BACKGROUND

Small boats or power boats are usually transported using a trailer and are usually used for leisure, cruising, fishing, and water sports. Launching and loading the boat from and to the water is an annoying and oftentimes difficult process involving several steps. During the boat launch, the trailer must go near the water level to avoid damaging the boat. Then, the boat needs to be tied to avert drifting away. After that, the boat’ s lock with the trailer must be released and slowly launch the boat to the water, followed by parking the vehicle transporting the trailer. Loading the boat onto the trailer is more difficult as it requires the same process backwards plus aligning the boat with the trailer. Hauling and launching a boat often requires the cooperation of at least two people wherein one person operates the boat under the guidance of a second person who then secures/releases the boat to the trailer after the boat and trailer are aligned. The need for two people to secure/release a boat to a trailer can therefore discourage a single person from enjoying the use of a boat. Moreover, the cooperation of two people is not flawless since it often requires several attempts to get a boat and trailer property aligned.

The present disclosure introduces an autonomous hauling and launching system configured to permit the boat to autonomously launch into the water when the trailer reaches the needed water position. Such an autonomous system also prevents the boat from drifting away. On the other hand, when the boat detects the trailer, it can autonomously load itself onto the trailer.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The disclosed embodiments and other features, advantages, and disclosures contained herein, and the matter of attaining them, will become apparent and the present disclosure will be better understood by reference to the following description of the present disclosure taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, wherein:

Fig. 1 illustrates a side view of an exemplary embodiment of a boat with autonomous loading/launching system, according to at least one embodiment of the present disclosure.

Fig. 2 illustrates a perspective view of an exemplary embodiment of a trailer with autonomous loading/launching system, according to at least one embodiment of the present disclosure.

Fig. 3 illustrates a side view of an exemplary embodiment of a boat autonomous launching from the trailer, according to at least one embodiment of the present disclosure.

Fig. 4 illustrates a side view of an exemplary embodiment of a boat autonomous loading to the trailer, according to at least one embodiment of the present disclosure.

Fig. 5 illustrates a side view of an exemplary embodiment of a Boat with autonomous loading/launching system having a radar and image sensing, according to at least one embodiment of the present disclosure.

Fig. 6 illustrates a side view of an exemplary embodiment of a Boat with autonomous loading/launching system having a Lidar and image sensing, according to at least one embodiment of the present disclosure.

As such, an overview of the features, functions and/or configurations of the components depicted in the figures will now be presented. It should be appreciated that not all of the features of the components of the figures are necessarily described and some of these non-discussed features (as well as discussed features) are inherent from the figures themselves. Other non-discussed features may be inherent in component geometry and/or configuration. Furthermore, wherever feasible and convenient, like reference numerals are used in the figures and the description to refer to the same or like parts or steps. The figures are in a simplified form and not to precise scale. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

For the purposes of promoting an understanding the principles of the present disclosure, reference will now be made to the embodiments illustrated in the drawings, and specific language will be used to describe the same. It will nevertheless be understood that no limitation of the scope of this disclosure is thereby intended.

Small boats are normally used for different applications such as fishing, crafting, or just for leisure but the hustle is always there during the boat launching or loading from and to the trailer as a certain skill is required. Even with the new thrusters’ system that makes it a little bit easier to maneuver, the process is still manual and usually requires multiple people to coordinate the boat safe load/launch.

The present disclosure includes disclosure of an autonomous boat launching and loading system from and onto a trailer. On the boat side, the autonomous boat system comprises a user interface device 501 configured to engage the autonomous system, one or more propulsion systems 200 configured to propel the boat, one or more thrusters 201 configured to control the boat 100 movement, and one or more sensors 300 mounted on the boat 100 and/or the trailer 600. An exemplary autonomous boat system of the present disclosure may also comprise a communication system 400 and a control system 500 that obtains multiple measurements from the sensors 300, processes them, and controls the propellers (propulsion system 200) and thrusters 201 accordingly. As shown in Fig. 1, when the control unit 500 receives multiple pieces of information (data signals) from the sensors 300, said control unit 500 can process them and control the propellers (propulsion system 200) and thrusters to load/launch the boat 100 autonomously from and to the water.

On the trailer 600 side, an exemplary system of the present disclosure comprises one or more sensors 700 configured to take depth and proximity measurements, a communication system 800 configured to communicate with the boat 100, and a locking mechanism 900 configured to lock and/or unlock the boat 100 from and to the trailer 600 such as shown in Fig. 2. The sensors 700 of said trailers 600 may be depth sensors that measure and telemeter the depth to the autonomous system, thus employing a safe launching and loading of the boat 100 only when the safe depth is reached. In various embodiments, a command can be sent through the boat 100 and trailer 600 communication systems 400, 800 to the control unit 500 to initiate the launching/loading of the boat 100.

The communication modules 400, 800 transmit and receive wireless signals to and from the boat 100. The modules 400, 800 may comprise various communication modes, such as radio frequency (RF), Wi-Fi, and Bluetooth. Moreover, the communication modules 400, 800 may comprise a navigation module 401 configured to receive GPS satellite signals by a GPS sensor 402, whereby then-current GPS coordinates and other positioning data can be detected/received. Algorithms can be used to refine the data from the navigation module 401 in order to refine the relative positions of the boat 100 and the trailer 600.

The controller 500 is configured to obtain data from the GPS module 401 and transform it into adjustment commands for the control unit 500 to control the boat 100 accordingly. These commands can include, but are not limited to, speed changes, changes in steering angles, and throttle positions. These commands can be used to make movement adjustments to lead the boat 100 back to the trailer 600.

In at least one embodiment of the present disclosure, when launching the boat 100, the trailer 600 uses a plurality of sensors 300 (such as, for example, a water level sensor, a depth sensor, and/or a proximity sensor) to detect several entities to allow the boat 100 to have a safe launch from the trailer 600 into the water such as shown in Fig. 3. By unlocking the lock mechanism 900 after reaching the required water level, the trailer 600 releases the boat 100 to the water while the boat’s 100 own propellers 200, thrusters 201, and navigation module 401 operable to automatically maintain the boat’s 100 dynamic position and heading post-launch from the trailer 600, which allows the boat’s 100 user to park his or her vehicle without worrying about the boat 100 drifting away. The boat 100 uses the sensors 300 measurement data together with the GPS data to maintain the boat 100 dynamic position as it uses the propulsion system 200 and thrusters 201 to oppose the wind and tide powers accordingly.

At the end of the boating/cruise/voyage, the boat’s 100 user can leave the boat 100 to prepare the trailer 600 as the boat 100 can maintain its dynamic position and communicate with the trailer 600 to prepare for the loading process. Once the trailer 600 reached the required water level, the trailer 600 sends a signal to the boat 100 through its communication system 800, and the boat’s 100 communication system 400 will detect the trailer 600 and the controller 500 will use the propulsion system 200, thrusters 201, and navigation module 401 to automatically load the boat 100 to the trailer 600 such as shown in Fig. 4. At this time, the trailer’s 600 locking mechanism 900 can be used to secure the boat 100 lock to the trailer 600.

Another embodiment of the present disclosure comprises adding one or more image sensors 301 to the boat sensors 300 in order to detect the boat 100 surroundings as well as detecting the trailer 600 during the boat 100 loading process such as shown in Fig. 5 and Fig. 6. The system may use a plurality of image sensors 301 with Artificial Intelligence (Al) to specify the distance between the boat 100 and the trailer 600, and the boat 100 with other objects, by operating the sensing transducers to send the then-current distance to the control unit 500 where the control unit 500 can process the sensor’s 300 data and controls the propulsion system 200 and/or the thrusters 201 of the boat 100 in order to avoid any object that may come near the boat 100 as well as detecting the trailer 600.

Once a preset distance from the trailer 600 is reached, the automated loading process begins. The control unit 500 obtains the trailer’s 600 location using the navigation module 401 and set the boat 100 to a suitable speed and direction towards the trailer 600. In some situations, the image sensing is not accurate enough as it can be easily affected by visibility, lighting, and noise which may affect the autonomous boat 100 performance. Thus, another embodiment of the present disclosure comprises using a radar sensor 302 (as shown in Fig. 5) and/or a LiDAR sensor 303 (as shown in Fig. 6) together with or without the previous mentioned sensors 300, 301 in order to have a better detection to the object around the boat 100 as well as the trailer 600.

Another embodiment of the present disclosure is a situation where the loading/ launching system has a user interface device 501, such as a liquid crystal display (LCD), push buttons, and/or a gear to enable the boat 100 and/or the trailer 600 to begin the autonomous loading/launching process. Once the autonomous system is engaged, the control unit 500 is adapted to receive various parameters from the user interface device 501 (in case of emergency stop, for example), and the plurality of sensors 300, 700 (the perimeter measurements, for example). Then, said control unit 500 can process these parameters and send signals to the propulsion system 200, 201 to launch the boat 100 to the water or load the boat 100 from the water. Moreover, the user interface 501 can be an application (“app”) on a smart phone, a tablet, and/or a computer device, for example.

In at least another embodiment of the present disclosure, when the boat 100 enters the trailer automated system’s communication range, the loading system initiates automatically. In various embodiments, the trailer’s 600 depth should reach the preset value in order for the boat 100 to be launched/loaded, as the control system 500 will not (should not) initiate the launching/loading process otherwise. The sensors 300, 301, 302, 303 can send signals and the control unit 500 controls the launching/loading mechanism.

While various embodiments of devices and systems and methods for using the same have been described in considerable detail herein, the embodiments are merely offered as non-limiting examples of the disclosure described herein. It will therefore be understood that various changes and modifications may be made, and equivalents may be substituted for elements thereof, without departing from the scope of the present disclosure. The present disclosure is not intended to be exhaustive or limiting with respect to the content thereof.

Further, in describing representative embodiments, the present disclosure may have presented a method and/or a process as a particular sequence of steps. However, to the extent that the method or process does not rely on the particular order of steps set forth therein, the method or process should not be limited to the particular sequence of steps described, as other sequences of steps may be possible. Therefore, the particular order of the steps disclosed herein should not be construed as limitations of the present disclosure. In addition, disclosure directed to a method and/or process should not be limited to the performance of their steps in the order written. Such sequences may be varied and still remain within the scope of the present disclosure.