Wading depth estimation for a vehicle
First Claim
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1. A method for use in a vehicle, comprising:
- receiving by a control unit a signal from one or more sensors indicating wading and wading depth;
receiving by said control unit a signal from a sensor indicating attitude of the vehicle; and
estimating, by said control unit and based upon;
(i) a wading depth (D) as indicated by said signal from said one or more sensors, (ii) attitude as indicated by said signal from said sensor, and (iii) a distance (Rmax) in advance of the location of the vehicle and/or a maximum wading depth (Dmax) of the vehicle, a depth of water (D(R)) at a location ahead of the vehicle substantially in the direction of vehicle movement and/or the distance (R), ahead of the vehicle substantially in the direction of vehicle movement, to a maximum wading depth (Dmax).
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Abstract
A predictive method of detecting the depth of water ahead of a wading vehicle comprises providing a wading sensor and an attitude sensor on the vehicle, and using this information to estimate the depth of water at a location ahead of the direction of vehicle movement. Corresponding apparatus is disclosed.
24 Citations
18 Claims
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1. A method for use in a vehicle, comprising:
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receiving by a control unit a signal from one or more sensors indicating wading and wading depth; receiving by said control unit a signal from a sensor indicating attitude of the vehicle; and estimating, by said control unit and based upon;
(i) a wading depth (D) as indicated by said signal from said one or more sensors, (ii) attitude as indicated by said signal from said sensor, and (iii) a distance (Rmax) in advance of the location of the vehicle and/or a maximum wading depth (Dmax) of the vehicle, a depth of water (D(R)) at a location ahead of the vehicle substantially in the direction of vehicle movement and/or the distance (R), ahead of the vehicle substantially in the direction of vehicle movement, to a maximum wading depth (Dmax). - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7)
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- 8. A vehicle comprising a wading depth sensor, an attitude sensor and a control unit configured to receive and use signals issued by said wading depth sensor and said attitude sensor to compute an estimated wading depth (D(R)) at a location ahead of the direction of vehicle movement and/or to compute a distance (Rmax) ahead of the direction of vehicle movement at which a maximum wading depth (Dmax) will be reached.
- 16. A system for a vehicle, the system comprising a control unit, a sensor for determining vehicle tilt and a sensor for indicating wading depth, wherein the control unit is configured to estimate wading depth (D(R)) in advance of a location of a vehicle and/or is configured to estimate a maximum range of a vehicle in advance of a location of a vehicle, wherein said estimations are based upon a wading depth (D) as determined by the sensor for indicating wading depth, tilt as determined by the sensor for determining vehicle tilt and a distance (Rmax) in advance of the location of the vehicle and/or a maximum wading depth (Dmax) of the vehicle.
Specification