Fifth-Wheel Trailer Angle Sensing Without Trailer-Mounted Sensors
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Solution Overview
Problem
Autonomous tractors face challenges in accurately determining the position and orientation of articulated trailers, particularly for safe maneuvering into designated locations like loading docks, due to the lack of sensors on the trailers.
Innovation Solution
Implementing a trailer angle encoder system that includes an arm with a flange beneath the tractor's fifth wheel and an optical encoder, or a magnetically coupled mechanism, to determine the angle between the tractor and trailer, combined with LIDAR for point cloud capture and processing, to accurately calculate the trailer's orientation.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Measurement precision
If sensors are installed on trailers to determine position and orientation, then measurement precision is improved, but device complexity and cost increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent uses the tractor as an intermediary device to measure trailer orientation. Instead of installing sensors on the trailer, the system attaches an encoder to the tractor's fifth wheel assembly, which indirectly measures the trailer's angle relative to the tractor through the kingpin connection. This mediator approach allows trailer position determination without modifying the trailer itself.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent replaces complex sensor systems with a mechanical encoder system. The optical or magnetic encoder mechanically coupled to the fifth wheel assembly provides precise angular measurement through mechanical rotation detection, substituting electronic sensor arrays that would be required on the trailer for achieving the same measurement precision.
2Measurement precision
If human intervention is required to install sensors on trailers, then measurement precision is improved, but productivity decreases due to additional intervention steps
Solution Approach 1:
The system makes the tractor self-sufficient for trailer measurement by equipping it with the encoder system that automatically measures trailer orientation during normal coupling and maneuvering operations. No external intervention or separate calibration step is needed—the tractor independently determines trailer position using its own onboard sensors and the mechanical connection already present in the coupling system.
Solution Approach 2:
The encoder is pre-installed on the tractor before it enters service, and the system is pre-calibrated with known trailer dimensions. When the tractor couples with a trailer, the measurement system is already ready to immediately begin tracking trailer orientation without requiring any on-site installation or setup activities.
3Reliability
If additional sensors are added to automated tractors for safety, then safety is improved, but device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The fifth wheel assembly's rotational encoder serves multiple functions: it measures trailer orientation for accurate positioning, provides feedback for safe coupling operations, and enables the automated tractor to understand trailer dynamics during maneuvering. This single sensor system performs what would otherwise require multiple separate safety sensors, reducing overall system complexity while maintaining high reliability.
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
Enables precise determination of the trailer's back end position, allowing safe and accurate maneuvering of trailers into loading docks, enhancing safety and efficiency in automated yards.
Implementation Method 1
an optical encoder positioned at a first end of the arm and having a rotatable shaft with a mechanical coupler
Implementation Method 2
or a magnetically coupled mechanism, to determine the angle between the tractor and trailer
Implementation Method 3
combined with LIDAR for point cloud capture and processing, to accurately calculate the trailer's orientation
Data Source
AI summary
Systems and methods determine an angle of an articulated trailer relative to a tractor that the trailer is hitched to. An encoder is positioned beneath a fifth-wheel of a tractor to couples with a kingpin of the trailer when the trailer is hitched to the tractor. The coupler has a rotating shaft that may include pins that physically interact with the kingpin and/or may include a magnet that magnetically attaches to the kingpin. A clearance and cleaning block may be positioned on the spring plate to interact with a bottom surface of a kingpin of the trailer during hitching of the trailer to the tractor. A LIDAR attached to the tractor may detect a front end of the trailer to determine the trailer angle relative to the tractor.