Vision system for a vehicle coolant system
AssigneeFord Global Technologies, LLC
InventorThanh HOANG
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
A vehicle has a prime mover to propel the vehicle, and a fluid circuit that defines a fluid passage and contains a coolant. The fluid circuit in thermal communication with the prime mover. A camera is positioned to image coolant within the fluid passage. A controller is configured to receive image data from the camera, process the image data to determine a state of the coolant in the fluid circuit, and output an indication to a user regarding the state of the coolant. A method of monitoring a fluid circuit in a vehicle is also provided.
Claims20
A vehicle comprising:
- a propulsion system having a prime mover to propel the vehicle over underlying terrain;
- a fluid circuit defining a fluid passage and containing a coolant, the fluid circuit in thermal communication with the propulsion system;
- a camera positioned to image the coolant within the fluid passage;
- and
- a controller configured to receive image data from the camera, process the image data to determine at least one parameter of the image data, classify the image data into one of at least two classifications as a function of the at least one parameter with each classification indicative of an associated state of the coolant, and output an indication to a user regarding the state of the coolant, wherein the at least one parameter is a color, a presence of a particle, a size of a particle, a presence of a bubble, a size of a bubble, and/or an opacity.
A vehicle comprising:
- a prime mover to propel the vehicle;
- a fluid circuit defining a fluid passage and containing a coolant, the fluid circuit in thermal communication with the prime mover;
- a camera positioned to image the coolant within the fluid passage;
- and
- a controller configured to receive image data from the camera, process the image data to determine a state of the coolant in the fluid circuit, and output an indication to a user regarding the state of the coolant.
A method of monitoring a fluid circuit in a vehicle, the method comprising:
- providing a fluid circuit defining a fluid passage and containing coolant, the fluid circuit in thermal communication with a propulsion system of the vehicle;
- positioning a camera to image the coolant within the fluid passage;
- receiving image data from the camera via a controller;
- processing the image data to determine a state of the coolant in the fluid circuit;
- and
- outputting an indication to a user regarding the state of the coolant.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.