Piezoelectric based system and method for determining tire load
First Claim
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1. A method of electronically determining tire load, comprising:
- determining tire pressure within a tire using a pressure sensor that is part of an in tiremodule mounted on the tire;
determining a contact patch angle related to the tire'"'"'s operation within a contact patch area adjacent to a ground surface by analyzing an output of a piezoelectric sensor provided as part of the in tire module mounted on the tire, the contact patch angle indicative of an angular portion of the tire that is in contact with the ground surface;
electronically comparing the determined tire pressure and the one or more contact patch parameters to a database of known values to determine a corresponding tire load value for the tire; and
providing the determined corresponding tire load value for the tire as electronic output,wherein determining the contact patch angle for a given iteration of the piezoelectric sensor traveling through the contact patch area comprises subtracting a contact patch exit time from a contact patch entry time to obtain a first difference;
obtaining a second difference by measuring an amount of time for one revolution of the tire; and
dividing the first difference by the second difference.
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Abstract
Systems and methods of determining tire load from measured tire parameters include using a piezoelectric based sensor to obtain one or more contact patch parameters (e.g., contact patch entry time, contact patch exit time total contact patch time and contact patch angle) and one or more additional sensors to obtain tire pressure. Selected contact patch parameter measurements and pressure values are then compared with known combinations of contact patch parameter values and pressure values stored in a look-up table. A corresponding determined tire load value is then provided as electronic output.
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Citations
14 Claims
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1. A method of electronically determining tire load, comprising:
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determining tire pressure within a tire using a pressure sensor that is part of an in tire module mounted on the tire; determining a contact patch angle related to the tire'"'"'s operation within a contact patch area adjacent to a ground surface by analyzing an output of a piezoelectric sensor provided as part of the in tire module mounted on the tire, the contact patch angle indicative of an angular portion of the tire that is in contact with the ground surface; electronically comparing the determined tire pressure and the one or more contact patch parameters to a database of known values to determine a corresponding tire load value for the tire; and providing the determined corresponding tire load value for the tire as electronic output, wherein determining the contact patch angle for a given iteration of the piezoelectric sensor traveling through the contact patch area comprises subtracting a contact patch exit time from a contact patch entry time to obtain a first difference;
obtaining a second difference by measuring an amount of time for one revolution of the tire; and
dividing the first difference by the second difference. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7)
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8. A piezoelectric system for determining tire load within a tire, comprising:
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a sensor configured to measure tire pressure; a plurality of piezoelectric elements configured to generate one or more respective electric signals indicative of tire deformation at entry into and exit from a contact patch area present within the tire when the tire is rolling along a ground surface and supporting a load; a first microprocessor for receiving the electric signal output from said plurality of piezoelectric elements and determining one or more contact patch parameters, wherein the one or more contact patch parameters comprise an interpolation of data points obtained across the plurality of piezoelectric elements; a memory for storing a look-up table correlating known combinations of tire pressure and contact patch parameters to tire load values such that an electronic comparison can be made of the tire pressure and the one or more contact patch parameters to the look-up table stored in memory to determine a corresponding tire load value; and an output device for relaying the determined corresponding tire load value as electronic output wherein the plurality of piezoelectric elements are provided to match up with selected tread ribs for determining the load experienced by each of the selected tread ribs along the contact patch area;
wherein said plurality of piezoelectric elements are configured in a linear array with selected piezoelectric elements aligned relative to selected tread ribs of a tire. - View Dependent Claims (9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14)
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Specification