Steering wheel mounted trailer brake controllers and systems
AssigneeFord Global Technologies, LLC
InventorsCary Ochen DIEHL, Russell Allan SIMS
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
A trailer brake controller for a motor vehicle may include a control unit configured to be mounted to a spoke of a steering wheel of the vehicle, and a brake lever coupled to the control unit and extending along a longitudinal axis of the control unit. The brake lever may be configured to be actuated by a driver of the motor vehicle by being pulled in a forward motion toward the driver. The brake lever may be further configured to transmit a force applied to the lever by the driver to the control unit. The control unit may be configured to generate a manual trailer brake control signal based on the force applied to the lever.
Claims24
A trailer brake controller for a motor vehicle, comprising:
- a control unit configured to be mounted to a spoke of a steering wheel of the vehice;
- and
- a brake lever coupled to the control unit and extending along a longitudinal axis of the control unit,
- wherein the brake lever is configured to be actuated by a driver of the motor vehicle by being pulled in a forward motion toward the driver,
- wherein the brake lever is configured to transmit a force applied to the lever by he driver to the control unit, and
- wherein the control unit is configured to generate a manual trailer brake control signal based on the force applied to the lever.
A trailer brake control system for a motor vehicle, comprising:
- a steering wheel comprising a rim and at least one spoke, the rim and the at least one spoke defining an open area of the steering wheel;
- at least one control unit mounted to the at least one spoke;
- and
- a brake lever coupled to the at least one control unit and extending along a longitudinal axis of the control unit;
- wherein the brake lever is configured to be actuated by a driver of the motor vehicle by being pulled in a forward motion toward the driver, and
- wherein the at least one control unit is configured to generate a manual trailer brake control signal based on a force applied to the lever by the driver to actuate electronic wheel brakes of a vehicle being towed by the vehicle.
A method of manually controlling trailer brakes, the method comprising;
- applying a force to a brake lever mounted to a steering assembly of a motor vehicle via movement of a finger associated with a hand of a driver of the motor vehicle, while the driver grips a steering wheel with the hand;
- generating a manual trailer brake control signal based on the force applied to the brake lever;
- and
- actuating electronic wheel brakes of a vehicle being towed by the motor vehicle based on the manual trader brake control signal.
The method of dam 19, wherein applying the force to the brake lever mounted to the steering assembly comprises applying a force to a brake lever mounted to a spoke of the steering wheel.
The method of dam 19, wherein the driver grips the steering wheel between an 8 o'clock and 10 o'clock position and/or a 2 o'clock and 4 o'clock position.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.