Proximity warning system for parked vehicles

1. A proximity alert system for a vehicle, comprising:

a control system;

a sensor system operatively associated with said control system, said sensor system operable to detect a presence of an object within a ramp access region exterior to the vehicle, the ramp access region being defined by a deployable ramp operatively associated with the vehicle; and

an annunciator system operatively associated with said control system, said annunciator system being operable to provide an indication that the object has been detected within the defined ramp access region, said control system actuating said sensor system when the vehicle is stationary, said control system operating said annunciator system when said sensor system detects the presence of the object within the defined ramp access region.

2. The proximity alert system of claim 1 , further comprising an enable switch operatively associated with said control system, said enable switch being operable by a user to place said proximity alert system in either of an enabled state or a disabled state.

3. The proximity alert system of claim 2 , further comprising a system status indicator operatively associated with said control system, said system status indicator being operable to provide a status indication of whether said proximity alert system is in the enabled state or the disabled state.

4. The proximity alert system of claim 3 , wherein the status indication comprises one, or more status indications consisting of an aural status indication and a visual status indication.

5. The proximity alert system of claim 1 , further comprising a vehicle interface system operatively associated with said control system, said vehicle interface system being operable to allow said control system to communicate with a vehicle data network operatively associated with the vehicle.

6. The proximity alert system of claim 5 , wherein the vehicle data network comprises a CAN network and wherein said vehicle interface system comprises a CAN interface system.

7. The proximity alert system of claim 1 , wherein the indication comprises one or more indications consisting of an aural indication and a visual indication.

8. The proximity alert system of claim 1 , wherein said annunciator system comprises a speaker.

9. The proximity alert system of claim 8 , wherein said annunciator system further comprises an audio processor system operatively connected to said speaker, said audio processor system being operable to cause said speaker to issue an aural indication when said sensor system detects the presence of the object within the defined ramp access region.

10. The proximity alert system of claim 1 , wherein said sensor system comprises an ultrasonic sensor.

11. A mobility assist vehicle, comprising:

a ramp operatively associated with said vehicle, said ramp being moveable between a deployed position and a stowed position, the ramp defining a ramp access region exterior to the vehicle when the vehicle is stationary;

a proximity alert system operatively associated with said mobility assist vehicle, said proximity alert system comprising:

a control system;

a sensor system operatively associated with said control system, said sensor system operable to detect a presence of an object within the defined ramp access region; and

an annunciator system operatively associated with said control system, said annunciator system being operable to provide an indication that the object has been detected within the defined ramp access region, said control system actuating said sensor system when the vehicle is stationary, said control system operating said annunciator system when said sensor system detects the presence of the object within the ramp access region.

12. The mobility assist vehicle of claim 11 , further comprising a side door operatively associated with said vehicle, said ramp being mounted adjacent said side door so that said ramp extends through an opening defined by said vehicle when said side door is in an opened position and when said ramp is in the deployed position, said sensor system comprising a first sensor mounted to said side door.

13. The mobility assist vehicle of claim 12 , wherein said sensor system further comprises a second sensor mounted to said side door in spaced-apart relation to said first sensor.

14. A method of detecting a presence of an object adjacent a vehicle, comprising:

detecting an ‘enable’ command issued by a user;

activating a sensor system in response to the sensed enable command;

determining whether the sensor system has detected the presence of the object within a ramp access region exterior to the vehicle, the ramp access region being defined by a deployable ramp operatively associated with the vehicle; and

operating an annunciator system when the sensor system has detected the presence of the object within the defined ramp access region, the annunciator system providing an indication that an object is present within the defined ramp access region.

15. The method of claim 14 , further comprising deactivating the sensor system when the sensor system has not detected the presence of the object within the defined ramp access region.

16. The method of claim 15 , further comprising repeating said activating, said determining, and said deactivating steps.

17. The method of claim 16 , further comprising allowing a first sleep time to elapse between said deactivating step and said activating step when the sensor system has not detected the presence of the object within the defined ramp access region.

18. The method of claim 16 , further comprising allowing a second sleep time to elapse after said determining step when the sensor system has detected the presence of the object within the defined ramp access region.

19. The method of claim 14 , further comprising confirming that the sensor system has detected the presence of the object within the defined ramp access region before performing said operating step.

20. The method of claim 19 , wherein said confirming step comprises performing said activating and said determining steps.

21. The method of claim 14 , further comprising repeating said operating step for a predetermined number of times so long as the sensor system detects the presence of the object within the defined ramp access region.

22. The method of claim 21 , further comprising resetting the predetermined number of times when the sensor system no longer detects the presence of the object in the defined ramp access region so that said operating step can performed again if the sensor system detects the presence of a second object within the defined ramp access region.

23. The method of claim 14 , further comprising monitoring a vehicle state to determine when the vehicle is in a Stationary State and wherein said activating step is performed only when the monitored vehicle state is the Stationary State.

24. The method of claim 23 , further comprising determining that the vehicle is in the Stationary State when a transmission selector of the vehicle is in a ‘park’ position.

25. The method of claim 14 , further comprising allowing an enable-delay time to elapse between said detecting step and said activating step.

26. A non-transitory computer-readable storage medium having computer-executable instructions embodied thereon that, when executed by at least one computer processor, cause the processor to:

detect an ‘enable’ command issued by a user;

activate a sensor system operatively associated with a vehicle in response to the sensed enable command when the vehicle is stationary;

determine whether the sensor system has detected the presence of an object within a ramp access region exterior to the stationary vehicle, the ramp access region being defined by a deployable ramp operatively associated with the vehicle; and

operate an annunciator system when the sensor system has detected the presence of the object within the defined ramp access region, the annunciator system providing an indication that an object is present within the defined ramp access region.