Inventors:
Masato Okuda - Novi MI, US
Christian Arthur Trager - Canton MI, US
Lisa Marie Brown - Ann Arbor MI, US
Michael Wiegand - Birmingham MI, US
Tanemichi Chiba - Novi MI, US
Christopher Kurpinski - Berkley MI, US
Jeffrey Edward Angeliu - Farmington MI, US
Hirohiko Yanagawa - Chiryu, JP
Yoshihisa Sato - Nagoya, JP
Toshihiro Wakamatsu - West Bloomfield MI, US
Justin McBride - West Bloomfield MI, US
Thomas Keeling - Plymouth MI, US
Assignee:
Toyota Motor Engineering & Manufacturing North America, Inc. - Erlanger KY
Denso International America, Inc. - Southfield MI
Denso Corporation - Kariya-Shi
International Classification:
G08B 21/00
US Classification:
340431, 34053925, 3406862, 340687, 3406916, 348148, 280477
Abstract:
A system for assisting the alignment of a hitch pin mounted on the rear of a vehicle with a hitch socket mounted on the front of a trailer. The system includes a camera mounted to the vehicle and positioned to capture an image rearwardly of the vehicle. A video display is contained within the vehicle which displays the image captured by the camera. A processor is also contained in the vehicle which calculates a preferred path of travel of the vehicle to position the hitch pin in alignment with the hitch socket. The processor is programmed to provide instructions to an operator of the vehicle of the required steering to maintain the vehicle on the preferred path of travel. The processor recalculates the preferred path of travel whenever the vehicle veers from the preferred path of travel by a preset threshold.