Granted Patent B2

US 12,371,021 · App. 18/140,879 · Granted Jul 29, 2025

Inventors: Saijian Li (Bethesda, MD); Nicholas E. Merkel (Canton, MI); Jose David Hernandez Cardenas (Ann Arbor, MI); Tomoaki Iida (Ann Arbor, MI)

Assignees: Toyota Motor Engineering & Manufacturing North America, Inc.; Toyota Jidosha Kabushiki Kaisha

B60W30/18036B60D1/36G06T7/74B60W2420/403B60W2554/801B60W2554/802G06T2207/10024G06T2207/30252

Abstract

Claims (34)

1. A hitch assist system, comprising:

a processor; and

a memory storing machine-readable instructions that, when executed by the processor, cause the processor to:

analyze first image data from a rear-facing camera of a vehicle to detect a reference object placed on the ground in a first location by a user and store a first position, within a field of view of the rear-facing camera, of the reference object, wherein the first location is beneath and in centered alignment with a hitch ball of the vehicle;

analyze second image data from the rear-facing camera to detect the reference object after it has been placed on the ground in a second location by the user and store a second position, within the field of view of the rear-facing camera, of the reference object, wherein the second location is beneath and in centered alignment with a trailer coupler of a trailer;

calculate a spatial relationship between the first and second locations based on the stored first and second positions and intrinsic and extrinsic parameters of the rear-facing camera; and

control the vehicle, based on the calculated spatial relationship, to back autonomously to a location that aligns the hitch ball and the trailer coupler to permit the trailer to be hitched to the vehicle.

2. The hitch assist system of claim 1 , wherein the reference object is a disk.

3. The hitch assist system of claim 2 , wherein the disk has a color that contrasts with the ground.

4. The hitch assist system of claim 2 , wherein the disk has a diameter of between 4 and 20 inches.

5. The hitch assist system of claim 2 , wherein the disk includes a powered light source that illuminates the disk.

6. The hitch assist system of claim 2 , wherein the disk includes a phosphorescent material.

7. The hitch assist system of claim 1 , wherein the rear-facing camera is a backup camera of the vehicle.

8. A non-transitory computer-readable medium for hitch assist and storing instructions that, when executed by a processor, cause the processor to:

analyze first image data from a rear-facing camera of a vehicle to detect a reference object placed on the ground in a first location by a user and store, in a memory, a first position, within a field of view of the rear-facing camera, of the reference object, wherein the first location is beneath and in centered alignment with a hitch ball of the vehicle;

analyze second image data from the rear-facing camera to detect the reference object after it has been placed on the ground in a second location by the user and store, in the memory, a second position, within the field of view of the rear-facing camera, of the reference object, wherein the second location is beneath and in centered alignment with a trailer coupler of a trailer;

calculate a spatial relationship between the first and second locations based on the stored first and second positions and intrinsic and extrinsic parameters of the rear-facing camera; and

control the vehicle, based on the calculated spatial relationship, to back autonomously to a location that aligns the hitch ball and the trailer coupler to permit the trailer to be hitched to the vehicle.

9. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 8 , wherein the reference object is a disk.

10. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 9 , wherein the disk has a color that contrasts with the ground.

11. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 9 , wherein the disk has a diameter of between 4 and 20 inches.

12. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 9 , wherein the disk includes a powered light source that illuminates the disk.

13. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 9 , wherein the disk includes a phosphorescent material.

14. A method, comprising:

analyzing first image data from a rear-facing camera of a vehicle to detect a reference object placed on the ground in a first location by a user and storing, in a computer memory, a first position, within a field of view of the rear-facing camera, of the reference object, wherein the first location is beneath and in centered alignment with a hitch ball of the vehicle;

analyzing second image data from the rear-facing camera to detect the reference object after it has been placed on the ground in a second location by the user and storing, in the computer memory, a second position, within the field of view of the rear-facing camera, of the reference object, wherein the second location is beneath and in centered alignment with a trailer coupler of a trailer;

calculating a spatial relationship between the first and second locations based on the stored first and second positions and intrinsic and extrinsic parameters of the rear-facing camera; and

controlling the vehicle, based on the calculated spatial relationship, to back autonomously to a location that aligns the hitch ball and the trailer coupler to permit the trailer to be hitched to the vehicle.

15. The method of claim 14 , wherein the reference object is a disk.

16. The method of claim 15 , wherein the disk has a color that contrasts with the ground.

17. The method of claim 15 , wherein the disk has a diameter of between 4 and 20 inches.

18. The method of claim 15 , wherein the disk includes a powered light source that illuminates the disk.

19. The method of claim 15 , wherein the disk includes a phosphorescent material.

20. The method of claim 14 , wherein the rear-facing camera is a backup camera of the vehicle.

Assignments (2)

Continuity (1)

References Cited (17)