US 12,479,461 B2
Path planning for tow vehicle and trailer
Andrew Phillip Bolduc, Rochester Hills, MI (US)
Assigned to Continental Autonomous Mobility US, LLC, Auburn Hills, MI (US)
Filed by Continental Autonomous Mobility US, LLC, Auburn Hills, MI (US)
Filed on Mar. 25, 2022, as Appl. No. 17/656,473.
Prior Publication US 2023/0303112 A1, Sep. 28, 2023
Int. Cl. B60W 60/00 (2020.01); B60W 30/18 (2012.01); G01C 21/34 (2006.01)
CPC B60W 60/001 (2020.02) [B60W 30/18036 (2013.01); G01C 21/3407 (2013.01); B60W 2520/06 (2013.01); B60W 2530/203 (2020.02)] 24 Claims
OG exemplary drawing
 
1. A method of planning a path for reversing a trailer along a defined path comprising:
defining, by at least one processor, a desired end point for a trailer path;
determining, by the at least one processor, a set of reversing trailer curvatures for moving the trailer between each of a plurality of waypoints along a possible trailer path, wherein a set of reversing trailer curvatures is determined at each waypoint, each reversing trailer curvature being a curvature for the trailer to take from the waypoint such that there are a plurality of different reversing trailer curvatures for the trailer from the waypoint extending in different directions from each other;
for each waypoint of the plurality of waypoints, determining, by the at least one processor, a steering angle for a tow vehicle coupled to the trailer corresponding to each of the determined set of reversing trailer curvatures corresponding to the waypoint such that there is a distinct steering angle determined for each reversing trailer curvature at each waypoint; and
determining the trailer path to the end point based on a set of waypoints selected based on the determined reversing trailer curvature at each of the plurality of possible waypoints that meets a defined path determination criteria.