| 摘要 |
The present invention, when used in conjunction with a trailer to be backed-up, will indicate to the driver which direction to steer his vehicle as well as when and how much to steer. Trailers have been around for many years, yet every summer and winter one can observe the owners of boats and snowmobiles, respectively, backing up those devices on trailers with great difficulty. The problem arises from the fact that a trailer being backed-up is an inherently unstable system. A trailer being pushed wants to turn around and be pulled (i.e., to jackknife) instead. To compensate for this instability, the driver must skillfully reverse the direction of his steering so as to cause the trailer to want to turn around and be pulled from the opposite side thereby repeatedly crossing the centerline of the pushing vehicle. The moment when the trailer crosses this centerline is the moment of greatest instability and the position in which the driver would most desire to have the trailer travel. The present invention can be used with vehicles specially equipped for pushing a trailer having the present invention or, with certain simplifying assumptions, can be used with any vehicle. In a specially equipped vehicle, one could incorporate servomechanisms which would cause the vehicle to steer itself while the driver indicates the direction desired for the trailer to travel. With the incorporation of GPS or other direction sensing equipment, the driver would have only to operate the accelerator and brake. In a vehicle not specially equipped, a pointer would indicate, for the current position of the vehicle's steering wheel, in what direction the trailer is presently being directed; to back-up the trailer, the driver would turn the vehicle's wheel such that the pointer is kept pointing in the direction of the intended trailer destination.
|
