FORM 2
THE PATENTS ACT, 1970
(39 OF 1970)
AND
THE PATENT RULES, 2003
COMPLETE SPECIFICATION
(See section 10 and rule 13)
“A SYSTEM FOR DIRECTION MONITORING OF OFF-ROAD VEHICLE AND A
METHOD THEREOF”
MINDA INSTRUMENTS LTD., an Indian company, of Gut No. 287, 291-295, 298, 285/1, 286/1 Nanekarwadi Chakan, Taluka - Khed, Pune-410501, Maharashtra, India
The following specification particularly describes the invention and the manner in which it
is to be performed.

TECHNICAL FIELD
[001] The present invention generally relates to the field of Off-road vehicles. More particularly, a system and method for direction monitoring of Off-road vehicle is disclosed and accordingly alert or audio-visual notification is provided to driver of off-road vehicle.
BACKGROUND OF INVENTION
[002] The following description includes information that may be useful in understanding the present invention. It is not an admission that any of the information provided herein is prior art or relevant to the presently claimed invention, or that any publication specifically or implicitly referenced is prior art.
[003] Off-road vehicles such as tractors, earth movers, diggers or excavators, and All-Terrain Vehicles (ATVs), cranes etc. need to be driven through open field areas for long distances. Particularly in the off-road vehicles, the driver needs to steer the course of the vehicle in a desired direction for a long time and for covering a long distance. However, due to this long driving, the driver may sometime feel fatigue/drowsiness and due to this reason, the vehicle may randomly deviate from the course which may adversely affect the task which was assigned to the driver of the vehicle.
[004] Further, while driving the off-road vehicle in rural areas or farmland late night, there may be a possibility that the driver may become stranded in a location remote from any other individual where getting direction is almost impossible. In such case, the driver may require guidance to reach at the destination or destined place.
[005] There is, therefore, a need to provide a novel technique to assist the driver of Off-road vehicle by monitoring direction of the off-road vehicle without adding extra economic burden on the owner of vehicle.

SUMMARY OF INVENTION
[006] The present disclosure overcomes one or more shortcomings of the prior art and provides additional advantages discussed throughout the present disclosure. Additional features and advantages are realized through the techniques of the present disclosure. Other embodiments and aspects of the disclosure are described in detail herein and are considered a part of the claimed disclosure.
[007] In one non-limiting embodiment of the present disclosure, a direction monitoring system for off-road vehicle is disclosed. The system comprising a compass sensor, a steering angle sensor, a control unit. The compass sensor is configured to sense an ongoing direction of the off-road vehicle while the off-road vehicle is in motion. The steering angle sensor is configured to continuously monitor the ongoing direction of the off-road vehicle vis-a-vis predefined direction associated with the off-road vehicle for completing a task. The predefined direction comprises a range of steering angle supposed to be turned in a left or a right direction for keeping the off-road vehicle in the predefined direction. The control unit is configured to send an alert to a driver of the off-road vehicle based on a deviation detected during the monitoring of the ongoing direction of the off-road vehicle vis-a-vis the predefined direction associated with the off-road vehicle.
[008] In another non-limiting embodiment of the present disclosure, the steering angle sensor is configured to generate a signal to indicate whether the off-road vehicle is being steered into the current direction intentionally by the driver or the off-road vehicle is randomly drifted from the predefined direction due to physical or mental state of the driver.
[009] In yet another non-limiting embodiment of the present disclosure, the compass sensor includes a gyroscope and an accelerometer.

[0010] In still another non-limiting embodiment of the present disclosure, the system further comprises a display that is configured to display a direction indication for guiding the driver of the Off-road vehicle to follow the predefined direction.
[0011] In another non-limiting embodiment of the present disclosure, the system further comprises an audio unit that is configured to alert the driver about deviation of the current direction from the predefined direction of the off-road vehicle.
[0012] In one non-limiting embodiment of the present disclosure, a method for direction monitoring of off-road vehicle is disclosed. The method comprises sensing an ongoing direction of the off-road vehicle while the off-road vehicle is in motion. The method comprises monitoring continuously the ongoing direction of the off-road vehicle vis-a-vis predefined direction associated with the off-road vehicle for completing a task. The predefined direction comprises a range of steering angle supposed to be turned in a left or a right direction for keeping the off-road vehicle in the predefined direction. The method further comprises sending an alert to a driver of the off-road vehicle based on a deviation detected during the monitoring of the ongoing direction of the off-road vehicle vis-a-vis the predefined direction associated with the off-road vehicle.
[0013] In another non-limiting embodiment of the present disclosure, the method further comprises generating a signal to indicate whether the off-road vehicle is being steered into the current direction intentionally by the driver or is being randomly drifted from the predefined direction due to physical or mental state of the driver.
[0014] In another non-limiting embodiment of the present disclosure, the method further comprising displaying a direction indication for guiding the driver of the Off-road vehicle to follow the predefined direction.
[0015] In another non-limiting embodiment of the present disclosure, , the method further

comprising alerting the driver about deviation of the current direction from the predefined direction of the off-road through a buzzer.
[0016] 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.
OBJECTS OF THE INVENTION
[0017] The main object of the present disclosure is to provide a timely alarm to the driver of the off-road vehicle to correct the course of the vehicle and avoiding adverse impact on the task which the vehicle may be performing.
[0018] Another object of the present disclosure is to provide an economic solution of direction monitoring in the off-road vehicles.
[0019] Yet another object of the present disclosure is to guide the user of the off-road vehicle towards the correct direction to reach out at the destination with a minimal modification / upgradation and without inculcating any additional costlier hardware.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS
[0020] The embodiments of the disclosure itself, as well as a preferred mode of use, further objectives, and advantages thereof, will best be understood by reference to the following detailed description of an illustrative embodiment when read in conjunction with the accompanying drawings. One or more embodiments are now described, by way of example only, with reference to the accompanying drawings in which:

[0021] Figure 1 depicts a generic environment 100 of a system for direction monitoring of off-road vehicles, in accordance with an embodiment of the present disclosure.
[0022] Figure 2 depicts a block diagram 200 of a system for sending audio-visual alert to the driver of vehicle, in accordance with an embodiment of the present disclosure.
[0023] Figure 3A depicts triaxial movement of the compass sensor, in accordance with an embodiment of the present disclosure.
[0024] Figure 3B depicts direction of an off-road vehicle on display unit, in accordance with an embodiment of the present disclosure.
[0025] Figure 4 depicts a method 400 for direction monitoring of off-road vehicle, in accordance with an embodiment of the present disclosure.
[0026] The figures depict embodiments of the disclosure for purposes of illustration only. One skilled in the art will readily recognize from the following description that alternative embodiments of the structures and methods illustrated herein may be employed without departing from the principles of the disclosure described herein.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION
[0027] The foregoing has broadly outlined the features and technical advantages of the present disclosure in order that the detailed description of the disclosure that follows may be better understood. It should be appreciated by those skilled in the art that the conception and specific embodiment disclosed may be readily utilized as a basis for modifying or designing other structures for carrying out the same purposes of the present disclosure.

[0028] Throughout the disclosure, one or more of the elements disclosed may be combined into a single device or combined into one or more devices. In addition, individual elements may be provided on separate devices.
[0029] The novel features which are believed to be characteristic of the disclosure, both as to its organization and method of operation, together with further objects and advantages will be better understood from the following description when considered in connection with the accompanying Figures. It is to be expressly understood, however, that each of the Figures is provided for the purpose of illustration and description only and is not intended as a definition of the limits of the present disclosure.
[0030] Disclosed herein is a system and method for direction monitoring of off-road vehicle. Monitoring the direction of an off-road vehicle become crucial when the driver of the off-road vehicle is assigned with a task and the driver of the off-road vehicle are not monitoring the directional progress of the vehicle. It may happen due to lack of interest, drowsiness, or fatigue etc. in such cases, the vehicle may randomly deviate from the intended direction which may adversely affect the task that the vehicle is intending to perform. Thus, there exist a need for monitoring the direction of the off-road vehicle and timely alerting the driver of the off-road vehicle if the vehicle is not moving in the intended direction.
[0031] The present disclosure understands this need and provides a novel technique by monitoring the direction of the off-road vehicle and assisting the driver about the intended direction in a timely manner. Without such a guidance a driver may lost his way which may adversely affect the task assigned to him. The present disclosure provides technical solution to this problem by sending an alert to a driver of the off-road vehicle based on a deviation detected during the monitoring of the ongoing direction of the off-road vehicle vis-a-vis the predefined direction associated with the off-road vehicle. Moreover, the novel technique presented in the disclosure uses a minimal incremental modification/ upgradation and does not require any costlier

hardware to perform this direction monitoring, thereby making it more economical, reliable, and easier to use.
[0032] Figure 1 depicts a generic exemplary environment 100 of a system or an apparatus for direction monitoring of an off-road vehicle, in accordance with an embodiment of the present disclosure. It must be noted by a skilled person that the exemplary environment 100 may also be implemented in various environments, other than as shown in Figure 1.
[0033] The exemplary environment 100 is explained in conjunction with Figure 2 that shows a block diagram 200 of a system 101 and Figure 3A that shows compass sensor 300A and figure 3B that shows display unit 300B for monitoring direction of off-road vehicle, in accordance with an embodiment of the present disclosure.
[0034] In one implementation, the system 101, 200 may comprise compass sensor 201, steering angle sensor 203, control unit 205, 103, a display unit 207, 105, an audio unit 209, a memory unit 211, 107, and a I/O interface unit 213. The display unit 105, 207, the audio unit 209, the I/O interface unit 213, and memory unit 107, 211 may be communicatively coupled to the Control Area Network (CAN), and control unit 103, 205. The memory unit 107, 211 may store information regarding a pre-defined direction. The predefined direction comprises a range of steering angle supposed to be turned in a left or a right direction for keeping the off-road vehicle in the predefined direction. In an exemplary embodiment, the predefined direction is provided by the user based on the nature of task assigned to the driver of the off-road vehicle. The significance and use of each of the stored information is explained in the subsequent paragraphs. In a non-limiting example, memory 107, 211 may be an external memory chip, as a part of the system 101, 200 component or an inbuilt EEPROM memory, within the control unit 103, 205 itself. In an embodiment, the memory 107, 207 may be a computer-readable medium known in the art including, for example, volatile memory, such as static random-access memory (SRAM) and dynamic random-access memory (DRAM), and/or synchronous dynamic random-

access memory (SDRAM) and/or non-volatile memory, such as read only memory (ROM), erasable programmable ROM, flash memories, hard disks, optical disks, and magnetic tapes. In an embodiment, the information may be processed by the control unit 103, 205 of the system 101, 200. In an embodiment, the data/information may be stored within the memory 107, 211 in the form of various data structures.
[0035] The control unit 103, 205 may be implemented as one or more microprocessors, microcomputers, microcontrollers, digital signal processors, central processing units, state machines, logic circuitries, and/or any devices that manipulate signals based on operational instructions. Among other capabilities, the control unit 103, 205 may be configured to fetch and execute computer-readable instructions stored in the memory 107, 211. The I/O interface unit 213 may include a variety of software and hardware interfaces, for example, a web interface, a graphical user interface, and the like. The I/O interface unit 213 may enable the system 101, 200 to communicate with other computing devices, such as web servers and external data servers (not shown). The I/O interface unit 213 may facilitate multiple communications within a wide variety of networks and protocol types, including wired networks, for example, LAN, cable, etc., and wireless networks, such as WLAN, cellular, or satellite. The I/O interface unit 213 may include one or more ports for connecting many devices to one another or to another server (not shown).
[0036] According to another as aspect of the present disclosure, the CAN bus or hardwired I/O connectivity can be used as the communication channel between control unit and driver/user console. The present disclosure will require zero incremental hardware if CAN communication is used for graphical user interface, and enough screen space is available to accommodate symbols as shown in figure 3B. As per the requirement, one of the image may be displayed on the display unit 105, 207.
[0037] According to embodiments of present disclosure, as used herein, the term ‘unit’ refers to an application specific integrated circuit (ASIC), an electronic circuit, a

processor (shared, dedicated, or group), a combinational logic circuit, and/or other suitable components that provide the described functionality. It will be appreciated that such units may be represented as a single unit or a combination of different units. These units 105, 107, 205, 207, 209, 211, and 213 may comprise hardware components like processor, microprocessor, microcontrollers, application-specific integrated circuit for performing various operations of the system 101, 200. In alternative embodiment, a person skilled in art that the control unit 103, 205 may perform all the functions of the units 105, 107, 205, 207, 209, 211, and 213 according to various embodiments of the present disclosure.
[0038] While the components 201-213 are illustrated and described herein with respect to the system 101, 200 may form essential components to carry out the present disclosure, it may be worth noted that the system 101, 200 may comprise other/additional components as well which are not shown for the sake of brevity and are used in conjunction with the illustrated components to implement present disclosure.
[0039] Now, referring to Figure 1, the environment 100 shows a system 101 that monitors direction of off-road vehicle. The detailed working of the system 101 is explained in the upcoming paragraphs in reference to Figures 2 and 3.
[0040] The system 101, 200, through one or more sensors like compass sensor 201, steering angle sensor 203 monitors the direction of motion of off-road vehicle. In one embodiment, the compass sensor 201 senses an ongoing direction of the off-road vehicle while the off-road vehicle is in motion. The compass sensor 201 is a combination of a gyroscope and accelerometer. In accordance with an embodiment, both gyroscope and accelerometer are 3-axis variants, same is presented in figure 3A. As shown in 300A, a combined triaxle accelerometer (ACC) and triaxle gyroscope (GYR) is used which within one package and it offers the detection of acceleration and angular rate for the x, y and z-axis. The digital standard serial peripheral interface (SPI) of the sensor IC allows bi-directional data transmission. Further, based on the

vehicle level calibration, this sensor is used to sense and report the direction in which the vehicle is progressing.
[0041] The steering angle sensor 203 is configured to continuously monitor the ongoing direction of the off-road vehicle vis-a-vis predefined direction associated with the off-road vehicle for completing a task. As the off-road vehicles such as tractors, earth movers, diggers or excavators, and All-Terrain Vehicles (ATVs) etc. are used for specific tasks. For example, heavy duty industrial off-road vehicles are used in construction, agriculture, and mining. In these specific tasks, direction of the steering wheel plays a crucial role as deviation from the intended/pre-defined direction may lead to adverse impact on the intended task. The predefined direction comprises a range of steering angle supposed to be turned in a left or a right direction for keeping the off-road vehicle in the predefined direction. Mainly, the steering angle sensor 203 may provide the steering rotation details over the CAN communication to cluster. The signal from the steering angle sensor 203 may be combined with the output received from the compass sensor 201 and is provided to the control unit 205 to understand if the vehicle is being steered into its current direction intentionally by the driver or it is randomly drifting from the desired direction due to driver fatigue/drowsiness. In other words, the data received from the steering angle sensor 203 compass sensor 201 may be recorded in the memory unit 211 and is analyzed by the control unit 205 to monitor the random drifting of the off-road vehicle from the pre-defined direction. In an exemplary embodiment, pre-calibration of the vehicle movement direction and driver behavior may help the system to distinguish intentional drifting of steering the vehicle from the current direction or loss of control over the steering due to physical or mental state of driver. For example, the driver may feel drowsiness or fatigue due to driving the vehicle for a long duration.
[0042] Based on the analysis performed, the control unit 205 is configured to send an alert to the driver of the off-road vehicle based on a deviation detected during the

monitoring of the ongoing direction of the off-road vehicle vis-a-vis the predefined direction associated with the off-road vehicle. In an exemplary embodiment, the alert may be sent in the form of at least one of audio and visual notification. In an exemplary embodiment, the control unit works in conjunction with the display unit 207, 105 to display a direction indication for guiding the driver of the Off-road vehicle so that he may follow the predefined direction. Same can be inferred from the figure 3B where an exemplary off-road vehicle in the form of tractor is displayed for guiding the driver to follow the predefined direction.
[0043] In another exemplary embodiment, the control unit 205 in conjunction with the audio unit 209 is configured to alert the driver about deviation of the current direction from the predefined direction of the off-road vehicle. The audio unit 209 may be a buzzer or any other sound generator which is capable of generating any sound for alerting the driver.
[0044] In another embodiment, the system 200 may monitor the direction of off-road vehicle. The system 200 upon detecting deviation of direction of the off-road vehicle from the predefined direction provides audio-visual notification collectively.
[0045] It may be worth noted that, aforementioned paragraphs provide various technical effects or advantages such that the present disclosure aims to provide audio-visual notification to alert the user/driver based on the detection of deviation during the monitoring of the ongoing direction of the off-road vehicle vis-a-vis the predefined direction associated with the off-road vehicle. This type of monitoring the direction of the off-road vehicle may provide an alert to the driver in timely manner which may minimize the adverse effect while performing the specified task. Moreover, the novel technique requires minimal additional hardware for alerting the driver and for monitoring the direction, thereby making it more economical and easier to use.
[0046] Figure 4 depicts a method 400 for direction monitoring of off-road vehicle, in accordance with an embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0047] As illustrated in Figure 4, the method 400 includes one or more blocks illustrating a method for detecting a status of vehicle door. The method 400 may be described in the general context of computer executable instructions. Generally, computer executable instructions may include routines, programs, objects, components, data structures, procedures, modules, and functions, which perform specific functions or implement specific abstract data types.
[0048] The order in which the method 400 is described is not intended to be construed as a limitation, and any number of the described method blocks may be combined in any order to implement the method. Additionally, individual blocks may be deleted from the methods without departing from the spirit and scope of the subject matter described.
[0049] At block 402, the method 400 may include sensing an ongoing direction of the off-road vehicle while the off-road vehicle is in motion. In non-limiting embodiment, the on-going direction indicates the real-time position and direction of the off-road vehicle which may be sensed with the help of compass sensor 201.
[0050] At block 404, the method 400 may include monitoring continuously the ongoing direction of the off-road vehicle vis-a-vis predefined direction associated with the off-road vehicle for completing a task. The predefined direction comprises a range of steering angle supposed to be turned in a left or a right direction for keeping the off-road vehicle in the predefined direction.
[0051] At block 406, the method 400 may include sending an alert to a driver of the off-road vehicle based on a deviation detected during the monitoring of the ongoing direction of the off-road vehicle vis-a-vis the predefined direction associated with the off-road vehicle. In an exemplary embodiment, the method comprises generating a signal to indicate whether the off-road vehicle is being steered into the current direction

intentionally by the driver or is being randomly drifted from the predefined direction due to physical or mental state of the driver.
[0052] According to another aspect of present disclosure, the method may comprise displaying a direction indication for guiding the driver of the Off-road vehicle to follow the predefined direction. In another embodiment, the method may comprise alerting the driver about deviation of the current direction from the predefined direction of the off-road through a buzzer.
[0053] 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 disclosure.
[0054] 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 or 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 or article, or a different number of devices/articles may be used instead of the shown number of devices or programs. The functionality and/or the 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 the disclosure need not include the device itself.
[0055] 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 disclosure 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 disclosure are intended to be illustrative, but not limiting, of the scope of the disclosure, which is set forth in the following claims.
[0056] 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.
Reference Numerals:

Reference Numeral Description
100 Generic environment of a system for direction monitoring of an off-road vehicle
101 System
103 Control unit
105 Display
107 Memory
109 Exemplary Off-road Vehicle
200 Block diagram of the system
201 Compass Sensor
203 Steering angle Sensor
205 Control unit
207 Display unit
209 Audio unit
211 Memory unit
213 I/O Interface Unit

300A Compass sensor with triaxle accelerometer (ACC) and triaxle gyroscope (GYR)
300B Exemplary scenario of displaying direction of off-road vehicle
400 Method for direction monitoring of off-road vehicle
402-406 Method steps

We Claim:
1. A direction monitoring system for off-road vehicle, the system comprising:
a compass sensor configured to sense an ongoing direction of the off-road vehicle while the off-road vehicle is in motion;
a steering angle sensor configured to continuously monitor the ongoing direction of the off-road vehicle vis-a-vis predefined direction associated with the off-road vehicle for completing a task, wherein the predefined direction comprises a range of steering angle supposed to be turned in a left or a right direction for keeping the off-road vehicle in the predefined direction;
a control unit configured to send an alert to a driver of the off-road vehicle based on a deviation detected during the monitoring of the ongoing direction of the off-road vehicle vis-a-vis the predefined direction associated with the off-road vehicle.
2. The system as claimed in claim 1, wherein the steering angle sensor is configured to generate a signal to indicate whether the off-road vehicle is being steered into the current direction intentionally by the driver or the off-road vehicle is randomly drifted from the predefined direction due to physical or mental state of the driver.
3. The system as claimed in claim 1, wherein the compass sensor includes a gyroscope and an accelerometer.
4. The system as claimed in claim 1, further comprising:
a display is configured to display a direction indication for guiding the driver of the Off-road vehicle to follow the predefined direction.
5. The system as claimed in claim 1, further comprising:
an audio unit is configured to alert the driver about deviation of the current direction from the predefined direction of the off-road vehicle.

6. A method for direction monitoring of off-road vehicle, the method comprising:
sensing an ongoing direction of the off-road vehicle while the off-road vehicle is in motion;
monitoring continuously the ongoing direction of the off-road vehicle vis-a-vis predefined direction associated with the off-road vehicle for completing a task, wherein the predefined direction comprises a range of steering angle supposed to be turned in a left or a right direction for keeping the off-road vehicle in the predefined direction;
sending an alert to a driver of the off-road vehicle based on a deviation detected during the monitoring of the ongoing direction of the off-road vehicle vis-a-vis the predefined direction associated with the off-road vehicle.
7. The method as claimed in claim 6, further comprising:
generating a signal to indicate whether the off-road vehicle is being steered into the current direction intentionally by the driver or is being randomly drifted from the predefined direction due to physical or mental state of the driver.
8. The method as claimed in claim 6, further comprising:
displaying a direction indication for guiding the driver of the Off-road vehicle to follow the predefined direction.
9. The method as claimed in claim 1, further comprising:
alerting the driver about deviation of the current direction from the predefined direction of the off-road through a buzzer.