A steerable towed implement towed by a tractor receives manual operator inputs to steer between right and left stop limits and a neutral position. The implement is steered by an actuator controlled by an actuator control system that causes the actuator to bring the implement to a neutral position in the absence of operator control inputs after a given period of time.

A trailer angle detection system and method of detecting a trailer of a vehicle including a wide-angle camera and a controller. The controller is configured to receive a signal from the wide-angle camera representative of an area behind the vehicle. The controller transforms the signal into a top-down image. The controller determines a first plurality of values. Each of the first plurality of values is indicative of an amount of symmetry in a region of the top-down image. The controller determines a second plurality of values. Each of the second plurality of values is indicative of how closely a shape in the top-down image matches a predetermined shape. Then, the controller determines an estimate of an articulation angle based on the first plurality of values and the second plurality of values. Then controller performs an automated vehicle maneuver based on the estimate of the articulation angle.

In one embodiment, a steering system for an agricultural implement system includes a first actuating cylinder configured to rotate a first track relative to an implement frame where the first actuating cylinder is connected to a first frame of the first track, and a second actuating cylinder configured to rotate a second track relative to the implement frame where the second actuating cylinder is connected to a second frame of the second track. The steering system also includes a first fluid control conduit extending to a cap end of the first actuating cylinder, a second fluid control conduit extending between a rod end of the first actuating cylinder and a rod end of the second actuating cylinder, a third fluid control conduit extending to a cap end of the second actuating cylinder, and a steering control valve in fluid communication with the first and third fluid control conduits.

A transport trailer having a chassis and at least one floor platform mounting to the chassis and configured to transport a load. The at least one floor platform comprises at least one main plate and a metal sheet mounting to the main plate. The at least one main plate is fabricated from a porous metal material.

The invention relates to a method for assisting a driver in maneuvering a motor-vehicle combination (1) comprising, as vehicles, at least one tractor motor vehicle (2) and at least two trailers (3a, 3b) coupled thereto, wherein a target articulation angle (.sub.2) at least between two of the vehicles (3a, 3b) is externally specified and is adjusted by means of at least one steering actuator (5a, 5b) of at least one of the vehicles (2). The method comprises at least the following steps: a) dividing the motor-vehicle combination (1) into at least two sub-combinations (1a, 1b) in such a way that adjacent vehicles (2, 3a, 3b) form a sub-combination (1a, 1b) in pairs, in which sub-combination a first vehicle is used as a trailer unit (3a, 3b) and a second vehicle is used as a tractor vehicle unit (2, 3a), at least virtually; b) repeatedly determining a target angle (, .sub.1, .sub.2) for a number of consecutive sub-combinations (1a, 1b) from a specified target articulation angle (.sub.1, .sub.2) between the tractor vehicle unit (2, 3a) and the trailer unit (3a, 3b), beginning with the sub-combination (1a) whose target articulation angle (.sub.2) was specified externally, wherein: the determined target angle is adjusted as a target steering angle () for the tractor vehicle unit (2) of the sub-combination (1b) by means of the at least one steering actuator (5a, 5b) of the associated vehicle (2) if the tractor vehicle unit (2) has the at least one steering actuator (5a, 5b), or the determined target angle is specified as the target articulation angle (.sub.1) for the next sub-combination (1b).

A system for assisting a vehicle in reversing a trailer includes a vehicle steering system, a vehicle sensor outputting a vehicle velocity and a trailer sensor outputting a trailer yaw rate. The system further includes a controller controlling the vehicle steering system in reversing the trailer to cause a control parameter based on the trailer yaw rate and the vehicle velocity to converge toward a predetermined value.

In one embodiment, a steering system for an agricultural implement system includes a first actuating cylinder configured to rotate a first track relative to an implement frame where the first actuating cylinder is connected to a first frame of the first track, and a second actuating cylinder configured to rotate a second track relative to the implement frame where the second actuating cylinder is connected to a second frame of the second track. The steering system also includes a first fluid control conduit extending to a cap end of the first actuating cylinder, a second fluid control conduit extending between a rod end of the first actuating cylinder and a rod end of the second actuating cylinder, a third fluid control conduit extending to a cap end of the second actuating cylinder, and a steering control valve in fluid communication with the first and third fluid control conduits.

A vehicle, a single-wheelset/double-wheelset trackless train and a tracking and steering control method therefor are provided in the invention. The method includes the following steps. During traveling of the vehicle, steering information of the vehicle is continually collected by the controller. Information about a guiding front wheel turning angle, a controlled rear wheel turning angle, a vehicle body position angle, an included angle between vehicle bodies, and a vehicle travel time and speed is collected; an interval for data collection is determined according to a distance between a guiding front wheel and a controlled rear wheel; and when the controlled rear wheel travels to a certain point near a front wheel travel track, the controlled rear wheel is controlled to travel in a travel direction same as that when the front wheel travels to the point. According to the rear wheel tracking and steering control method, the objective that a controlled rear wheel operates in a manner of highly approaching a guiding front wheel track can be achieved; and the higher a data collection frequency is, the higher a track fitting degree of the front wheel and the rear wheel is.

Provided is a vehicle coupling assistance device which is configured to select, in accordance with a physical quantity relating to an angle of a second coupling part of a trailer with respect to a first coupling part of a vehicle, as a steering angle control mode, any one of a first steering angle control mode in which a steering angle of front wheels of the vehicle and a steering angle of rear wheels of the vehicle are controlled to achieve the same steering angle and a second steering angle control mode f in which the steering angle of the front wheels and the steering angle of the rear wheels are controlled to achieve different steering angles, and to output steering angle control commands for executing control in the selected steering angle control mode to a front-wheel steering device and a rear-wheel steering device of the vehicle.

The axle assembly has an elongated shaft that is connected to a mounting bracket. A first end of an arm is connected to the elongated shaft. The arm extends rearwardly from the elongated shaft and connects to a bearing bracket at a second end. The bearing bracket has a pair of flanges and a pin that passes through the flanges and is received within an opening of a rotatable arm. The rotatable arm is connected to an axle.