FORM 2
THE PATENTS ACT, 1970
[39 OF 1970]
&
The Patents Rules, 2003
COMPLETE SPECIFICATION
[See Section 10 and Rule 13]
TITLE: “METHOD AND SYSTEM FOR AVOIDING VEHICLE COLLISION WITH OVERHEAD OBJECTS.”
NAME AND ADDRESS OF THE APPLICANT:
TATA MOTORS LIMITED, Bombay House, 24 Homi Mody Street, Hutatma Chowk, Mumbai 400 001, Maharashtra, INDIA.
Nationality: INDIA
The following specification particularly describes the invention and the manner in which it is to be performed.

TECHNICAL FIELD
[001] The present disclosure generally relates to collision of roof of heavy vehicles and more particularly to a method and a system for avoiding vehicle collision with overhead objects.
BACKGROUND
[002] Driving a vehicle under flyovers, overpass or bridges sometimes is a daunting task, especially for drivers driving heavy vehicles such as trucks with huge containers. It is often observed that the driver, being unable to properly judge the height of the overpass/overhead object due to negligence or overconfidence, decides to travel underneath it. This causes a fatal roof collision of the vehicle with the overpass and also causes serious damage to the infrastructure.
[003] To avoid this kind of roof collision of a vehicle, there is a need for development of an advanced and efficient collision avoidance system.
[004] The information disclosed in this background of the disclosure section is only for enhancement of understanding of the general background of the invention and should not be taken as an acknowledgement or any form of suggestion that this information forms the prior art already known to a person skilled in the art.
SUMMARY
[005] Disclosed herein is a method for avoiding vehicle collision with overhead objects. The method comprises determining a height of a vehicle using one or more first sensors mounted on a body of the vehicle; detecting an object in front of the vehicle using one or more second sensors; estimating a height of the object in front of the vehicle using the one more second sensors, wherein the height of the object becomes accurate as the distance between the vehicle and the object decreases; finally, actuating the an alarm when the height of the object is less than or equal to the threshold height of the vehicle.
[006] The foregoing summary is illustrative only and is not intended to be in any way limiting. In addition to the illustrative aspects, embodiments, and features described above, further aspects, embodiments, and features will become apparent by reference to the drawings and the following detailed description.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE ACCOMPANYING DRAWINGS
[007] The accompanying drawings, which are incorporated in and constitute a part of this disclosure, illustrate exemplary embodiments and, together with the description, explain the disclosed principles. In the figures, the left-most digit(s) of a reference number identifies the figure in which the reference number first appears. The same numbers are used throughout the figures to reference like features and components. Some embodiments of system and/or methods in accordance with embodiments of the present subject matter are now described, by way of example only, and regarding the accompanying figures, in which:
[008] FIG. 1 illustrates a vehicle comprising a system for avoiding vehicle collision with overhead objects, in accordance with some embodiments of the present disclosure.
[009] FIG. 2 illustrates a detailed block diagram of an Electronic Control Unit (ECU) configured to alert the driver to avoid the vehicle collision with overhead objects, in accordance with some embodiments of the present disclosure.
[010] FIG. 3a, 3b, 3c, 3d illustrates an exemplary diagram of practical implementation for determining the height of the container of the vehicle above the cabin level of the vehicle using one or more first sensors, in accordance with some embodiments of the present disclosure.
[011] FIG. 4a, 4b and 4c illustrates an exemplary diagram of practical implementation of object height determination, comparison of the object height and the threshold height , in accordance with some embodiments of the present disclosure.
[012] FIG. 5 is a flowchart illustrating a method for avoiding vehicle collision with overhead objects, in accordance with some embodiments of the present disclosure.
[013] It should be appreciated by those skilled in the art that any block diagrams herein represent conceptual views of illustrative systems embodying the principles of the present subject matter. Similarly, it will be appreciated that any flow charts, flow diagrams, state transition diagrams, pseudo code, and the like represent various processes which may be substantially represented in computer readable medium and executed by a computer or processor, whether or not such computer or processor is explicitly shown.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION
[014] In the present document, the word “exemplary” is used herein to mean “serving as an example, instance, or illustration”. Any embodiment or implementation of the present subject matter described herein as “exemplary” is not necessarily to be construed as preferred or advantageous over other embodiments.
[015] While the disclosure is susceptible to various modifications and alternative forms, specific embodiment thereof has been shown by way of example in the drawings and will be described in detail below. It should be understood, however that it is not intended to limit the disclosure to the particular forms disclosed, but on the contrary, the disclosure is to cover all modifications, equivalents, and alternative falling within the spirit and the scope of the disclosure.
[016] The terms “comprises”, “comprising”, or any other variations thereof, are intended to cover a non-exclusive inclusion, such that a setup, device, or method that comprises a list of components or steps does not include only those components or steps but may include other components or steps not expressly listed or inherent to such setup or device or method. In other words, one or more elements in a device or system or apparatus proceeded by “comprises… a” does not, without more constraints, preclude the existence of other elements or additional elements in the device or system or apparatus.
[017] In the following detailed description of the embodiments of the disclosure, reference is made to the accompanying drawings that form a part hereof, and in which are shown by way of illustration specific embodiments in which the disclosure may be practiced. These embodiments are described in sufficient detail to enable those skilled in the art to practice the disclosure, and it is to be understood that other embodiments may be utilized and that changes may be made without departing from the scope of the present disclosure. The following description is, therefore, not to be taken in a limiting sense.
[018] FIG. 1 illustrates a vehicle comprising a system for avoiding vehicle collision with overhead objects, in accordance with some embodiments of the present disclosure.
[019] In an embodiment, the exemplary arrangement in the vehicle 100 comprises one or more first sensors 101, one or more second sensors 102, an ECU 103 and an alarm unit 104. The one or

more first sensors 101 and the one more second sensors 102 are mounted on the body of the vehicle 100.
[020] In an embodiment, the ECU 103 may comprises, without limitation, an Electronic Control Unit (ECU) implemented in the vehicle 100 to control all the electronic features of the system..
[021] In an embodiment, the processor of the ECU 103 may be embodied as a multi-core processor, a single core processor, or a combination of one or more multi-core processors and one or more single core processors. For example, the processor may be embodied as one or more of various processing devices, such as a coprocessor, a microprocessor, a controller, a digital signal processor (DSP), a processing circuitry with or without an accompanying DSP, or various other processing devices including, a microcontroller unit (MCU), a hardware accelerator, or the like.
[022] In an embodiment, the processor of ECU 103 is configured to: (1) detect the object using the one or more second sensors 102; (2) estimate the height of the object using the one or more second sensors 102. (3) actuate the alarm unit 104 when the height of the object is less than or equal to the threshold height of the vehicle 100, wherein the threshold height is calculated by determining the height of the vehicle 211 using the one or more first sensors 101 and the information of the object 401. The ECU 103 actuates the alarm unit 104. The alarm unit 104 alerts the driver about a possible collision of the vehicle 100.
[023] In an embodiment, the vehicle 100 may be, without limitation, a commercial vehicle such as a truck, a tanker, a vehicle 100 carrying a load, etc.
[024] In an embodiment, the detection of the object using the processor 203 happens when the vehicle 100 is switched ON.
[025] In an alternative embodiment, the detection of the object by the processor 203 happens when a system enabling switch of the system is switched ON.
[026] In an embodiment, the height of the vehicle 100 may include, without limitation, the height of the containers or the load the vehicle 100 is carrying. The containers or the load carried by the vehicle 100 may include, without limitation, of different sizes. Therefore, the height of the overall vehicle 100 can be summarized as the height of the vehicle 100.

[027] In an embodiment, the one or more first sensors 101 may comprise, without limitation, an ultrasonic sensor coupled to a stepper motor mounted on the body of the vehicle 100.
[028] In an embodiment, the object may include, without limitation, at least one of a bridge, a tunnel, an overpass etc. The one which would restrict the vehicle 100 movement due to its dimension.
[029] In an embodiment, the one or more second sensors 102 may comprise, without limitation, a Radio Detection and Ranging (RADAR) mounted on the body of the vehicle 100.
[030] FIG. 2 illustrates a detailed block diagram of an Electronic Control Unit (ECU) configured to alert the driver to avoid the vehicle collision with overhead objects, in accordance with some embodiments of the present disclosure.
[031] In an embodiment, the ECU 103 comprises I/O interface module 201, a processor 203, a memory 200, data 204 and modules 209. The modules 209 further comprises a determining module 215, a detecting module 216, an estimating module 217 and an actuating module 218 which will be explained in detail later.
[032] In an embodiment, the data 204 stored in the memory 200 may include, without limitation, the vehicle cabin height 210 and the height of the vehicle 211 determined using the one or more first sensors 101, the threshold height 212 of the vehicle, the height of the object 213 determined using the one or more second sensors 102. In implementation, the data 204 may be stored within the memory 200 in the form of various data structures. Additionally, the data 204 may be organized using data models, such as relational or hierarchical data models. In an embodiment, other data may be stored in the memory 200.
[033] In an embodiment, the I/O module 201 of ECU 103 may include, without limitation, enabling communication of the ECU 103 with one or more first sensors 101 and one or more second sensors 102. In another embodiment, the I/O interface module 201 may be a communication port such as a Universal Serial Bus (USB)/ C-type port/Ethernet port or any other medium capable of communicating the data from the sensors to the ECU 103.

[034] In an embodiment, the processor 203 of the ECU 103 using the determining module 215 determines the height of the vehicle 211, upon determining the height of the vehicle 211 the processor 203 updates the value of threshold height 212 dynamically based on the information of the object 401. Upon determining the height of the vehicle 211 the processor 203 using the estimating module 217 estimates the height of the object 213 using the one or more second sensors 102. Finally, the processor 203 using actuating module 218 actuates the alarm unit 104.
[035] In an embodiment, the processor 203 after determining the height of the vehicle 211 using the one or more first sensors 101 it calculates and updates the threshold height 212 value to the real-time height of the vehicle determined by the one or more first sensors 101.
[036] In an implementation, the one or more first sensors 101 may be, without limitation, mounted on top of the cabin of the vehicle 100 to determine the height of the containers above cabin level or the load placed on the vehicle 100.
[037] In an implementation, the overall height of the vehicle 100 is the sum of vehicle cabin height 210 of the vehicle 100 and the container height of the vehicle above cabin level 100. The cabin height 210 is a fixed parameter obtained from a lookup table by the processor 203.
[038] FIG. 3a, 3b, 3c, 3d illustrates an exemplary diagram of practical implementation for determining the height of the container of the vehicle above the cabin level of the vehicle using one or more first sensors, in accordance with some embodiments of the present disclosure.
[039] In an embodiment, the one or more first sensors 101, without limitation, are coupled to the stepper motor 301 for flexible movement to determine the height of the container of the vehicle 100 as shown in FIG. 3a.
[040] In an implementation the ultrasonic sensors used in the present disclosure, without limitation, determines distances.
[041] In an implementation, the one or more first sensors 101, without limitation, first measures two different distances for example ‘X’ and ‘Y’ with the help of the stepper motor 301 as shown in FIG. 3b, 3c, 3d.

[042] In an embodiment, the processor 203 utilizes, without limitation, the Pythagoras theorem to determine the height of the container above cabin level using the distances X and Y measurements.
[043] In an implementation, the processor 203 determines the real-time height of the vehicle 211 using the height of the container above cabin level and the vehicle cabin height 210. The height of the vehicle 211 is the sum of the height of the container above cabin level and the vehicle cabin height 210.
[044] FIG. 4a, 4b and 4c illustrates an exemplary diagram of practical implementation of object height estimation, comparison of the object height and the threshold height , in accordance with some embodiments of the present disclosure.
[045] In an embodiment, the one or more second sensors 102, without limitation, are mounted on the body of the vehicle 100 as shown in FIG. 4a, 4b and 4c.
[046] In an embodiment, the processor 203 using the one or more second sensors 102 detects the object 401 and estimates, the height of the object 213 at distance D1 as depicted in FIG. 4a, the height of the object 213 at the distance D2 as depicted in FIG. 4b, and the height of the object 213 at the distance D3 as depicted in FIG. 4c.
[047] In embodiment, the processor 203 actuates the alarm unit 104 with low intensity when the height of the object 213 in front of the vehicle 100 at the distance D1 is less than or equal to a first threshold height. In one embodiment the threshold height 212 can be the same as the height of object 213 estimated. In one embodiment the threshold height 212 is more than the height of the object 213 estimated. In one embodiment the threshold height 212 is used to determine what could be the safe for the vehicle to pass.
[048] In an embodiment, the processor 203 actuates the alarm unit 104 with medium intensity when the height of the object 213 in front of the vehicle 100 at a distance D2 is less than or equal to a second threshold height.

[049] In an embodiment, the processor 203 actuates the alarm unit 104 with high intensity when the height of the object 213 in front of the vehicle 100 at a distance D3 is less than or equal to a third threshold height.
[050] In an embodiment, the alarm unit 104 may comprise, without limitation, at least one of an acoustic alarm, display alarm.
[051] In an embodiment, the first threshold height, the second threshold height and the third threshold height are the threshold height 212 of the vehicle 100 that dynamically changes with respect to the distance D1, D2 and D3 respectively.
[052] In an embodiment, the distance between the vehicle 100 and the object 401 decreases as the vehicle 100 moves towards the object 401.
[053] In an embodiment, the accuracy of the estimation of the height of the object by the one or more second sensors 102 increases with respect to decreased distance. For example, the accuracy of the estimation of the height of the object 213 is lesser at the distance D1, medium at the distance D2 and high at the distance D3. The distance D1 is greater than the distance D2, and distance D2 is greater than the distance D3, therefore evidently the distance D3 is lesser than D1, as depicted in FIG. 4a, 4b and 4c.
[054] In an embodiment, the distance D1, distance D2 and distance D3, without limitation, can be measured in centimeters, meters, kilometers, square yards etc.
[055] In an alternative embodiment, when the height of the object is greater than the threshold height 212 the processor 203 does not actuate the alarm unit 104 which means to the driver that it is safe pass under the object 401.
[056] FIG. 5 is a flowchart illustrating a method for avoiding vehicle collision with overhead objects, in accordance with some embodiments of the present disclosure.
[057] As illustrated in FIG. 5, the method 500 may include one or more block illustrating a method for avoiding vehicle collision with overhead objects. The order in which the method 500 is intended to be constructed as a limitation, and any number of the described method blocks can be combined in any order to implement the method. Additionally, individual blocks may be deleted

from the method without departing from the scope of the subject matter described herein. Furthermore, the method can be implemented in any suitable hardware, software, firmware, or combination thereof.
[058] At block 501, the method 500 includes detecting, by the processor 203, the object 401 in front of the vehicle 100 using the one or more second sensors 102.
[059] At block 502, the method 500 includes estimating, by the processor 203, the height of the object 213 using the one or more second sensors 102.
[060] At block 503, the method 500 includes actuating, by the processor 203, the alarm unit 104 when the height of the object 213 is less than or equal to the threshold height 212 of the vehicle 100.
[061] In an embodiment, the threshold height 212 of the vehicle 100 is calculated by determining the height of the vehicle 211 using the one or more first sensors 101 mounted on the body of the vehicle 100 and the information of the object 401.
[062] In an embodiment, the processor 203 actuates the alarm unit 104 with low intensity when the height of the object 213 estimated at a distance D1 is less than or equal to the first threshold height.
[063] In an embodiment, the processor 203 actuates the alarm unit 104 with medium intensity when the height of the object 213 is less than or equal to the second threshold height.
[064] In an embodiment, the processor 203 actuates the alarm unit 104 with high intensity when the height of the object 213 is less than or equal to the third threshold height.
[065] In an embodiment, the first threshold height, the second threshold height and the third threshold height are the threshold height 212 that dynamically changes with respect to the distance D1 distance D2 and the distance D3 respectively.
[066] In an implementation, the distance between the vehicle 100 and the object 401 decreases as the vehicle moves towards the object 401.

[067] The terms "an embodiment", "embodiment", "embodiments", "the embodiment", "the embodiments", "one or more embodiments", "some embodiments", and "one embodiment" mean "one or more (but not all) embodiments of the invention(s)" unless expressly specified otherwise.
[068] The terms "including", "comprising", “having” and variations thereof mean "including but not limited to", unless expressly specified otherwise.
[069] The enumerated listing of items does not imply that any or all the items are mutually exclusive, unless expressly specified otherwise. The terms "a", "an" and "the" mean "one or more", unless expressly specified otherwise.
[070] A description of an embodiment with several components in communication with each other does not imply that all such components are required. On the contrary, a variety of optional components are described to illustrate the wide variety of possible embodiments of the invention.
[071] When a single device or article is described herein, it will be clear that more than one device/article (whether they cooperate) may be used in place of a single device/article. Similarly, where more than one device/article is described herein (whether they cooperate), it will be clear that a single device/article may be used in place of the more than one device/article or a different number of devices/articles may be used instead of the shown number of devices or programs. The functionality and/or features of a device may be alternatively embodied by one or more other devices which are not explicitly described as having such functionality/features. Thus, other embodiments of invention need not include the device itself.
[072] Finally, the language used in the specification has been principally selected for readability and instructional purposes, and it may not have been selected to delineate or circumscribe the inventive subject matter. It is therefore intended that the scope of the invention be limited not by this detailed description, but rather by any claims that issue on an application based here on. Accordingly, the embodiments of the present invention are intended to be illustrative, but not limiting, of the scope of the invention, which is set forth in the following claims.
[073] While various aspects and embodiments have been disclosed herein, other aspects and embodiments will be apparent to those skilled in the art. The various aspects and embodiments

disclosed herein are for purposes of illustration and are not intended to be limiting, with the true scope and spirit being indicated by the following claims.
[074] Referral Numerals:

Reference Number Description
100 Vehicle
101 One or more first sensors
102 One or more second sensors
103 Electronic Control Unit (ECU)
104 Alarm unit
200 Memory
201 I/O Interface
203 Processor
204 Data
210 Vehicle cabin height
211 Height of the vehicle
212 Threshold height
213 Height of the object
215 Determining module
216 Detecting module
217 Estimating module
218 Actuating module
301 Stepper motor
401 Object

[075] WE CLAIM:
1. A method for avoiding vehicle 100 collision, comprises:
detecting, by the processor 203, an object 401 in front of a vehicle 100 using one or more second sensors 102;
estimating, by the processor 203, a height of the object 213 in front of the vehicle 100 using the one or more second sensors 102 when the object 401 is detected; and
actuating, by the processor 203, an alarm unit 104 when the height of the object 213 is less than or equal to a threshold height of the vehicle 212 wherein the threshold height 212 is calculated by determining a height of a vehicle 211 using one or more first sensors 101 mounted on a body of the vehicle 100 and the information of the object 401
2. The method as claimed in claim 1, the one or more second sensors 102 comprise a Radio Detection and Ranging (RADAR).
3. The method as claimed in claim 1, detecting the object 401 in front of the vehicle 100 when the vehicle is turned ON.
4. The method as claimed in claim 1, wherein actuating the alarm unit 104 comprises:
actuating the alarm unit 104 with low intensity when the height of the object 213 estimated
at a distance D1 is less than or equal to a first threshold height;
actuating the alarm unit 104 with medium intensity when the height of the object 213 estimated at a distance D2 is less than or equal to a second threshold height; and
actuating the alarm unit 104 with high intensity when the height of the object 213 estimated at a distance D3 is less than or equal to a third threshold height.
5. The method as claimed in claim 4, wherein the distance D1 is greater than the distance D2 and the distance D2 is greater than the distance D3.
6. The method as claimed in claim 1, wherein determining the height of the vehicle 211 comprises:
obtaining a height of the body of the vehicle 100; determining a above cabin level height of a container placed on the vehicle 100 using the one or more first sensors 101; and

determining the height of the vehicle 211 using the height of the body of the vehicle 100 and the above cabin level height of the container placed on the vehicle 100.
7. The method as claimed in claim 6, the one or more first sensors 101 comprise ultrasonic sensors.
8. The method as claimed in claim 5, wherein the first threshold height, the second threshold height and the third threshold height are determined based on the height of the object 213 with respect to the distance D1, the distance D2 and the distance D3 respectively, wherein the distance D1, the distance D2, and the distance D3 is a distance between the vehicle 100 and the object 401.
9. An Electronic Control Unit (ECU) comprises a memory and a processor, the processor 203 is configured to:
detect an object 401 in front of a vehicle 100 using one or more second sensors 102;
estimate a height of the object 213 in front of the vehicle 100 using the one or more second sensors 102 when the object 401 is detected; and
actuate an alarm unit 104 when the height of the object 213 is less than or equal to a threshold height 212 of the vehicle 100, wherein the threshold height 213 of the vehicle 100 is calculated by determining a height of the vehicle 211 using one or more first sensors 101 mounted on a body of the vehicle 100 and the information of the object 401
10. The ECU as claimed in claim 9, wherein the processor 203 is configured to detect the object 401 in front of the vehicle 100 when the vehicle is turned ON.
11. The ECU as claimed in claim 9, wherein to actuate the alarm unit 104 the processor 203 is configured to:
actuate the alarm unit 104 with low intensity when the height of the object 213 estimated at a distance D1 is less than or equal to a first threshold height;
actuate the alarm unit 104 with medium intensity when the height of the object 213 estimated at a distance D2 is less than or equal to a second threshold height; and
actuate the alarm unit 104 with high intensity when the height of the object 213 estimated at a distance D3 is less than or equal to a third threshold height.

12. The ECU as claimed in claim 9, wherein the processor 203 is configured to determine the
height of the vehicle 211, wherein the processor 203 is configured to:
obtain a height of the body of the vehicle 100;
determine a above cabin level height of a container placed on the vehicle 100 using the one or more first sensors 101; and
determine the height of the vehicle 211 using the height of the body of the vehicle 100 and the above cabin level height of the container placed on the vehicle 100.
13. The ECU as claimed in claim 11, wherein the first threshold height, the second threshold height and the third threshold height are determined based on the height of the object 213 with respect to the distance D1, the distance D2 and the distance D3 respectively, wherein the distance D1, the distance D2, and the distance D3 is a distance between the vehicle 100 and the object 401.
14. A system for avoiding vehicle 100 collision, comprises:
one or more second sensors 102 providing information of the object 401 to a processor 203;
one or more first sensors 101 for determining height of the vehicle 100 to the processor 203; and
an alarm unit 104 actuatable by the processor 203 when the height of the object 213 is less than or equal to the threshold height 212 of the vehicle 100, wherein the threshold height 212 of the vehicle 100 is calculated, by the processor 203, based on the height of the vehicle 212 and information of the object 401.
15. The system as claimed in claim 14, wherein the information of the object 401 comprises
the distance between the vehicle 100 and the object 401 and the height of the object 213 estimated
using the one or more second sensors 102.