Vehicular trailering guidance system

A vehicular trailer guidance system, the vehicular trailer guidance system comprising:

• a rear backup camera disposed at a rear portion of a vehicle equipped with the vehicular trailer guidance system;
• wherein the vehicle is equipped with (i) an electronically controlled power steering system and (ii) a trailer ball hitch configured for connection to a trailer tongue of a trailer;
• wherein the rear backup camera comprises a CMOS imaging array having at least one million photosensors arranged in rows and columns;
• wherein the rear backup camera views at least rearward of the vehicle;
• wherein, with a trailer tongue of a trailer hitched at the trailer ball hitch of the vehicle to form a pivoting joint attaching the trailer to the vehicle, the rear backup camera views at least a portion of the trailer tongue hitched to the vehicle;
• wherein the rear backup camera is operable to capture image data;
• a human machine interface provided in an interior cabin of the vehicle and operable by a driver in a driver seat of the vehicle during a backing up maneuver of the vehicle and the trailer, wherein the human machine interface is operable in (i) a backing up trailer left-backup mode, (i) a backing up trailer straight-backup mode and (iii) a backing up trailer right-backup mode;
• wherein the human machine interface comprises a rotary knob, and wherein (i) the human machine interface operates in the backing up trailer left-backup mode when the rotary knob is rotated counter-clockwise about an axis of rotation of the rotary knob, (ii) the human machine interface operates in the backing up trailer straight-backup mode when the rotary knob is pushed in a direction parallel to the axis of rotation of the rotary knob and (iii) the human machine interface operates in the backing up trailer right-backup mode when the rotary knob is rotated clockwise about the axis of rotation of the rotary knob;
• wherein the rotary knob is freely rotatable about the axis of rotation in either direction and is not biased toward a zero angle position;
• an electronic control unit (ECU) comprising electronic circuitry and associated software;
• wherein image data captured by the rear backup camera is transferred to the ECU;
• wherein the electronic circuitry comprises an image processor operable to process image data captured by the rear backup camera;
• wherein the vehicular trailer guidance system, responsive at least in part to processing by the image processor of image data captured by the rear backup camera, determines trailer angle of the trailer tongue relative to a longitudinal axis of the vehicle;
• wherein, responsive to selection by the driver of the backing up trailer left-backup mode by rotating the rotary knob in the counter-clockwise direction, the vehicular trailer guidance system sets a desired trailer angle of the trailer tongue leftward relative to the longitudinal axis of the vehicle to an angle that is commensurate with a driver-selected setting of the rotary knob;
• wherein, responsive to selection by the driver of the backing up trailer right-backup mode by rotating the rotary knob in the clockwise direction, the vehicular trailer guidance system sets the desired trailer angle of the trailer tongue rightward relative to the longitudinal axis of the vehicle to an angle that is commensurate with a driver-selected setting of the rotary knob;
• wherein the vehicular trailer guidance system, based at least in part on the determined trailer angle and the set desired trailer angle, and while the vehicle is backing up the trailer, controls the electronically controlled power steering system of the vehicle to steer the vehicle to back up the trailer to have the determined trailer angle coincide with the set desired trailer angle;
• wherein, when the driver selects the backing up trailer straight-backup mode by pushing the rotary knob, the vehicular trailer guidance system controls the electronically controlled power steering system of the vehicle to steer the vehicle to have the determined trailer angle coincide with a zero degree angle;
• wherein counter-clockwise rotation of the rotary knob past a position that coincides with a maximum left trailer angle does not increase the desired trailer angle beyond the maximum left trailer angle, and wherein clockwise rotation of the rotary knob past a position that coincides with a maximum right trailer angle does not increase the desired trailer angle beyond the maximum right trailer angle;
• a video display disposed in the interior cabin of the vehicle and viewable by the driver of the vehicle, wherein the video display, while the vehicle is backing up the trailer, displays video images derived from image data captured by the rear backup camera;
• and
• wherein the video display displays graphic overlays indicative of jackknife zones of the trailer.

A vehicular trailer guidance system, the vehicular trailer guidance system comprising:

• a rear backup camera disposed at a rear portion of a vehicle equipped with the vehicular trailer guidance system;
• wherein the vehicle is equipped with (i) an electronically controlled power steering system and (ii) a trailer ball hitch configured for connection to a trailer tongue of a trailer;
• wherein the rear backup camera comprises a CMOS imaging array having at least one million photosensors arranged in rows and columns;
• wherein the rear backup camera views at least rearward of the vehicle;
• wherein, with a trailer tongue of a trailer hitched at the trailer ball hitch of the vehicle to form a pivoting joint attaching the trailer to the vehicle, the rear backup camera views at least a portion of the trailer tongue hitched to the vehicle;
• wherein the rear backup camera is operable to capture image data;
• a human machine interface provided in an interior cabin of the vehicle and operable by a driver in a driver seat of the vehicle during a backing up maneuver of the vehicle and the trailer, wherein the human machine interface is operable in (i) a backing up trailer left-backup mode, (i) a backing up trailer straight-backup mode and (iii) a backing up trailer right-backup mode;
• wherein the human machine interface comprises a rotary knob, and wherein (i) the human machine interface operates in the backing up trailer left-backup mode when the rotary knob is rotated counter-clockwise, (ii) the human machine interface operates in the backing up trailer straight-backup mode when one selected from the group consisting of (a) the rotary knob is pushed and (b) the rotary knob is pulled and (iii) the human machine interface operates in the backing up trailer right-backup mode when the rotary knob is rotated clockwise;
• wherein the rotary knob is freely rotatable about an axis of rotation in either direction and is not biased toward a zero angle position;
• an electronic control unit (ECU) comprising electronic circuitry and associated software;
• wherein image data captured by the rear backup camera is transferred to the ECU;
• wherein the electronic circuitry comprises an image processor operable to process image data captured by the rear backup camera;
• wherein the vehicular trailer guidance system, responsive at least in part to processing by the image processor of image data captured by the rear backup camera, determines trailer angle of the trailer tongue relative to a longitudinal axis of the vehicle;
• wherein, responsive to selection by the driver of the backing up trailer left-backup mode by rotating the rotary knob in the counter-clockwise direction, the vehicular trailer guidance system sets a desired trailer angle of the trailer tongue leftward relative to the longitudinal axis of the vehicle to an angle that is commensurate with a driver-selected setting of the rotary knob;
• wherein, after the driver releases the rotary knob when selecting the backing up trailer left-backup mode, the vehicular trailer guidance system controls the electronically controlled power steering system of the vehicle to steer the vehicle to maintain the desired trailer angle of the trailer tongue leftward relative to the longitudinal axis of the vehicle at the angle that is commensurate with the driver-selected setting of the rotary knob;
• wherein, responsive to selection by the driver of the backing up trailer right-backup mode by rotating the rotary knob in the clockwise direction, the vehicular trailer guidance system sets the desired trailer angle of the trailer tongue rightward relative to the longitudinal axis of the vehicle to an angle that is commensurate with a driver-selected setting of the rotary knob;
• wherein, after the driver releases the rotary knob when selecting the backing up trailer right-backup mode, the vehicular trailer guidance system controls the electronically controlled power steering system of the vehicle to steer the vehicle to maintain the desired trailer angle of the trailer tongue rightward relative to the longitudinal axis of the vehicle at the angle that is commensurate with the driver-selected setting of the rotary knob;
• wherein the vehicular trailer guidance system, based at least in part on the determined trailer angle and the set desired trailer angle, and while the vehicle is backing up the trailer, controls the electronically controlled power steering system of the vehicle to steer the vehicle to back up the trailer to have the determined trailer angle coincide with the set desired trailer angle;
• wherein, when the driver selects the backing up trailer straight-backup mode by one selected from the group consisting of (a) pushing the rotary knob and (b) pulling the rotary knob, the vehicular trailer guidance system controls the electronically controlled power steering system of the vehicle to steer the vehicle to have the determined trailer angle coincide with a zero degree angle;
• wherein, after the driver releases the rotary knob when selecting the backing up trailer straight-backup mode, the vehicular trailer guidance system controls the electronically controlled power steering system of the vehicle to steer the vehicle to maintain the determined trailer angle at the zero degree angle;
• and
• wherein counter-clockwise rotation of the rotary knob past a position that coincides with a maximum left trailer angle does not increase the desired trailer angle beyond the maximum left trailer angle, and wherein clockwise rotation of the rotary knob past a position that coincides with a maximum right trailer angle does not increase the desired trailer angle beyond the maximum right trailer angle.