Granted Patent B2

US 12,371,100 · App. 17/618,279 · Granted Jul 29, 2025

Inventor: Igor Batista (Belo Horizonte, BR)

B62D15/023B62D53/0842

Abstract

Claims (24)

1. A “THREE-DIMENSIONAL MONITORING SYSTEM FOR KINGPIN ON FIFTH WHEEL” characterized by a fifth wheel monitoring system for detecting and monitoring six degrees of freedom of movement of a king pin relative to a fifth wheel, including:

the king pin's translational displacements and clearances (TX, TY, TZ) on X, Y, and Z axes only relative to the fifth wheel; and

the king pin's rotational movements (RX, RY, RZ) on the X, Y, and Z axes only relative to the fifth wheel;

wherein the fifth wheel monitoring system comprises two devices for a comparative reading and measurement:

an electronic measurement device only present and fixed on the fifth wheel, and

a measured reference device only attached to the king pin.

2. The “THREE-DIMENSIONAL MONITORING SYSTEM FOR KINGPIN ON FIFTH WHEEL” according to claim 1 , wherein in the fifth wheel monitoring system:

the electronic measurement device includes a fifth wheel electronic central that contains accelerometers and gyroscopic sensors; and

the measured reference device is connected to the fifth wheel electronic central, and includes an electromagnet device that contains the set of sensors that has-another arrangement of accelerometers and gyroscopes inside, for being coupled to the king pin.

3. The “THREE-DIMENSIONAL MONITORING SYSTEM FOR KINGPIN ON FIFTH WHEEL” according to claim 2 , wherein the fifth wheel electronic central is configured to monitor the fifth wheel in hitched and pre-disengagement conditions by monitoring a position and movements of a locking bar mechanism on the fifth wheel; the fifth wheel electronic central being configured to control an electrical supply of the electromagnet device:

in the hitched condition, the fifth wheel electronic central being configured to electrify the electromagnet device that couples to the king pin by magnetic attraction and follows all movements of the king pin, and for the set of sensors including the accelerometers and gyroscopes present inside and fixed on the electromagnet device to detect and monitor all movements and accelerations of the king pin on the X, Y, and Z axes;

in the pre-disengagement condition, the fifth wheel electronic central is configured to cut off the electrical supply of the electromagnet device to disconnect the electromagnet device from the king pin.

4. The “THREE-DIMENSIONAL MONITORING SYSTEM FOR KINGPIN ON FIFTH WHEEL” according to claim 2 , wherein the fifth wheel monitoring system is configured to measure absolute values from the fifth wheel of the king pin's relative movements, including rotation angles on the X, Y, and Z axes, and the translational clearances on the X, Y, and Z axes, by comparing data from the gyroscope and the accelerometer present inside the fifth wheel electronic central to the data from the sensors fixed on the electromagnetic device that has the other gyroscope and accelerometers inside and is coupled to the king pin.

5. The “THREE-DIMENSIONAL MONITORING SYSTEM FOR KINGPIN ON FIFTH WHEEL” according to claim 1 , wherein in the fifth wheel monitoring system:

the electronic measurement device is a magnetometer electronic central present and fixed only on a fifth wheel bottom, that contains magnetometer sensors inside that provide monitoring and measurement of magnetic field variation across the three axes;

the measured reference device further comprises an independent measured reference device attached to the king pin that contains a permanent magnet.

6. The “THREE-DIMENSIONAL MONITORING SYSTEM FOR KINGPIN ON FIFTH WHEEL” according to claim 5 , comprising a system that measures absolute values from the fifth wheel, of the king pin's relative movements, including rotation angles on the X, Y, and Z axes, and the translational clearances on the X, Y, and Z axes, wherein measurement of the king pin's relative movements are made from the magnetometer electronic central presented on the fifth wheel bottom for monitoring the position on the three axes of the permanent magnet attached to the king pin, and from these three-dimensional position variations of the permanent magnet attached on the king pin, the system measures the king pin rotation angles and translational clearances relative to the fifth wheel position on the X, Y, and Z axes.

7. The “THREE-DIMENSIONAL MONITORING SYSTEM FOR KINGPIN ON FIFTH WHEEL” according to claim 5 , further comprising a system for monitoring an engagement/disengagement condition of the king pin from a sensor present only in the fifth wheel, wherein the magnetometer electronic central is configured to measure a magnetic field intensity, wherein:

a hitch engagement condition is recognized by a higher magnetic field intensity measurement from proximity of the permanent magnet attached on the king pin to the magnetometer electronic central present on the fifth wheel bottom;

and an unhitched disengagement condition is verified by a low magnetic field intensity approaching zero, as movement of the king pin increases a distance between the permanent magnet attached on the king pin to the magnetometer electronic central present on the fifth wheel bottom.

8. The “THREE-DIMENSIONAL MONITORING SYSTEM FOR KINGPIN ON FIFTH WHEEL” according to claim 5 , wherein the system is configured to indicate which trailer is attached to a truck on which the fifth wheel is mounted by verification made in the fifth wheel, which is accomplished by two devices:

the magnetometer electronic central positioned on the truck's fifth wheel, which includes a TAG reader;

and a coded TAG that is attached to the trailer's king pin;

wherein in the condition that the king pin is hitched on the fifth wheel, the TAG reader on the magnetometer electronic central identifies the trailer's identification code by reading the coded TAG attached to trailer's king pin.

Priority Claims (2)

Continuity (1)

References Cited (17)

Cited By (1)

US 12,637,155