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US 10,800,217 B2Granted
Hitch assist system
AssigneeFord Global Technologies, LLC
InventorDouglas Rogan
Life of this patent
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Abstract
A hitch assist system is provided herein that includes a sensing system configured to detect a trailer proximate a vehicle. The hitch assist system also includes a controller for determining an environmental visibility level; determining an offset from a first sensor in high visibility levels and from a second sensor in low visibility levels; and maneuvering the vehicle along a path to align a hitch ball with a coupler of the trailer.
Claims16
A hitch assist system comprising:
- a sensing system configured to detect a trailer proximate a vehicle;
- and
- a controller for:
- determining an environmental visibility level;
- determining an offset from a first sensor in high visibility levels and from a second sensor in low visibility levels;
- and
- maneuvering the vehicle along a path to align a hitch ball with a coupler of the trailer, wherein the controller uses sensor signals from the second sensor to conduct a simultaneous localization and mapping (SLAM) process of an area proximate the vehicle, and wherein the SLAM process is configured to locate one or more points on a trailer and the one or more points are used to determine a characteristic of the trailer.
4 more elements
A hitch assist method comprising the steps of:
- determining an environmental visibility level;
- determining an offset from a first sensor in high visibility levels and from a second sensor in low visibility levels;
- localizing and mapping two or more points relative to one another indicative of a trailer;
- and
- controlling a vehicle along a path to align a hitch ball with a coupler of the trailer, wherein the two or more points include a first point indicative of the coupler, a second point indicative of a first corner of the trailer, and a third point indicative of a second corner of the trailer.
2 more elements
A hitch assist system comprising:
- a sensor configured to operate in a substantially similar accuracy during high and low visibility conditions;
- and
- a controller for:
- localizing and mapping objects proximate a vehicle in response to sensor signals provided by the sensor;
- and
- maneuvering the vehicle along a path to align a hitch ball with a coupler of a trailer, wherein the characteristic is a heading direction of the trailer.
3 more elements
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.