Vehicle top clearance alert system
First Claim
1. A vehicle clearance alert system comprising:
- at least one camera disposed at a vehicle and having an exterior field of view in a direction of travel of the vehicle, wherein said at least one camera is operable to capture image data;
a control having an image processor operable to process image data captured by said at least one camera;
wherein, responsive to image processing of image data captured by said at least one camera, said control is operable to determine a height dimension of a structure in the path of travel of the vehicle;
wherein said control is operable, responsive to (i) the determined height dimension of the structure in the path of travel of the vehicle and (ii) a height dimension of the vehicle, to determine if there is sufficient clearance between the structure and the vehicle for the vehicle to pass under the structure;
wherein, responsive to a determination that there is not sufficient clearance between the structure and the vehicle for the vehicle to pass under the structure, said vehicle clearance alert system is operable to generate an alert to the driver of the vehicle; and
wherein said control is operable to determine a height dimension of the vehicle via processing of captured image data that is representative of at least one of (i) a reflected image of the vehicle and (ii) a shadow of the vehicle.
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Accused Products
Abstract
A vehicle clearance alert system includes at least one sensor or camera disposed at a vehicle and having an exterior field of view in a direction of travel of the vehicle. A control is responsive to the camera and is operable to determine a height dimension of a structure in the path of travel of the vehicle. The control is operable, responsive to (i) the determined height dimension of a structure in the path of travel of the vehicle and (ii) a height dimension of the vehicle, to determine if there is sufficient clearance between the structure and the vehicle for the vehicle to pass under the structure. Responsive to a determination that there is not sufficient clearance between the structure and the vehicle for the vehicle to pass under the structure, the alert system is operable to generate an alert to the driver of the vehicle.
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Citations
25 Claims
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1. A vehicle clearance alert system comprising:
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at least one camera disposed at a vehicle and having an exterior field of view in a direction of travel of the vehicle, wherein said at least one camera is operable to capture image data; a control having an image processor operable to process image data captured by said at least one camera; wherein, responsive to image processing of image data captured by said at least one camera, said control is operable to determine a height dimension of a structure in the path of travel of the vehicle; wherein said control is operable, responsive to (i) the determined height dimension of the structure in the path of travel of the vehicle and (ii) a height dimension of the vehicle, to determine if there is sufficient clearance between the structure and the vehicle for the vehicle to pass under the structure; wherein, responsive to a determination that there is not sufficient clearance between the structure and the vehicle for the vehicle to pass under the structure, said vehicle clearance alert system is operable to generate an alert to the driver of the vehicle; and wherein said control is operable to determine a height dimension of the vehicle via processing of captured image data that is representative of at least one of (i) a reflected image of the vehicle and (ii) a shadow of the vehicle. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13)
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14. A vehicle clearance alert system comprising:
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at least one camera disposed at a vehicle and having an exterior field of view in a direction of travel of the vehicle, wherein said at least one camera is operable to capture image data; a control having an image processor operable to process image data captured by said at least one camera; wherein, responsive to image processing of image data captured by said at least one camera, said control is operable to determine a height dimension of a structure in the path of travel of the vehicle; wherein said control is operable, responsive to (i) the determined height dimension of the structure in the path of travel of the vehicle and (ii) a height dimension of the vehicle, to determine if there is sufficient clearance between the structure and the vehicle for the vehicle to pass under the structure; wherein, responsive to a determination that there is not sufficient clearance between the structure and the vehicle for the vehicle to pass under the structure, said vehicle clearance alert system is operable to generate an alert to the driver of the vehicle; and wherein said control is operable to determine a height dimension of the vehicle with an object disposed thereon via processing of captured image data and based at least in part on a known height of the vehicle when no object is disposed thereon, and wherein the height of the vehicle is stored in a memory of said control.
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15. A vehicle clearance alert system comprising:
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at least one camera disposed at a vehicle and having an exterior field of view in a direction of travel of the vehicle, wherein said at least one camera is operable to capture image data; a control having an image processor operable to process image data captured by said at least one camera; wherein, responsive to image processing of image data captured by said at least one camera, said control is operable to determine a height dimension of a structure in the path of travel of the vehicle; wherein said control is operable, responsive to (i) the determined height dimension of the structure in the path of travel of the vehicle and (ii) a height dimension of the vehicle, to determine if there is sufficient clearance between the structure and the vehicle for the vehicle to pass under the structure; wherein, responsive to a determination that there is not sufficient clearance between the structure and the vehicle for the vehicle to pass under the structure, said vehicle clearance alert system is operable to generate an alert to the driver of the vehicle; wherein the height of the vehicle is stored in a memory of said control; and wherein said control is operable to determine a height dimension of the vehicle with an object disposed thereon via processing of captured image data that is representative of at least one of (i) a reflected image of the vehicle with the object disposed thereon and (ii) a shadow of the vehicle with the object disposed thereon.
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16. A vehicle clearance alert system comprising:
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a forward facing camera disposed at a vehicle and having an exterior field of view in a forward direction of travel of the vehicle, wherein said camera is operable to capture image data; a control having an image processor operable to process image data captured by said camera; wherein, responsive to image processing of image data captured by said camera, said control is operable to determine a height dimension of a structure in the path of travel of the vehicle; wherein said control is operable, responsive to (i) the determined height dimension of the structure in the path of travel of the vehicle and (ii) a height dimension of the vehicle, to determine if there is sufficient clearance between the structure and the vehicle for the vehicle to pass under the structure; wherein, responsive to a determination that there is not sufficient clearance between the structure and the vehicle for the vehicle to pass under the structure, said vehicle clearance alert system is operable to generate an alert to the driver of the vehicle, and wherein said alert comprises at least one of (i) a visual alert, (ii) an audible alert and (iii) a haptic alert; and wherein said control is operable to determine a height dimension of the vehicle with an object disposed thereon via processing of captured image data and based at least in part on a known height of the vehicle when no object is disposed thereon.
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17. A vehicle clearance alert system comprising:
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a forward facing camera disposed at a vehicle and having an exterior field of view in a forward direction of travel of the vehicle, wherein said camera is operable to capture image data; a control having an image processor operable to process image data captured by said camera; wherein, responsive to image processing of image data captured by said camera, said control is operable to determine a height dimension of a structure in the path of travel of the vehicle; wherein said control is operable, responsive to (i) the determined height dimension of the structure in the path of travel of the vehicle and (ii) a height dimension of the vehicle, to determine if there is sufficient clearance between the structure and the vehicle for the vehicle to pass under the structure; wherein, responsive to a determination that there is not sufficient clearance between the structure and the vehicle for the vehicle to pass under the structure, said vehicle clearance alert system is operable to generate an alert to the driver of the vehicle, and wherein said alert comprises at least one of (i) a visual alert, (ii) an audible alert and (iii) a haptic alert; and wherein said control is operable to determine a height dimension of the vehicle with an object disposed thereon via processing of captured image data that is representative of at least one of (i) a reflected image of the vehicle with the object disposed thereon and (ii) a shadow of the vehicle with the object disposed thereon. - View Dependent Claims (18, 19, 20)
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21. A vehicle clearance alert system comprising:
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a forward facing camera disposed at a vehicle and having an exterior field of view in a forward direction of travel of the vehicle, wherein said camera is operable to capture image data; a control having an image processor operable to process image data captured by said camera; wherein, responsive to image processing of image data captured by said camera, said control is operable to determine a height dimension of a structure in the path of travel of the vehicle; wherein said control is operable, responsive to (i) the determined height dimension of the structure in the path of travel of the vehicle and (ii) a height dimension of the vehicle, to determine if there is sufficient clearance between the structure and the vehicle for the vehicle to pass under the structure; wherein, responsive to a determination that there is not sufficient clearance between the structure and the vehicle for the vehicle to pass under the structure, said vehicle clearance alert system is operable to generate an alert to the driver of the vehicle; wherein said forward facing camera is part of a forward facing imaging system and is operable to at least one of (i) detect a headlamp present in the field of view of said camera, (ii) track lane markers present in the field of view of said camera, (iii) detect traffic signs present in the field of view of said camera, (iv) detect vehicles present in the field of view of said camera and (v) detect pedestrians present in the field of view of said camera; and wherein said control is operable to determine a height dimension of the vehicle with an object disposed thereon via processing of captured image data and based at least in part on a known height of the vehicle when no object is disposed thereon. - View Dependent Claims (22, 23, 24, 25)
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Specification