Automated Trailer Hitching Brake Control System
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Solution Overview
Problem
Hitching a trailer to a vehicle is often difficult and time-consuming due to the challenges of aligning the vehicle hitch ball with the trailer coupler, requiring repeated maneuvers and steering adjustments.
Innovation Solution
A vehicle control system that includes a braking system, maneuvering system, image sensor, velocity sensor, brake pressure sensor, and mass sensor, controlled by a controller to calculate and maintain a stopping distance based on braking parameters, ensuring smooth deceleration and accurate alignment of the hitch ball with the coupler.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of operation
If manual alignment maneuvers are used to position the vehicle hitch ball with the trailer coupler, then the hitching operation can be completed, but the process becomes difficult and time-consuming requiring repeated forward and reverse driving coordinated with multiple steering maneuvers
Solution Approach 1:
The patent replaces manual mechanical alignment maneuvers with an automated image recognition and control system. The system uses image sensors to capture visual data of the trailer coupler, processes this data to determine alignment status, and automatically controls vehicle maneuvering to achieve proper positioning of the hitch ball with the coupler, eliminating the need for repeated manual forward-reverse driving and steering adjustments
Solution Approach 2:
The system enables the vehicle to perform self-alignment through automated control. The image sensor detects the coupler position, the controller calculates the required maneuvering adjustments, and the system executes the positioning automatically without requiring continuous manual intervention for steering and acceleration control during the alignment process
2Manufacturing precision
If automated braking control with linear pressure increase is implemented, then smooth deceleration and precise stopping are achieved, but the braking system complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The braking control system continuously monitors brake pressure through sensors and feeds this information back to the controller. The controller adjusts the brake pressure application based on this feedback to maintain a linear pressure increase rate, ensuring smooth deceleration and precise stopping at the target position while managing the complexity through closed-loop control
Solution Approach 2:
The system dynamically adjusts brake pressure during the deceleration process rather than applying fixed pressure. The brake pressure is modulated in real-time to maintain a linear increase rate, allowing the vehicle to decelerate smoothly and stop precisely at the calculated position, transforming a static braking approach into a dynamic controlled process
Data Source
AI summary
A vehicle control system configured to control a braking operation of a hitch ball to a coupler on a trailer. The system may comprise a vehicle brake control system, a maneuvering system, an image sensor configured to capture an image data, and a velocity sensor. The system may also comprise a vehicle mass sensor configured to detect a vehicle mass and a controller. The controller may be configured to control the maneuvering system of the vehicle along a vehicle path. The controller may also identify a coupler distance based on the image data depicting a coupler of the trailer. The controller may also calculate a stopping distance for the braking operation based on a plurality of braking parameters, wherein the braking parameters comprise the velocity, the brake pressure, and the vehicle mass.