Granted Patent B2

US 12,728,885 · App. 18/235,330 · Granted Sep 8, 2026

Inventors: Joseph Fox-Rabinovitz (Austin, TX); Nicholas Atanasov (Blacksburg, VA)

Assignee: TORC Robotics, Inc.

B60W60/001B60D1/42B60D1/58

Abstract

Claims (67)

1 . A computer-implemented method for controlling an autonomous vehicle comprising:

operating, by a virtual driver system of the autonomous vehicle, the autonomous vehicle in a coupling mode to couple a fifth-wheel hitch of the autonomous vehicle with a trailer, the autonomous vehicle being a roadway vehicle, operating the autonomous vehicle in the coupling mode further comprising:

detecting, via one or more first sensors of the autonomous vehicle, one or more positions of a fifth-wheel hitch of the autonomous vehicle;

generating, by a processor of the autonomous vehicle, a first metric corresponding to a first signal received from the one or more first sensors, the one or more first sensors configured to detect the fifth-wheel hitch in a first position of the one or more positions of the fifth-wheel hitch;

generating, by the processor, a second metric corresponding to a second signal received from a drive assembly of the autonomous vehicle, the drive assembly configured to reposition the fifth-wheel hitch;

providing, by a user interface of the virtual driver system, feedback of an engagement status of the trailer with the fifth-wheel hitch while the virtual driver system is in the coupling mode, the feedback including at least one of a visual feedback, an aural feedback, or a haptic feedback; and

applying one or more geofence restrictions to operation of the autonomous vehicle while in the coupling mode;

generating, by the processor and based on the first and second metrics, a third metric, the third metric corresponding to a second position of the one or more positions of the fifth-wheel hitch associated with a predetermined load balancing configuration of the autonomous vehicle;

transmitting, by the processor and responsive to a determination that the second position of the fifth-wheel hitch corresponds to the predetermined load balancing configuration of the autonomous vehicle, the third metric to the drive assembly for controlling the fifth-wheel hitch according to the third metric;

causing the virtual driver system of the autonomous vehicle to enter a coupled mode; and

controlling operation of the autonomous vehicle in accordance with the predetermined load balancing configuration and the coupled mode by:

removing at least one of the one or more geofence restrictions applied during the coupling mode; and

controlling the autonomous vehicle with the trailer coupled to travel along a trajectory.

2 . The computer-implemented method of claim 1 , the one or more first sensors comprising a sensor fixedly positioned at a first notch of the fifth-wheel hitch and configured to detect whether the fifth-wheel hitch is positioned at the first notch.

3 . The computer-implemented method of claim 2 , the first signal comprising a measurement of a capacitance between the one or more first sensors and the fifth-wheel hitch, wherein each of the one or more first sensors is fixedly positioned at corresponding notches of the fifth-wheel hitch.

4 . The computer-implemented method of claim 3 , the one or more first sensors comprising a sensor disposed at a second notch of the fifth-wheel hitch, the second notch sensor configured to detect whether the fifth-wheel hitch is positioned at the second notch.

5 . The computer-implemented method of claim 4 , wherein the second notch is disposed at the same side of the fifth-wheel hitch as the first notch and closer to a cab of the autonomous vehicle relative to the first notch of the fifth-wheel hitch.

6 . The computer-implemented method of claim 4 , further comprising:

causing, by the processor and based on the third metric, the drive assembly to reposition the fifth-wheel hitch of the autonomous vehicle to the second position corresponding to the predetermined load balancing configuration of the autonomous vehicle.

7 . The computer-implemented method of claim 6 further comprising:

determining, by the processor and via at least the first notch sensor and the second notch sensor, that the fifth-wheel hitch has been repositioned to the second position, wherein the second position corresponds to the fifth-wheel hitch positioned at the second notch.

8 . The computer-implemented method of claim 1 , further comprising:

causing, by the processor and based on the third metric, a locking mechanism to engage and physically lock the fifth-wheel hitch in the second position.

9 . The computer-implemented method of claim 8 , further comprising:

causing, by the processor, the locking mechanism to disengage and physically release the fifth-wheel hitch to allow the drive assembly to further reposition the fifth-wheel hitch, wherein the coupled mode corresponds to the one or more first sensors indicating an engaged status, the engaged status reflecting an accessory being coupled to the fifth-wheel hitch.

10 . The computer-implemented method of claim 1 , the one or more first sensors comprising one or more magnetic sensors that are each fixedly positioned to a corresponding notch of the fifth-wheel hitch, the one or more magnetic sensors configured to detect the presence of one or more magnetic elements secured to the fifth-wheel hitch.

11 . A system for controlling an autonomous vehicle comprising:

one or more first sensors;

one or more second sensors; and

one or more processors, wherein the one or more processors are configured to:

operate, by a virtual driver system of the autonomous vehicle, the autonomous vehicle in a coupling mode to couple a fifth-wheel hitch of the autonomous vehicle with a trailer, the autonomous vehicle being a roadway vehicle, operate the autonomous vehicle in the coupling mode further comprising:

detect, via the one or more first sensors, one or more positions of a fifth-wheel hitch of the autonomous vehicle;

generate a first metric corresponding to a first signal received from the one or more first sensors configured to detect the fifth-wheel hitch in a first position of the one or more positions of the fifth-wheel hitch;

generate a second metric corresponding to a second signal received from a drive assembly of the autonomous vehicle, the drive assembly configured to reposition the fifth-wheel hitch;

provide, by a user interface of the virtual driver system, feedback of an engagement status of the trailer with the fifth-wheel hitch while the virtual driver system is in the coupling mode, the feedback including at least one of a visual feedback, an aural feedback, or a haptic feedback; and

apply one or more geofence restrictions to operation of the autonomous vehicle while in the coupling mode;

generate, based on the first and second metrics, a third metric, the third metric corresponding to a second position of the one or more positions of the fifth-wheel hitch associated with a predetermined load balancing configuration of the autonomous vehicle;

transmit, in response to a determination that the second position of the fifth-wheel hitch corresponds to the predetermined load balancing configuration of the autonomous vehicle, the third metric to the drive assembly for controlling the fifth-wheel hitch according to the third metric;

cause the virtual driver system of the autonomous vehicle to enter a coupled mode; and

control operation of the autonomous vehicle in accordance with the predetermined load balancing configuration and the coupled mode by:

removing at least one of the one or more geofence restrictions applied during the coupling mode; and

controlling the autonomous vehicle with the trailer coupled to travel along a trajectory.

12 . The system of claim 11 , wherein the one or more first sensors comprise at least one sensor fixedly positioned at a first notch of the fifth-wheel hitch and configured to detect whether the fifth-wheel hitch is positioned at the first notch.

13 . The system of claim 12 , wherein the first signal comprises a measurement of a capacitance between the one or more first sensors and the fifth-wheel hitch, wherein each of the one or more first sensors is fixedly positioned at corresponding notches of the fifth-wheel hitch.

14 . The system of claim 13 , the one or more first sensors comprising a sensor disposed at a second notch of the fifth-wheel hitch to detect whether the fifth-wheel hitch is positioned at the second notch, wherein the second and first notches of the fifth-wheel hitch are disposed on the same side of the fifth-wheel hitch, and wherein the second notch is disposed closer to the front of the autonomous vehicle than the first notch.

15 . The system of claim 14 , the one or more processors further configured to:

cause, based on the third metric, the drive assembly to reposition the fifth-wheel hitch of the autonomous vehicle to the second position corresponding to the predetermined load balancing configuration of the autonomous vehicle.

16 . The system of claim 15 , the one or more processors further configured to:

determine, via the one or more first sensors and the one or more second sensors, that the fifth-wheel hitch has been repositioned to the second position, wherein the second position corresponds to the fifth-wheel hitch positioned at the second notch.

17 . The system of claim 11 , the one or more processors further configured to:

cause, based on the third metric and the determination that the fifth-wheel hitch is in the second position, a locking mechanism to engage and maintain the physical position of the fifth-wheel hitch during operation of the autonomous vehicle.

18 . The system of claim 17 , the one or more processors further configured to:

cause, based on a determination that the fifth-wheel hitch is not in the second position and the autonomous vehicle is deactivated, the locking mechanism to disengage and physically release the fifth-wheel hitch to allow the drive assembly to further reposition the fifth-wheel hitch, wherein the coupled mode corresponds to at least one of the one or more first sensors and the one or more second sensors indicating an engaged status, the engaged status reflecting an accessory being coupled to the fifth-wheel hitch.

19 . The system of claim 11 , wherein the one or more first sensors include one or more magnetic sensors and each magnetic sensor is fixedly positioned to each notch of the fifth-wheel hitch and configured to detect the presence of one or more magnetic elements fastened to the fifth-wheel hitch.

20 . A non-transitory computer readable medium including one or more instructions stored thereon and executable by a processor of an autonomous vehicle, and that when executed by the processor of the autonomous vehicle, cause the processor to:

operate, by a virtual driver system of the autonomous vehicle, the autonomous vehicle in a coupling mode to couple a fifth-wheel hitch of the autonomous vehicle with a trailer, the autonomous vehicle being a roadway vehicle, operate the autonomous vehicle in the coupling mode further comprising:

detect, via one or more first sensors of the autonomous vehicle, one or more positions of a fifth-wheel hitch of the autonomous vehicle;

generate a first metric corresponding to a first signal received from the one or more first sensors, the one or more first sensors configured to detect the fifth-wheel hitch in a first position of the one or more positions of the fifth-wheel hitch;

generate a second metric corresponding to a second signal received from a drive assembly of the autonomous vehicle, the drive assembly configured to reposition the fifth-wheel hitch;

provide, by a user interface of the virtual driver system, feedback of an engagement status of the trailer with the fifth-wheel hitch while the virtual driver system is in the coupling mode, the feedback including at least one of a visual feedback, an aural feedback, or a haptic feedback; and

apply one or more geofence restrictions to operation of the autonomous vehicle while in the coupling mode;

generate, based on the first and second metrics, a third metric, the third metric corresponding to a second position of the one or more positions of the fifth-wheel hitch associated with the predetermined load balancing configuration of the autonomous vehicle;

transmit, in response to a determination that the second position of the fifth-wheel hitch corresponds to the predetermined load balancing configuration of the autonomous vehicle, the third metric to the drive assembly for controlling the fifth-wheel hitch according to the third metric;

cause the virtual driver system of the autonomous vehicle to enter a coupled mode; and

control operation of the autonomous vehicle in accordance with the predetermined load balancing configuration and the coupled mode by:

removing at least one of the one or more geofence restrictions applied during the coupling mode; and

controlling the autonomous vehicle with the trailer coupled to travel along a trajectory.

Assignments (1)

Continuity (1)

References Cited (32)