Towed vehicle braking system with battery voltage controlled operation
OwnerDaniel L. Decker, Jr., Jerad M. Burkhart +1inventors
InventorsDaniel L. Decker, Jr., Jerad M. Burkhart, Eric K. Becker
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
A towed vehicle braking system is described that in some embodiments includes a brake pedal connector configured to connect to a brake pedal of a brake of a towed vehicle. A brake drive system is connected to the brake pedal connector to actuate the brake of the towed vehicle through the brake pedal connector by applying a positive pressure to the brake pedal connector to move the brake pedal. A voltage detector is coupled to a battery of the towed vehicle to detect the voltage at the battery and an ON/OFF circuit is coupled to the voltage detector to turn off the brake drive system in response to the detected voltage being above a predetermined voltage threshold.
Claims20
A towed vehicle braking system comprising:
- a brake pedal connector configured to connect to a brake pedal of a brake of a towed vehicle;
- a brake drive system connected to the brake pedal connector to actuate the brake of the towed vehicle through the brake pedal connector by applying a positive pressure to the brake pedal connector to move the brake pedal;
- a voltage detector coupled to a battery of the towed vehicle to detect the voltage at the battery;
- and
- an ON/OFF circuit coupled to the voltage detector to turn off the brake drive system in response to the detected voltage being above a predetermined voltage threshold.
A method of controlling power to a towed vehicle braking system comprising:
- detecting a voltage at a battery of a towed vehicle;
- comparing the detected voltage to a predetermined voltage threshold;
- and
- turning off a brake drive system in response to the detected voltage being above the predetermined voltage threshold, wherein the brake drive system is connected to a brake pedal connector to actuate a brake of the towed vehicle through the brake pedal connector by applying a positive pressure to the brake pedal connector to move the brake pedal.
A towed vehicle braking system comprising:
- a main controller;
- a brake drive system coupled to the controller and configured to actuate the brake of the towed vehicle through a brake actuator under control of the main controller;
- and
- a voltage detector coupled to the controller to detect a voltage of a towed vehicle battery, wherein the main controller, and brake drive system are powered by the battery,
- wherein the controller is configured to turn off the brake drive system in response to the detected voltage being above a predetermined voltage threshold.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.