EP-4208358-B1 - SYSTEMS AND METHODS FOR AUTOMATED OPERATION AND HANDLING OF AUTONOMOUS TRUCKS AND TRAILERS HAULED THEREBY

EP4208358B1EP 4208358 B1EP4208358 B1EP 4208358B1EP-4208358-B1

Inventors

SMITH, ANDREW, F.
SEMINARA, Gary, Michael
NETT, Jeremy, N.
BATE, Christopher, T.
CUTTER, Michael, Patrick
KLEIN, Lawrence, S.
LANGENDERFER, Stephen, A.
SOTOLA, Martin, E.
BAHL, Vikas
ROSENBLUM, Mark, H.
JAMES, PETER
ROWLEY, Dale, Dee
JOHANNES, Matthew, S.

Dates

Publication Date: 20260513
Application Date: 20210901

Claims (13)

A system for attaching a truck-based pneumatic line connector to a glad hand (4810) on a trailer using a manipulator (4500) with an end effector (4582) that is configured to selectively engage and release the connector comprising: a clamping assembly that is configured to selectively overlie an annular seal (4840) of the glad hand and that is configured to sealingly clamp the connector to the annular seal; wherein the system is configured to locate a glad hand connector on a front face of the trailer and further comprises: a gross sensing system that is configured to acquire at least one of a 2D and a 3D image of the front face and to search for glad hand-related image features; and a processor; the system being characterised in that the processor is configured to use the at least one of the 2D and the 3D image(s) to identify glad hand mating features and determine if the glad hand is a rotational glad hand.
The system as set forth in claim 1 wherein the clamping assembly includes a spring-loaded clamp that is normally closed and is opened by a gripping action of the end effector, wherein the clamping assembly is configured to be passively clamped onto the glad hand when the glad hand is positioned in the clamp.
The system of claim 1 or 2, wherein a distal end of the connector further comprises: an electromagnet (4852), the connector being thus configured to magnetically attach to a ferrous wedge on a spring-loaded rotational glad hand, and to pull out on the spring-loaded rotational glad hand, wherein the connector optionally further comprises a passive rotational axis, the passive rotational axis of the connector being parallel to the glad hand rotational axis.
The system of any preceding claim, wherein a distal end of the connector comprises: rotational gripper fingers (4878, 4880), the rotational gripper fingers being configured to grasp a wedge (4863) on a spring-loaded rotational glad hand, and to pull out on the spring-loaded rotational glad hand.
The system of any preceding claim, further comprising at least one of: two overlapping actuated clamping arms (4864, 4866) that are configured to seal the glad hand and to provide air to the trailer, the overlapping actuated clamping arms further comprising an air delivery arm and a reaction force arm; a stand-alone tool that is separate from the connector, wherein the stand-alone tool is configured to capture a wedge on a trailer glad hand and pull the trailer glad hand out into position for the connector to connect to the air line; a flexible sealing sleeve that is configured to be moved by a manipulator to overlap and encompass the trailer glad hand and thereby selectively form a seal using a movable sealing ring that resiliently seals in an airtight manner against a portion of the glad hand remote from the annular seal so that air pressure provided to an inner volume of the sleeve is transmitted to the glad hand; a caliper (4884) that is configured to slide over the trailer glad hand, wherein air pressure can be applied to the caliper to activate the caliper to close and seal around the glad hand so that air can be conveyed into the trailer; an inflatable O-ring (5248) on the connector, wherein the inflatable O-ring is configured to be positioned against the annular gasket of the trailer glad hand, and is configured to be inflated to create an air tight seal; and/or a rotary connector wedge, the rotary connector wedge configured to rotate into engagement with a flange of the trailer glad hand, thereby sealing the connector tool to the trailer glad hand
The system of any preceding claim, wherein the clamping assembly is passive and is configured to be triggered by contact with the glad hand to clamp around the glad hand under the force of a spring.
The system of any preceding claim, wherein the manipulator is constructed and arranged to disconnect from the tool after the tool has contacted the glad hand via magnet or gripper, and further comprising, an actuated rotational or telescoping device on the tool, driven by a motor or similar system, and set around the free axis of the tool, that allows the tool to extract the glad hand through a reaction against trailer faces, recessed walls, and thereby provides space for a clamping assembly to seal the glad hand.
The system of any preceding claim, wherein the manipulator, the end effector, or the connector have: a sensor or a feedback system that is configured to create active compliance to overcome misalignment during connection; and/or elasticity that is configured to create passive compliance to overcome misalignment during connection.
The system of any preceding claim wherein the clamping assembly is located in a tool cradle (4855) that allows for selection from one of a plurality of clamping assemblies that are adapted to discrete glad hand types.
The system as set forth in any preceding claim wherein the clamping assembly comprises a connection tool (4850) having an end adapter (4883) that is configured to removably receive an end effector of a manipulator, the connection tool further including a pivoting grasping subassembly with rotatable locking fingers (4863) for selectively gripping the glad hand and thereby manipulating the glad hand into a desired orientation, and a movable connection plate (4886) with attached airline that is configured to sealingly engage the annular seal when the glad hand is in the desirable orientation, wherein the end adapter optionally comprises an end cap having a plurality of discrete fiducials arranges at differing orientations, adapted for tracking by a machine vision system.
The system as set forth in any preceding claim, wherein the system is configured to interconnect an airline having a connection tool to the glad hand using the manipulator to direct the glad hand, and further comprises: a machine vision system having a camera assembly that is configured to generate at least 2D images of the glad hand; a pose and recognition process that is configured to determine a six-degree-of-freedom (6DOF) pose of the glad hand based upon a combination of stored classes of glad hands of differing types and orientations and identified keypoint features; and a position control process that is configured to map the 6DOF pose information into motion control data to move the manipulator with respect to the glad hand.
The system as set forth in claim 11 wherein the pose and recognition process employs a deep learning processor; and/or the camera assembly comprises a stereoscopic RGBD camera assembly that is configured to generate both depth images and RGB images.
The system of any preceding claim, wherein the processor is further configured to determine the rotational axis of the rotational glad hand. 1

Description

FIELD OF THE INVENTION This invention relates to autonomous vehicles and more particularly to autonomous trucks and trailers therefor, for example, as used to haul cargo around a shipping facility, a production facility or yard, or to transport cargo to and from a shipping facility, a production facility or yard. BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION Trucks are an essential part of modern commerce. These trucks transport materials and finished goods across the continent within their large interior spaces. Such goods are loaded and unloaded at various facilities that can include manufacturers, ports, distributors, retailers, and end users. Large over-the road (OTR) trucks typically consist of a tractor or cab unit and a separate detachable trailer that is interconnected removably to the cab via a hitching system that consists of a so-called fifth wheel and a kingpin. More particularly, the trailer contains a kingpin along its bottom front and the cab contains a fifth wheel, consisting of a pad and a receiving slot for the kingpin. When connected, the kingpin rides in the slot of the fifth wheel in a manner that allows axial pivoting of the trailer with respect to the cab as it traverses curves on the road. The cab provides power (through (e.g.) a generator, pneumatic pressure source, etc.) used to operate both itself and the attached trailer. Thus, a plurality of removable connections are made between the cab and trailer to deliver both electric power and pneumatic pressure. The pressure is used to operate emergency and service brakes, typically in conjunction with the cab's own (respective) brake system. The electrical power is used to power (e.g.) interior lighting, exterior signal and running lights, lift gate motors, landing gear motors (if fitted), etc. Throughout the era of modern transport trucking, the connection of such electrical and pneumatic lines, the raising and lowering of landing gear, the operation of rear swing doors associated with trailers, and vehicle inspections have been tasks that have typically been performed manually by a driver. For example, when connecting to a trailer with the cab, after having backed into the trailer so as to couple the truck's fifth wheel to the trailer's kingpin, these operations all require a driver to then exit his or her cab. More particularly, a driver must crank the landing gear to drop the kingpin into full engagement with the fifth wheel, climb onto the back of the cab chassis to manually grasp a set of extendable hoses and cables (carrying air and electric power) from the rear of the cab, and affix them to a corresponding set onto related connections at the front of the trailer body. This process is reversed when uncoupling the trailer from the cab. That is, the operator must climb up and disconnect the hoses/cables, placing them in a proper location, and then crank down the landing gear to raise the kingpin out of engagement with the fifth wheel. Assuming the trailer is to be unloaded (e.g. after backing it into a loading dock), the driver also walks to the rear of the trailer to unlatch the trailer swing doors, rotate them back 270 degrees, and (typically) affix each door to the side of the trailer. With some trailer variations, rear doors are rolled up (rather than swung), and/or other action is taken to allow access to cargo. Other facilities, such as loading dock warning systems, chocks which prevent trailers from rolling unexpectedly and trailer-to-dock locking mechanisms rely upon human activation and monitoring to ensure proper function and safety. Similar safety concerns exist when trucks and trailers are backing up, as they exhibit a substantial blind spot due to their long length and large width and height. Further challenges in trucking relate to intermodal operations, where yard trucks are used to ferry containers between various transportation modalities. More particularly, containers must be moved between railcars and trailers in a railyard in a particular order and orientation (front-to-rear facing, with doors at the rear). Likewise, order and orientation is a concern in dockyard operations where containers are removed from a ship. A wide range of solutions have been proposed over the years to automate one or more of the above processes, thereby reducing the labor needed by the driver. However, no matter how effective such solutions have appeared in theory, the trucking industry still relies upon the above-described manual approach(es) to connecting and disconnecting a trailer to/from a truck tractor/cab. With the advent of autonomous vehicles, it is desirable to provide further automation of a variety of functions that have been provided manually out of tradition or reasonable convenience. US2019299732 discloses a system for attaching a truck-based pneumatic line connector to a glad hand on a trailer using a manipulator with an end effector that selectively engages and releases the connector. The system comprises a clamping assembly that selecti