Patent ID: 9459097
Filing Date: 2016-10-04
CPC Classification: A01D,B60K,B60R,B60W,G01C

Claim Text:
1. An apparatus for sensing tilt of a vehicle comprising: an accelerometer mounted to the vehicle wherein the vehicle has a first axis and a second axis wherein the second axis is oriented at an angle with respect to the first axis wherein the accelerometer senses a first tilt angle defined between the first axis and a horizontal reference plane wherein the accelerometer generates a first piece of data associated with the first tilt angle wherein the accelerometer senses a second tilt angle defined between the second axis and the horizontal reference plane and generates a second piece of data associated with the second tilt angle and further wherein the accelerometer senses the first tilt angle and the second tilt angle after an initial calibration of the accelerometer; a gyroscope mounted to the vehicle wherein the gyroscope senses the first tilt angle and generates a third piece of data associated with the first tilt angle wherein the gyroscope senses the second tilt angle and generates a fourth piece of data associated with the second tilt angle and further wherein the accelerometer is used to correct for gyroscope drift after the initial calibration of the accelerometer; and a processor connected to the accelerometer and the gyroscope wherein the processor determines a tilt angle of the vehicle based on the first piece of data and the second piece of data from the accelerometer and the third piece of data and the fourth piece of data from the gyroscope.