Patent Issued for Systems and methods for providing warnings of imminent hazards (USPTO 11145202): United Services Automobile Association

2021 OCT 28 (NewsRx) -- By a News Reporter-Staff News Editor at Insurance Daily News -- United Services Automobile Association (San Antonio, Texas, United States) has been issued patent number 11145202, according to news reporting originating out of Alexandria, Virginia, by NewsRx editors.

The patent’s inventors are Buentello, Andre Rene (San Antonio, TX, US), Huggar, Stacy Callaway (San Antonio, TX, US), Philbrick, Ashley Raine (San Antonio, TX, US), Romero, Jr., Jose L. (San Antonio, TX, US), Schuessler, Nina (San Antonio, TX, US).

This patent was filed on May 1, 2020 and was published online on October 12, 2021.

From the background information supplied by the inventors, news correspondents obtained the following quote: “Vehicles or persons travelling on foot may encounter hazardous conditions such as flood waters, ice, or oil on a roadway or path. According to the Flood Hazard Research Centre at Middlesex University in the UK, unsafe conditions for vehicles can arise from as little as 20 inches of standing water in a roadway. At such a depth, most vehicles will become unstable, losing firm contact with the road. As the velocity of the water increases, the depth at which the water becomes unsafe is reduced. For example, according to FEMA, just 12 inches of fast-moving flood water could cause an average vehicle to lose firm contact with the roadway, rendering steering and braking systems ineffective and just 6 inches of fast-moving water could knock down an adult pedestrian. For an individual traveling on foot, water measuring about 20’ deep and moving with a velocity of 2 miles per hour will present an increased risk to most adults. Ice and oil slicks may cause vehicles to lose their grip on roadways, make steering or braking very difficult, and may often result in dangerous accidents.

“For these reasons, there is a need for hazard warning systems and methods that alert travelers of potential hazards ahead.”

Supplementing the background information on this patent, NewsRx reporters also obtained the inventors’ summary information for this patent: “In one aspect, embodiments include a method for alerting a person of a hazard. The method uses at least one camera to obtain images of the hazard and to transmit the images to a hazard detection module. The method also includes obtaining local topographic information within the hazard detection module related to the location of the person. The method also includes combining the images of the hazard with the topographic location using an analysis module associated with the hazard detection module. The method uses the analysis module to identify the hazard and to determine the characteristics of the hazard. The method also includes evaluating whether the hazard poses a significant threat to the safety of the person.

“In another aspect, embodiments include a system for alerting a driver of a motor vehicle of a hazard on a roadway. The system includes at least one camera mounted on a front portion of the motor vehicle. The system also includes a hazard detection module in the motor vehicle in communication via a communications module with the at least one camera, with a local topography database, with a display and with a GPS unit. An analysis module associated with the hazard detection module is configured to receive images from the at least one camera and to combine the images with data retrieved from the local topography database to identify the hazard. The analysis module is configured to evaluate any risks posed by the hazard and provide warnings to the driver should the analysis module determine that the hazard poses a significant risk.

“In yet another aspect, embodiments include a system for evaluating risks posed by a hazard on a roadway or a path. The system uses an analysis module in communication with a communications module and a local topography database. The system includes at least one camera in communication with the analysis module via the communications module. The system also includes a GPS unit in communication with the analysis module via the communications module and a display configured to receive warnings from the analysis module via the communications module. The analysis module is configured to evaluate images received from the camera in combination with data received from the local topography database and the GPS unit to determine whether the hazard poses a significant risk. The analysis module is configured to transmit warnings to the display whenever it determines that the hazard poses a significant risk.”

The claims supplied by the inventors are:

“1. A method for alerting a person of a hazard comprising: repeatedly scanning a roadway for a potential hazard at a predetermined frequency using at least one camera; using the at least one camera to obtain images of the potential hazard and transmitting the images to a hazard detection module; obtaining local topographic information, related to the location of the person from a topography database, within the hazard detection module; combining the images of the potential hazard with the local topographic location information using an analysis module associated with the hazard detection module; using the analysis module to detect and identify an impending hazard based on the combination of the images of the potential hazard and the local topographic location information; using the analysis module to determine the characteristics of the impending hazard based on the combination of the images of the potential hazard and the local topographic location information; evaluating whether the impending hazard poses a threat to the safety of the person; and displaying a warning on a display whenever the impending hazard poses a threat to the safety of the person.

“2. The method of claim 1, wherein the person is a driver of a motor vehicle and the impending hazard is water flooding the roadway; wherein the characteristics include at least one of a near boundary of the water, a far boundary of the water, or a depth of the water; and wherein the analysis module determines the boundaries of the water or the depth of the water based upon the images received from the at least one camera combined with the data retrieved from the topography database.

“3. The method of claim 1, wherein the predetermined frequency of scanning is based on information selected from the group consisting of user preference inputs, local weather information, information describing the presence of local disasters, and current driving context information.

“4. The method of claim 2, wherein the characteristics include a flow rate of the water.

“5. The method of claim 1, wherein the impending hazard is one of ice and an oil slick.

“6. The method of claim 1, wherein the person is a pedestrian carrying a mobile device that includes the at least one camera and the analysis module for evaluating the potential hazard.

“7. The method of claim 1, wherein the local topographic information further comprises information obtained from a historical database of previous images taken of the location of the person.

“8. A system for alerting a driver of a motor vehicle of a hazard on a roadway comprising: at least one camera mounted on a front portion of the motor vehicle; a hazard detection module in the motor vehicle in communication via a communications module with the at least one camera, with a local onboard topography database located physically on the motor vehicle, with a local onboard historical database located physically on the motor vehicle that contains previous images taken of a current location of the motor vehicle, with a display, and with a GPS unit; wherein an analysis module associated with the hazard detection module is configured to receive images from the at least one camera and to combine the images with data retrieved from the local topography database and with data received from the historical database to detect and identify the hazard, in view of information received from a remote road hazard detection server; and wherein the analysis module is configured to evaluate any risks posed by the hazard and provide warnings to the driver should the analysis module determine that the hazard poses a risk.

“9. The system of claim 8, wherein the analysis module is configured to determine whether the hazard is water flooding the roadway and to determine the boundaries of the water based upon the images received from the at least one camera combined with the data retrieved from the local topography database.

“10. The system of claim 9, wherein the analysis module is configured to determine the depth of the water flooding the roadway based in part on the data retrieved from the local topography database and on the location of the motor vehicle received from the GPS unit.

“11. The system of claim 9, wherein the analysis module is configured to determine the depth of the water flooding the roadway based in part on the data retrieved from the historical database.

“12. The system of claim 8, wherein the hazard detection module is further configured to repeatedly scan a roadway in front of the motor vehicle for potential hazards at a predetermined frequency using the at least one camera; wherein the predetermined frequency is based on information selected from the group consisting of user preference inputs, local weather information, information describing the presence of local disasters, and current driving context information.

“13. The system of claim 12, wherein the system further comprises a control module that is configured to aim the at least one camera based on information received from at least one of the GPS unit and the data received from the local topography database.

“14. The system of claim 8, wherein the warnings are provided to the driver via at least one of the display and an audible announcement.

“15. A system for evaluating risks posed by a hazard on a roadway or a path comprising: an analysis module in communication with a communications module and a local topography database; at least one camera in communication with the analysis module via the communications module; a GPS unit in communication with the analysis module via the communications module; a display configured to receive warnings from the analysis module via the communications module, display the warnings to a user, and receive user inputs; wherein the analysis module is configured to repeatedly scan a roadway for a hazard at a predetermined frequency using the at least one camera, and is configured to receive a user input relating to the predetermined frequency of scanning via the display; wherein the analysis module is configured to evaluate images received from the camera in combination with data received from the local topography database and the GPS unit to detect the hazard and determine whether the hazard poses a risk; and wherein the analysis module is configured to transmit warnings to the display whenever it determines that the hazard poses a risk.

“16. The system of claim 15, wherein the hazard is flood water, and the analysis module determines at least one of a near boundary and a far boundary of the flood water.

“17. The system of claim 16, wherein the analysis module determines a depth of the flood water.

“18. The system of claim 15, wherein the system is associated with a motor vehicle, the at least one camera is mounted on the front of the motor vehicle; and the system further comprises a control module that is configured to aim the at least one camera based on information received from at least one of the GPS unit and the data received from the local topography database.

“19. The system of claim 15, wherein the analysis module is installed in a mobile device which comprises the at least one camera and the analysis module.

“20. The system of claim 15, wherein the analysis module is further in communication with a historical database that contains previous images taken of a current location of the motor vehicle, the previous images having been taken by the at least one camera and stored in the historical database by the analysis module.”

For the URL and additional information on this patent, see: Buentello, Andre Rene. Systems and methods for providing warnings of imminent hazards. U.S. Patent Number 11145202, filed May 1, 2020, and published online on October 12, 2021. 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=11145202.PN.&OS=PN/11145202RS=PN/11145202

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