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:
Oct. 18, 2005
Filed:
May. 09, 2003
Yong H. Lee, Troy, MI (US);
Weiwen Deng, Rochester Hills, MI (US);
Willard A. Hall, Dryden, MI (US);
Thomas R. Brown, Shelby Township, MI (US);
Joseph J. Gies, Iii, Sterling Heights, MI (US);
Yong H. Lee, Troy, MI (US);
Weiwen Deng, Rochester Hills, MI (US);
Willard A. Hall, Dryden, MI (US);
Thomas R. Brown, Shelby Township, MI (US);
Joseph J. Gies, III, Sterling Heights, MI (US);
General Motors Corporation, Detroit, MI (US);
Abstract
The invention describes a sensor mechanism for measuring hitch articulation angle. A configuration of the contact face between hitch ball and receiver eliminates the effect of the unwanted trailer motions, such as roll and pitch while accurately registering trailer yaw motion. Also, there is no yaw slippage at the contact that was a major problem during the successive acceleration and brake maneuvers. With the freely rotating ball and shaft, the angle is measured using an angle sensor, such as an optical encoder, potentiometer, or other means. For the case of a relative angle sensor, automatic zero angle calibration can be used to allow an absolute angle measurement.