Systems and methods for automatic air and electrical connections on autonomous cargo vehicles

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-11643154-B2
Application number	US-201816007688-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Jun 13, 2018
Priority date	May 30, 2018
Publication date	May 9, 2023
Grant date	May 9, 2023

Abstract

The technology relates to autonomous vehicles having hitched or towed trailers for transporting cargo and other items between locations. Aspects of the technology provide a smart hitch connection between the fifth-wheel of a tractor unit and the kingpin of a trailer. This avoids requiring a person to make physical pneumatic and electrical connections between the fifth-wheel and kingpin using external hoses and cables. Instead, the necessary connections are made internally, autonomously. For instance, the fifth-wheel may provide air pressure via one or more slots arranged on a connection surface, and the trailer is configured to receive the air pressure through one or more openings on a contact surface of the kingpin. An electrical connection section of the fifth-wheel may also provide electrical signals and/or power to an electrical contact interface of the kingpin. Rotational information about relative alignment of the trailer to the tractor unit may also be provided.

First claim

The invention claimed is:

1. A method of coupling a tractor unit of a vehicle configured to operate in an autonomous mode to a trailer, the method comprising:
identifying, by one or more sensors of the tractor unit, a relative position and alignment of the tractor unit to the trailer, the trailer including at least one air-powered landing gear deployed to contact a ground surface used to support the trailer;
in response to the relative position and alignment identified by the one or more sensors, adjusting wheels of the tractor unit in order to align the tractor unit with the trailer by a control system of the tractor unit controlling a driving system of the tractor unit in the autonomous mode;
upon adjusting the wheels, backing up the tractor unit toward the trailer by the control system controlling the driving system of the tractor unit in the autonomous mode;
engaging, in response to the backing up of the tractor unit, a coupling mechanism of a fifth-wheel of the tractor unit with a kingpin of the trailer;
establishing a pneumatic connection between the fifth-wheel of the tractor unit and a connection section of the trailer, the connection section of the trailer being connected to the kingpin via one or more air lines and one or more check valves;
establishing an electrical connection between the fifth-wheel of the tractor unit and the kingpin of the trailer via the connection section;
obtaining, by the control system of the tractor unit, status information of the trailer from an electronic control unit of the trailer, wherein the status information includes a fault or failure condition of the trailer; and
controlling the one or more check valves to cause retraction of the at least one air-powered landing gear from the ground surface.

2. The method of claim 1 , further comprising, upon retraction of the air-powered landing gear, driving the tractor unit in the autonomous driving mode with the trailer coupled thereto.

3. The method of claim 1 , wherein adjusting the wheels includes orienting the tractor unit to have less than a predetermined angle relative to the trailer.

4. The method of claim 1 , further comprising adjusting a height of the fifth-wheel relative to the kingpin prior to engaging the coupling mechanism.

5. The method of claim 1 , wherein the one or more air lines are configured to provide air pressure to a braking system of the trailer.

6. The method of claim 5 , wherein the one or more check valves include a double check valve, wherein one of two sources of pressure having a higher air pressure is provided by the double check valve to the braking system of the trailer.

7. The method of claim 1 , wherein the one or more sensors comprise a plurality of sensors, each sensor having a different field of view.

8. The method of claim 7 , wherein the different fields of view provide overlapping fields of view to the control system of the tractor unit.

9. The method of claim 1 , wherein the one or more sensors include at least one camera or light detection and ranging (Lidar) sensor, and the identifying includes the at least one camera or Lidar sensor identifying one or more visible markings on the trailer.

10. The method of claim 1 , wherein the identifying includes the one or more sensors detecting one or more transmissive beacons on the trailer.

11. The method of claim 1 , wherein the one or more sensors include at least one sonar sensor, and the identifying includes the at least one sonar sensor detecting an audible transmitter on the trailer.

12. The method of claim 1 , further comprising, upon engaging the coupling mechanism, the control system of the tractor unit obtaining rotational information from a magnetic encoder ring of the kingpin in order to determine a relative alignment of the trailer to the tractor unit.

13. The method of claim 1 , wherein the status information further includes a cargo type.

14. The method of claim 1 , wherein the status information further includes at least one of cargo footprint or a cargo stacking arrangement along the trailer.

15. The method of claim 1 , wherein the status information further includes trailer identification information.

16. The method of claim 15 , wherein trailer identification information includes whether the trailer is a first trailer, a second trailer, or a third trailer in a tandem arrangement.

17. A method of decoupling a tractor unit of a vehicle configured to operate in an autonomous mode from a trailer, the method comprising:
controlling one or more check valves configured to connect one or more air lines between a connection section of the trailer and a kingpin of the trailer in order to deploy at least one air-powered landing gear of the trailer to contact a ground surface used to support the trailer;
obtaining, by a control system of the tractor unit, status information of the trailer from an electronic control unit of the trailer, wherein the status information includes a fault or failure condition of the trailer;
disengaging a pneumatic connection between a fifth-wheel of the tractor unit and the connection section of the trailer while the tractor unit is operating in the autonomous mode;
disengaging an electrical connection between the fifth-wheel of the tractor unit and the connection section of the trailer while the tractor unit is operating in the autonomous mode; and
disengaging a coupling mechanism of the fifth-wheel of the tractor unit from the kingpin of the trailer while the tractor unit is operating in the autonomous mode.

18. The method of claim 17 , further comprising, upon disengagement of the coupling mechanism from the kingpin, driving the tractor unit away from the trailer in the autonomous driving mode.

19. The method of claim 17 , wherein the one or more air lines are configured to provide air pressure to a braking system of the trailer of the trailer.

20. The method of claim 17 , further comprising adjusting a height of the fifth-wheel relative to the kingpin after disengaging the coupling mechanism.

21. The method of claim 17 , wherein controlling the one or more check valves of the trailer to deploy the at least one air-powered landing gear of the trailer is accomplished by the control system of the tractor unit providing a deploying signal to the electronic control unit of the trailer.

22. The method of claim 17 , wherein prior to disengaging the coupling mechanism, the method further includes the control system of the tractor unit obtaining rotational information from a magnetic encoder ring of the kingpin in order to determine a relative alignment of the trailer to the tractor unit.

23. The method of claim 17 , wherein the status information further includes at least one of cargo footprint or a cargo stacking arrangement along the trailer.

Assignees

• Waymo Llc

Inventors

• Grossman William

Classifications

• B62D53/08

  Fifth wheel traction couplings {(tractors for handling trailers in terminals B62D49/007)} · CPC title

• B62D53/0842

  King pins · CPC title

• B60S9/02

  for only lifting or supporting · CPC title

• B62D53/0807

  adjustable coupling saddles mounted on sub-frames; Mounting plates therefor · CPC title

• B62D53/125 Primary

  with simultaneous coupling of the service lines · CPC title