Multi-Trailer Hitch Angle Control for Off-Tracking Reduction
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Solution Overview
Problem
Towing vehicles with multiple trailers experience increased off-tracking, especially in sharper turns and with longer trailer dimensions, which is undesirable and challenging for operators to manage effectively.
Innovation Solution
An apparatus and method for towing a first trailer by a tow vehicle, utilizing a second trailer articulatably coupled to the tow vehicle and a first trailer, with a controller establishing a target hitch articulation angle by controlling the steering angle and speed differential of steerable wheels on the second trailer to minimize off-tracking.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Adaptability or versatility
If multiple trailers are used for towing, then cargo capacity and versatility are improved, but off-tracking increases and becomes more difficult to control
Solution Approach 1:
The system employs sensors to detect the actual hitch articulation angle and provides feedback to the controller, which compares the measured angle with the target angle and adjusts the steerable wheel positioning accordingly. This closed-loop feedback mechanism enables automatic tracking control of multiple trailers, resolving the ease of operation deterioration while maintaining cargo capacity improvements.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent replaces manual mechanical steering control with an automated electronic control system that uses sensors, controllers, and actuators to position steerable wheels. This substitution of mechanical manual control with electronic automation resolves the tracking control difficulty while preserving the versatility of multiple trailer configurations.
2Adaptability or versatility
If trailer length is increased for greater cargo capacity, then cargo capacity is improved, but off-tracking becomes more acute and difficult to manage
Solution Approach 1:
The controller calculates and establishes a target hitch articulation angle in advance based on the steering angle of the tow vehicle and the geometric parameters of the trailer configuration. This preliminary determination of the target angle allows the system to proactively compensate for off-tracking effects before they become problematic, enabling longer trailers to be used without excessive off-tracking while maintaining cargo capacity benefits.
Solution Approach 2:
The system dynamically adjusts the hitch articulation angle parameter based on the steering angle and trailer geometry to optimize tracking performance. By changing this critical parameter in real-time, the system compensates for the increased off-tracking tendency of longer trailers, allowing greater cargo capacity while controlling harmful off-tracking effects.
3Ease of operation
If sharper turns are made for improved maneuverability, then ease of operation is improved, but off-tracking becomes more acute and trailers deviate more from the intended path
Solution Approach 1:
During sharp turns, the feedback control system continuously monitors the hitch articulation angle and adjusts the steerable wheel positioning to maintain the target angle, thereby compensating for increased off-tracking effects. This real-time feedback enables sharp maneuvers to be performed with improved ease of operation while controlling the harmful off-tracking that would otherwise increase with sharper turns.
Data Source
AI summary
A tow configuration may include a tow vehicle and first and second trailers. The intermediate trailer hitch angle with the tow vehicle is controlled with one objective being to improve the off-tracking performance of the other trailer. The hitch angle may be controlled through steerable wheels at the intermediate trailer or through wheel differential steering at the intermediate trailer.