US-20260127921-A1 - AUTOMATIC NOTIFICATION FOR VEHICLE EVENTS

US20260127921A1US 20260127921 A1US20260127921 A1US 20260127921A1US-20260127921-A1

Abstract

Systems and methods are provided for providing automatic communication from a vehicle in the event of a stop event, thermal event, or thermal propagation event. A vehicle may detect a vehicle event using one or more vehicle sensors. The vehicle may also identify an event type and an event level based on data from the one or more vehicle sensors. Then based on the identified event type and the identified event level, the vehicle may automatically transmit a message from the vehicle to an authority and output an alert to a user of the vehicle indicating a corrective action based on the event type and the event level.

Inventors

Vamsi Krishna Ravulapalli

Assignees

RIVIAN IP HOLDINGS, LLC

Dates

Publication Date: 20260507
Application Date: 20251024

Claims (20)

1 . A method comprising: detecting a vehicle event using one or more vehicle sensors of a vehicle; identifying an event type and an event level based on data from the one or more vehicle sensors; and based on the identified event type and the identified event level: automatically transmitting a message from the vehicle to an authority; and outputting an alert to a user of the vehicle indicating a corrective action based on the event type and the event level.
2 . The method of claim 1 , wherein: the identified event type comprises a stop event; the authority comprises a police department; and the corrective action comprises instructing the vehicle to pull over to side of road and instructing any passengers to remain in the vehicle.
3 . The method of claim 1 , wherein: the identified event type comprises a thermal event or a thermal propagation event; the authority comprises a fire department; and the corrective action comprises instructing the vehicle to pull over to side of road and instructing any passengers to exit the vehicle.
4 . The method of claim 1 , further comprising: detecting, via the one or more vehicle sensors, a system fault; and determining a type of system fault based on the data from the one or more vehicle sensors.
5 . The method of claim 4 , wherein: the type of system fault comprises a critical failure; and the data from the one or more vehicle sensors indicates a loss of vehicle power or a loss of vehicle steering.
6 . The method of claim 4 , wherein: the type of system fault comprises a thermal failure; and the data from the one or more vehicle sensors indicates a thermal measurement outside a nominal range.
7 . The method of claim 4 , wherein: the type of system fault comprises a thermal propagation failure; and the data from the one or more vehicle sensors indicates a thermal propagation through the vehicle based on multiple spaced apart sensor measurements.
8 . The method of claim 1 , wherein the message from the vehicle to the authority comprises information corresponding to the identified event type, the event level, and a location of the vehicle, and wherein automatically transmitting the message from the vehicle to the authority further comprises: generating the message using a telematics control module (TCM) or experience management module (XMM) of the vehicle; and establishing a connection from the TCM or XMM of the vehicle to the authority via a public safety answering point (PSAP).
9 . The method of claim 1 , wherein outputting the alert indicating the corrective action comprises providing the alert via a vehicle display, the method further comprising: based on determining that the identified event level is above a level threshold, automatically establishing a communication channel between the authority and a mobile phone of a passenger of the vehicle.
10 . The method of claim 1 , further comprising, based on the identified event type and the identified event level: activating a reduced function mode, wherein the reduced function mode comprises one or more of a reduced maximum allowable vehicle speed or a reduced set of available vehicle functions.
11 . A vehicle comprising: one or more vehicle sensors configured to detect a vehicle event; and processing circuitry configured to: identify an event type and an event level based on data from the one or more vehicle sensors; and based on the identified event type and the identified event level: automatically transmit a message from the vehicle to an authority; and output an alert to a user of the vehicle indicating a corrective action based on the event type and the event level.
12 . The vehicle of claim 11 , wherein: the identified event type comprises a stop event; the authority comprises a police department; and the corrective action comprises instructing the vehicle to pull over to side of road and instructing any passengers to remain in the vehicle.
13 . The vehicle of claim 11 , wherein: the identified event type comprises a thermal event or a thermal propagation event; the authority comprises a fire department; and the corrective action comprises instructing the vehicle to pull over to side of road and instructing any passengers to exit the vehicle.
14 . The vehicle of claim 11 , wherein the processing circuitry is further configured to: detect, via the one or more vehicle sensors, a system fault; and determine a type of system fault based on the data from the one or more vehicle sensors.
15 . The vehicle of claim 14 , wherein: the type of system fault comprises a critical failure; and the data from the one or more vehicle sensors indicates a loss of vehicle power or a loss of vehicle steering.
16 . The vehicle of claim 14 , wherein: the type of system fault comprises a thermal failure; and the data from the one or more vehicle sensors indicates a thermal measurement outside a nominal range.
17 . The vehicle of claim 14 , wherein: the type of system fault comprises a thermal propagation failure; and the data from the one or more vehicle sensors indicates a thermal propagation through the vehicle based on multiple spaced apart sensor measurements.
18 . The vehicle of claim 11 , wherein the message from the vehicle to the authority comprises information corresponding to the identified event type, the event level, and a location of the vehicle, and wherein the processing circuitry is further configured to automatically transmit the message from the vehicle to the authority by: generating the message using a telematics control module (TCM) or experience management module (XMM) of the vehicle; and establishing a connection from the TCM or XMM of the vehicle to the authority via a public safety answering point (PSAP).
19 . The vehicle of claim 11 , wherein the processing circuitry is configured to output the alert indicating the corrective action by providing the alert via a vehicle display, and wherein the processing circuitry is further configured to: based on determining that the identified event level is above a level threshold, automatically establish a communication channel between the authority and a mobile phone of a passenger of the vehicle.
20 . The vehicle of claim 11 , wherein the processing circuitry is further configured to, based on the identified event type and the identified event level: activate a reduced function mode, wherein the reduced function mode comprises one or more of a reduced maximum allowable vehicle speed or a reduced set of available vehicle functions.

Description

CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION This application claims priority to U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 63/717,140, filed on Nov. 6, 2024, the entire contents of which are hereby expressly incorporated by reference herein in their entirety. INTRODUCTION The present disclosure is directed to vehicle notification features and, more particularly, to providing automatic communication from a vehicle in the event of a stop event, thermal event, or thermal propagation event. SUMMARY As vehicles have become increasingly complex, the number and types of issues, faults, and other safety concerns continues to increase. For example, as vehicles begin to rely more on electric propulsion systems, vehicle batteries have become more important to the operation of the vehicle. Depending on the type and severity of a vehicle event, it may be useful for emergency services to be notified. Additionally, it may be useful to alert the vehicle occupants of the vehicle event, as well as actions the vehicle occupants should perform (e.g., stay in the vehicle, exit the vehicle, turn off certain vehicle functions, etc.). With these issues in mind, embodiments of the present disclosure provide systems, methods, and devices for automatically calling emergency services under certain circumstances. For example, if a vehicle event including a stop event, a thermal event, or a thermal propagation event is detected, the vehicle may automatically call the appropriate authorities in order to address the detected vehicle event. Additionally, the vehicle may alert the occupants of the appropriate action to take. For example, if a thermal event is detected with respect to the battery or power electronics (e.g., a fire is detected), the vehicle may automatically initiate a call to alert the fire department and may instruct the vehicle occupants to pull over to the side of the road and exit the vehicle. Alternatively, if a stop event (e.g., a critical stop event) is detected wherein the vehicle is expected to or has already lost propulsion, the vehicle may automatically initiate a call to alert the police and may instruct the vehicle occupants to move to the side of the road if possible and remain in the vehicle. Accordingly, methods and systems are disclosed herein for enabling automatic communication to the appropriate authority based on the detection of a vehicle event. An example method includes detecting a vehicle event using one or more vehicle sensors of a vehicle. The method also includes identifying an event type and an event level based on data from the one or more vehicle sensors. And based on the identified event type and the identified event level, the method includes automatically transmitting a message from the vehicle to an authority and outputting an alert to a user of the vehicle indicating a corrective action based on the event type and the event level. In some embodiments, the identified event type comprises a stop event, and the authority comprises a police department. The corrective action comprises instructing the vehicle to pull over to side of road and instructing any passengers to remain in the vehicle. That is, when a stop event is detected (e.g., loss of power, loss of steering, etc.), the vehicle may automatically send a message to the police, and may provide an alert inside the vehicle to instruct the vehicle occupants to pull over and remain inside the vehicle. In some embodiments, the identified event type comprises a thermal event or a thermal propagation event, and the authority comprises a fire department. The corrective action comprises instructing the vehicle to pull over to side of road and instructing any passengers to exit the vehicle. That is, when a thermal event (e.g., thermal reading outside of a nominal range) or a thermal propagation event (e.g., propagation of a thermal event through the vehicle) is detected, the vehicle may automatically send a message to the fire department and may provide an alert inside the vehicle to instruct the vehicle occupants to pull over and exit the vehicle. In some embodiments, the method further includes detecting, via the one or more vehicle sensors, a system fault and determining a type of system fault based on the data from the one or more vehicle sensors. In some embodiments, the type of system fault comprises a critical failure. When the system fault is a critical failure, the data from the one or more vehicle sensors may indicate a loss of vehicle power or a loss of vehicle steering. In other embodiments, the type of system fault comprises a thermal failure. Where the type of system fault is a thermal failure, the data from the one or more vehicle sensors may indicate a thermal measurement outside a nominal range. In still other embodiments, the type of system fault comprises a thermal propagation failure. In this case, the data from the one or more vehicle sensors may indicate a thermal propagation through the vehicle based on multiple spaced apart sensor