Method and apparatus for automatically deducing a trailer is physically coupled with a vehicle

A management server device located in the cloud for automatically deducing a trailer is physically coupled with a vehicle having a trailer hitch, the management server device comprising:

• a non-transitory computer readable storage medium to store instructions;
• and
• a processor coupled with the non-transitory computer readable storage medium to process the stored instructions to:
• receive, from a first gateway device located on the vehicle, first location data including one or more locations for the vehicle;
• receive, from two or more second gateway devices, two or more second location data, wherein each one of the second gateway devices is located on a respective trailer from a set of two or more trailers and each second location data includes one or more locations for the respective trailer from the set of trailers;
• receive from the first gateway device an indication that the vehicle is coupled with a trailer, wherein the indication does not indicate an identity of the trailer that is connected;
• calculate, for each trailer from the set of trailers, a score based at least in part on the first location data and the second location data of the trailer and further based on the indication that the vehicle is coupled with a trailer, wherein the score estimates a measure of how likely the trailer is to be physically coupled with the vehicle;
• and
• select, based on the scores of the trailers, a first trailer from the set of trailers to be associated with the vehicle indicating that the first trailer is physically coupled with the vehicle.

A non-transitory computer readable storage medium that provide instructions, which when executed by a processor of a management server device located in the cloud, cause said processor to perform operations comprising:

• receiving, from a first gateway device located on a vehicle, first location data including one or more locations for the vehicle;
• receiving, from two or more second gateway devices, two or more second location data, wherein each one of the second gateway devices is located on a respective trailer from a set of two or more trailers and each second location data includes one or more locations for the respective trailer from the set of trailers;
• receiving from the first gateway device an indication that the vehicle is coupled with a trailer, wherein the indication does not indicate an identity of the trailer that is connected;
• calculating, for each trailer from the set of trailers, a score based at least in part on the first location data and the second location data of the trailer and further based on the indication that the vehicle is coupled with a trailer, wherein the score estimates a measure of how likely the trailer is to be physically coupled with the vehicle;
• and
• selecting, based on the scores of the trailers, a first trailer from the set of trailers to be associated with the vehicle indicating that the first trailer is physically coupled with the vehicle.