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US 9,827,818 B2Granted
Multi-stage solution for trailer hitch angle initialization
AssigneeFord Global Technologies, LLC
InventorsZheng Hu, Erick Michael Lavoie
Life of this patent
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Abstract
A system for initializing hitch angle detection is provided herein. An imaging device is configured to capture images of a trailer connected to a vehicle. A controller is configured to select between a plurality of hitch angle detection routines based on at least one of a current driving condition and an availability of a template image of the trailer.
Claims15
A system for initializing hitch angle detection, comprising:
- an imaging device configured to capture images of a trailer connected to a vehicle;
- a controller configured to select between a plurality of hitch angle detection routines based on at least one of a current driving condition and an availability of a template image of the trailer;
- wherein if the template image is available, the controller selects a first hitch angle detection routine that comprises matching the template image to a search image to determine a hitch angle between the vehicle and the trailer;
- wherein if the template image is unavailable and the vehicle and trailer are moving in a straight direction, the controller processes images captured by the imaging device to derive the template image and selects the first hitch angle detection routine.
1 more element
A method of initializing hitch angle detection, comprising the steps of:
- using an imaging device to capture images of a trailer connected to a vehicle;
- and
- providing a controller configured to select between a plurality of hitch angle detection routines based on at least one of a current driving condition and an availability of a template image of the trailer;
- wherein if the template image is available, the controller selects a first hitch angle detection routine that comprises matching the template image to a search image to determine a hitch angle between the vehicle and the trailer;
- wherein if the template image is unavailable and the vehicle and trailer are moving in a straight direction, the controller processes images captured by the imaging device to derive the template image and selects the first hitch angle detection routine.
2 more elements
A method of initializing hitch angle detection, comprising the steps of:
- using an imaging device to capture images of a trailer connected to a vehicle;
- and
- providing a controller configured to select between a first, second, and third hitch angle detection routine based on at least one of a current driving condition and an availability of a template image of the trailer;
- wherein if the template image is available, the controller selects the first hitch angle detection routine that comprises matching the template image to a search image to determine a hitch angle between the vehicle and the trailer;
- and
- wherein if the template image is unavailable and the vehicle and trailer are moving in a straight direction, the controller processes images captured by the imaging device to derive the template image and selects the first hitch angle detection routine.
3 more elements
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.