GARAGE DOOR DETECTION FOR A VEHICLE

• US 20190303689A1
• Filed: 04/03/2018
• Published: 10/03/2019
• Est. Priority Date: 04/03/2018
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Ford Global Technologies, LLC (Ford Motor Company)
• Original Assignee: Ford Global Technologies, LLC (Ford Motor Company)
• Inventors: Ghannam, Mahmoud Yousef, Bennie, Brian, Gibbons, Gabrielle, Siddiqui, Adil Nizam
• Granted Patent: US 10,445,598 B1
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• CPC Class Codes: B60R 1/26 to the rear of the vehicle
• CPC Class Codes: B60R 2300/8086 for vehicle path indication
• CPC Class Codes: B60R 2300/8093 for obstacle warning
• CPC Class Codes: B60T 2201/022 Collision avoidance systems
• CPC Class Codes: B60T 2201/10 Automatic or semi-automatic parking aid systems
• 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: B60W 30/09 Taking automatic action to avoid collision, e.g. braking and steering
• CPC Class Codes: B60W 30/18109 Braking
• CPC Class Codes: G06T 2207/10016 Video; Image sequence
• CPC Class Codes: G06T 2207/30261 Obstacle
• CPC Class Codes: G06T 7/70 Determining position or orientation of objects or cameras camera calibration G06T7/80
• CPC Class Codes: G06V 20/58 Recognition of moving objects or obstacles, e.g. vehicles or pedestrians; Recognition of traffic objects, e.g. traffic signs, traffic lights or roads

Abstract

Method and apparatus are disclosed for garage door detection for a vehicle. An example vehicle includes a rearview camera, memory, and a processor. The rearview camera monitors a garage door. The memory stores a first height associated with a field of view of the rearview camera and a second height. The a processor, when a bottom edge of the garage door exceeds the first height, calculates a time until the bottom edge will reach the second height. Additionally, until the calculated time, the processor prevents movement of the vehicle.

Claims

1. A vehicle comprising:

a rearview camera to monitor a garage door;

memory to store a first height associated with a field of view of the rearview camera and a second height, the first height being a height at which the bottom edge of the garage door exits a top of the field of view of the rearview camera; and

a processor to;

when a bottom edge of the garage door exceeds the first height, calculate a time until the bottom edge will reach the second height; and

until the calculated time, prevent movement of the vehicle.

3. The vehicle of claim 1, wherein the second height is a height at which the garage door is fully open.

4. The vehicle of claim 1, wherein the second height is a clearance height of the vehicle.

5. The vehicle of claim 1, wherein to calculate the time until the bottom edge will reach the second height, the processor is to determine a speed of the garage door.

6. The vehicle of claim 5, wherein determining the speed of the garage door is based on a length of time from when the bottom edge of the garage door starts to move from a ground position to when the bottom edge leaves the field of view of the rearview camera.

7. The vehicle of claim 1, wherein to prevent movement of the vehicle, the processor is to at least one of (a) prevent a transmission from being shifted into a reverse gear, (b) enable an immobilizer, or (c) engage brakes of the vehicle.

8. The vehicle of claim 1, wherein the processor is to, until the calculated time, provide an alert.

9. The vehicle of claim 1, wherein the processor is to:

determine whether the vehicle is parked in a garage; and

when the vehicle is parked in the garage, monitor the garage door with the rearview camera.

10. The vehicle of claim 1, wherein the processor is to:

when the vehicle is parked in a garage, monitor an area around the vehicle for an operator; and

when the operator is detected, monitor the garage door with the rearview camera.

2. (canceled)

11. A method comprising:

storing, in memory, a first height associated with a field of view of a rearview camera and a second height, the first height being a height at which the bottom edge of the garage door exits a top of the field of view of the rearview camera;

monitoring, with the rearview camera, a garage door;

when a bottom edge of the garage door exceeds the first height, calculating, with a processor of a vehicle coupled to the memory, a time until the bottom edge will reach the second height; and

until the calculated time, preventing movement of the vehicle.

13. The method of claim 11, wherein the second height is a height at which the garage door is fully open.

14. The method of claim 11, wherein the second height is a clearance height of the vehicle.

15. The method of claim 11, wherein calculating the time until the bottom edge will reach the second height includes determining a speed of the garage door.

16. The method of claim 15, wherein determining the speed of the garage door is based on a length of time from when the bottom edge of the garage door starts to move from a ground position to when the bottom edge leaves the field of view of the rearview camera.

17. The method of claim 11, wherein preventing movement of the vehicle includes at least one of (a) preventing a transmission from being shifted into a reverse gear, (b) enabling an immobilizer, or (c) engaging brakes of the vehicle.

18. The method of claim 11, including, until the calculated time, providing an alert.

19. The method of claim 11, including:

determining whether the vehicle is parked in a garage; and

when the vehicle is parked in the garage, monitoring the garage door with the rearview camera.

20. The method of claim 11, include:

when the vehicle is parked in a garage, monitoring an area around the vehicle for an operator; and

when the operator is detected, monitoring the garage door with the rearview camera.

12. (canceled)

21. A vehicle comprising:

a rearview camera to monitor a garage door;

memory to store a first height associated with a field of view of the rearview camera and a second height; and

a processor to;

when a bottom edge of the garage door exceeds the first height;

determine a speed of the garage door, and

calculate a time until the bottom edge will reach the second height based on the speed of the garage door; and

until the calculated time, prevent movement of the vehicle.