WO2001091059A1

WO2001091059A1 - The method and device for road accidents registration

Info

Publication number: WO2001091059A1
Application number: PCT/RU2001/000204
Authority: WO
Inventors: Nikolay Alekseyevich Kalashnikov; Nikolay Aleksandrovich Radtsig
Original assignee: Zakrytoe Aktsionernoe Obschestvo 'mezhotraslevoe Yuridicheskoe Agentstvo 'yurpromkonsalting'
Priority date: 2000-05-23
Filing date: 2001-05-23
Publication date: 2001-11-29
Also published as: RU2176199C1; AU2001266443A1

Abstract

The invention relates to various-angles video filming of the occurrence and development of road accidents involving transport vehicles, basically cars, for a subsequent full, detailed and objective investigation of road accidents reasons. The invention contains digital wide-range video cameras with RAM and a volatile video information storage device installed on transport vehicles and on stationary road objects, i.e. traffic lights, posts, barriers, and in the areas known for their most dangerous traffic statistics. The video cameras are connected to a radio transmitter-receiver and can be connected to emergency sensors' outlets. The radio transmitter-receiver can be connected to the emergency situation sensors' outlets. In cases of emergency sensors activation, signals from such sensors are transmitted to the radio transmitter-receiver, and further on - to radio transmitter-receivers installed on other transport vehicles or on stationary road radio transmitter-receivers in the event they are within the radio signal coverage zone. Simultaneously with that, the emergency signal switches over a video camera installed on a transport vehicle, which is constantly functioning during movement or stops (temporary parking) of such vehicle to re-recording of the most immediate video fragments before and after the accident from RAM to the volatile video information storage device. The synchronously transmitted radio signal switches over in the same way the similar video cameras installed on nearby transport vehicles or stationary road video cameras to re-recording of the most immediate video fragments before and after the accident from RAM to the volatile video information device. Then, the said fragments are sequentially read from all the systems of road accidents registration, which have come into the radio signal zone, and are further viewed on the monitor.

Description

THE METHOD AND DEVICE FOR ROAD ACCIDENTS REGISTRATION

This invention relates to systems of various angles video filming of occurrence and development of road accidents for subsequent objective examination of video records by bodies engaged in the examination or investigation of road accidents and their aftermaths.

It is a well-known fact that due to an extremely short-term nature of road accidents during their further examination, for instance, by an insurance company, mistakes are possible even on the part of impartial witnesses. Therefore, it is rather difficult in quite a number of cases to establish who exactly caused a road accident, hence, punishment of a person not guilty or receiving of the insurance money through a fraudulent method become possible. All recently offered technical devices aimed at registration of road accidents, in particular, the impact-pressure and negative-acceleration sensors, video recordings, etc., more often than not are incapable of providing an unequivocal answer, even in cases of frame-by-frame scanning of video records, as to who is the party at fault in the road accident due to their natural limitations: they are usually used on board of a certain transport vehicle, and, therefore, are restricted to its capacities. No matter in which way you position TV cameras, the coverage will be provided only from certain points on a given vehicle that in most cases turns out to be inadequate.

There exists a system of road accidents registration in the form of audio and video records made by two cameras, one of which is positioned on the windscreen, and the other one - on the car rear window. In this way, we can register time and date of the road accident, view the cars' registration plates, log down readings of velocity, deceleration, and turning sensors, locate positions of the safety belts (USA Patent # 4843463, Michetti). The shortcomings of the above system are its limited capabilities related to a single-car installation, as well as free access to records that does not shut out their falsification.

The most similar to the applied technical solution is the method and device for collecting, analyzing and storing information from board of a car for the road accident reconstruction with an aim of its subsequent examination by courts, insurance companies, etc. (Application PCT/US 99/12024, WO 99/62741). When the ignition is on, two wide-angle digital video cameras installed in the car front and rear begin operating. The video information recorded in a digital form is ciphered and saved on a hard disk that implies that it can be accessed only with the help of an appropriate key. The video image can be synchronized with readings of velocity, deceleration (overloads), safety belts sensors, as well as with the current time. The road accident, therefore, is registered in the form of video records from board of a car involved in an accident, for their subsequent examination by courts, insurance companies, police, etc. This solution's drawbacks are its limited capabilities, as the system of road accident registration is installed on one particular car and video filming is possible only from this car certain angles. This is frequently inadequate in the all-round examination of a road accident with the purpose of finding out who was the party at fault and the extent of guilt of that party. Apart from that, a fragile media can be damaged or totally destroyed during the road accident.

In technical terms, the advantage of the applied solution may be formulated as a possibility of conducting research and comparison of video fragments immediately before and after the road accident, and to obtain them not only from a given car but also from nearby cars, which came into the zone of coverage of the applied system, or from traffic lights, road posts, etc. In other words, we acquire a possibility based on various-angles video shooting , to reveal with a maximum objectivity and in full detail reasons and development of a road accident so that to objectivity and in full detail reasons and development of a road accident so that to subsequently establish all the accompanying circumstances and the persons at fault, as well as the extent of guilt of all the participants. In this case it is not necessary to cipher recorded video information, since it is virtually impossible to access prior to arrival of representatives of official investigation bodies to the road accident site.

The applied method of road accidents registration consisting in the reception of signals from the emergency situation sensors by a device for recording and storage, including video information about traffic situation. In the given method in case of actuation of alarm sensors installed on a transport vehicle signals from such sensors are transmitted to a radio transmitter-receiver, and further on - to similar transmitter-receivers of other vehicles or to the stationary road transmitter-receivers which are within the zone of radio signal coverage; simultaneously with that, a controlling alarm signal switches over a video camera, which is constantly working during the movement or stops of a transport vehicle, while the transmitted radio signal switches over similar video cameras installed on nearby transport vehicles or stationary video cameras to transfer and storage of the most immediate video fragments before and after the road accident from RAM to the volatile video information storage device; then, the above video information fragments are sequentially read from all the system of road accidents registration which have come into the zone covered by the radio signal and displayed on the monitor in competent structures authorized to access the saved information.

The system of road accidents registration consisting of an optical recording device with a recorded information storage unit and emergency situation sensors. The system contains at least by one video camera with RAM and non-volatile video information storage device installed at least on two moving transport vehicles, wherein each video camera is connected to emergency sensors' outputs and linked to a radio transmitter-receiver, which is also connected to emergency sensors' The system of road accidents registration consisting of an optical recording device with a recorded information storage unit and emergency situation sensors. The system contains at least one video camera with RAM and non-volatile video information storage device installed on at least one moving transport vehicle and connected to accident sensors' outputs and linked to a radio transmitter-receiver, which is also connected to accident sensors' outputs, as well as at least one video camera installed on stationary road objects and connected to a radio transmitter- receiver.

In the system of accidents registration, a digital wide-angle camera can be installed in the front part of a moving transport vehicle.

In the system of accidents registration, several digital wide-angle cameras can be installed in the front and rear parts of a transport vehicle.

In the system of accidents registration, several digital wide-angle cameras can be installed along the perimeter of a transport vehicle.

In the system of road-accidents registration, an impulse radio signal transmitter-receiver can be used as a radio transmitter-receiver.

In the system of accidents registration, two-dimensional accelerometers with an assigned threshold value of acceleration can be used as accident sensors.

In the system of accidents registration, impact-sensitive sensors can be used as accident sensors.

In the system of accidents registration, traffic lights, road posts and barriers can be used as stationary road objects.

The applied technical solution, therefore, implements a system of road accidents registration which allows by way of various-angles video recording of emergence and development of a road accident to reestablish that road accident in full objectivity and with maximum details, and thus to be positive in establishing the persons to blame, and, in particular, to collect the insurance compensation from persons to blame, or to render impossible receiving of such insurance compensation from an insurance company in a fraudulent way in case of damage or total loss of a transport vehicle.

Apart from that, the applied solution enables frame-by-frame scanning of the available video fragments.

The system does not require any costs-involving ciphering of video records, since due to multiplicity of video fragments they are virtually impossible to falsify.

Figure 1 shows a flow-chart of the equipment intended for the system of road accidents registration.

Fig. 2 shows a variant of positional stationing of the equipment on a transport vehicle.

The system of road accidents registration intended for a transport vehicle contains emergency sensors 1 , in particular, a two-positional accelerometer activated when an assigned acceleration threshold has been exceeded, and an impact- sensitive sensor, which, in particular, is capable of signaling of a rear-end collision during stops near traffic lights. The emergency sensors' 1 outputs are connected to a system controlling a digital black-and-white wide-angle video camera 2 encompassing RAM of no less than 20 seconds of video information retrieved from a digital video camera, and a volatile video information storage device intended, for example, for storage of no less than three 20-sec video fragments. The outputs of emergency sensors 1 are connected to a radio transmitter-receiver 3 with a coverage range of no less than 50 m. It is preferable to use an impulse radio signal transmitter- receiver. A video camera 2 installed on a car or stationary road objects, for example, traffic lights, posts, barriers, can be switched to re-recording not only from its own emergency sensors 1 but also from similar sensors installed on other cars by way of transmitting the signals in the established range with the help of a transmitter- receiver 3, which is installed just like emergency sensors 1 on each car. Moreover, a transmitter-receiver 3 can be installed along with a video camera 2 on stationary road objects, such as posts, traffic lights, barriers, etc. Hence, apart from video cameras in the cars, the system may include stationary road video cameras if the latter are within the radio signal zone. If we take into account that the road situation in the given zone may include not only collision of two transport vehicles but also collision of a car and a pedestrian or a road post, etc., video cameras 2 can be positioned not only on the windshield but also on the rear window, and along the entire perimeter of a transport vehicle.

The system of road accidents registration functions in the following way: A Sony or, for example, Canon video camera 2 is continuously filming everything that is in its field of vision, results of filming are recorded in RAM, for example, in the form of a memory microchip of the Texas Instruments company. The RAM information is regularly updated. In case of a road accident, for example, an emergency breaking or collision, a sensor-accelerometer 1 manufactured, for instance, by Motorola, and preferably a two-positional one, i.e., working in two directions - along and across the car movement - is activated in cases the emergency breaking threshold is exceeded. An impact-sensitive emergency sensor 1 is activated in case another car bumps into a given parked car so the system takes into account a possibility of a parked car becoming a part of a road accident. In case of emergency sensor activation, the video information contained in RAM, i.e., the most immediate information prior to the road accident, is re-recorded to a volatile storage device in the same way as, for example, a 20-sec interval following the signal, i.e., the most immediate information after the occurrence of a road accident. The same emergency signal from the sensor 1 activates the transmitter-receiver 3, its signal is received by similar transmitter-receivers 3 installed on nearby cars and stationary road objects within the range no less than 50 m. Each radio transmitter- receivers 3, which has received a radio signal, commands its own video camera 2 to start the video information re-recording procedure from RAM to a volatile video information storage device. To reconstruct a true-to-life picture of a road accident, we only need to read the information from all the volatile information storage devices and to look it through on the monitor.

Claims

1. The method of road accidents registration consisting in receiving signals from emergency situation sensors to a device for recording and storage of various, including^ video, information about the traffic situation, distinguished by the fact that in case of activation of transport vehicle emergency sensors, signals from the sensors go to a radio transmitter-receiver, and from it to similar transmitter-receivers of other transport vehicles or stationary road transmitter-receivers in the event they are located within the radio signal zone; simultaneously with that, a controlling emergency radio signal switches over a video camera installed on a transport vehicle, which is constantly working during the movement or temporary stops (parking) of the vehicle, while the transmitted signal switches over similar video cameras of nearby transport vehicles or stationary video cameras to recording of the most immediate video^' fragments before and after the road accidents from RAM to a non-volatile video information storage device; then the said video fragments can be sequentially read from all the systems of road accidents registration covered by the radio signal range, and can be viewed on the monitor.

2. The system of road accidents registration intended for transport vehicles consisting of an optical recording device with a unit intended for storage of recorded information and emergency situation sensors, distinguished by the fact that the system contains at least by one video camera with RAM and npn-volatile video information storage device installed at least on two transport vehicles, wherein each video camera is connected to emergency situation sensors' outputs and linked to a radio transmitter-receiver, which, in its turn, is connected to emergency situation sensors' outputs.

3. The system of road accidents registration consisting of an optical recording device with a unit intended for storage of recorded information and emergency situation sensors, distinguished by the fact that the system contains at least one video camera with RAM and non-volatile video information storage device installed at least on one transport vehicle connected to emergency situation sensors' outputs and linked to a radio transmitter-receiver, which, in its turn, is connected to emergency situation sensors' outputs, and at least one video camera installed on stationary road objects and connected to a radio transmitter-receiver.

4. The registration system according to claims 2 or 3, distinguished by the fact that a digital wide-angle video camera is installed in the front part of a moving transport vehicle.

5. The registration system according to claims 2 or 3, distinguished by the fact that digital wide-angle video cameras are installed in both the front and rear parts of transport vehicles.

6. The registration system according to claims 2 or 3, distinguished by the fact that digital wide-angle video cameras are installed along the perimeter of a transport vehicle.

7. The registration system according to claims 2 or 3, distinguished by the fact that an pulse radio signal transmitter-receiver is used as a radio transmitter- receiver.

8. The registration system according to claims 2 or 3, distinguished by the fact that two-dimensional accelerometers with an assigned acceleration threshold are used as emergency sensors.

9. The registration system according to claims 2 or 3, distinguished by the fact that impact-sensitive sensors are used as emergency sensors.

10. The registration system according to claim 3, distinguished by the fact that traffic lights, road posts and barriers are used as stationary road objects.