/Patent Tracker
TeslaPatent applicationCars & transportInterest 6/10

Tesla patents car sensor system that shouts emergency alerts louder

Tesla describes a system for self-driving cars where sensors share data on a shared digital line. If a sensor spots an emergency, it sends an alert in a special time slot using higher power than normal data to ensure the main computer hears it immediately.

Why it mattersThis design helps autonomous vehicles react faster to sudden dangers by prioritizing critical safety signals over routine data.

In the filing’s own words

A vehicular autonomous driving system includes a time division multiplexed (TDM) bus, an autonomous driving (AD) controller coupled to the TDM bus, and a plurality of AD sensors coupled to the TDM bus. The AD sensors are configured to collect AD data and transmit collected AD data to the AD controller on the TDM bus in an assigned time slot at a first power level. A first AD sensor of the plurality of AD sensors is configured to, based upon collected AD data, detect an AD emergency event. In response to the detection, the first AD sensor is configured to transmit an AD emergency message on the TDM bus in a non-assigned time slot and at a second power level that exceeds the first power level. The AD sensor may transmit the AD emergency message in a particular sub-slot of the non-assigned time slot.

What exactly they claim (claim 1)

1. A method comprising: receiving, by at least one processor, operation data from at least one sensor of an autonomously driven device; transmitting, by at least one processor, the operation data at a first power level to a second processor; and in response to detecting an event associated with the autonomously driven device, transmitting, by the at least one processor, an indication associated with the event to the second processor at a second power level that is different than the first power level.

Facts

Company
Tesla (TESLA, INC.)
Official title
AUTONOMOUS DRIVING SYSTEM EMERGENCY SIGNALING
Publication number
US20260264609A1
Application number
19665885
Filed
May 1, 2026
Published
Sep 10, 2026
Inventors
1
Claims
20

Classified under

B60Q 9/00 Operations & transportG05D 1/24 Physics & computingG05D 1/617 Physics & computingH04J 3/00 Electricity & electronicsH04J 3/1682 Electricity & electronicsG05D 1/227 Physics & computing
Read the full filing (official PDF) ↗ Open in the Patent Tracker

More from Tesla in Cars & transport

Summaries are simplified from the filing’s own abstract and first claim. A patent filing is not a product announcement.
Patent data and drawings: U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO). Nebula is not affiliated with or endorsed by the USPTO.