Trailer Remote Control Interface for Intuitive Reversing
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Solution Overview
Problem
Operating a vehicle with a trailer in tow is challenging, especially for unskilled drivers, due to counterintuitive steering wheel inputs when reversing and difficulty tracking steering wheel angle changes in remote control situations, particularly as perspective changes around the vehicle and trailer.
Innovation Solution
A mobile device with a user interface that orients a vehicle graphic and trailer graphic according to the user's position around the vehicle and trailer, providing intuitive control inputs aligned with the user's perspective, allowing for forward and reverse path control without needing to remember steering wheel inputs, and enabling path shape changes by rotating the device.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of operation
If traditional steering wheel control is used for reversing a trailer, then the vehicle can be operated, but the control input becomes counterintuitive and difficult to master for unskilled drivers
Solution Approach 1:
The patent creates a virtual copy of the trailer's expected path displayed on a mobile device screen, showing the user exactly where the trailer will travel based on current steering input. This visual copy eliminates the need to mentally calculate counterintuitive steering angles, as the display directly shows the relationship between steering wheel position and trailer path, making control intuitive for users of any skill level.
Solution Approach 2:
The mobile device acts as an intermediary between the driver and the trailer control system. Instead of directly controlling the trailer through traditional steering wheel feedback, the user interacts with a visual representation on the screen that mediates the control process, translating complex steering mechanics into simple visual path selection.
2Adaptability or versatility
If remote control via mobile device is implemented, then flexibility in user positioning is improved, but the interface may lose intuitiveness if not properly adapted to user perspective
Solution Approach 1:
The system dynamically adjusts the visual representation on the mobile device screen based on the user's position around the vehicle. The display updates in real-time to reflect changes in perspective, maintaining intuitive control regardless of whether the user is standing in front, behind, or to the side of the vehicle-trailer combination.
Solution Approach 2:
The interface provides locally optimized visual information based on the user's position. When the user is at different locations around the vehicle, the system adjusts the displayed perspective and control elements to match that specific viewpoint, ensuring that the interface remains intuitive for each local context rather than using a fixed perspective.
Data Source
AI summary
The disclosure describes systems and methods including a mobile device for remotely controlling the movement of a vehicle and trailer. The mobile device provides an intuitive interface for controlling the movement of the vehicle and trailer by changing the orientation of a vehicle graphic (e.g., of the vehicle and trailer) according to a position of the mobile device around a periphery of the vehicle and trailer. This allows the user to walk around the vehicle and trailer to determine a best position from which to control the vehicle and trailer depending on a given situation without losing the intuitiveness of the user interface.