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Radar collison warning system for rooftop mounted cargo

  • US 7,877,209 B2
  • Filed: 09/26/2006
  • Issued: 01/25/2011
  • Est. Priority Date: 09/26/2006
  • Status: Expired due to Fees
First Claim
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1. A non-Doppler radar-based collision warning system for determining when there is a risk of a potential collision between an overhead obstruction and cargo mounted on a roof of a vehicle, the system comprising:

  • a non-Doppler radar-based detector including a forward radar sensor, mountable on a front portion of a vehicle, the forward radar sensor operable to emit electromagnetic pulses and receive subsequent pulse reflections in a specifically shaped first antenna beam pattern covering a first antenna beam pattern space so as to gather information about the presence of absence of objects within said first antenna beam pattern space covered by the first antenna beam pattern, said first antenna beam pattern space defined as a portion of the space above a plane approximately coplanar with the roof of the vehicle; and

    a user interface unit connectable to the radar-based detector for receiving at least some of the information gathered by the radar-based detector, the user interface unit including an alarm unit and a computer program product comprising a portion of a memory including computer usable program code for determining the risk of collision between an object and cargo mounted on the roof of the vehicle, the computer usable program code including program instructions for;

    processing the information gathered by the radar-based detector to determine if said object is within said first antenna beam pattern space; and

    warning a user that a risk of a potential collision is present when said object is determined to be in said first antenna beam pattern space;

    wherein the user interface unit further comprises a drive/engine sensor for providing a signal indicative as to whether or not the engine of the vehicle is running, and wherein the computer usable program code also includes program instructions for;

    processing the signal from the drive/engine sensor to determine whether or not the vehicle is running; and

    placing the collision avoidance system in a stand-by mode in order to save power when it is determined that the vehicle is not running.

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