NZ617020B - Improved Trailer Brake Control System - Google Patents

Abstract

617020 Disclosed is a wireless trailer brake control system (10) for communicating braking information between a tow vehicle and a trailer using wireless communication. The control system (10) is comprised of a tow vehicle controller (100) and a trailer sensing unit (200). The tow vehicle controller (100) includes a wireless transceiver and a multi-volt converter (120) for receiving power at multiple voltage levels. The trailer sensor unit (200) includes a trailer control module. The control module is comprised of a wireless transceiver, a multi-volt converter, an accelerometer and a microprocessor programmed to process information received from the tow vehicle controller (100) and the accelerometer. The trailer control module (200) is communicatively coupled to the trailer brake system (270) of the trailer. ler (100) includes a wireless transceiver and a multi-volt converter (120) for receiving power at multiple voltage levels. The trailer sensor unit (200) includes a trailer control module. The control module is comprised of a wireless transceiver, a multi-volt converter, an accelerometer and a microprocessor programmed to process information received from the tow vehicle controller (100) and the accelerometer. The trailer control module (200) is communicatively coupled to the trailer brake system (270) of the trailer.

Description

James & Wells ref: 237822/75 Improved Trailer Brake Control System TECHNICAL FIELD This invention relates to an improved trailer brake control system. More specifically, the invention relates to a wirelessly operated trailer brake control system incorporating multi volt technology.

OUND ART There are a variety of different systems and methods known for controlling braking systems of trailers and other towed vehicles. Typically, the brakes of a towed vehicle may be ted to a brake control system that is operable from within the towing vehicle. The brakes of the towed vehicle may be applied using the al controller in an ncy ion, when the towing vehicle has stopped, or if the vehicle and trailer are negotiating particularly ult or steep terrain. Gain and sensitivity of the brakes can also be altered using the controller located in the towing vehicle.

There are a number of disadvantages associated with the trailer brake l systems currently available. Many of the systems available operate using the electrical wiring system of the towed vehicle and towing vehicle. This means that controllers have to be specifically wired for electrical connection to both the towing vehicle and the trailer on which the system is to be used before they are able to be operated.

While this is less of an issue for owners of one specific trailer that will always be used by the same towing vehicle, it constitutes a problem when ng fleets of rental trailers or trailers to be towed by a number of different vehicles over a period of time. When such complicated wiring is required, it becomes difficult for any vehicle to tow a trailer, particularly when the trailer is of a weight where the use of a brake ller is required by law.

Trailer brake controllers are available from a number of cturers d in a wide number of countries. This means that voltage requirements vary between countries and therefore multi-volt converters are necessary to ensure power sources can be safely and effectively linked. Multi-volt converters are available to be purchased separately, but it would be advantageous to develop a trailer brake control system that could effectively switch between voltages without the need to se extra equipment.

While some of these issues have been addressed by products currently on the market, no product has been developed that mes each of the above problems with a single product solution. It is an object of the present invention to address the foregoing problems or at least to James & Wells ref: 237822/75 provide the public with a useful choice. hout this specification, the word "comprise", or variations f such as "comprises" or "comprising", will be understood to imply the inclusion of a stated element, r or step, or group of elements integers or steps, but not the exclusion of any other element, integer or step, or group of elements, integers or steps.

Further aspects and advantages of the present invention will become apparent from the ensuing description which is given by way of example only.

DISCLOSURE OF THE INVENTION According to one aspect of the present invention there is provided a wireless trailer brake control system for communicating braking information between a tow vehicle and a trailer using wireless communication, the control system comprising; - a tow vehicle controller ing a wireless transceiver and a multi volt converter; and - a trailer sensor unit including a r l module, the control module including a wireless transceiver, a multi volt converter, an accelerometer and a microprocessor programmed to process information received from the tow vehicle controller and the accelerometer; wherein the r control module is communicatively coupled to the r brake system of the trailer.

According to a second aspect of the invention there is provided a trailer l module for providing an output signal to the brakes of a trailer, the control module comprising a wireless transceiver; an accelerometer; a multi volt converter; and a microprocessor programmed to process information ed via the wireless transceiver and wherein the trailer control module is communicatively coupled to the trailer brake system.

In a preferred aspect of the invention, the tow vehicle controller is adapted to t to the power source of the tow e.

More preferably, the tow vehicle controller is adapted to connect to the power source of the tow vehicle through the vehicle cigarette lighter.

James & Wells ref: 237822/75 Preferably the multi-volt converter is adapted to allow the tow vehicle controller to connect to both 12V and 24V electronic vehicle circuitry within the tow vehicle.

More preferably, the tow vehicle controller is adapted to connect to the tow vehicle via a power source only.

Preferably, the tow vehicle controller es a display screen. More preferably the screen is and LED or LCD screen. This screen es braking and setting information received from such as trailer speed, gain adjustment, braking sensitivity or battery life for example.

Preferably the ss transceiver in the tow vehicle controller is a radio frequency transceiver.

In alternative embodiments the ss transceiver utilises a close proximity wireless protocol such as Bluetooth®. oth® wireless technology allows short range communications between portable or fixed devices at ces of between one and 100 metres.

In further preferred ments of the invention, the wireless transceiver in the trailer control module is a radio frequency transceiver. In ative embodiments the ss transceiver utilises a close proximity wireless protocol such as Bluetooth®. As would be clear to a person skilled in the art, the transceiver in the tow vehicle controller and the transceiver in the trailer control module must be compatible in order to effectively send ation between them.

In r preferred ments of the invention the r control module is communicatively connected to the trailer lighting system. When the tow vehicle is in use, the brake light system of the trailer is connected to the brake light system of the tow vehicle in known fashion.

As with the tow vehicle controller, the multi-volt converter within the trailer control module is adapted to allow the trailer control module to t to both 12V and 24V electronic vehicle circuitry within the trailer.

Preferably the trailer sensor unit further includes a battery.

More preferably, the battery includes a built in battery charger. Power for the built in battery charger may be drawn from the tow vehicles lighting system. If necessary the multi-volt converter ensures the correct voltage is applied between the tail light circuitry and the battery.

In further preferred embodiments, the trailer sensor unit es a breakaway system. If the trailer breaks away from the tow vehicle, the trailer brakes automatically apply in order to prevent the trailer from moving off at speed. The breakaway system works using current technology known in the art and can be connected to the trailer l unit using known methods.

James & Wells ref: 237822/75 For the purposes of this specification the term “trailer” should be taken to mean any e capable of being towed, for example a standard trailer, recreational vehicles such as caravans, boat and boat trailer or horse floats. For the purposes of New Zealand requirements (different requirements may exist for ent countries) any trailer or towed vehicle over 2.5 T is required to have a brake control system fitted.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS Further s of the present ion will become apparent from the following description which is given by way of example only and with nce to the accompanying drawings in which: Figure 1 shows the trailer brake control system in a preferred embodiment of the present invention including the tow vehicle controller and the r sensor unit; Figure 2 shows the tow vehicle controller of Figure 1 in r detail; and Figure 3 shows the trailer sensor unit of Figure 1 in a preferred embodiment of the invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION In its broadest sense, the invention of the t application relates to a trailer brake control system, used to facilitate breaking control n a tow vehicle and a towed vehicle such as a trailer. For the purposes of the below description the towed vehicle will be referred to as a trailer, however any number of different types of towed vehicles may be operated using the system described herein.

Figure 1 shows the overall concept of the r brake control system 10 of the present invention. System 10 includes tow vehicle controller 100 and trailer sensor unit 200. ller 100 is positioned inside a vehicle towing a trailer and sensor unit 200 is located within the towed vehicle. Lighting systems of the tow vehicle and trailer are connected in standard known fashion by connector 300. Wireless communication between ller 100 and sensor unit 200 occurs via wireless transceivers as shown in more detail in Figures 2 and 3.

Controller 100 is described in r detail in Figure 2. Controller 100 is adapted to connect to a tow vehicle’s power source via connection means 110. The tow vehicle power source may be either 12 volts or 24 volts and connection means 110 is preferably connected to the cigarette lighter plug of a vehicle using a known adapter. Controller 100 includes a multi-volt reducer that is capable of receiving a 24 V current and converting it to 12V, or ing a 12V current as James & Wells ref: 237822/75 required by ller 100. This feature enables the system to be use on either 12V or 24V power supplies with no further attachments or wiring required to support the ent systems.

Controller 100 further es microprocessor 130 communicatively connected to wireless transceiver 140. Transceiver 140 is adapted to both send ctions and ation such as brake gs and emergency stop commands from controller 100 to sensor unit 200 following an input of information from the driver of the tow vehicle. Wireless transceiver 140 also receives information from trailer sensor unit 200 regarding braking information which is displayed on LCD display monitor 115.

The interface of controller 100 may provide any arrangement of input methods capable of providing appropriate information to the trailer unit 200 to facilitate effective braking. As seen in Figure 2, one such ace may include specific buttons or inputs for controlling r braking.

Input 121 controls sensitivity of the braking, allowing more or less aggressive braking as required in different terrain or weather ions. Inputs 122 and 123 allow the user to simply decrease or increase gain according to the different loads placed on the trailer or other towed vehicle. Input 124 is a brake override button, or an emergency override button. tion of input 124 automatically sends a signal to the r brake system to apply the brakes regardless of braking signals ed through the connector 300.

Controller 100 further includes speaker 145 which may be adapted to emit warning alarms or other sounds indicative of changes in the braking system status for example. It is envisaged that a range of different inputs and information displays signals may be present on controller 100 as required by a user. The type and configuration of inputs may also change to meet specific regulatory requirements or to include inputs specific to a particular type of towed vehicle, for example horse floats or boats.

Once information has been input into controller 100 via inputs 121 – 124 microprocessor 130 relays message to sensor unit 200 via wireless transceiver 140 located in controller 100 to wireless transceiver 240 located in sensor unit 200.

The wireless system preferably uses radio frequency signals to transmit information using a radio frequency transceiver. The wireless transceivers 140, 240 are individually coded together for each system 10. This individual coding prevents interference with al wireless systems.

While radio frequency signals are preferably used, close proximity wireless protocols such as Bluetooth® may also be used. Bluetooth® ss technology allows short range ications between portable or fixed devices at distances of n one and 100 metres, making it particularly useful for wireless communications of the kind used in the present invention.

The ability of the wireless system to icate braking information is essential in enabling James & Wells ref: 237822/75 the brake control system of the present invention to be used across a fleet of trailers that may be towed by numerous different vehicles. This provides a distinct advantage over known trailer control systems that need to be individually wired into the electrical systems of both the tow vehicle and trailer.

Figure 3 shows trailer sensor unit 200 in further . Sensor unit 200 includes control module 215 that is powered by a 12V trailer y 210. Trailer battery 210 is installed on the trailer and is of a sufficient ty to power both control module 215 and the trailer brakes. ller 215 comprises microprocessor 220. Microprocessor 220 is communicatively connected to wireless transceiver 240 that receives information provided by ller 100.

Information received via wireless transceiver 240 is stored and interpreted by microprocessor 220. Information is then passed to the trailer brakes and braking characteristics are altered as defined by information sent from microprocessor 220. For example, microprocessor 220 outputs relevant voltage on a variable voltage output 270 to the trailer brake system according to the brake level gs together with information received from accelerometer 230.

Microprocessor 220 is communicatively coupled to rometer 230. Information regarding acceleration or deceleration of the trailer is received at microprocessor 220. This information can then be relayed to trailer brakes via variable voltage output 270 and/or to display 115 within ller 100 via wireless transceivers 140 and 240.

Any faults in the detected by microprocessor 220 in the trailer braking system may be sent to controller 100 via wireless transceiver 240. rometer 230 is communicatively connected via microprocessor 220 to brake lights 250.

When brake lights 250 are activated following compression of the brakes in the tow vehicle, this triggers accelerometer 230 to begin sensing the level of deceleration. Input from brake lights 250 is routed h multi-volt reducer 251 to ensure that 12V is output less of the voltage received from brake lights 250. The incorporation of multi-volt reducer 251 enables the system to be used on a range of vehicles regardless of r they are run on 12V or 24V circuitry.

Brake lights 250 are communicatively connected to tail light circuitry of the trailer 253. Tail light circuitry 253 sends power h powering up relay 260 to allow trailer to apply brakes even if the tail lights are not on, ed battery 210 retains ient charge.

Tail light circuitry 253 ts tail lights of both the trailer and the towed vehicle to trailer battery 210. This allows trailer battery 210 to be charged from the tow vehicle’s power while the vehicle lights are running. Diode 255 prevents trailer battery 210 from powering tail light circuit 253. This circuit also routed through power up relay 260 which powers up control module 215 once the tail lights are switched on.

James & Wells ref: 237822/75 If the tow vehicle tail lights are not on or there is a break in electrical connection between the tow vehicle and trailer, control module 215 will send a signal to controller 100 to alert the driver of the tow vehicle to the problem.

While battery 210 may be d via tail light circuitry 253, this should not be seen as limiting.

Other known methods of battery charging may be used as appropriate such as solar energy or c energy recovery methods. r sensor unit 200 preferably includes break away switch 280. This break away switch operates in known n by sending power to variable voltage output 270 to apply the trailer brakes in the event that the trailer breaks away from the tow vehicle.

The current invention has a number of advantages over s currently available and known in the art. The wireless connectivity of the trailer brake system allows it to be easily used on any tow vehicle. The tow vehicle controller may be simply plugged into the cigarette lighter of any suitable tow vehicle and instantly is able to connect to the trailer t the need to any additional wiring.

The incorporation of multi-volt controllers within both the tow vehicle controller and the trailer sensor unit provides a further e that ensures a wide range of tow vehicles may be utilised to tow a trailer. Without the presence of the multi-volt ller built into the system, only vehicles with a 12V circuitry system would be able to use the brake controller system.

Previously, if a 24V vehicle needed to tow a vehicle with a brake controller an expensive separate multi-volt converter would need to be retrofitted to the system in order for it to operate.

The present invention overcomes these disadvantages by ing a trailer brake control system with the flexibility to be used over a wide range of vehicles with minimal auto electrical work . In addition, the system may be used via the standard towing connection found on most vehicles, particularly in New Zealand and Australia. The trailer brake controller is not affected by factory wiring looms found on many late model cars as many known brake controller systems are. s of the present invention have been described by way of example only and it should be appreciated that modifications and additions may be made thereto without departing from the scope thereof.

Claims (17)

Claims

1. A wireless trailer brake control system for icating braking information between a tow vehicle and a trailer using wireless ication, the control system comprising; o a tow vehicle controller including a wireless transceiver and a multi volt converter; o a trailer sensor unit including a trailer control module, the control module including a ss transceiver, a multi volt converter, an accelerometer and a microprocessor programmed to process information received from the tow vehicle controller and the accelerometer; wherein the trailer control module is communicatively coupled to the trailer brake system of the trailer.

2. The trailer brake control system of claim 1, wherein the tow vehicle ller is adapted to connect to the tow vehicle via a power source only.

3. The trailer brake control system of claim 2, wherein the tow vehicle controller is adapted to connect to the power source of the tow vehicle through the vehicle cigarette lighter.

4. The trailer brake control system of claim 1, wherein the multi-volt converter is adapted to allow the tow vehicle controller to t to both 12V and 24V onic vehicle try within the tow vehicle.

5. The r brake control system of any one of claims 1 – 4, wherein the tow vehicle controller es a display screen.

6. The trailer brake control system of claim 5, n the screen is and LED or LCD screen.

7. The trailer brake control system of any one of claims 1 – 6, wherein the wireless transceiver in the tow vehicle controller and /or trailer control module is a radio frequency transceiver.

8. The trailer brake control system of any one of claims 1 – 6, wherein the wireless transceiver in the tow vehicle controller and/or trailer control module utilises a close proximity wireless protocol for communication.

9. The r brake control system of any one of claims 1 – 8, wherein the trailer control module is communicatively connected to the trailer lighting .

10. The trailer brake control system of any one of claims 1 – 9, wherein the trailer sensor unit further includes a battery.

11. The trailer brake control system of claim 10, n the battery includes a built in battery charger.

12. The trailer brake control system of any one of claims 1 – 11, wherein the trailer sensor unit includes a breakaway .

13. A trailer control module for providing an output signal to the brakes of a trailer, the control module comprising; o a wireless transceiver; o an accelerometer; o a multi volt converter; and o a microprocessor programmed to process information received via the wireless transceiver and wherein the trailer control module is communicatively coupled to the trailer brake system.

14. The r control module of claim 13, wherein the wireless transceiver in the trailer control module is a radio frequency transceiver.

15. The trailer control module of claim 13, wherein the ss transceiver in the trailer control module utilises a close proximity wireless protocol for communication.

16. The trailer l module of any one of claims 13 – 15, wherein trailer control module is adapted to allow the r control module to connect to both 12V and 24V onic vehicle circuitry associated with a trailer.

17. The wireless trailer brake control system substantially as described herein with reference to