the non-emergency vehicle, emergency vehicle warning data and/or an alternate vehicle route data based upon computer analysis or comparison of the emergency and non-emergency vehicle data, the alternate vehicle route directing the non-emergency vehicle to avoid the route of the emergency vehicle or otherwise alleviates an amount that the non-emergency vehicle interferes with the route of the emergency vehicle; and/or (4) causing, via or at the one or more processors mounted on the non-emergency vehicle, the emergency vehicle warning data and alternate vehicle route data, to be visibly or audibly presented, or otherwise provided, to a driver of the non-emergency vehicle (or to the non-emergency vehicle itself) to facilitate alleviating potential vehicle accidents between emergency response and non-emergency response vehicles, and/or shortening emergency response times for emergency vehicles.

“The method may include generating, via the one or more processors mounted on the non-emergency vehicle, insurance policy data for the driver of the non-emergency vehicle based upon the driver following recommendations associated with emergency vehicle warnings or alternate vehicle routing that avoids emergency vehicles en route; and/or transmitting, via the one or more processors mounted on the non-emergency vehicle, to an insurance provider remote server to facilitate the insurance provider providing auto insurance cost savings to the driver (or other insured) based upon the insurance policy data and/or functionality associated with emergency vehicle avoidance. The insurance policy data may be representative of an insurance risk associated with a non-emergency vehicle, and/or the insurance risk may be lower for a non-emergency vehicle that is equipped with an emergency vehicle warning data receiving device. Additionally or alternatively, the insurance policy data may be representative of an insurance risk associated with an emergency vehicle, and/or the insurance risk may be lower for an emergency vehicle that is equipped with an emergency vehicle warning data generation, transmitting, and/or receiving device.

“The method may include transmitting, via the one or more processors mounted on the non-emergency vehicle, emergency vehicle warning data and alternate vehicle route data to other vehicles or processors. In one embodiment, the non-emergency vehicle may be an autonomous, semi-autonomous, or smart vehicle. The autonomous, semi-autonomous, or smart vehicle may automatically direct itself to take an alternate vehicle route and/or take self-driving actions that allow the autonomous, semi-autonomous, or smart vehicle avoid the emergency vehicle or the route of the emergency vehicle. Alternatively, the emergency vehicle may be an autonomous, semi-autonomous, or smart vehicle, and the autonomous, semi-autonomous, or smart vehicle automatically may direct itself to take an alternate vehicle route and take self-driving actions that allow the autonomous or smart vehicle avoid the non-emergency vehicle or the route of the non-emergency vehicle.

“The method may further include adjusting an insurance policy, premium, rate, or discount for the non-emergency vehicle based upon the non-emergency vehicle having the vehicle warning and/or alternate vehicle route generation functionality discussed herein. The method may include additional, less, or alternate functionality, including that discussed elsewhere herein, and/or the method may be implemented via a computer system, communication network, one or more processors, and/or computer-executable instructions stored on non-transitory storage media or computer-readable medium.

“Advantages will become more apparent to those skilled in the art from the following description of the preferred embodiments which have been shown and described by way of illustration. As will be realized, the present embodiments may be capable of other and different embodiments, and their details are capable of modification in various respects. Accordingly, the drawings and description are to be regarded as illustrative in nature and not as restrictive.”

The claims supplied by the inventors are:

“What is claimed is:

“1. A computer implemented method for generating data representative of an emergency vehicle warning and/or alternate vehicle route, the method comprising: receiving, via or at one or more processors mounted on a non-emergency vehicle, emergency vehicle data via wireless communication and/or data transmission, wherein the emergency vehicle data is representative of an emergency vehicle route; determining emergency vehicle warning data and an alternate vehicle route data, via or at the one or more processors mounted on the non-emergency vehicle, wherein the alternate vehicle route directs the non-emergency vehicle to avoid the route of the emergency vehicle or otherwise alleviates an amount that the non-emergency vehicle interferes with the route of the emergency vehicle; causing, via or at the one or more processors mounted on the non-emergency vehicle, the emergency vehicle warning data and alternate vehicle route data, to be visibly or audibly presented, or otherwise provided, to a driver of the non-emergency vehicle to facilitate alleviating potential vehicle accidents between emergency response and non-emergency response vehicles, and/or shortening emergency response times for emergency vehicles; receiving, via the one or more processors mounted on the non-emergency vehicle, an opt-in selection, wherein the opt-in selection is representative of a content of desired insurance policy related data and exclusion of personal information; generating, via the one or more processors mounted on the non-emergency vehicle, insurance policy data for the driver of the non-emergency vehicle based upon the opt-in selection and further based upon the driver following recommendations associated with emergency vehicle warnings or alternate vehicle routing that avoids emergency vehicles en route; and transmitting, via the one or more processors mounted on the non-emergency vehicle, to an insurance provider remote server to facilitate the insurance provider providing auto insurance cost savings to the driver or other insured based upon the insurance policy data and/or functionality associated with emergency vehicle avoidance.

“2. The computer implemented method of claim 1, wherein the vehicle warning data is representative of at least one of: an audible warning to stop, a visual warning to stop, an audible warning to move right, a visual warning to move right, an audible warning to move left, a visual warning to move left, an audible warning to move onto a shoulder of a road, a visual warning to move onto a shoulder of a road, an audible warning to merge to a right lane, a visual warning to merge to a right lane, or an audible warning to duplicate a siren tone.

“3. The computer implemented method of claim 1, wherein the insurance policy data is representative of an insurance risk associated with a non-emergency vehicle, and the insurance risk is lower for a non-emergency vehicle that is equipped with an emergency vehicle warning data receiving device.

“4. The computer implemented method of claim 1, wherein the insurance policy data is representative of an insurance risk associated with an emergency vehicle, and the insurance risk is lower for an emergency vehicle that is equipped with an emergency vehicle warning data generation, transmitting, and/or receiving device.

“5. The computer implemented method of claim 1, further comprising: transmitting, via the one or more processors mounted on the non-emergency vehicle, emergency vehicle warning data and alternate vehicle route data to other vehicles or processors.

“6. The computer implemented method of claim 1, wherein the non-emergency vehicle is an autonomous or smart vehicle, and the autonomous or smart vehicle automatically directs itself to take an alternate vehicle route and take self-driving actions that allow the autonomous or smart vehicle avoid the emergency vehicle or the route of the emergency vehicle.

“7. The computer implemented method of claim 1, wherein the emergency vehicle is an autonomous or smart vehicle, and the autonomous or smart vehicle automatically directs itself to take an alternate vehicle route and take self-driving actions that allow the autonomous or smart vehicle avoid the non-emergency vehicle or the route of the non-emergency vehicle.

“8. The computer implemented method of claim 1, the method further comprising adjusting an insurance policy, premium, rate, or discount for the non-emergency vehicle based upon the non-emergency vehicle having the vehicle warning and/or alternate vehicle route generation functionality.

“9. A vehicle-mounted system of a non-emergency vehicle for generating emergency vehicle warning data and/or alternate route data, the system comprising one or more processors mounted on the non-emergency vehicle configured to: receive emergency vehicle data via wireless communication or data transmission, wherein the emergency vehicle data is representative of an emergency vehicle route; generate an alternate route based upon computer analysis or comparison of the emergency vehicle data and non-emergency vehicle data, the non-emergency vehicle data associated with a route and current location of the non-emergency vehicle; present the alternate route to the driver of the vehicle, or the vehicle itself, such that the driver of the vehicle, or the vehicle itself, may avoid the route of the emergency vehicle or that shortening of the response time for emergency vehicles is facilitated; receive, via the one or more processors mounted on the non-emergency vehicle, an opt-in selection, wherein the opt-in selection is representative of a content of desired insurance policy related data and exclusion of personal information; at least one of: collect insurance policy data for the driver of the non-emergency vehicle or generate insurance policy data for the driver of the non-emergency vehicle, via the one or more processors mounted on the non-emergency vehicle, wherein the insurance policy data for the driver of the non-emergency vehicle is based upon the opt-in selection and further based upon the driver following recommendations associated with emergency vehicle warnings or alternate vehicle routing that avoids emergency vehicles en route, and transmit, via the one or more processors mounted on the non-emergency vehicle, the insurance policy data to an insurance provider remote server to facilitate the insurance provider providing auto insurance cost savings to the driver or other insured based upon the insurance policy data and/or functionality associated with emergency vehicle avoidance.

“10. The system of claim 9, wherein the non-emergency vehicle is an autonomous vehicle that automatically avoids the route of the emergency vehicle based upon computer comparison or analysis of the emergency and non-emergency vehicle data.

“11. The system of claim 9, wherein the emergency vehicle is an autonomous vehicle that automatically avoids the route of the non-emergency vehicle based upon computer comparison or analysis of the emergency and non-emergency vehicle data.

“12. The system of claim 9, the one or more processors mounted on the non-emergency vehicle further configured to: generate vehicle warning data based upon the computer analysis or the comparison of the emergency vehicle data and the non-emergency vehicle data, wherein the vehicle warning data is representative of at least one of: an audible warning to stop, a visual warning to stop, an audible warning to move right, a visual warning to move right, an audible warning to move left, a visual warning to move left, an audible warning to move onto a shoulder of a road, a visual warning to move onto a shoulder of a road, an audible warning to merge to a right lane, a visual warning to merge to a right lane, or an audible warning to duplicate a siren tone.

“13. The system of claim 9, the one or more processors mounted on the non-emergency vehicle further configured to: generate an emergency vehicle warning based upon computer analysis or comparison of the emergency vehicle data and the non-emergency vehicle data; and/or present the emergency vehicle warning to the driver of the vehicle such that the driver of the vehicle, or the vehicle itself, may avoid the route of the emergency vehicle or that shortening of the response time for emergency vehicles is facilitated.

“14. A computer implemented method for generating data representative of an emergency vehicle warning and/or alternate vehicle route, the method comprising: receiving, via or at one or more processors associated with, or mounted on, a non-emergency vehicle, emergency vehicle data via wireless communication or data transmission, wherein the emergency vehicle data is representative of an emergency vehicle route; generating, via or at the one or more processors associated with, or mounted on, the non-emergency vehicle, emergency vehicle warning data and alternate vehicle route data based upon computer analysis or comparison of the emergency vehicle data with non-emergency vehicle data, the non-emergency vehicle data including a route and current location of the non-emergency vehicle; causing, via or at the one or more processors associated with, or mounted on, the non-emergency vehicle, the emergency vehicle warning data and alternate vehicle route data, to be visually or audibly presented, or otherwise provided, to a driver of the non-emergency vehicle to facilitate alleviating potential vehicle accidents between emergency response and non-emergency response vehicles; receiving, via or at the one or more processors associated with, mounted on, the non-emergency vehicle, an opt-in selection, wherein the opt-in selection is representative of a content of desired insurance policy related data and exclusion of personal information; generating, via or at the one or more processors associated with, or mounted on, the non-emergency vehicle, insurance policy data for the driver of the non-emergency vehicle based upon the opt-in selection and further based upon the driver following recommendations associated with emergency vehicle warnings or alternate vehicle routing that avoids emergency vehicles en route; and transmitting, via or at the one or more processors associated with, or mounted on, the non-emergency vehicle, to an insurance provider remote server to facilitate the insurance provider providing auto insurance cost savings to the driver or other insured based upon the insurance policy data and/or functionality associated with emergency vehicle avoidance.

“15. The computer implemented method of claim 14, the method further comprising adjusting an insurance policy, premium, rate, or discount for the non-emergency vehicle based upon the non-emergency vehicle having the vehicle warning and/or alternate vehicle route generation functionality.

“16. The computer implemented method of claim 14, wherein the non-emergency vehicle is an autonomous or smart vehicle, and the autonomous or smart vehicle automatically directs itself to take an alternate vehicle route and take self-driving actions that allow the autonomous or smart vehicle avoid the emergency vehicle or the route of the emergency vehicle.

“17. The computer implemented method of claim 14, the method further comprising adjusting an insurance policy, premium, rate, or discount for an autonomous, non-emergency response vehicle based upon the autonomous, non-emergency response vehicle having the vehicle warning and/or alternate vehicle route generation functionality.

“18. The computer implemented method of claim 14, the method further comprising adjusting an insurance policy, premium, rate, or discount for the emergency response vehicle based upon the emergency response vehicle having the emergency response vehicle data generation and/or broadcast functionality.

“19. The computer implemented method of claim 14, further comprising: generating, via the one or more processors mounted on the non-emergency vehicle, insurance policy data for the driver of the non-emergency vehicle based upon the driver following recommendations associated with emergency vehicle warnings or alternate vehicle routing that avoids emergency vehicles en route.

“20. The computer implemented method of claim 19, further comprising: transmitting, via the one or more processors mounted on the non-emergency vehicle, to an insurance provider remote server to facilitate the insurance provider providing auto insurance cost savings to the driver or other insured based upon the insurance policy data and/or functionality associated with emergency vehicle avoidance.”

URL and more information on this patent, see: Grant, Rosemarie Geier. Generating Emergency Vehicle Warnings. U.S. Patent Number 10,403,137, filed January 23, 2019, and published online on September 16, 2019. Patent URL: http://patft.uspto.gov/netacgi/nph-Parser?Sect1=PTO1&Sect2=HITOFF&d=PALL&p=1&u=%2Fnetahtml%2FPTO%2Fsrchnum.htm&r=1&f=G&l=50&s1=10,403,137.PN.&OS=PN/10,403,137RS=PN/10,403,137

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