Patent Issued for Systems and methods for providing warnings of imminent hazards (USPTO 11875676): United Services Automobile Association

2024 FEB 07 (NewsRx) -- By a News Reporter-Staff News Editor at Insurance Daily News -- According to news reporting originating from Alexandria, Virginia, by NewsRx journalists, a patent by the inventors 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), filed on January 5, 2023, was published online on January 16, 2024.

The assignee for this patent, patent number 11875676, is United Services Automobile Association (San Antonio, Texas, United States).

Reporters obtained the following quote from the background information supplied by the inventors: “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.”

In addition to obtaining background information on this patent, NewsRx editors 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 system for alerting a driver of a motor vehicle of a hazard on a roadway comprising: at least one camera mounted on the motor vehicle; a hazard detection module in the motor vehicle in communication with the at least one camera, 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, and with a display; 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 received from the historical database to detect and identify the hazard; and wherein the analysis module is configured to evaluate any risks posed by the hazard and provide a warning to the driver should the analysis module determine that the hazard poses a risk.

“2. The system of claim 1, further comprising a GPS unit.

“3. The system of claim 2, wherein the GPS unit is contained within a user’s mobile computing device; and the user’s mobile computing device is in electronic communication with the motor vehicle.

“4. The system of claim 2, wherein the hazard detection module is configured to receive location data provided by the GPS unit; and the analysis module is configured to evaluate the risk posed by the hazard based on topography of the roadway based on the location data from the GPS unit.

“5. The system of claim 2, wherein the analysis module is configured to request the vehicle’s current GPS coordinates from the GPS unit when the analysis of the images from the camera detects a hazard; and the hazard detection module is configured to provide the GPS coordinates from the GPS unit to the local onboard historical database.

“6. The system of claim 1, wherein the hazard detection module is further configured to repeatedly scan the 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.

“7. The system of claim 1, wherein the system further includes a remote road hazard detection system in electronic communication with the analysis module; and the system informs the remote road hazard detection server of the presence and characteristics of the identified hazard.

“8. A method for alerting a person of a hazard on a roadway comprising: repeatedly scanning the roadway for a potential hazard at a predetermined frequency using at least one camera mounted on a motor vehicle; 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.

“9. The method of claim 8, further including receiving information from a remote road hazard detection server, within the hazard detection module; wherein the step of using the analysis module to detect and identify an impending hazard includes the information received from the remote road hazard detection server; and informing the remote road hazard detection server of the presence and characteristics of the identified hazard.

“10. The method of claim 8, wherein the local topographic information further comprises information obtained from a historical database of previous images taken of the location of the motor vehicle.

“11. The method of claim 8, wherein the method further includes a step of aiming and focusing the at least one camera at the potential hazard, based on the information received from the remote road hazard detection server.

“12. The method of claim 8, wherein the method further includes receiving location data from a GPS unit in electronic communication with the motor vehicle; and the step of using the analysis module to detect and identify an impending hazard further includes analysis of the location data received from the GPS unit.

“13. The method of claim 8, wherein the local topographic information further comprises information obtained from a local onboard historical database located physically on the motor vehicle of previous images taken of the location of the motor vehicle.

“14. A system for evaluating risks posed by a hazard on a roadway or a path comprising: an analysis module in electronic communication with a local topography database; at least one camera in electronic communication with the analysis module; a display configured to electronically receive warnings from the analysis module, display the warnings to a user, and receive user inputs; wherein the analysis module is configured to scan a roadway for a hazard using the at least one camera; wherein the analysis module is configured to evaluate images received from the camera in combination with data received from the local topography database 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.

“15. The system of claim 14, wherein the system further includes a remote road hazard detection server in electronic communication with the analysis module; the analysis module is configured to evaluate the images in view of information received from the remote road hazard detection server; and wherein the system informs the remote road hazard detection server of the presence and characteristics of the identified hazard.

“16. The system of claim 14, wherein the system is associated with a motor vehicle, the at least one camera being mounted on the front of the motor vehicle; and the analysis module is installed in a mobile computing device that is in electronic communication with the motor vehicle, the mobile computing device comprising the analysis module and a GPS unit.

“17. The system of claim 16, wherein the analysis module is configured to request the vehicle’s current GPS coordinates from the GPS unit when the analysis of the images from the camera detects a hazard; and the analysis module is configured to provide the GPS coordinates from the GPS unit to the local historical database.

“18. The system of claim 16, wherein the analysis module is configured to receive location data provided by the GPS unit; and the analysis module is configured to evaluate the risk posed by the hazard based on topography of the roadway based on the location data from the GPS unit.

“19. The system of claim 14, wherein the analysis module is in electronic communication with a GPS unit; the GPS unit is configured to provide location data to the analysis module; and the analysis module is configured to receive location data provided by the GPS unit; and the analysis module is configured to evaluate the risk posed by the hazard based on topography of the roadway based on the location data from the GPS unit.

“20. The system of claim 14, 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 more information, see this patent: Buentello, Andre Rene. Systems and methods for providing warnings of imminent hazards. U.S. Patent Number 11875676, filed January 5, 2023, and published online on January 16, 2024. Patent URL (for desktop use only): https://ppubs.uspto.gov/pubwebapp/external.html?q=(11875676)&db=USPAT&type=ids

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