Steering controller and method for steering a tracking path of a trailer

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-11801893-B2
Application number	US-202117320844-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	May 14, 2021
Priority date	May 15, 2020
Publication date	Oct 31, 2023
Grant date	Oct 31, 2023

Abstract

A method and system are described for controlled supplemental steering, by actuating a supplemental steering element, of a trailing implement connectable via a hitch to a pulling source, and wherein the trailing implement includes a pair of parallel wheels, a controller, a position sensing system that generates a hitch position history comprising a stored set of recent positions of the hitch point, and a steering angle actuator. The method carried out by the system includes maintaining a history of positions of the hitch, determining a target steering angle for the supplemental steering element, and actuating the steering angle actuator in accordance with the target steering angle. During the maintaining the history of positions of the hitch, the history of positions of the hitch is updated by performing a rotation operation and a translation operation on a set of coordinates of the history corresponding to previous hitch positions.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1. A method for controlled supplemental steering, by actuation of a supplemental steering element, of a trailing implement connectable via a hitch to a pulling source, and wherein the trailing implement includes a pair of parallel wheels, a controller, a position sensing system that generates a hitch position history comprising a stored set of recent positions of the hitch point, and a steering angle actuator, the method comprising:
maintaining a history of positions of the hitch;
determining a target steering angle for the supplemental steering element; and
actuating the steering angle actuator in accordance with the target steering angle,
wherein during the maintaining the history of positions of the hitch, the history of positions of the hitch is updated by performing a rotation operation and a translation operation on a set of coordinates of the history corresponding to previous hitch positions,
wherein the set of coordinates of the history are specified in a current reference coordinate system,
wherein the rotation operation and translation operation are based upon a rotation and a translation between:
a first position corresponding to a previous hitch position corresponding to the current reference coordinate system, and
a second position corresponding to an updated hitch position corresponding to an updated reference coordinate system.

2. The method of claim 1 wherein the rotation and the translation are calculated based upon a set of at least two sensors positioned on the trailer.

3. The method of claim 2 wherein the set of at least two sensors comprises at least a first linear movement sensor.

4. The method of claim 3 wherein the set of at least two sensors comprises at least a rotation sensor.

5. The method of claim 3 wherein the set of at least two sensors comprises at least a second linear movement sensor.

6. The method of claim 1 wherein the target steering angle is determined based upon a target position taken from the history of positions of the hitch in the current reference coordinate system.

7. The method of claim 6 wherein the target position is a closest hitch position from a set of candidate hitch positions in the history of positions of the hitch in the current reference coordinate system.

8. The method of claim 7 wherein the set of candidate hitch positions is restricted by a maximum steering angle limit for the target steering angle.

9. The method of claim 7 wherein the set of candidate hitch positions is restricted by a minimum distance requirement between a first fixed position relative to the trailing implement and a potential candidate hitch position from the history of positions of the hitch.

10. The method of claim 1 wherein the trailing implement has only one axle.

11. The method claim 1 wherein the supplemental steering element changes an angle of a steerable pair of wheels on the trailing implement.

12. The method of claim 1 wherein the supplemental steering element modulates a rotation angle at a rotatable pivoting connection point (y) between the trailing implement and a drawbar, wherein the drawbar is connectable, at a hitch point (z), to a pulling source.

13. A trailing implement steering control system for carrying out a controlled supplemental steering, by actuation of a supplemental steering element, of a trailing implement connectable via a hitch to a pulling source, and wherein the trailing implement includes a pair of parallel wheels, and a steering angle actuator, wherein the trailing implement steering control system comprises:
a controller; and
a position sensing system providing sensor signals to the controller,
wherein the controller generates a hitch position history comprising a stored set of recent positions of the hitch point in a current reference coordinate system, and
wherein the controller executes programmed instructions provided on a non-transitory computer readable medium to facilitate the trailing implement steering control system carrying out a method comprising:
maintaining a history of positions of the hitch;
determining a target steering angle for the supplemental steering element; and
actuating the steering angle actuator in accordance with the target steering angle,
wherein during the maintaining the history of positions of the hitch, the history of positions of the hitch is updated by performing a rotation operation and a translation operation on a set of coordinates of the history corresponding to previous hitch positions,
wherein the set of coordinates of the history are specified in a current reference coordinate system,
wherein the rotation operation and translation operation are based upon a rotation and a translation between:
a first position corresponding to a previous hitch position corresponding to the current reference coordinate system, and
a second position corresponding to an updated hitch position corresponding to an updated reference coordinate system.

14. The system of claim 13 wherein the rotation and the translation are calculated based upon a set of at least two sensors positioned on the trailer.

15. The system of claim 14 wherein the set of at least two sensors comprises at least a first linear movement sensor.

16. The system of claim 15 wherein the set of at least two sensors comprises at least a rotation sensor.

17. The system of claim 15 wherein the set of at least two sensors comprises at least a second linear movement sensor.

18. The system of claim 13 wherein the target steering angle is determined based upon a target position taken from the history of positions of the hitch in the current reference coordinate system.

19. The system of claim 18 wherein the target position is a closest hitch position from a set of candidate hitch positions in the history of positions of the hitch in the current reference coordinate system.

20. The system of claim 19 wherein the set of candidate hitch positions is restricted by a maximum steering angle limit for the target steering angle.

21. The system of claim 19 wherein the set of candidate hitch positions is restricted by a minimum distance requirement between a first fixed position relative to the trailing implement and a potential candidate hitch position from the history of positions of the hitch.

22. The system of claim 13 wherein the trailing implement has only one axle.

23. The system claim 13 wherein the supplemental steering element changes an angle of a steerable pair of wheels on the trailing implement.

24. The system of claim 13 wherein the supplemental steering element modulates a rotation angle at a rotatable pivoting connection point (y) between the trailing implement and a drawbar, wherein the drawbar is connectable, at a hitch point (z), to a pulling source.

Assignees

• Spraying Systems Co

Inventors

• Van Poucke Tim Frans
• Schiøler Henrik
• Skjærbæk Søndergaard Jens Aksel

Classifications

• B62D13/00 Primary

  Steering specially adapted for trailers (combined traction and steering hitches B60D) · CPC title

• B62D15/023

  by measuring on the king pin · CPC title

• B62D15/025

  Active steering aids, e.g. helping the driver by actively influencing the steering system after environment evaluation (B62D1/28 takes precedence) · CPC title

• B62D13/025 Primary

  the pivoted movement being initiated by the coupling means between tractor and trailer · CPC title

• B62D13/04

  for individually-pivoted wheels · CPC title