Patent ID: 11967100
Assignee: ZF MARINE PROPULSION SYSTEMS MIRAMAR, LLC
Field: Transport (Mechanical engineering)
Classification: CPC B  G | IPC B  G

Claim 17:
18. A method of guiding a boat onto a trailer, the method comprising:
mounting at least one marker on the trailer so as to assist the method with estimating a longitudinal axis of the trailer;
positioning a camera on the boat to assist the navigational system with determining a longitudinal axis of the boat, and the camera being positioned so as to generate images of at least a front area of the boat and the at least one marker on the trailer, during a loading operation;
receiving and processing, via an image processing unit, the images from the camera to determine the at least one marker, and, upon determining the at least one marker, estimating the longitudinal axis of the trailer;
generating guidance information, via the image processing unit, based upon the longitudinal axis of the boat and the longitudinal axis of the trailer for aligning the longitudinal axis of the boat with the longitudinal axis of the trailer and facilitate loading of the boat on the trailer; and
periodically generating guidance output commands to a user, via the image processing unit, during the loading operation to assist the user with following a desired boat trajectory and facilitate loading of the boat on the trailer, wherein one of
the desired boat trajectory is designed to gradually align, as the boat approaches the trailer, the longitudinal axis of the boat with the longitudinal axis of the trailer to facilitate loading of the boat on the trailer; and
the guidance output commands are designed to gradually align, as the boat approaches the trailer, the longitudinal axis of the boat with the longitudinal axis of the trailer to facilitate loading of the boat on the trailer.