Systems and methods for detecting error in odometer reading

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-12555457-B2
Application number	US-202418435612-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Feb 7, 2024
Priority date	Feb 7, 2024
Publication date	Feb 17, 2026
Grant date	Feb 17, 2026

Abstract

A vehicle including a first sensor, a second sensor and a processor is disclosed. The first sensor may be configured to measure first inputs associated with a vehicle wheel, and the second sensor may be configured to measure second inputs associated with the vehicle wheel. The processor may estimate a first distance travelled by the vehicle wheel for a predefined time duration on a vehicle trip based on the first inputs, and a second distance travelled by the vehicle wheel for the predefined time duration on the vehicle trip based on the second inputs. The processor may further calculate a difference between the second distance and the first distance, and perform a predefined action when the difference may be greater than a predefined threshold.

First claim

That which is claimed is:

1 . A vehicle comprising:
a first sensor configured to measure first inputs associated with a vehicle wheel; a second sensor configured to measure second inputs associated with the vehicle wheel; a memory configured to store a count of mileage error instances on the vehicle trip; and a processor communicatively coupled with the first sensor and the second sensor, wherein the processor is configured to:
estimate a first distance travelled by the vehicle wheel for a predefined time duration on a vehicle trip based on the first inputs;
estimate a second distance travelled by the vehicle wheel for the predefined time duration on the vehicle trip based on the second inputs;
calculate a first difference between the second distance and the first distance; and
perform a predefined action when the first difference is greater than a first predefined threshold,
wherein the predefined action comprises increasing the count of mileage error instances by one mileage error instance unit when the first difference is greater than the first predefined threshold.

2 . The vehicle of claim 1 , wherein the first sensor is a vehicle wheel speed sensor.

3 . The vehicle of claim 2 , wherein the first inputs comprise wheel spin data.

4 . The vehicle of claim 1 , wherein the second sensor is a Tire Pressure Monitoring System (TPMS) sensor.

5 . The vehicle of claim 4 , wherein the second inputs comprise at least one of a vehicle wheel rotation data and a vehicle wheel spin timestamp data.

6 . The vehicle of claim 1 , wherein the processor is further configured to:
determine a time duration elapsed in the vehicle trip, responsive to increasing the count of mileage error instances by one mileage error instance unit; calculate a ratio of the count of mileage error instances with the time duration; determine that the ratio is greater than a second predefined threshold; and output a first error notification responsive to determining that the ratio is greater than the second predefined threshold.

7 . The vehicle of claim 1 , wherein the processor is further configured to:
detect that the vehicle trip has ended; and estimate a second total distance travelled by the vehicle wheel on the vehicle trip based on the second inputs, responsive to detecting that the vehicle trip has ended.

8 . The vehicle of claim 7 further comprising an odometer configured to determine a first total distance travelled by the vehicle wheel on the vehicle trip based on the first inputs, wherein the processor is configured to:
determine a second difference between the second total distance and the first total distance; and
output a second error notification when the second difference is greater than a third predefined threshold.

9 . The vehicle of claim 7 , wherein the processor detects that the vehicle trip has ended when a vehicle engine is switched off or the vehicle is stationary for more than a predefined stationary time duration.

10 . The vehicle of claim 1 , wherein the processor is further configured to output a third error notification when the processor is unable to obtain the second inputs from the second sensor.

11 . A method comprising:
estimating, by a processor, a first distance travelled by a vehicle wheel associated with a vehicle for a predefined time duration on a vehicle trip, based on first inputs associated with the vehicle wheel measured by a first sensor; estimating, by the processor, a second distance travelled by the vehicle wheel for the predefined time duration on the vehicle trip, based on second inputs associated with the vehicle wheel measured by a second sensor; calculating, by the processor, a first difference between the second distance and the first distance; performing, by the processor, a predefined action when the first difference is greater than a first predefined threshold; and storing a count of mileage error instances on the vehicle trip in a memory, and wherein the predefined action comprises increasing the count of mileage error instances by one mileage error instance unit when the first difference is greater than the first predefined threshold.

12 . The method of claim 11 , wherein the first sensor is a vehicle wheel speed sensor, and wherein the first inputs comprise wheel spin data.

13 . The method of claim 11 , wherein the second sensor is a Tire Pressure Monitoring System (TPMS) sensor, and wherein the second inputs comprise at least one of a vehicle wheel rotation data and a vehicle wheel spin timestamp data.

14 . The method of claim 11 further comprising:
determining a time duration elapsed in the vehicle trip, responsive to increasing the count of mileage error instances by one mileage error instance unit;
calculating a ratio of the count of mileage error instances with the time duration;
determining that the ratio is greater than a second predefined threshold; and
outputting a first error notification responsive to determining that the ratio is greater than the second predefined threshold.

15 . The method of claim 11 further comprising:
detecting that the vehicle trip has ended; and
estimating a second total distance travelled by the vehicle wheel on the vehicle trip based on the second inputs, responsive to detecting that the vehicle trip has ended.

16 . The method of claim 15 further comprising:
determining a second difference between the second total distance and a first total distance travelled by the vehicle wheel on the vehicle trip, wherein the first total distance is determined by an odometer based on the first inputs; and
outputting a second error notification when the second difference is greater than a third predefined threshold.

17 . The method of claim 11 further comprising outputting a third error notification when the second inputs are not obtained from the second sensor.

18 . A vehicle comprising:
a first sensor configured to measure first inputs associated with a vehicle wheel; a second sensor configured to measure second inputs associated with the vehicle wheel; an odometer configured to determine a first total distance travelled by the vehicle wheel on the vehicle trip based on the first inputs; and a processor communicatively coupled with the first sensor and the second sensor, wherein the processor is configured to:
estimate a first distance travelled by the vehicle wheel for a predefined time duration on a vehicle trip based on the first inputs;
estimate a second distance travelled by the vehicle wheel for the predefined time duration on the vehicle trip based on the second inputs;
calculate a first difference between the second distance and the first distance; and
perform a predefined action when the first difference is greater than a first predefined threshold;
detect that the vehicle trip has ended;
estimate a second total distance travelled by the vehicle wheel on the vehicle trip based on the second inputs, responsive to detecting that the vehicle trip has ended;
determine a second difference between the second total distance and the first total distance; and
output a second error notification when the second difference is greater than a third predefined threshold.

19 . A vehicle comprising:
a first sensor configured to measure first inputs associated with a vehicle wheel; a second sensor configured to measure second inputs associated with the vehicle wheel; and a processor communicatively coupled with the first sensor and the second sensor, wherein the processor is configured to:
es

Assignees

• Ford Global Tech Llc

Inventors

• Schubert Jochen
• Smith Bradley Warren

Classifications

• G01C22/00

  Measuring distance traversed on the ground by vehicles, persons, animals or other moving solid bodies, e.g. using odometers, using pedometers · CPC title

• B60C23/0488

  Movement sensor, e.g. for sensing angular speed, acceleration or centripetal force · CPC title

• G01C25/00

  Manufacturing, calibrating, cleaning, or repairing instruments or devices referred to in the other groups of this subclass (testing, calibrating or compensating compasses G01C17/38) · CPC title

• G08B21/182 Primary

  Level alarms, e.g. alarms responsive to variables exceeding a threshold · CPC title

• B60C23/0481 Primary

  System diagnostic, e.g. monitoring battery voltage, detecting hardware detachments or identifying wireless transmission failures · CPC title