TECHNICAL FIELD

The present invention relates to a method and apparatus for use in guiding a driver of a vehicle that is hitched to a trailer whilst reversing to a desired parking location.

BACKGROUND

Any references to methods, apparatus or documents of the prior art are not to be taken as constituting any evidence or admission that they formed, or form part of the common general knowledge.

Travelling with a caravan is very popular pastime. Often in countries with sparsely populated regions, such as Australia, a large caravan is used which is hitched to a similarly large vehicle such as a four-wheel drive towing vehicle. For a driver of the towing vehicle it is challenging to accurately reverse the vehicle and hitched caravan into a desired parking spot in order to perform a “reverse park”. Such a problem also occurs with other types of trailers apart from caravans, for example box trailers and horse trailers.

Figure 1 is a top plan view of a towing vehicle 3 that is hitched to a caravan 5 by means of a towball hitch 7. It is desired to bring the caravan 5 to a parked position 9 which, in the present example, is a parking location in a caravan park adjacent a slab 11 over which it is intended for an awning of the caravan to be erected.

Whilst attempting to park the caravan 5 in the desired parking position 9, it is not unusual for a driver operating the towing vehicle 3 to oversteer and examples of oversteering are shown in Figures 2 and 3. Consequently it is common for a number of attempts to have to be made to bring the caravan 5 to the correctly parked position 9 adjacent the slab 11 .

One approach to addressing this problem, which is known in the prior art is to mount a rear-view camera on the rear of the of caravan. A display monitor is mounted in the cabin of the towing vehicle and electrically coupled to the rear view camera so that the driver may refer to the display monitor during the reversing operation to see the view from the rear-view camera. It will be realized that such systems are expensive and do not necessarily assist the driver to align the trailer along a desired a line, for example a border of a desired parking location.

It is an object of the present invention to provide a method and apparatus for guiding a driver of a towing vehicle to assist the driver to reverse a towed vehicle such as a caravan or other trailer, hitched to the towing vehicle, to a desired position.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

According to a first aspect of the present invention there is provided a parking guide comprising an upright for viewing by a driver of a towing vehicle hitched to a towed vehicle; a base from which the upright extends; and an offset arrangement for placing the upright at a desired distance from a position associated with a parking location.

In an embodiment the base is integrally formed with the upright and comprises a lower portion of the upright which can be inserted into the ground.

In an embodiment the base includes at least a first member which extends laterally from the upright during use.

In an embodiment the base comprises the first member and a second member pivotally coupled thereto, whereby the first member and the second member are pivotable relative to each other from an in-use position wherein they make an angle with each other to a stowed position wherein they are parallel to each other.

In an embodiment a lower end of the upright is pivotally coupled to the first member wherein the upright may be pivoted from the first member to form a right angle therebetween in use and pivoted so that the upright and first member are parallel to each other in the stowed position.

In an embodiment the first member has an “L-shaped” profile.

In an embodiment the upright has an “L-shaped” profile.

In an embodiment the upright is tubular.

In an embodiment the offset arrangement comprises a tape measure with a housing from which a measuring tape is dispensed in use.

In an embodiment the tape measure housing is mounted adjacent the upright.

In an embodiment the tape measure housing is mounted to the first member adjacent a pivot coupling the lower end of the upright to the first member.

In an embodiment the offset arrangement comprises a line with a length selected to suit a towed vehicle of a known width.

In an embodiment the upright includes a light emitting diode (LED) assembly to assist the driver in viewing the upright at night.

In an embodiment the LED assembly is housed in an upper end of the upright in use. In an embodiment the LED is mounted at a remote end of the upright and including a guard member extending from the first member for covering the LED assembly in the stowed configuration.

In an embodiment the first member and the upright are each 400mm to 600mm in length.

In an embodiment the first member and the upright are 500mm in length.

In another aspect there is provided a parking guide assembly comprising a pair of parking guides being first and second parking guides, each according to any one of the preceding claims.

According to a further aspect of the present invention there is provided a method for guiding a driver of a towing vehicle hitched to a towed vehicle using the parking guide assembly, the method comprising: placing the first and the second parking guides along a parking line for a desired driver’s side parking position for the towed vehicle whereby the driver is able to see uprights of the parking guides through a driver side rear-view mirror of the towing vehicle to thereby assist the driver in aligning a driver side of the towed vehicle with the parking line.

In an embodiment the method includes placing the first and second parking guides with the use of the offset assembly.

In an embodiment the offset assembly is used to offset the placement of the guides from a passenger side parking position by a desired distance being a distance that is greater than or equal to a width of the caravan.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

Preferred features, embodiments and variations of the invention may be discerned from the following Detailed Description which provides sufficient information for those skilled in the art to perform the invention. The Detailed Description is not to be regarded as limiting the scope of the preceding Summary of the Invention in any way. The Detailed Description will make reference to a number of drawings as follows: Figure 1 is a plan view of a caravan, hitched to a towing vehicle, and showing a desired location for parking the caravan.

Figures 2 and 3 illustrate the effects of undesirable oversteering causing a failure to park the caravan in the desired location.

Figure 4 is a view of a parking guide according to an embodiment of the present invention in an “in-use” configuration.

Figures 5 to 7 progressively depict the parking guide being brought from the in- use configuration to a stowed configuration for storage and transportation.

Figure 8 shows a pair of the parking guides each in a stowed configuration and nested one on the other.

Figure 9 is a top plan view of a towing vehicle, hitched to a towing vehicle in the form of a caravan and a desired parking location with the guides in use.

Figure 10 is a perspective view of the parking guides of Figure 9. Figure 11 shows the caravan parked in the desired parking location.

Figure 12 depicts a further embodiment of a parking guide according to the invention, in an in-use configuration.

Figure 13 is a further view of the parking guide of Figure 12.

Figure 14 is a front plan view of the parking guide of Figures 12 and 13 shown in a stowed configuration.

Figure 15 is a front view of a further embodiment of a parking guide which includes a base in the form of a plate for resting upon the ground from which the upright extends.

Figure 16 is a front view of another embodiment of a parking guide which includes a base in the form of a ground piercing member that is integrally formed with the upright. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

Figure 4 depicts a parking guide 13a according to a first embodiment of the present invention in an “in-use”, or “erected”, configuration.

Parking guide 13a comprises an upright 15 for viewing by a driver of a towing vehicle hitched to a towed vehicle. The parking guide has a base 17 from which the upright 15 extends. The base is comprised of a first member 19 and a second member 21 which are pivotally joined together by pivot 23. In the in- use configuration that is shown in Figure 4 the second member 21 has been swung to an angle of about 90 degrees to the first member 19 so that the first and second members 19, 21 present as a cross and so provide a stable base that rests on ground 25. A lower end of the upright 15 is pivotally coupled adjacent a first end 32 of the first member 19 with a second pivot 27. In the presently described embodiment both the upright 15 and the first member 19 are formed of lengths of aluminum that have a right angled or “L-shaped” profile. In other embodiments other profile shapes may be used, for example the upright may be tubular as shown in Figure 12, with a circular profile for example.

The parking guide 13a further includes an offset arrangement, in the form of a tape measure 29, for placing the upright 15 at a desired distance (i.e. an “offset”) from a position associated with a parking location. The tape measure 29 has a housing 33 which stores a tape 35 that is extendible therefrom. The housing 33 is mounted at the first end 32 of the first member 19 adjacent a lower end of the upright member 15. The housing 33 could instead be mounted at other positions, for example to the upright member 15, in other less preferred, embodiments of the invention.

Alternatively, the offset arrangement may comprise a line that has been made with a length for use with a towed vehicle of a known width.

As shown in Figure 4, in the in-use configuration that is illustrated in Figure 4, the upright 15 extends substantially vertically upwards and the first member 19 extends laterally from the upright 15. The first and second members 19, 20 are substantially coplanar with the ground 25 upon which they rest.

Figures 5 to 7 show the upright 15 and second member 21 of the guide 13a being progressively pivoted from the in-use configuration illustrated in Figure 4 to a stowed position showed in Figure 7. Initially, as shown in Figure 5, the upright 15 is pivoted about pivot 27 so that it is brought from having a vertical orientation shown in Figure 4 to about 45 degrees to the first member 19 as shown in Figure 5 and thence parallel with the first member 19 as shown in Figure 6. The second member 21 is then pivoted about pivot 23 so that it is brought parallel to the first member in the stowed configuration shown in Figure 7.

Preferably the parking guide 13a is provided in both right hand side and left hand side versions and provided as pair 14 of parking guides 13a, 13b consisting of one of each. The pair 14 of two guides 13a, 13b, each in stowed configuration, can then be nested together as shown in Figure 8.

Preferably the first member, the second member and the upright are each 400mm to 600mm in length and preferably about 500mm in length. It is preferred that each of said members is made of aluminum though they may also be made of another durable substance, e.g. a hard-wearing plastic.

Referring now to Figures 9 and 10, in a preferred method for guiding a driver of a towing vehicle hitched to a towed vehicle, an operator such as the driver of vehicle 3, or an assistant, places the first guide 13a of the pair of guides 14 a distance D from a passenger side parking line 31 . The passenger side parking line 31 demarcates a border of a desired parking location. For example, the passenger side parking line 31 may be a line aligned with an edge of an object or region, such as slab 11. The distance D will typically be the width d of the caravan plus a small margin m from passenger side parking line 31 , for example sufficient to accommodate steps to descend from the caravan 5 to the slab 11 , plus a little clearance to take into account a distance that the caravan’s wheels extend outwardly from the sides of the caravan, if any. In order to place the guide 13a at distance D from the passenger side parking line 31 the operator draws a length of tape 35 corresponding to distance D from the housing 33 of the tape measure. Guide 13b is placed similarly and preferably located adjacent the position where it is desired that the rear of the caravan will come to once parked. In the presently described example, the guide 13b has been placed a distance L along line 31 rearward of a rear end of slab 11 as indicated in Figure 9.

Once the two guides 13a, 13b have been placed their tapes are withdraw into tape measure housings 33.

The driver, looking through driver-side rear-view mirror 6 is able to see the tops of uprights 15 of each of the guides 13a, 13b. The driver can then maneuver to bring the tops of the uprights into alignment along a line of sight 8 to assist in aligning the driver-side edge of the caravan 5 to reverse close to and parallel to line 8 until the rear of the caravan is brought adjacent the second parking guide 13b. The driver will be alerted to the rear of the caravan having come back to the second parking guide by an assistant or by careful observation through rear-view mirror 6. Accordingly, the driver is able to bring the caravan 5 to the correct parking placement as shown in Figure 11 .

Although it is preferred that a pair of the parking guides be used for assisting the driver to park, whilst less preferred a single parking guide is also of use.

With reference to Figures 12 and 13 there is shown a further embodiment of a parking guide 13c in an in-use configuration, in which the upright 15 is tubular and has an LED assembly 14 fitted at an upper end thereof. LED assembly 14 includes an LED 16 and a housing 18 to which the LED 16 is mounted. Figure 14 is a front plan view of the parking guide 13c in a collapsed, stowed configuration. The housing 18 of the LED assembly 14 is partially inserted into an upper end of the tubular upright 15. The housing 18 includes circuitry for powering the LED 16 including at least one battery. Differently colored LEDS, for example, white and red, may be fitted to respective uprights of each of a pair of the guides to assist a driver to line them up in use whilst reversing at night. In some embodiments the LED assembly 14 includes a pressure switch that turns the LED on and off and which is activated by pressing the top of the LED assembly downward. In order to prevent inadvertent activation of the LED in the stowed configuration the embodiment of Figure 12 includes a guard member 34 which extends across a second end 36 of the first member. As the upright 15 is pivoted down to come parallel with the first member 21 the LED assembly 14 is brought adjacent to the guard member so that it is protected from pressure that might inadvertently activate its switch and thereby turn on the LED.

Embodiments herein provide a parking guide that can be conveniently brought from a compact, stowed configuration, for example as shown in Figures 7 and 14 to an erected in-use configuration, for example as shown in Figures 4 and 12 without having to disconnect and reconnect any of the various members.

Figure 15 is a front view of a further embodiment of a parking guide 13e, which includes a base 17a in the form of a plate such as a rectangular or circular plate for resting upon the ground from a center of which the upright 15 extends.

Figure 16 is a front view of another embodiment of a parking guide 13f which includes a base in the form of a ground piercing member 17c that is integrally formed with the upright.

It will be realized that the embodiments of Figures 15 and 16 are not configured to be collapsed a stowed configuration and thus, whilst useable, are less preferred than the previously described embodiments.

In compliance with the statute, the invention has been described in language more or less specific to structural or methodical features. The term “comprises” and its variations, such as “comprising” and “comprised of” is used throughout in an inclusive sense and not to the exclusion of any additional features. It is to be understood that the invention is not limited to specific features shown or described since the means herein described comprises preferred forms of putting the invention into effect. The invention is, therefore, claimed in any of its forms or modifications within the proper scope of the appended claims appropriately interpreted by those skilled in the art.

Throughout the specification and claims (if present), unless the context requires otherwise, the term "substantially" or "about" will be understood to not be limited to the value for the range qualified by the terms.

Any embodiment of the invention is meant to be illustrative only and is not meant to be limiting to the invention. Therefore, it should be appreciated that various other changes and modifications can be made to any embodiment described without departing from the scope of the invention.