Patent Publication Number: US-2022238014-A1

Title: Vehicle Itself To Report Traffic Violations To The Traffic Police Department

Description:
CROSS-REFERENCED TO RELATED APPLICATIONS 
     This application claims benefit of U.S. Provisional Application No. 63/141,095, filed on Jan. 25, 2021, the disclosure of which is hereby incorporated by reference in its entirety for all purposes. 
    
    
     BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     1. Field of the Invention 
     The present invention relates to a reporting system in a motor vehicle. 
     2. Description of the Related Art 
     Traffic violations committed by drivers are currently monitored by surveillance cameras and in-person by police officers. Cameras are expensive and difficult to install and maintain. Generally, drivers receive citations when a traffic rule is violated and the police are present at the time to see the violation. But violations go unnoticed if the police are not present the time of the violations. 
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     The invention may provide a motor vehicle that is capable of identifying and reporting its own traffic violations to the traffic police department by using over the air technology. The vehicle automatically detects certain traffic violations. Traffic police department can configure what violations should be reported by the vehicles. This could be global configuration applying to all vehicles, or the configuration may be different for different vehicles based on the vehicle type. For example, the police department may want to receive reports only when the vehicle is speeding excessively (e.g., above 100 mph). Examples of traffic violations that the vehicle can monitor and report are failing to stop at a stop sign or red light, speeding excessively, etc. 
     The invention comprises, in one form thereof, a motor vehicle including a sensor system detecting that the motor vehicle has violated a traffic law. A wireless transmitter is communicatively coupled to the sensor system. The wireless transmitter transmits a wireless signal indicative of the violation of the traffic law. 
     The invention comprises, in another form thereof, a monitoring method for a motor vehicle, including detecting within the motor vehicle that the motor vehicle has violated a traffic law. A wireless signal indicative of the violation of the traffic law is transmitted. 
     The invention comprises, in yet another form thereof, a motor vehicle including a first system (including necessary sensors) detecting that the motor vehicle has violated a traffic law. A second system (including necessary sensors) ascertains an identity of a person driving the motor vehicle during the violation of the traffic law. A wireless transmitter system is communicatively coupled to the first system and to the second system. The wireless transmitter system transmits a wireless signal with over the air technology indicative of the violation of the traffic law and the identity of the person driving the motor vehicle during the violation of the traffic law. 
     An advantage of the invention is that violations get reported immediately and with more certainty. Thus, motivation is provided for people to drive their vehicles with more caution and thereby reduce the number of accidents. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
       The above-mentioned and other features and objects of this invention, and the manner of attaining them, will become more apparent and the invention itself will be better understood by reference to the following description of embodiments of the invention taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, wherein: 
         FIG. 1  is a block diagram of one embodiment of a vehicle traffic violation monitoring arrangement of the present invention. 
         FIG. 2  is a block diagram of one embodiment of the traffic violation monitoring system of the motor vehicle of  FIG. 1 . 
         FIG. 3  is a flow chart of one embodiment of a monitoring method of the present invention for a motor vehicle. 
     
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION 
     The embodiments hereinafter disclosed are not intended to be exhaustive or limit the invention to the precise forms disclosed in the following description. Rather the embodiments are chosen and described so that others skilled in the art may utilize its teachings. 
       FIG. 1  illustrates one embodiment of a vehicle traffic violation monitoring arrangement  10  of the present invention, including a motor vehicle  12 , one or more cloud computer servers  14 , and a police station  16 . Motor vehicle  12  includes a traffic violation monitoring system  18  that detects when vehicle  12  has been operated in violation of traffic laws, such as speed limits, requirements to stop at stop signs and red lights, etc. In response to detecting that vehicle  12  has been operated in violation of traffic laws, traffic violation monitoring system  18  wirelessly transmits a report of the violation to police station  16  via cloud computer servers  14 . The report may include an identification of vehicle  12 , such as a vehicle identification number and/or a license plate number. The report may include an identification of the driver at the time of the violation, which may be obtained by system  18  via facial recognition and/or fingerprint sensors, for example. The report may also include evidence and data related to the violation, such as vehicle speed data and/or video footage of vehicle  12  committing the violation. 
     Police station  16  includes computer servers  20  that wirelessly receive the reports from system  18  via servers  14 . After receiving a report, servers  20  may issue a ticket or other notification of the traffic violation to the driver or the owner of vehicle  12 . The ticket may include a fine that the driver must pay because of the violation. Servers  20  may also keep track of “points” or other records associated with violations that have been committed by the driver. 
       FIG. 2  illustrates one embodiment of traffic violation monitoring system  18  of motor vehicle  12 , including a wireless transmitter  20 , electronic processors  22 . 1 ,  22 . 2 ,  22 . 3 ,  22 . 4 ,  22 . 5 ,  22 . 6 , a vehicle network  23 , a vehicle speed sensor  24 , an exterior camera  26 , an interior camera  28 , and a fingerprint sensor  30 . Processor  22 . 6  may gather all information and decide whether there has been a violation of any traffic law. Although each sensor is shown as communicating with a respective processor, it is possible for a single processor to receive inputs from multiple sensors. 
     During use, the identity of the human driver is determined by facial recognition analysis of the images captured by interior camera  28  and/or by fingerprint sensor  30 . As vehicle  12  is in motion, speed sensor  24  monitors the speed of vehicle  12 , and processor  22 . 6  may compare this speed to the current speed limit, as determined by use of a GPS module  32 , to ascertain whether vehicle  12  is exceeding the speed limit. Images captured by exterior camera  28  may be analyzed by processor  22 . 6  to determine whether vehicle  12  has committed a moving violation, such as failing to stop at a stop sign or a red light. Camera  28  may have a field of view that includes a scene in front of vehicle  12  so that images captured by camera  28  may include stop signs and traffic lights approached by vehicle  12 . Processor  22 . 6  may also receive signals from roadside infrastructure (not shown) to determine when vehicle  12  is approaching a stop sign or red light. Signals from GPS module  32  may also be used to ascertain if vehicle  12  is approaching the known location (e.g., from a database) of a stop sign or traffic light. 
       FIG. 3  illustrates one embodiment of a monitoring method  300  of the present invention for a motor vehicle. In a first step  302 , it is detected within the motor vehicle that the motor vehicle has violated a traffic law. For example, images captured by exterior camera  28  may be analyzed by processor  22 . 6  to determine whether vehicle  12  has committed a moving violation, such as driving through a red light. 
     In a final step  304 , a wireless signal is transmitted that is indicative of the violation of the traffic law. For example, in response to detecting that vehicle  12  has been operated in violation of traffic laws, traffic violation monitoring system  18  may wirelessly transmit a report of the violation to police station  16  via cloud computer servers  14 . 
     While this invention has been described as having an exemplary design, the present invention may be further modified within the spirit and scope of this disclosure. This application is therefore intended to cover any variations, uses, or adaptations of the invention using its general principles. Further, this application is intended to cover such departures from the present disclosure as come within known or customary practice in the art to which this invention pertains.