The patent badge is an abbreviated version of the USPTO patent document. The patent badge does contain a link to the full patent document.
The patent badge is an abbreviated version of the USPTO patent document. The patent badge covers the following: Patent number, Date patent was issued, Date patent was filed, Title of the patent, Applicant, Inventor, Assignee, Attorney firm, Primary examiner, Assistant examiner, CPCs, and Abstract. The patent badge does contain a link to the full patent document (in Adobe Acrobat format, aka pdf). To download or print any patent click here.
Patent No.:
Date of Patent:
Apr. 23, 2024
Filed:
Jan. 28, 2021
Zf Friedrichshafen Ag, Friedrichshafen, DE;
Zf Marine Propulsion Systems Miramar, Llc, Miramar, FL (US);
Stefan Traub, Friedrichshafen, DE;
Gabriela Jager, Friedrichshafen, DE;
Lars Hoffmann, Fort Lauderdale, FL (US);
Andrew Orvieto, Plantation, FL (US);
ZF Friedrichshafen AG, Friedrichshafen, DE;
ZF Marine Propulsion Systems Miramar, LLC, Miramar, FL (US);
Abstract
A navigational system and method for guiding a boat onto a trailer, which comprises at least one marker mounted on the trailer; a camera located on the boat to assist the system with determining a longitudinal axis of the boat, and generating images of at least a front area of the boat and the at least one marker; an image processing unit for 1) receiving and processing the images to determine the at least one marker, 2) estimating the longitudinal axis of the trailer, 3) generating a desired boat trajectory for aligning the longitudinal axis of the boat with the longitudinal axis of the trailer; and 4) periodically generating guidance output commands to the user to assist the user with following the desired boat trajectory and facilitate loading of the boat on the trailer; and an image display for sequentially displaying the generated images of the camera to a user.