Brake controller interface

A brake controller comprising:

• a micro-processor based control module having a plurality of settings which control functions of the brake controller output for use in controlling brakes of a trailer or towed vehicle, each of the plurality of settings having a range of values any value of which can be selected by a user;
• and
• an input element having control motion which is hand operable by a single hand of the user, in communication with the micro-processor based control module, the input element, depending upon a control motion sequence used, being both able to a) switch between input modes, with different input modes controlling different settings of the brake controller;
• and b) allow user selection of a value for the setting being controlled in that input mode;
• wherein the input element is the only user-movable part of the brake controller for controlling settings of the brake controller,
• wherein the input element is a push button, and comprising a timer for determining how long the push button has been pushed, wherein pushing the push button for a duration less than a threshold value is considered a tap event and pushing the push button for a duration greater than the threshold value is consider a hold event, and wherein tap events are used to switch between input modes and hold events are used for user selection of the value for the setting being controlled in that input mode.

A brake controller comprising:

• a micro-processor based control module having a plurality of settings which control functions of the brake controller output for use in controlling brakes of a trailer or towed vehicle, each of the plurality of settings having a range of values any value of which can be selected by a user;
• and
• an input element having control motion which is hand operable by a single hand of the user, in communication with the micro-processor based control module, the input element, depending upon a control motion sequence used, being both able to a) switch between input modes, with different input modes controlling different settings of the brake controller;
• and b) allow user selection of a value for the setting being controlled in that input mode;
• wherein the input element is the only user-movable part of the brake controller for controlling settings of the brake controller,
• wherein one of the input modes is brightness control over a display of the brake controller.

A brake controller comprising:

• a micro-processor based control module having a plurality of settings which control functions of the brake controller output for use in controlling brakes of a trailer or towed vehicle;
• an input in communication with the micro-processor based control module, which enables control of at least some of the settings of the brake controller;
• and
• a display comprising:
• a) a plurality of light elements in a first sequence, wherein lighting of any one of the light elements in the first sequence indicates an input mode for the brake controller;
• and
• b) a plurality of light elements in a second sequence, with sequential lighting of the light elements in the second sequence indicating a value for the setting being controllable by the input while in that input mode.

A method of inputting settings into a brake controller, comprising:

• moving a hand operated control element to input a value for a first setting;
• changing input mode of the hand operated control element;
• and
• moving the hand operated control element to input a value for a second setting;
• wherein the value for one of the first and second settings can be changed without changing gain of the brake controller, and wherein changing the value for the other of the first and second settings changes gain of the brake controller.

A method of inputting settings into a brake controller, comprising:

• moving a hand operated control element to input a value for a first setting;
• changing input mode of the hand operated control element;
• and
• moving the hand operated control element to input a value for a second setting,
• wherein the brake controller includes four different input modes including
• a) manual brake control;
• b) brightness of lighting elements in a display;
• c) braking sensitivity;
• and
• d) gain to adjust brake output based on accelerometer output combined with the gain value.