System and method for protecting against impact between a vehicle and a facility for housing the vehicle

A system for protecting against impact between a vehicle and a physical structure of a facility, the physical structure having an opening for the vehicle to pass through, the opening defined by a plurality of edges of the physical structure, the system comprising:

• a measurement module configured to be spaced apart from one of the plurality of edges and further configured to:
• rotate relative to the edge;
• and
• obtain a plurality of measurements, wherein each of the plurality of measurements corresponds to a distance from the measurement module;
• a detection module coupled to the measurement module and comprising a definition module that defines a monitored plane relative to the edge, the monitored plane defined by a plurality of baseline measurements, wherein each of the plurality of baseline measurements:
• 1) corresponds to a distance between the measurement module and one of a plurality of virtual ends of the monitored plane, and 2) is identified by an angle parameter, the detection module configured to:
• obtain a subsequent measurement from the measurement module;
• associate an angle parameter with the subsequent measurement;
• evaluate the subsequent measurement relative to a corresponding baseline measurement having a same angle parameter to determine if a criterion indicative of an intrusion of the monitored plane is satisfied;
• and
• output an alarm activation signal when the criterion is satisfied.

A method of protecting against impact between a vehicle and a physical structure of a facility, the physical structure having an inside surface, and outside surface, and an opening for the vehicle to pass through, the method comprising:

• for at least one of the inside surface and the outside surface, defining a monitored frame relative to the surface, the monitored frame defined by a plurality of sets of baseline measurements, wherein each of the plurality of sets of baseline measurements is identified by an angle parameter and includes at least one baseline measurement that corresponds to a distance between a sensor spaced apart from the surface and one of a plurality of virtual ends of the monitored frame;
• obtaining a subsequent measurement;
• evaluating the subsequent measurement relative to a corresponding set of baseline measurements to determine if a criterion indicative of an intrusion of the monitored frame is satisfied;
• and
• activating an alarm when the criterion is satisfied.

A system for protecting against impact between a vehicle and a physical structure of a facility, the physical structure having an inside surface, an outside surface, and an opening for the vehicle to pass through, the system comprising:

• a measurement module configured to be spaced apart from at least one of the inside surface and the outside surface and further configured to:
• rotate relative to the surface;
• and
• obtain a plurality of measurements, wherein each of the plurality of measurements corresponds to a distance from the measurement module;
• a detection module coupled to the measurement module and comprising a definition module that defines a monitored frame relative to the surface, the monitored frame defined by a plurality of sets of baseline measurements, wherein each of the plurality of sets of baseline measurements is identified by an angle parameter and includes at least one baseline measurement that corresponds to a distance between a sensor spaced apart from the surface and one of a plurality of virtual ends of the monitored frame, the detection module configured to:
• obtain a subsequent measurement from the measurement module;
• associate an angle parameter with the subsequent measurement;
• evaluate the subsequent measurement relative to the set of baseline measurements identified by the angle parameter associated with the subsequent measurement to determine if a criterion indicative of an intrusion of the monitored frame is satisfied;
• and
• output an alarm activation signal when the criterion is satisfied.