Patent ID: 12210096

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Before the disclosure is described in greater detail, it should be noted that where considered appropriate, reference numerals or terminal portions of reference numerals have been repeated among the figures to indicate corresponding or analogous elements, which may optionally have similar characteristics.

Throughout the disclosure, the term “connected to” may refer to a direct connection among a plurality of electrical apparatus/devices/equipment via an electrically conductive material (e.g., an electrical wire), or an indirect connection between two electrical apparatus/devices/equipment via another one or more apparatus/devices/equipment, or wireless communication.

Referring toFIGS.1to4, an ultrasonic radar system200adapted to be detachably mounted on a vehicle900is provided. The ultrasonic radar system200is configured to detect whether there is an object around the vehicle900, such as detecting whether a person or an obstacle is in a driving blind spot or an inner wheel difference area of the vehicle900. The vehicle900may be, for example, a large vehicle such as a cargo truck, a combination vehicle, a dump truck, a concrete transport truck, etc.

The ultrasonic radar system200includes an ultrasonic radar unit3that is configured to be detachably mounted on the vehicle900, and a warning device4that is configured to be electrically connected to the ultrasonic radar unit3and that is to be mounted inside a cabin of the vehicle900. Specifically, in this embodiment, the ultrasonic radar unit3is connected to the warning device4via wireless communication.

In some embodiments, the ultrasonic radar system200may include a plurality of ultrasonic radar units, and the warning device4is configured to be electrically connected to the ultrasonic radar units. The ultrasonic radar units may be mounted on different sides of the vehicle900(e.g., front, left, right, or rear side of the vehicle900). Since all of the ultrasonic radar units are identical, only one ultrasonic radar unit3is described in detail below.

The ultrasonic radar unit3includes a first housing31, and a connecting unit32, a reflector33, an ultrasonic sensor34, a first communication module35, a motion sensing module36, a control module37, and a solar power module38that are all disposed on the first housing31. The first housing31has a rear side (seeFIGS.4and5) and a front side (seeFIG.2) that are opposite to each other. When the ultrasonic radar unit3is correctly mounted on the vehicle900, the rear side faces the vehicle900(i.e., the side of the first housing31that is in contact with the vehicle900) while the front side faces away from the vehicle900.

The connecting unit32includes a plurality of connectors321. In this embodiment, each of the connectors321is a magnet disposed on the rear side of the first housing31. The connectors321are configured to be detachably mounted on a side of the vehicle900by magnetic attraction, thus allowing the ultrasonic radar unit3to be detachably mounted on the vehicle900(as shown inFIG.1). In some embodiments, only one connector321is disposed on the first housing31. Since the connecting unit32may be in different forms to detachably mount the ultrasonic radar unit3on the vehicle900, such as a zip tie, hook and loop fasteners, or a clip buckle, the connecting unit32should not be limited to the abovementioned examples.

The reflector33is configured to reflect light and is disposed on the front side of the first housing31.

The ultrasonic sensor34is disposed on the front side of the first housing31facing away from the vehicle900. The ultrasonic sensor34is configured to be activated to emit an ultrasonic signal for detecting whether there is an object present within a predetermined range (i.e., a detection range of the ultrasonic sensor34), and is configured to output a sensing signal upon detecting presence of an object that is within the predetermined range according to a reflected ultrasonic signal. Since the ultrasonic sensor34used to detect objects within the predetermined range is well known to one having ordinary skill in the art, it will not be described in further detail for the sake of brevity.

The first communication module35is configured to wirelessly communicate with the warning device4using a wireless communication technology, such as Bluetooth® and/or Wi-Fi, etc.

The motion sensing module36is configured to detect whether the vehicle900is moving and to output a trigger signal upon detecting movement of the vehicle900. To be more specific, the motion sensing module36is capable of detecting vibration of the vehicle900when an engine of the vehicle900is operating, and the trigger signal is continuously outputted upon detecting vibration of the vehicle900. In this embodiment, the motion sensing module36is configured to stop outputting the trigger signal if the motion sensing module36has not detected vibration of the vehicle900for longer than a predetermined time period (e.g., five minutes). The motion sensing module36may be, but not limited to, a gravity sensor that is configured to detect three-axis displacement.

Further referring toFIG.5, the control module37is electrically connected to the ultrasonic sensor34, the first communication module35and the motion sensing module36, and stores an identifier that is related and unique to the ultrasonic radar unit3. The control module37may include, but not limited to, a single core processor, a multi-core processor, a dual-core mobile processor, a microprocessor, a microcontroller, a digital signal processor (DSP), a field-programmable gate array (FPGA), an application specific integrated circuit (ASIC), a radio-frequency integrated circuit (RFIC), a system on a chip (SoC), etc.

The control module37is configured to activate the ultrasonic sensor34upon receiving the trigger signal from the motion sensing module36, and to analyze the sensing signal outputted by the ultrasonic sensor34to obtain a distance to the object. The control module37is further configured to output a warning signal that includes the identifier and the distance to the object through the first communication module35to the warning device4.

The control module37includes an operation unit371that is configured to be switched among a plurality of settings respectively corresponding to different sides of the vehicle900(e.g., front, rear, left and right sides) and that is configured to be operated to activate a pairing function. The operation unit371includes a knob372and a button373. The knob372is operable to be switched among a plurality of positions corresponding respectively to the settings for switching the operation unit371among the settings. The button373is operable to activate the pairing function. The control module37further stores a plurality of setting parameters that correspond respectively to the settings. The control module37is configured to output a pairing signal using the first communication module35when the operation unit371activates the pairing function, where the pairing signal includes the identifier and one of the setting parameters that corresponds to one of the settings which the operation unit371is currently being switched to.

The solar power module38is electrically connected to and is configured to provide electric power to the ultrasonic sensor34, the first communication module35, the motion sensing module36, and the control module37. The solar panel module38includes a solar panel381that is disposed on a top outer surface of the first housing31, and a battery382that is disposed inside the first housing31and that is electrically connected to the solar panel381. The solar panel381is configured to convert energy of light directly into the electric power and to store the electric power in the battery382.

The warning device4includes a second housing41, a second communication module42disposed within the second housing41, a warning module43disposed on an outer surface of the second housing41, and a central control module44disposed within the second housing41. The second communication module42is configured to wirelessly communicate with the first communication module35of the ultrasonic radar unit3to receive the warning signal and the pairing signal. In some embodiments, the warning device4further includes a battery (not shown) for providing electric power to the second communication module42, the warning module43, and the central control module44. In some embodiments, the warning device4is configured to be electrically connected to an electrical system of the vehicle900through an automobile auxiliary power outlet or a universal serial bus (USB) socket to use electric power provided by the electrical system.

The warning module43includes a display unit431and an audio warning unit434. The display unit431displays a vehicleFIG.432, and includes a plurality of warning areas433that are on different sides of the vehicleFIG.432and that are associated with the setting parameters, respectively. Each of the warning areas433is configured to be controlled by the central control module44to output a visual warning. The display unit431is, for example, a light-emitting diode (LED) display, a liquid-crystal display (LCD), etc.

The audio warning unit434is, for example, a speaker, and is configured to be controlled by the central control module44to output an audio warning in one of a plurality of sound modes. The sound modes correspond to different distances to the object, and may be a beeping sound of different time intervals. For example, the shorter the distance to the object, the shorter the time interval of the beeping sound.

The central control module44is electrically connected to the second communication module42and the warning module43, and stores the setting parameters that are associated respectively with the warning areas433. The central control module44may include, but not limited to, a single core processor, a multi-core processor, a dual-core mobile processor, a microprocessor, a microcontroller, a digital signal processor (DSP), a field-programmable gate array (FPGA), an application specific integrated circuit (ASIC), a radio-frequency integrated circuit (RFIC), a system on a chip (SoC), etc. The central control module44is configured to, according to the pairing signal received through the second communication module42, execute a pairing setting to pair the ultrasonic radar unit3to one of the warning areas433.

To describe in further detail, to execute the pairing setting for pairing the ultrasonic radar unit3to one of the warning areas433, a user has to switch the knob372to one of the positions that corresponds to one of the sides of the vehicle900where the ultrasonic radar unit3is desired to be mounted on, and then to operate the button373to activate the pairing function. For example, when the ultrasonic radar unit3is to be mounted on the right side of the vehicle900, the knob372is to be switched to one of the positions that corresponds to one of the settings that is associated to the right side of the vehicle900, and the button373is to be consecutively pressed for multiple times (e.g., two times, three times, four times, etc.) to activate the pairing function. The control module37then outputs the pairing signal to the central control module44via the first communication module35when the pairing function is activated. When the central control module44receives the pairing signal through the second communication module42, the central control module44analyzes a received signal strength indication (RSSI) of the pairing signal. Only when the RSSI is greater than a predetermined value will the central control module44store the identifier that is included in the pairing signal and couple the identifier to one of the warning areas433that corresponds to the one of the setting parameters included in the pairing signal, thus pairing the ultrasonic radar unit3to one of the warning areas433.

The central control module44is further configured to, according to the warning signal received through the second communication module42, control the warning module43to operate.

To describe in further detail, upon receiving the warning signal, the central control module44controls one of the warning areas433that is coupled to the identifier included in the warning signal to output a visual warning. The central control module44further controls the audio warning unit434to output the audio warning in one of the sound modes that corresponds to the distance to the object. A driver of the vehicle900may then identify a location of the object according to the visual warning, and identify the distance to the object according to the audio warning.

In summary, when implementing the ultrasonic radar system200provided in the disclosure, the driver of the vehicle900may pair the ultrasonic radar unit34to one of the warning areas433, mount the ultrasonic radar unit34to one of the different sides of the vehicle900that corresponds to the one of the warning areas433though magnetic attraction, and mount the warning device4inside the cabin of the vehicle900to complete a setup of the ultrasonic radar system200. The ultrasonic radar unit34may be mounted on one of the different sides of the vehicle900desired by the driver (e.g., any side of the vehicle900that may have a higher chance of collision, or any blind spot of the vehicle900). The driver may also choose to pair more than one ultrasonic radar unit to more than one of the warning areas433, and then pair the more than one ultrasonic radar unit to the warning device4.

Since the ultrasonic radar unit34uses the electric power that is stored in the battery382and does not require electric power from the vehicle900itself, the ultrasonic radar unit34may be easily moved to another vehicle when the vehicle900is not in service, and the pairing setting may easily be executed again to pair the ultrasonic radar unit34to another warning device that is mounted on the another vehicle, thus effectively reducing an equipment cost by reusing the ultrasonic radar unit34on different vehicles.

In the description above, for the purposes of explanation, numerous specific details have been set forth in order to provide a thorough understanding of the embodiment(s). It will be apparent, however, to one skilled in the art, that one or more other embodiments may be practiced without some of these specific details. It should also be appreciated that reference throughout this specification to “one embodiment,” “an embodiment,” an embodiment with an indication of an ordinal number and so forth means that a particular feature, structure, or characteristic may be included in the practice of the disclosure. It should be further appreciated that in the description, various features are sometimes grouped together in a single embodiment, figure, or description thereof for the purpose of streamlining the disclosure and aiding in the understanding of various inventive aspects; such does not mean that every one of these features needs to be practiced with the presence of all the other features. In other words, in any described embodiment, when implementation of one or more features or specific details does not affect implementation of another one or more features or specific details, said one or more features may be singled out and practiced alone without said another one or more features or specific details. It should be further noted that one or more features or specific details from one embodiment may be practiced together with one or more features or specific details from another embodiment, where appropriate, in the practice of the disclosure.

While the disclosure has been described in connection with what is(are) considered the exemplary embodiment(s), it is understood that this disclosure is not limited to the disclosed embodiment(s) but is intended to cover various arrangements included within the spirit and scope of the broadest interpretation so as to encompass all such modifications and equivalent arrangements.