Vehicle hitch assistance system
First Claim
Patent Images
1. A system for monitoring available space to maneuver a vehicle to align a tow hitch mounted to the vehicle with a trailer coupling mounted to a trailer, the system comprising:
- an imaging system disposed on the vehicle to generate image data; and
a processor configured to;
receive the image data generated by the imaging system and to analyze said image data to identify obstructions proximal to said vehicle and/or to said trailer;
determine a position of the trailer relative to the vehicle and to calculate a required path to align the tow hitch with the trailer coupling such that a hitch angle is within a predefined range when the vehicle is coupled to the trailer, the hitch angle being defined between a longitudinal axis of the vehicle and a longitudinal axis of the trailer; and
determine if there is sufficient space available to maneuver the vehicle along the calculated path to align the tow hitch with the trailer coupling to provide the required alignment.
1 Assignment
0 Petitions
Accused Products
Abstract
A system (1) for monitoring available space to maneuver a vehicle (3) to align a tow hitch (5) mounted to the vehicle with a trailer coupling (7) mounted to a trailer (9). An imaging system (11, 13, 15) is provided to generate image data. A processor (37) is configured to analyze said image data to identify obstructions proximal to said vehicle and/or to said trailer and to determine if there is sufficient space available to maneuver the vehicle to align the tow hitch with the trailer coupling.
61 Citations
19 Claims
-
1. A system for monitoring available space to maneuver a vehicle to align a tow hitch mounted to the vehicle with a trailer coupling mounted to a trailer, the system comprising:
-
an imaging system disposed on the vehicle to generate image data; and a processor configured to; receive the image data generated by the imaging system and to analyze said image data to identify obstructions proximal to said vehicle and/or to said trailer; determine a position of the trailer relative to the vehicle and to calculate a required path to align the tow hitch with the trailer coupling such that a hitch angle is within a predefined range when the vehicle is coupled to the trailer, the hitch angle being defined between a longitudinal axis of the vehicle and a longitudinal axis of the trailer; and determine if there is sufficient space available to maneuver the vehicle along the calculated path to align the tow hitch with the trailer coupling to provide the required alignment. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 18, 19)
-
-
4. A method of monitoring available space to maneuver a vehicle to align a tow hitch mounted to the vehicle with a trailer coupling mounted to a trailer, the method comprising:
-
receiving image data from an imaging system disposed on the vehicle; analyzing, via a processor, said image data to identify obstructions proximal to said vehicle and/or to said trailer; determining, via the processor, a position of the trailer relative to the vehicle and calculating a required path to align the tow hitch with the trailer coupling such that a hitch angle is within a predefined range when the vehicle is coupled to the trailer, the hitch angle being defined between a longitudinal axis of the vehicle and a longitudinal axis of the trailer; and determining, via the processor, if there is sufficient space available to maneuver the vehicle along the calculated path to align the tow hitch with the trailer coupling to provide the required alignment. - View Dependent Claims (5, 6, 7, 8, 9)
-
-
15. A processor for a vehicle, the processor programmed to:
-
receive image data from an imaging system disposed on the vehicle; analyze the image data to identify obstructions proximal to the vehicle and/or to a trailer and to determine a position of the trailer relative to the vehicle; calculate a required path to align the tow hitch with the trailer coupling such that a hitch angle is within a predefined range when the vehicle is coupled to the trailer, the hitch angle being defined between a longitudinal axis of the vehicle and a longitudinal axis of the trailer; and determine if there is sufficient space available to maneuver the vehicle along the calculated path to align a tow hitch with a coupling of the trailer to provide the required alignment. - View Dependent Claims (16)
-
-
17. A computer program product for monitoring available space to maneuver a vehicle to align a tow hitch mounted to the vehicle with a trailer coupling mounted to a trailer, the computer program product comprising a non-transitory computer readable storage medium having encoded thereon instructions that, when executed on a processor, cause the processor to perform operations comprising:
-
receiving image data from an imaging system disposed on the vehicle; analyzing said image data to identify obstructions proximal to said vehicle and/or to said trailer and to determine a position of the trailer relative to the vehicle; calculating a required path to align the tow hitch with the trailer coupling such that a hitch angle is within a predefined range when the vehicle is coupled to the trailer, the hitch angle being defined between a longitudinal axis of the vehicle and a longitudinal axis of the trailer; and determining if there is sufficient space available to maneuver the vehicle along the calculated path to align the tow hitch with the trailer coupling to provide the required alignment.
-
Specification