US 12,403,906 B2
Systems and methods for virtually hitching and aligning a following vehicle to a lead vehicle
Christopher Ferone, Ann Arbor, MI (US)
Assigned to Toyota Motor Engineering & Manufacturing North America, Inc., Plano, TX (US); and Toyota Jidosha Kabushiki Kaisha, Toyota (JP)
Filed by Toyota Motor Engineering & Manufacturing North America, Inc., Plano, TX (US)
Filed on Oct. 28, 2022, as Appl. No. 17/976,236.
Prior Publication US 2024/0140425 A1, May 2, 2024
Int. Cl. B60W 30/165 (2020.01); B60W 30/09 (2012.01)
CPC B60W 30/165 (2013.01) [B60W 30/09 (2013.01); B60W 2530/201 (2020.02); B60W 2554/4041 (2020.02); B60W 2554/4044 (2020.02); B60W 2556/65 (2020.02)] 20 Claims
OG exemplary drawing
 
1. A hitching system comprising:
one or more processors; and
a memory communicably coupled to the one or more processors and storing instructions that, when executed by the one or more processors, cause the one or more processors to:
responsive to initiating hitchless towing between a lead vehicle and a following vehicle, generate a hitching path that provides a route from the following vehicle to the lead vehicle, including generating the hitching path as a kinematically feasible hitching path to comply with physical constraints associated with the following vehicle indicating a turning radius and dimensions of the following vehicle;
control the following vehicle to travel the hitching path, including instructions to align the following vehicle with the lead vehicle to configure the lead vehicle and the following vehicle for hitchless towing by, responsive to determining the lead vehicle is moving, i) controlling the following vehicle to travel the hitching path, ii) controlling the following vehicle to follow a path history of the lead vehicle from a time prior to the following vehicle being towed, iii) controlling the following vehicle to orient itself in a similar orientation as the lead vehicle; and
control the following vehicle to perform the hitchless towing by following the lead vehicle without a physical connection.