Ford Global Technolgoies, LLC

Tyler Daavettila

Donald Jacob Mattern

Joseph M Raad

Erick Michael Lavoie

Brian George Buss

Robert Bell

Christos T Kyrtsos

Jeffrey Cotter

A backup assist system for a vehicle reversing a trailer includes a controller receiving a driver control signal and outputting a vehicle backing steering command based on the control signal and limited by one of a first angle limit corresponding with a calculated maximum controllable angle and a second angle limit at a maneuverability threshold below the maximum controllable angle. The system further includes an interface outputting an indication of the one of the first and second angle limits.

Trailer backup assist system having advanced user mode with selectable hitch angle limits

A system for assisting in reversing of a vehicle-trailer combination includes a vehicle steering system and a controller. The controller outputs a steering signal to the steering system to maintain the vehicle-trailer combination along a straight backing path and determines a straight-backing offset of a hitch angle in the vehicle-trailer combination as a proportion of an integral of a measured characteristic of the vehicle-trailer combination that varies from a desired zero value.

Adaptive steering control for robustness to errors in estimated or user-supplied trailer parameters

A system for assisting in reversing of a vehicle-trailer combination includes a vehicle steering system and a controller. The controller outputs a steering signal based on a control parameter to the steering system to maintain the trailer along a commanded backing path, determines an error between a measured behavior of a characteristic of the vehicle-trailer combination and a predicted behavior of the characteristic, and adjusts the control parameter based on the error.

A system for estimating hitch angle offset is provided herein. A sensor system is configured to measure hitch angles between a vehicle and a trailer attached thereto. A controller is configured to calculate hitch angle offsets for a plurality of measured hitch angles, and extrapolate additional hitch angle offsets based on the calculated hitch angle offsets.

Trailer backup assist system with hitch angle offset estimation

A backup assist system for a vehicle and trailer combination includes a steering system and a first sensor detecting a first dynamic condition of the combination. The system further includes a controller receiving a value for the first dynamic condition from the first sensor at a plurality of instances. The controller further solves for a corresponding plurality of parameters in a kinematic model of the combination and controls the steering system using the plurality of parameters in the kinematic model.

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Howell, MI, United States of America

Tyler Daavettila