Patent ID: 6370475
Filing Date: 2002-04-09
Classification: B60N,B60T,B60W,G01S,G08G

Abstract:
A system for preventing vehicle accidents, comprisingposition determining means for determining the absolute position of a first vehicle, said position determining means comprising a receiver arranged in the first vehicle and structured and arranged to receive position data from a GPS satellite network and receive wide-area differential GPS correction data, memory means for storing data relating to edges of roadways on which the first vehicle may travel, processing means coupled to said determining means and said memory means for comparing the absolute position of the first vehicle as determined upon the reception of the position data from the satellite network and wide-area differential GPS correction data by said receiver to the edges of the roadway in order to determine the location of the first vehicle relative to the edges of the roadway, reaction means coupled to said processing means for affecting a system on the first vehicle when the location of the first vehicle approaches close to an edge of the roadway or intersects with an edge of the roadway, and communication means arranged in the first vehicle and coupled to said processing means for receiving a communication of data including at least one of the size, type, mass and orientation of other vehicles, said processing means being structured and arranged to determine whether another vehicle is likely to impact the first vehicle in a manner requiring defensive action based at least in part on the at least one of the size, type, mass and orientation of the other vehicle and if so, affecting another system in the vehicle to initiate a warning or defensive action.