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. 11, 2016
Filed:
Sep. 28, 2012
Alvin R. Wirthlin, Spanish Fork, UT (US);
Alvin R. Wirthlin, Spanish Fork, UT (US);
Other;
Abstract
A system for determining the tongue weight of a towed vehicle and other parameters includes a drawbar transducer in one embodiment and a receiver hitch transducer in another embodiment. Strain gauges are strategically located on the transducer and information regarding the towed vehicle are sent to a display. In one embodiment, a portable display unit has a radio frequency transceiver for receiving transmitted data from the transducer reflective of the towed vehicle tongue weight so that a user can view the tongue weight in practically real time. In this manner, the user can adjust the contents of the towed vehicle to achieve proper tongue weight without the necessity of going back and forth between the trailer and the transducer. A method is also disclosed for determining a safe towing condition based on the trailer tongue weight, trailer pulling force, acceleration during towing, and calculated trailer weight.