Patent · US Active

Method for real-time tow ball detection

US11676300B2 · kind B2 · utility

1Cited by
3References
18Claims
0Family size

Assignee

Inventors

Key dates

Filing dateDec 9, 2020
Grant dateJun 13, 2023
Priority date
Expiry dateFeb 22, 2041

Classification

  • Technology area (CPC G)Physics
  • CPC primaryG06T2207/30252
  • WIPO fieldComputer technology
  • WIPO sectorElectrical engineering

Abstract

A method for determining a position of a tow ball in an image. The method includes obtaining at least one real-time image from a vehicle. The at least one real-time image is processed with a controller on the vehicle to obtain a feature patch (f) describing at least one real-time image. A convolution is performed of the feature patch (f) and each filter (h) from a set of filters (H) with the filter (h) being based on data representative of known tow hitches fixed to the vehicle. A location of a tow ball on the tow hitch is identified in the at least one real-time image is based on the convolution between the feature patch (f) and each filter (h) from the set of filters (H).

Source: USPTO / EPO open patent data. Objective bibliographic and citation counts.