US 12,214,822 B2
Trailer assist system with enhanced beam length estimation
Anam M. Yunus, Markham (CA); David A. Gomez, Mississauga (CA); Jinyi Tan, Stirling (CA); and Yi Zhou, Toronto (CA)
Assigned to Magna Electronics Inc., Auburn Hills, MI (US)
Filed by Magna Electronics Inc., Auburn Hills, MI (US)
Filed on Jun. 26, 2020, as Appl. No. 16/946,542.
Claims priority of provisional application 62/952,748, filed on Dec. 23, 2019.
Claims priority of provisional application 62/938,411, filed on Nov. 21, 2019.
Claims priority of provisional application 62/868,051, filed on Jun. 28, 2019.
Prior Publication US 2020/0406967 A1, Dec. 31, 2020
Int. Cl. B62D 13/06 (2006.01); B60R 11/04 (2006.01); B62D 15/02 (2006.01)
CPC B62D 15/025 (2013.01) [B60R 11/04 (2013.01); B62D 13/06 (2013.01); B62D 15/0275 (2013.01)] 22 Claims
OG exemplary drawing
 
1. A vehicular trailering assist system, the vehicular trailering assist system comprising:
a camera disposed at a rear portion of a vehicle and having a field of view exterior and at least rearward of the vehicle, the vehicle having a hitch configured for hitching a trailer at the vehicle, the hitch being at a location spaced from a rear axle of the vehicle, the field of view of the camera including at least a portion of a trailer hitched to the vehicle at the hitch of the vehicle;
a steering wheel angle sensor operable to determine a steering wheel angle of the vehicle;
a wheel revolutions per minute (RPM) sensor operable to determine an RPM of a wheel of the vehicle;
a control comprising electronic circuitry and associated software;
wherein said electronic circuitry of said control comprises at least one data processor for processing image data captured by the camera and sensor data captured by (i) the steering wheel angle sensor and (ii) the wheel RPM sensor;
wherein the control, responsive to processing at the control of image data captured by the camera, determines a trailer angle of the trailer relative to the vehicle;
wherein the control determines the steering wheel angle of the vehicle via sensor data provided to the control from the steering wheel angle sensor;
wherein the control determines the wheel RPM of the wheel of the vehicle via sensor data provided to the control from the RPM sensor;
wherein the control estimates a trailer beam length of the trailer based on at least (i) the determined trailer angle relative to the vehicle, (ii) the determined steering wheel angle of the vehicle and (iii) the determined wheel RPM of the wheel of the vehicle;
wherein the control determines a relative trailer angle velocity, and wherein the relative trailer angle velocity represents a speed of change of the determined trailer angle relative to the vehicle; and
wherein, when the determined relative trailer angle velocity is greater than or equal to a threshold, the control further estimates the trailer beam length of the trailer based on the determined relative trailer angle velocity, and wherein, when the determined relative trailer angle velocity is less than the threshold, the control does not estimate the trailer beam length of the trailer with the determined relative trailer angle velocity.