Angle and orientation measurements for vehicles with multiple drivable sections

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-11701931-B2
Application number	US-202117346567-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Jun 14, 2021
Priority date	Jun 18, 2020
Publication date	Jul 18, 2023
Grant date	Jul 18, 2023

Abstract

Techniques are described for measuring angle and/or orientation of a rear drivable section (e.g., a trailer unit of a semi-trailer truck) relative to a front drivable section (e.g., a tractor unit of the semi-trailer truck) using an example rotary encoder assembly. The example rotary encoder assembly comprises a base surface; a housing that includes a second end that is connected to the base surface and a first end that is at least partially open and is coupled to a housing cap; and a rotary encoder that is located in the housing in between the base surface and the housing cap, where the rotary encoder includes a rotatable shaft that protrudes from a first hole located in the housing cap, and where a top of the rotatable shaft located away from the rotary encoder is coupled to magnet(s).

First claim

What is claimed is:

1. A vehicle, comprising:
a front drivable section, comprising:
a first connector coupled to a chassis of the front drivable section, wherein the first connector is located towards a rear region of the front drivable section; and
a rotary encoder assembly, comprising:
a base surface coupled to a surface located below the first connector;
a housing that includes a first end that is at least partially open and a second end that is opposite to the first end,
wherein the second end of the housing is connected to the base surface, and wherein the first end of the housing is coupled to a housing cap; and

a rotary encoder that is located in the housing in between the base surface and the housing cap,
wherein the rotary encoder includes a rotatable shaft that protrudes from a first hole located in the housing cap,
wherein a top of the rotatable shaft located away from the rotary encoder is coupled to one or more magnets,
wherein the rotary encoder is coupled to the housing cap via a plurality of non-rigid compressible couplings that include a plurality of shoulder screws, and
wherein at least some portion of each of the plurality of shoulder screws are located in one of a plurality of springs having first ends that are located below the housing cap and second ends that are opposite to the first ends that are located above the rotary encoder.

2. The vehicle of claim 1 ,
wherein the housing cap includes a first set of holes that are along a first perimeter of a first imaginary circle away from an edge of the housing cap,
wherein each hole in the first set of holes includes a low-friction grommet through which a shoulder screw is coupled to the rotary encoder via a spring,
wherein each shoulder screw includes a screw head on one end, a threaded surface on another opposite end, and a smooth shaft between the screw head and the threaded surface, and
wherein the screw head of each shoulder screw is located at or above the housing cap, the smooth shaft of each shoulder screw is located in one spring, and the threaded surface of each shoulder screw is located in a body of the rotary encoder.

3. The vehicle of claim 2 ,
wherein the housing cap includes a second set of holes that are along a second perimeter of a second imaginary circle that is closer to the edge of the housing cap than the first perimeter of the first imaginary circle that includes the first set of holes,
wherein the second set of holes include screws that couple the housing cap to a flange located at the first end of the housing.

4. The vehicle of claim 1 , wherein a center region of the first connector includes a third hole, and wherein a top region of the rotary encoder assembly accessible via the third hole in the first connector.

5. The vehicle of claim 4 , wherein the plurality of shoulder screws and the plurality of springs are structured to have the rotary encoder retract in a first position away from the housing cap in response to an absence of a metallic material at the third hole in the first connector.

6. The vehicle of claim 4 , wherein the plurality of shoulder screws and the plurality of springs are structured to have the rotary encoder extend in a second position towards the housing cap in response to a presence of a magnetic material at the third hole in the first connector.

7. The vehicle of claim 4 , wherein the first connector comprises a groove located towards a rear of the front drivable section, and wherein the center region of the first connector where the groove ends includes the third hole.

8. The vehicle of claim 4 , further comprising:
a rear drivable section located behind the front drivable section,
wherein the rear drivable section comprises a second connector coupled to the first connector, and
wherein the second connector is magnetically coupled to the one or more magnets located on the top of the rotatable shaft of the rotary encoder assembly via the third hole in the first connector.

9. The vehicle of claim 8 ,
wherein the rotatable shaft of the rotary encoder is structured to have a rotational movement that corresponds to a circular movement of the second connector of the rear drivable section, and
wherein the circular movement of the second connector of the rear drivable section is translated to the rotational movement of the rotatable shaft via the one or more magnets.

10. The vehicle of claim 8 , wherein the first connector includes a fifth wheel and wherein the second connector includes a king pin.

11. The vehicle of claim 8 , wherein the vehicle includes a semi-trailer truck, wherein the front drivable section includes a tractor unit, and wherein the rear drivable section includes a trailer unit.

12. The vehicle of claim 8 , wherein the front drivable section includes a computer comprising one or more processors and a memory configured to store one or more programs, wherein the one or more programs upon execution configure the one or more processors to:
receive, from the rotary encoder and while the vehicle is operated on a road, information that indicates an angle or a direction of rotation of the rear drivable section relative to the front drivable section;
cause the vehicle to perform an autonomous driving operation based on the angle or the direction of rotation of the rear drivable section.

13. The vehicle of claim 12 , wherein the one or more processors are configured to cause the vehicle to perform the autonomous driving operation by being configured to:
determine that the angle of the rear drivable section is outside a range of angles allowed for the rear drivable section when the vehicle is operated on the road at a speed greater than or equal to a threshold value; and
send instruction to a motor in a steering system of the vehicle to cause the vehicle to steer to move the rear drivable section within the range of angles allowed for the rear drivable section.

14. The vehicle of claim 12 , wherein the one or more processors are further configured to:
display, on a monitor located in the vehicle, the front drivable section and the rear drivable section, wherein an orientation of the rear drivable section relative to the front drivable section is displayed based on the angle received from the rotary encoder.

15. The vehicle of claim 1 ,
wherein the rotary encoder is connected to a movable cable, and
wherein the base surface includes a second hole located within a region where the housing is connected to the base surface such that at least some portion of the movable cable enters the housing via the second hole.

16. A rotary encoder assembly, comprising:
a base surface comprising a plurality of holes located close to an edge of the base surface;
a housing that includes a first end that is at least partially open and a second end that is opposite to the first end,
wherein the second end of the housing is connected to the base surface, and
wherein the first end of the housing is coupled to a housing cap; and

a rotary encoder that is located in the housing in between the base surface and the housing cap,
wherein the rotary encoder includes a rotatable shaft that protrudes from a first hole located in the housing cap, and
wherein a top of the rotatable shaft located away from the rotary encoder is coupled to one or more magnets,
wherein the top of the rotatable shaft is coupled to the one or more magnets via a shaft adapter that is coupled to the rotatable shaft.

17. The rotary encoder assembly of claim 16 ,
wherein the base surface includes a second hole located within a region where the housing is conne

Assignees

• Tusimple Inc

Inventors

• Wahba Mohamed Hassan Ahmed Hassan
• Ning Juexiao
• Han Xiaoling

Classifications

• B62D53/08

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

• B60D1/245 Primary

  for facilitating push back or parking of trailers · CPC title

• B60D1/015

  Operations & Transport · mapped topic

• B60D1/62

  involving supply lines, electric circuits or the like · CPC title

• B62D13/06

  for backing a normally drawn trailer · CPC title