System and method for controlling air gap between a tractor and a trailer
First Claim
Patent Images
1. A vehicle combination comprising:
- a first vehicle that is propelled along a road surface by and in unison with a second vehicle via an articulated coupling that couples a front portion of the first vehicle and a rear portion of the second vehicle to provide for articulation of the first vehicle relative to the second vehicle while a portion of weight of the first vehicle is borne by the rear portion of the second vehicle; and
a system for setting position of the articulated coupling relative to at least one of the first vehicle and the second vehicle, the system comprisinga positioning mechanism for moving the articulated coupling fore and aft relative to at least one of the first vehicle and the second vehicle, and a controller for processing certain data to yield target data representing a target position for the articulated coupling relative to at least one of the first vehicle and the second vehicle and for processing the target data and data representing actual position of the articulated coupling relative to at least one of the first vehicle and the second vehicle to yield control data that is used to operate the positioning mechanism for moving the articulated coupling to the target position.
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Accused Products
Abstract
A highway tractor (12) has a fifth wheel (28) to which a trailer (14) that is to be towed by the tractor can be coupled. A positioning system sets fore-aft position of the fifth wheel on the tractor. The positioning system (FIG. 2; FIG. 3) has a positioning mechanism for moving the fifth wheel fore and aft on the tractor and a controller for processing certain data that is used to cause the positioning mechanism to move the fifth wheel to a fore-aft target position on the tractor.
23 Citations
22 Claims
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1. A vehicle combination comprising:
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a first vehicle that is propelled along a road surface by and in unison with a second vehicle via an articulated coupling that couples a front portion of the first vehicle and a rear portion of the second vehicle to provide for articulation of the first vehicle relative to the second vehicle while a portion of weight of the first vehicle is borne by the rear portion of the second vehicle; and a system for setting position of the articulated coupling relative to at least one of the first vehicle and the second vehicle, the system comprising a positioning mechanism for moving the articulated coupling fore and aft relative to at least one of the first vehicle and the second vehicle, and a controller for processing certain data to yield target data representing a target position for the articulated coupling relative to at least one of the first vehicle and the second vehicle and for processing the target data and data representing actual position of the articulated coupling relative to at least one of the first vehicle and the second vehicle to yield control data that is used to operate the positioning mechanism for moving the articulated coupling to the target position. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9)
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10. A method for setting a fore-aft dimension of an air gap between a rear wall of a towing vehicle and a front wall of a towed vehicle being towed by the towing vehicle, the method comprising the steps of:
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processing certain data to yield target data representing a target position relative to at least one of the towed vehicle and the towing vehicle for an articulated coupling that couples a front portion of the towed vehicle to a rear portion of the towing vehicle to provide for relative articulation of the towing vehicle and the towed vehicle while a portion of weight of the towed vehicle is borne on the rear portion of the towing vehicle; processing the target data and data representing actual position of the articulated coupling relative to at least one of the towed vehicle and the towing vehicle to yield control data for operating a positioning mechanism that can move the articulated coupling fore and aft on at least one of the towed vehicle and the towing vehicle; and using the control data to operate the positioning mechanism to move the articulated coupling to a target position. - View Dependent Claims (11, 12, 13, 14, 15)
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16. A combination of a tractor and a trailer, the combination comprising:
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a fifth wheel disposed on the tractor to which the trailer can be coupled for towing by the tractor; a system comprising a positioning mechanism for positioning the fifth wheel on the tractor within a range of positions; and a controller for processing certain data to yield target data representing a target position within the range of positions and for processing the target data and data representing actual position of the fifth wheel to yield control data that is used to operate the positioning mechanism for moving the fifth wheel to the target position. - View Dependent Claims (17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22)
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Specification