US 12,246,646 B2
Trailer hitching assist system with trailer coupler detection
Akbar Assa, Richmond Hill (CA); Shweta Suresh Daga, Maharashtra (IN); Brijendra Kumar Bharti, Brampton (CA); Guruprasad Mani Iyer Shankaranarayanan, Mississauga (CA); Jyothi P. Gali, Rochester Hills, MI (US); Anoop S. Mann, Brampton (CA); and Alexander Velichko, Toronto (CA)
Assigned to Magna Electronics Inc., Auburn Hills, MI (US)
Filed by Magna Electronics Inc., Auburn Hills, MI (US)
Filed on Feb. 19, 2024, as Appl. No. 18/444,847.
Application 18/444,847 is a continuation of application No. 18/190,380, filed on Mar. 27, 2023, granted, now 11,912,199.
Application 18/190,380 is a continuation of application No. 16/947,379, filed on Jul. 30, 2020, granted, now 11,613,208, issued on Mar. 28, 2023.
Claims priority of provisional application 62/880,194, filed on Jul. 30, 2019.
Prior Publication US 2024/0190342 A1, Jun. 13, 2024
This patent is subject to a terminal disclaimer.
Int. Cl. B60R 1/00 (2022.01); B60R 1/26 (2022.01); G06F 18/214 (2023.01); G06F 18/2411 (2023.01); G06V 20/56 (2022.01)
CPC B60R 1/003 (2013.01) [B60R 1/26 (2022.01); G06F 18/2155 (2023.01); G06F 18/2411 (2023.01); G06V 20/56 (2022.01); B60R 2300/10 (2013.01); B60R 2300/20 (2013.01); B60R 2300/607 (2013.01); B60R 2300/802 (2013.01); B60R 2300/808 (2013.01); B60R 2300/8086 (2013.01)] 26 Claims
OG exemplary drawing
 
1. A vehicular trailer hitching assist system, the vehicular trailer hitching assist system comprising:
a camera disposed at a rear portion of a vehicle equipped with the vehicular trailer hitching assist system, the camera viewing at least rearward of the vehicle;
wherein the camera is operable to capture image data;
wherein the camera comprises an imaging array having at least one million photosensing elements arranged in rows and columns;
an electronic control unit (ECU) comprising electronic circuitry and associated software;
wherein the electronic circuitry comprises an image processor operable to process image data captured by the camera;
wherein image data captured by the camera is transferred to and is processed at the ECU;
wherein the vehicular trailer hitching assist system, via image processing at the ECU of image data captured by the camera during a reversing maneuver of the vehicle toward a trailer that is spaced rearward from the vehicle, detects the trailer;
wherein, based at least in part on image processing at the ECU of image data captured by the camera during the reversing maneuver of the vehicle toward the detected trailer, the vehicular trailer hitching assist system determines relative location of a trailer coupler of the detected trailer to a hitch ball of the vehicle;
wherein the vehicular trailer hitching assist system determines a path of travel for the vehicle to maneuver the vehicle toward the detected trailer to move the hitch ball of the vehicle toward the trailer coupler; and
wherein, responsive to determining the relative location of the trailer coupler to the hitch ball of the vehicle, the vehicular trailer hitching assist system at least in part controls the vehicle to maneuver the vehicle along the determined path of travel to move the hitch ball of the vehicle toward the trailer coupler of the detected trailer.