Patents by Inventor Floyd Henning

Floyd Henning has filed for patents to protect the following inventions. This listing includes patent applications that are pending as well as patents that have already been granted by the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO).

  • Systems and methods for determining an articulated trailer angle
    Patent number: 11927676
    Abstract: Systems and methods determine an angle of an articulated trailer relative to a tractor that the trailer is hitched to. An optical encoder is positioned beneath a fifth-wheel of a tractor to couples with a kingpin of the trailer when the trailer is hitched to the tractor. The optical coupler has a rotating shaft that may include pins that physically interact with the kingpin and/or may include a magnet that magnetically attaches to the kingpin. A clearance and cleaning block may be positioned on the spring plate to interact with a bottom surface of a kingpin of the trailer during hitching of the trailer to the tractor. A LIDAR attached to the tractor may detect a front end of the trailer to determine the trailer angle relative to the tractor.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 23, 2022
    Date of Patent: March 12, 2024
    Assignee: Outrider Technologies, Inc.
    Inventors: Jonathan Record, Robert Grabbe, Lawrence Klein, Floyd Henning
  • SYSTEMS AND METHODS FOR DETERMINING AN ARTICULATED TRAILER ANGLE
    Publication number: 20220413157
    Abstract: Systems and methods determine an angle of an articulated trailer relative to a tractor that the trailer is hitched to. An optical encoder is positioned beneath a fifth-wheel of a tractor to couples with a kingpin of the trailer when the trailer is hitched to the tractor. The optical coupler has a rotating shaft that may include pins that physically interact with the kingpin and/or may include a magnet that magnetically attaches to the kingpin. A clearance and cleaning block may be positioned on the spring plate to interact with a bottom surface of a kingpin of the trailer during hitching of the trailer to the tractor. A LIDAR attached to the tractor may detect a front end of the trailer to determine the trailer angle relative to the tractor.
    Type: Application
    Filed: June 23, 2022
    Publication date: December 29, 2022
    Inventors: Jonathan Record, Robert Grabbe, Lawrence Klein, Floyd Henning