PORTABLE TRAILER GUIDANCE SYSTEM

• US 20170008559A1
• Filed: 07/03/2015
• Published: 01/12/2017
• Est. Priority Date: 07/03/2014
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Daniel Robert Shepard
• Original Assignee: Daniel Robert Shepard
• Inventors: Shepard, Daniel Robert
• Granted Patent: US 9,926,009 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: B60D 1/245 for facilitating push back or parking of trailers
• CPC Class Codes: B60D 1/62 involving supply lines, electric circuits, or the like
• CPC Class Codes: B62D 1/046 Adaptations on rotatable parts of the steering wheel for accommodation of switches
• CPC Class Codes: B62D 13/06 for backing a normally drawn trailer
• CPC Class Codes: B62D 15/027 Parking aids, e.g. instruction means
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/80 Services using short range communication, e.g. near-field communication [NFC], radio-frequency identification [RFID] or low energy communication

Abstract

Trailer guidance systems require sensors for detecting the hitch angle and the turning radius and output means for displaying the intended trailer destination. However, most vehicles do not have integral turning sensors and most trailers and/or hitches do not have integral hitch angle sensors. The present invention is a system for guiding a trailer while backing that can easily be installed or removed.

Claims

1. A system for aiding an operator of a vehicle connected to a trailer with backing up that trailer comprising means to determine steering information about the vehicle, means to determine angular information about the connection between the vehicle and the trailer, and means to determine a prediction of a portion of the path that the trailer will follow while backing, whereby one or more of the means to determine steering information, means to determine angular information, and means to determine a prediction of a portion of the path that the trailer will follow while backing are installable and removable by hand without requiring tools.

2. The system of claim 1 whereby the means to determine steering information about the vehicle is a motion sensing device attached to the steering wheel.

3. The system of claim 1 whereby the means to determine steering information about the vehicle is a motion sensing device attached to a component of the steering linkages.

4. The motion sensing device attached to the steering wheel of claim 2 further comprising means to wirelessly communicate steering information about the vehicle.

5. The motion sensing device attached to the steering wheel of claim 2 further comprising means to provide power without being wired to the vehicle.

6. The means to provide power of claim 5 comprising one or more batteries that are either rechargeable or disposable.

7. The motion sensing device attached to the steering wheel of claim 2 further comprising one or more device from a list of devices, the list of devices comprising a pendulum, a rotation sensor, an accelerometer, a gyroscope, and an IMU.

8. The motion sensing device attached to the steering wheel of claim 2 whereby the motion sensing device attached to the steering wheel is generally self-aligning to the plane of the steering wheel.

9. The system of claim 1 further comprising a hitching device whereby the hitching device comprises a hitch ball, a hitch ball mount, and an angle sensor that provides the means to determine angular information about the connection between the vehicle and the trailer.

10. The hitching device of claim 9 further comprising means to protect the sensor from collision damage.

11. The system of claim 9 further comprising a stretchable or flexible connection between a first point and a second point where the first point is on the vehicle side of the connection between the vehicle and the trailer and the second point is on the trailer side of the connection between the vehicle and the trailer.

12. The angle sensor of claim 11 where the connection between the vehicle and the trailer comprises an axis of rotation and where the first point is located a first distance from the axis of rotation and the second point is located a second distance from the axis of rotation.

13. The trailer hitch angle sensor of claim 12 whereby the first distance is equal to the second distance.

14. The hitching device of claim 9 further comprising a movable joint to correct for up and down motion (pitch) of the trailer wheels of the trailer relative to the vehicle.

15. The hitching device of claim 9 further comprising a movable joint to correct side to side motion (rotation) for the trailer wheels not being level relative to the leveling of the vehicle.

16. The hitching device of claim 9 further comprising a wireless connection for communicating information about the connection between the vehicle and the trailer.

17. The hitching device of claim 9 further comprising one or more of a Bluetooth communications link, a Wi-Fi communications link, a ZigBee communications link, or an RS-232 communications link.

18. The means to determine a prediction of a portion of the path that the trailer will follow while backing of claim 1 further comprising a means to display said prediction through one or more devices chosen from a list of devices comprising an LCD display, a smart phone, a tablet, a lap-top computer, a back-up camera'"'"'s screen, a device running the iOS™

operating system, or a device running the Android™

operating system.

19. A system for controlling a vehicle for backing up with a trailer comprising (I) a pointer to indicate a desired direction for the trailer to travel, (II) means to determine the turning of the vehicle, (III) means to determine the angle formed by the center-line of the vehicle and the center-line of the trailer, (IV) means to determine the direction for the trailer for (a) a turning value for the vehicle and (b) an angle formed by the center-line of the vehicle and the center-line of the trailer, (V) means to determine the steering required for the determined direction for the trailer to equal the desired direction for the trailer as measured on the pointer to indicate a desired direction for the trailer to travel, and (VI) means to provide the determined steering required for the determined direction for the trailer to equal the desired direction for the trailer into the steering control of the vehicle, whereby (i) a driver of the vehicle uses the pointer to indicate his or her desired direction for the trailer to travel, (ii) the determined steering provided into the steering control of the vehicle will cause the vehicle to turn by the determined steering required for the determined direction for the trailer to equal the desired direction for the trailer, and (iii) one or more of the hitch sensor, the steering sensor, and the display can be attached to a vehicle or removed from the vehicle by hand and without tools.

20. The means to determine the angle formed by the center-line of the vehicle and the center-line of the trailer of claim 19 further comprising a movable joint to correct for up and down motion about the hitch joint of the trailer relative to the vehicle (pitch) and a movable joint to correct for the trailer wheels not being level relative to the leveling of the vehicle (rotation) about the hitch joint.