USE OF LASER SCANNER FOR AUTONOMOUS TRUCK OPERATION

• US 20160368336A1
• Filed: 06/19/2015
• Published: 12/22/2016
• Est. Priority Date: 06/19/2015
• Status: Abandoned Application

• Current Assignee: PACCAR Incorporated
• Original Assignee: PACCAR Incorporated
• Inventors: Hankins, A. Brent, Kahn, William C.
• Application Number:
  US14/745,165
• Publication Number:
  US 20160368336A1
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: B60D 1/30 for sway control , e.g. stabilising or anti-fishtail devices; Sway alarm means
• CPC Class Codes: B60D 1/481 adapted for being mounted to the front and back of trailers, carts, trolleys, or the like to form a train
• CPC Class Codes: B60D 1/62 involving supply lines, electric circuits, or the like
• CPC Class Codes: B60W 2300/14 Tractor-trailers, i.e. combinations of a towing vehicle and one or more towed vehicles, e.g. caravans; Road trains
• CPC Class Codes: B60W 2420/408 Radar; Laser, e.g. lidar
• CPC Class Codes: B60W 2520/22 Articulation angle, e.g. between tractor and trailer
• CPC Class Codes: B60W 30/06 Automatic manoeuvring for parking
• CPC Class Codes: B60W 30/18036 Reversing
• CPC Class Codes: G01B 11/24 for measuring contours or curvatures
• CPC Class Codes: G01B 11/26 for measuring angles or tapers; for testing the alignment of axes

Abstract

A vehicle includes one or more laser scanners and an on-board vehicle computer system communicatively coupled to the laser scanners. The computer system uses information (e.g., coordinate points) obtained from the laser scanners to calculate a trailer angle (e.g., a cab-trailer angle) for the vehicle. The computer system may include a shape detection module that detects a trailer based on the information obtained from the laser scanners and an angle detection module that calculates an angle of the detected trailer relative to a laser scanner, calculates the orientation of the detected trailer based on that angle and dimensions (e.g., width and length) of the trailer, and calculates a cab-trailer angle based on the orientation of the trailer. The computer system may include an autonomous operation module configured to use the cab-trailer angle in an autonomous or computer-guided vehicle maneuver, such as a parking maneuver or backing maneuver.

Claims

1. A vehicle comprising:

a laser scanner; and

an on-board vehicle computer system communicatively coupled to the laser scanner, wherein the on-board vehicle computer system is configured to use information obtained from the laser scanner to calculate a cab-trailer angle for the vehicle, wherein the on-board vehicle computer system comprises an angle detection module configured to;

calculate an angle of the detected trailer relative to the laser scanner;

calculate the orientation of the detected trailer based at least in part on the angle of the detected trailer relative to the laser scanner and dimensions of the trailer; and

calculate the cab-trailer angle based at least in part on the orientation of the detected trailer.

2. The vehicle of claim 1, wherein the on-board vehicle computer system further comprises a shape detection module configured to detect a trailer based at least in part on the information obtained from the laser scanner.

4. The vehicle of claim 1, wherein the information obtained from the laser scanner comprises a plurality of coordinate points.

5. The vehicle of claim 1, wherein the laser scanner comprises a side-mounted scanner.

6. The vehicle of claim 1, wherein the laser scanner comprises a rear-mounted or roof-mounted scanner.

7. The vehicle of claim 1 further comprising one or more additional laser scanners.

8. The vehicle of claim 1, wherein the on-board vehicle computer system comprises an autonomous operation module configured to use the cab-trailer angle to perform an autonomous or computer-guided vehicle maneuver.

9. The vehicle of claim 8, wherein the autonomous or computer-guided vehicle maneuver comprises a parking maneuver.

10. The vehicle of claim 8, wherein the autonomous or computer-guided vehicle maneuver comprises a backing maneuver.

11. The vehicle of claim 1, wherein the on-board vehicle computer system is further configured to use the information obtained from the laser scanner to calculate a trailer-trailer angle.

3. (canceled)

12. (canceled)

13. A vehicle comprising:

a tractor unit;

a plurality of laser scanners mounted to the tractor unit; and

an on-board vehicle computer system communicatively coupled to the laser scanners, wherein the on-board vehicle computer system is configured to (1) use coordinate point information obtained from at least one of the laser scanners to calculate a cab-trailer angle for the vehicle in a single-trailer or multi-trailer configuration and (2) use coordinate point information to calculate a trailer-trailer angle for the vehicle in a multi-trailer configuration.

14. The vehicle of claim 13, wherein the information obtained from the at least one laser scanner comprises a plurality of coordinate points.

15. The vehicle of claim 13, wherein the laser scanners comprise at least two side-mounted scanners.

16. The vehicle of claim 15, wherein the laser scanners further comprise a rear-mounted scanner.

17. The vehicle of claim 13, wherein the on-board vehicle computer system comprises an autonomous operation module configured to use the cab-trailer angle or the trailer-trailer angle to perform an autonomous or computer-guided vehicle maneuver.

18. The vehicle of claim 13, wherein the on-board vehicle computer system comprises:

a shape detection module configured to detect one or more trailers based at least in part on the information obtained from the at least one laser scanner; and

an angle detection module configured to calculate the cab-trailer angle or the trailer-trailer angle based at least in part on an orientation of the detected trailer.

21. The vehicle of claim 13, wherein the on-board vehicle computer system is further configured to use coordinate point information obtained from a rear-mounted laser scanner on a trailer in the multi-trailer configuration to calculate the trailer-trailer angle in the multi-trailer configuration.

19-20. -20. (canceled)