Rollover warning system for a vehicle
First Claim
1. A rollover warning system comprising:
- a base control inertial measurement unit having a plurality of sensors;
said plurality of sensors measuring a plurality of vehicle measurements, said plurality of vehicle measurements including at least two of;
a longitudinal acceleration measurement;
a lateral acceleration measurement;
a vertical acceleration measurement;
a roll rate measurement;
a pitch rate measurement;
a yaw rate measurement; and
combinations thereof; and
a computer calculating a Rollover Risk Estimate based on said plurality of vehicle measurements taken by said plurality of sensors in said inertial measurement unit;
said computer including an algorithm for calculating said Rollover Risk Estimate for three states;
said first state being typical of a vehicle navigating a side slope at relatively slow speeds, where the vehicle'"'"'s speeds are not high enough to generate significant lateral acceleration;
said second state being a steady state turning maneuver where the vehicle'"'"'s speed can generate significant lateral acceleration; and
said third state being an abrupt turning or sliding maneuver where the momentum of the vehicle will carry it into an unstable condition.
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Accused Products
Abstract
A rollover warning system for a vehicle includes: a base control inertial measurement unit with a plurality of sensors and a computer. The plurality of sensors measures a plurality of vehicle measurements. The plurality of vehicle measurements include at least two of: a longitudinal acceleration measurement; a lateral acceleration measurement; a vertical acceleration measurement; a roll rate measurement; a yaw rate measurement; and combinations thereof. Optionally, a pitch rate gyro for pitch measurement can be added for additional functionality, such as a vertical slope warning, or it can also be input into the predictive algorithm for defining additional vehicle hazardous operation states and conditions. The computer calculates a Rollover Risk Estimate based on the plurality of vehicle measurements taken by the plurality of sensors in the inertial measurement unit.
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Citations
19 Claims
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1. A rollover warning system comprising:
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a base control inertial measurement unit having a plurality of sensors; said plurality of sensors measuring a plurality of vehicle measurements, said plurality of vehicle measurements including at least two of;
a longitudinal acceleration measurement;
a lateral acceleration measurement;
a vertical acceleration measurement;
a roll rate measurement;
a pitch rate measurement;
a yaw rate measurement; and
combinations thereof; anda computer calculating a Rollover Risk Estimate based on said plurality of vehicle measurements taken by said plurality of sensors in said inertial measurement unit; said computer including an algorithm for calculating said Rollover Risk Estimate for three states; said first state being typical of a vehicle navigating a side slope at relatively slow speeds, where the vehicle'"'"'s speeds are not high enough to generate significant lateral acceleration; said second state being a steady state turning maneuver where the vehicle'"'"'s speed can generate significant lateral acceleration; and said third state being an abrupt turning or sliding maneuver where the momentum of the vehicle will carry it into an unstable condition. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17)
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18. A rollover warning system comprising:
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a base control inertial measurement unit having a plurality of sensors; a computer adapted to calculate a Rollover Risk Estimate based on said plurality of vehicle measurements taken by said plurality of sensors in said inertial measurement unit; said computer including an algorithm adapted to provide said Rollover Risk Estimate for three states; said first state being typical of a vehicle navigating a side slope at relatively slow speeds, where the vehicle'"'"'s speeds are not high enough to generate significant lateral acceleration; said second state being a steady state turning maneuver where the vehicle'"'"'s speed can generate significant lateral acceleration; and said third state being an abrupt turning or sliding maneuver where the momentum of the vehicle will carry it into an unstable condition.
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19. A method of warning a driver of a vehicle of a potential rollover comprising the steps of:
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providing a rollover warning system comprising; a base control inertial measurement unit having a plurality of sensors; said plurality of sensors being adapted to measure a plurality of vehicle measurements, said plurality of vehicle including at least two of;
a longitudinal acceleration measurement;
a lateral acceleration measurement;
a vertical acceleration measurement;
a roll rate measurement;
a pitch rate measurement;
a yaw rate measurement; and
combinations thereof; anda computer adapted to calculate a Rollover Risk Estimate based on said plurality of vehicle measurements taken by said plurality of sensors in said inertial measurement unit; said computer including an algorithm for calculating said Rollover Risk Estimate for three states; said first state being typical of a vehicle navigating a side slope at relatively slow speeds, where the vehicle'"'"'s speeds are not high enough to generate significant lateral acceleration; said second state being a steady state turning maneuver where the vehicle'"'"'s speed can generate significant lateral acceleration; and said third state being an abrupt turning or sliding maneuver where the momentum of the vehicle will carry it into an unstable condition installing said rollover warning system into a new or existing vehicle; calculating said Rollover Risk Estimate during operation of said new or existing vehicle; and warning the driver of a possible rollover.
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Specification