Vehicle Driver Assistant with an Electronic Control Device for Checking the Clearance Possibility for a Vehicle

• US 20130110346A1
• Filed: 10/25/2012
• Published: 05/02/2013
• Est. Priority Date: 10/27/2011
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Bayerische Motoren Werke AG
• Original Assignee: Bayerische Motoren Werke AG
• Inventors: HUBER, Andreas
• Granted Patent: US 9,096,161 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 701/33.9
• CPC Class Codes: B60Q 9/00 Arrangement or adaptation of signal devices not provided for in one of main groups B60Q1/00 - B60Q7/00 , e.g. haptic signalling
• CPC Class Codes: B60R 19/54 Obstruction removers or deflectors B60R19/16, B60R21/34 take precedence
• CPC Class Codes: B60T 7/12 for automatic initiation; for initiation not subject to will of driver or passenger limiting speed of vehicles other than rail vehicles B60K31/00
• CPC Class Codes: B60T 7/22 initiated by contact of vehicle, e.g. bumper, with an external object, e.g. another vehicle , or by means of contactless obstacle detectors mounted on the vehicle
• CPC Class Codes: G08G 1/165 for passive traffic, e.g. including static obstacles, trees

Abstract

A vehicle driver assistant with an electronic control device checks the clearance possibility for a vehicle below an upper obstruction as a function of the overall vehicle height, in particular in the case of a roof load. The electronic control device can be connected to an input unit, which is preferably independent of the motor vehicle. This input unit allows at least one overall vehicle height to be entered manually, in particular, for the roof load.

Claims

1. A vehicle driver assistant for a vehicle, comprising:

an electronic control device operatively configured to check a clearance possibility for the vehicle below an upper obstruction as a function of an overall vehicle height;

wherein

the electronic control device is operatively coupleable with an input unit; and

an actual overall vehicle height that includes a load extending beyond a roof of the vehicle is enterable manually via the input unit.

2. The vehicle driver assistant according to claim 1, wherein the input unit coupleable with the electronic control device is a mobile terminal device.

3. The vehicle driver assistant according to claim 1, wherein the overall vehicle height is enterable via a photo input of the vehicle.

4. The vehicle driver assistant according to claim 2, wherein the overall vehicle height is enterable via a photo input of the vehicle.

5. The vehicle driver assistant according to claim 1, wherein a known vehicle height without the load is previously stored in a data memory of the electronic control device or the input unit, the actual overall vehicle height with the load being determinable as a function of the vehicle height without the load.

6. The vehicle driver assistant according to claim 4, wherein a known vehicle height without the load is previously stored in a data memory of the electronic control device or the input unit, the actual overall vehicle height with the load being determinable as a function of the vehicle height without the load.

7. The vehicle driver assistant according to claim 1, wherein the actual overall vehicle height is determinable based on a ratio of the vehicle height without the load to a height portion of the load that extends beyond the roof.

8. The vehicle driver assistant according to claim 5, wherein the actual overall vehicle height is determinable based on a ratio of the vehicle height without the load to a height portion of the load that extends beyond the roof.

9. The vehicle driver assistant according to claim 7, wherein the ratio of the vehicle height without the load to the height portion of the load extending beyond the roof is enterable via an input of at least one marker that identifies the roof in a photo of the vehicle with the load.

10. The vehicle driver assistant according to claim 8, wherein the ratio of the vehicle height without the load to the height portion of the load extending beyond the roof is enterable via an input of at least one marker that identifies the roof in a photo of the vehicle with the load.

11. The vehicle driver assistant according to claim 9, wherein three markers are provided, one marker identifying a vehicle contact surface, another marker identifying the roof, and a third marker identifying an upper limit of the roof load.

12. The vehicle driver assistant according to claim 10, wherein three markers are provided, one marker identifying a vehicle contact surface, another marker identifying the roof, and a third marker identifying an upper limit of the roof load.

13. The vehicle driver assistant according to claim 1, wherein the overall vehicle height with the load extending beyond the roof is stored in at least one of the electronic control device and the input unit for selective future use.

14. An input unit operable in conjunction with a vehicle driver assistant having an electronic control device for checking a clearance possibility of the vehicle, the input unit comprising:

a mobile terminal having a software application configured to determine an actual overall vehicle height of a vehicle having a load extending beyond a roof of the vehicle.

15. A method for obtaining an actual overall vehicle height of a vehicle having a load extending beyond a roof of the vehicle, the method comprising the acts of:

storing a vehicle height without the load in a data memory of at least one of an input unit and an electronic control device of a vehicle driver assistant of the vehicle; and

receiving, in the electronic control device from an external source, information sufficient to determine the actual overall vehicle height with the load extending beyond the roof.

16. The method according to claim 15, wherein the information sufficient to determine the actual overall vehicle height comprises a manually entered actual overall vehicle height of the vehicle with the load.

17. The method according to claim 15, wherein the information sufficient to determine the actual overall vehicle height comprises a photograph of the vehicle with the load, by which the actual overall vehicle height is determinable.

19. The computer product according to claim 17, wherein the computer product is a smartphone having a display, the display displaying the photograph of the vehicle with the load, and the program code segments further recognizing at least one marker applied to the photograph on the display, the at least one marker being indicative of at least the roof in the photograph of the vehicle with the load.

18. A computer product, comprising:

a computer readable medium having stored thereon program code segments that;

obtain photographic data of a vehicle having a load extending beyond a roof of the vehicle; and

transmit data by which an actual overall vehicle height of a vehicle with the load extending beyond the roof is determinable as a function of the photographic data.