Detection device and method for detecting vehicle wading depth and vehicle

Abstract

The present invention provides a detection device and method for detecting the wading depth of a vehicle and a vehicle. The detection device comprises: a light transmitter arranged at a first height on the vehicle; a light receiver arranged at a second height on the vehicle lower than the first height; and a processor, the processor is connected to the light receiver and determines the wading depth of the vehicle based on the light intensity emitted by the light transmitter and the light intensity received by the light receiver.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present invention relates to the field of automobiles, and more particularly to a detection device and method for detecting the wading depth of a vehicle and an automobile. Background Art

[0002] When a vehicle wades through water to a certain depth, it may cause damage to the vehicle. For example, for a vehicle equipped with a fuel engine, when the wading depth is higher than the exhaust pipe height, water may flow back along the exhaust pipe and damage the engine system. Similar problems also exist for electric vehicles. Summary of the invention

[0003] The purpose of the present invention is to solve or at least alleviate the problems existing in the prior art.

[0004] According to some aspects, there is provided a detection device for detecting a wading depth of a vehicle, comprising:

[0005] a light emitter disposed at a first height on the vehicle;

[0006] a light receiver disposed on the vehicle at a second height lower than the first height; and

[0007] A processor is connected to the light receiver and determines the wading depth of the vehicle based on the light intensity emitted by the light transmitter and the light intensity received by the light receiver.

[0008] On the other hand, a vehicle is provided. The vehicle is equipped with a detection device according to an embodiment of the present invention.

[0009] On the other hand, a method for detecting the wading depth of a vehicle is provided, the method comprising:

[0010] Disposing a light transmitter at a first height on the vehicle;

[0011] providing a light receiver at a second height on the vehicle that is lower than the first height; and

[0012] The wading depth of the vehicle is determined based on the light intensity emitted by the light emitter and the light intensity received by the light receiver. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0013] The disclosure of the present invention will become more easily understood with reference to the accompanying drawings. It is easy for those skilled in the art to understand that these drawings are only for illustrative purposes and are not intended to limit the scope of protection of the present invention. In addition, similar numbers in the figures are used to represent similar components, among which:

[0014] Figure 1 is a schematic diagram of the principle of a detection device according to some embodiments of the present invention; and

[0015] Figure 2 This is a method for confirming wading depth according to some embodiments of the present invention. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0016] According to some embodiments, the present invention provides a detection device for detecting the wading depth of a vehicle, comprising: a light transmitter 1 arranged at a first height on the vehicle; a light receiver 2 arranged at a second height on the vehicle lower than the first height; and a processor, the processor being connected to the light receiver 2 and judging the wading depth of the vehicle based on the light intensity emitted by the light transmitter 1 and the light intensity received by the light receiver 2.

[0017] The light transmitter and the light receiver can be arranged at any suitable position on the vehicle, for example, both can be arranged under the chassis of the vehicle, such as near the wheel or other suitable positions. In some embodiments, the light transmitter 1 and the light receiver 2 can be arranged in a closed or semi-closed structure to prevent interference from ambient light. In some embodiments, the light transmitter 1 can be, for example, a laser transmitter, such as a laser diode, and in other embodiments, the light transmitter 1 can be a visible light transmitter or an infrared transmitter or other suitable devices. In some embodiments, the light receiver 2 can be, for example, a photoresistor or other suitable devices. In some embodiments, the light transmitter 1 and the light receiver 2 are offset along the vertical axis y, in other words, the light transmitter 1 and the light receiver 2 are not arranged along the same vertical axis. In some embodiments, the line connecting the light transmitter 1 and the light receiver 2 is at an angle of 15 to 75 degrees with the vertical axis y. On the one hand, such an arrangement will cause a significant change in the received light intensity when the light receiver 2 enters the water, and on the other hand, the specific wading depth can be quantitatively determined by the change in the refraction angle of the light.

[0018] Now combine Figure 1 and Figure 2 The principle of the detection device according to the embodiment of the present invention is introduced. It should be understood that the following discussion assumes that the light intensity emitted by the light transmitter 1 does not change. In some embodiments, if the light intensity emitted by the light transmitter 1 changes, the ratio of the received light intensity to the emitted light intensity can be used to replace the received light intensity in the following text as a judgment parameter. When the vehicle is not wading or the wading depth is lower than the second height where the light receiver 2 is located, the light emitted by the light transmitter 1 is transmitted along the vehicle. Figure 1 The arrow 21 and its extension line 22 in the figure are directed to the light receiver 2. During the driving process of the vehicle, the light intensity received by the light receiver 2 can remain substantially unchanged and can be a 0 When the wading depth of the vehicle is greater than the second height where the optical receiver 2 is located, Figure 1As shown, the optical receiver 2 is immersed in water. Since the light emitted by the optical transmitter 1 will be reflected and refracted at the interface between water and air, for example, part of the light is directly reflected and part of the light is refracted along the refraction line 23, the light intensity received by the optical receiver 2 will drop sharply when the optical receiver 2 is immersed. At this time, the light intensity received by the optical receiver can be a 2 . The processor will detect a significant decrease in the light intensity received by the light receiver, and for example send a prompt signal to notify the driver or send an alarm signal, thereby preventing the vehicle from wading further and deeper. In a further embodiment, after the wading depth exceeds the second height, that is, after the light receiver is submerged, the wading depth can be quantitatively determined by the light intensity received by the light receiver 2. Specifically, when the wading depth of the vehicle is greater than the second height, due to different refraction angles, there is a functional relationship between the light intensity received by the light receiver 2 and the wading depth of the vehicle. Generally speaking, the greater the wading depth, the smaller the light intensity received by the light receiver 2. The above function can be obtained through experiments. For example, the experiment can collect the light intensity received by the light receiver 2 corresponding to different wading depths in a rainy environment, thereby obtaining a curve of the wading depth and the received light intensity. The function can be preset in the processor, so that the wading depth can be calculated based on the light intensity.

[0019] In some embodiments, a reference parameter a may be introduced 1 , so as to further refine the judgment process. In some embodiments, a 1 The light intensity a can be significantly smaller than the light intensity a when the vehicle is not wading or the wading depth is lower than the second height where the light receiver 2 is located. 0 , for example 1 =k*a 0 , wherein k can be a value between 0 and 1, for example, selected from the range of 0.5-0.95, or from the range of 0.6-0.9, or from the range of 0.7-0.85, etc. In some embodiments, the processor receives a light intensity greater than or equal to a at the light receiver. 1 When the vehicle wading depth is less than the second height, and the light intensity received by the light receiver is less than a 1 In a further embodiment, when the light intensity received by the light receiver is less than a 1 When the wading depth is greater than the light intensity, the processor can quantitatively determine the wading depth based on the functional relationship between the wading depth and the light intensity.

[0020] Continue to refer Figure 2 , which shows a method for confirming the wading depth according to some embodiments of the present invention, including the steps of: starting from S11, S12 judging whether the light intensity received by the optical receiver 2 is greater than or equal to a 1If yes, then in step S13, it is determined that the wading depth of the vehicle is less than the second height, and step S11 is restarted after a certain time interval. If no, then in step S14, it is determined that the wading depth of the vehicle is greater than the second height, and then step S15 is executed to determine the wading depth based on the relationship between the wading depth and the received light intensity, and step S16 is executed to perform response measures such as notification, alarm or other appropriate measures based on the wading depth.

[0021] In some embodiments, the light transmitter 1 may be set at a higher height to prevent the light transmitter 1 from being immersed in water. In some embodiments, the second height at which the light receiver 2 is located is lower than the height of the vehicle exhaust pipe. In some embodiments, the second height at which the light receiver 2 is located may be, for example, the wading warning height of the vehicle. When the wading depth of the vehicle is greater than the second height, the vehicle will directly activate an alarm to notify the user or take other early warning measures to prompt the user. For example, when the vehicle is parked, if the wading depth is greater than the second height, the processor may send a message to the owner's mobile phone through the communication network. In other embodiments, the wading warning height may be higher than the second height, and measures may be taken based on the comparison between the estimated wading depth and the wading warning height. In some embodiments, the second height at which the light receiver 2 is located may be adjusted in the vertical direction. For example, in some embodiments, the light receiver 2 may be mounted on a suspension that can be automatically adjusted in the vertical direction.

[0022] In some embodiments, the present invention further provides a car, which is equipped with a detection device according to various embodiments of the present invention. The car can be a gasoline car, an electric car, a hybrid car, etc.

[0023] In some embodiments, the present invention further provides a method for detecting the wading depth of a vehicle, characterized in that the method comprises:

[0024] Disposing a light transmitter at a first height on the vehicle;

[0025] providing a light receiver at a second height on the vehicle that is lower than the first height; and

[0026] The wading depth of the vehicle is determined based on the light intensity received by the light receiver.

[0027] In some embodiments, the method further comprises arranging the light emitter and the light receiver to be offset along the vertical axis. In some embodiments, the method further comprises arranging the light emitter and the light receiver such that a line connecting the light emitter and the light receiver is at an angle of 15 to 75 degrees to the vertical axis. In some embodiments, the method further comprises receiving a light intensity greater than or equal to a at the light receiver. 1 When the vehicle wading depth is less than the second height, and the light intensity received by the light receiver is less than a 1When the vehicle wading depth is greater than the second height, the processor determines that the vehicle wading depth is greater than the second height, especially when the light intensity received by the light receiver is less than a 1 The wading depth is determined based on a function of the wading depth and the light intensity received by the light receiver.

[0028] The specific embodiments described above are only for more clearly describing the principle of the present invention, wherein each component is clearly shown or described to make the principle of the present invention easier to understand. Without departing from the scope of the present invention, those skilled in the art can easily make various modifications or changes to the present invention. Therefore, it should be understood that these modifications or changes should be included in the patent protection scope of the present invention.

Claims

1. A vehicle, comprising a detection device for detecting the wading depth of the vehicle, characterized in that: The detection device comprises: a light emitter disposed at a first height on the vehicle; a light receiver disposed on the vehicle at a second height lower than the first height, the light transmitter and the light receiver being offset along a vertical axis, and a line connecting the light transmitter and the light receiver forming an angle of 15 to 75 degrees with the vertical axis; and a processor connected to the light receiver and determining the wading depth of the vehicle based on the light intensity emitted by the light transmitter and the light intensity received by the light receiver; wherein the light transmitter is a laser transmitter and is configured so that the light emitted by the light transmitter is directly irradiated to the light receiver, and when the vehicle is not wading or the wading depth is lower than the second height at which the light receiver is located, the light intensity received by the light receiver is a0; The processor is preset with a reference parameter a1, wherein the reference parameter a1=k*a0, wherein k is taken in the range of 0.6-0.9, and when the light intensity received by the optical receiver is greater than or equal to a1, it is determined that the vehicle's wading depth is less than the second height, and when the light intensity received by the optical receiver is less than a1, it is determined that the vehicle's wading depth is greater than the second height.

2. The vehicle according to claim 1, characterized in that The coefficient k is taken in the range of 0.7-0.

85.

3. The vehicle according to claim 1, characterized in that The processor determines the wading depth based on a function of the wading depth and the light intensity when the light intensity received by the light receiver is less than a1.

4. The vehicle according to claim 1, characterized in that The light transmitter and the light receiver are arranged in a closed or semi-closed structure under the chassis of the vehicle, wherein the second height at which the light receiver is located is the water wading warning height of the vehicle, and when the vehicle's wading depth is greater than the second height, the vehicle will directly activate an alarm to notify the user, wherein, when the vehicle includes an exhaust pipe, the second height at which the light receiver is located is lower than the exhaust pipe height of the vehicle.

5. A method for detecting the wading depth of a vehicle, characterized in that: The method comprises: A light transmitter is arranged at a first height on the vehicle, wherein the light transmitter is a laser transmitter; Disposing a light receiver at a second height on the vehicle that is lower than the first height, wherein the light transmitter and the light receiver are disposed to be offset along a vertical axis and the light transmitter and the light receiver are disposed such that a line connecting the light transmitter and the light receiver forms an angle of 15 to 75 degrees with the vertical axis; and Determining the wading depth of the vehicle based on the light intensity emitted by the light transmitter and the light intensity received by the light receiver; Wherein, the method further comprises: The light transmitter and the light receiver are configured so that the light emitted by the light transmitter is directly directed to the light receiver. When the vehicle is not wading or the wading depth is lower than the second height where the light receiver is located, the light intensity received by the light receiver is a 0； A reference parameter a1 is preset to the processor, wherein the reference parameter a1=k*a0, wherein k is in the range of 0.6-0.9, When the light intensity received by the optical receiver is greater than or equal to a1, it is determined that the vehicle wading depth is less than the second height, and when the light intensity received by the optical receiver is less than a1, it is determined that the vehicle wading depth is greater than the second height.

6. The method according to claim 5, characterized in that The method further includes determining the wading depth based on a function of the wading depth and the intensity of light received by the light receiver when the intensity of light received by the light receiver is less than a1.

7. The method according to claim 6, characterized in that The reference parameter a1=k*a0, wherein the coefficient k is in the range of 0.7-0.85.

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