Method for Detecting the State of a Tire

• US 20090210111A1
• Filed: 04/23/2007
• Published: 08/20/2009
• Est. Priority Date: 06/21/2006
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Robert Bosch GmbH
• Original Assignee: Robert Bosch GmbH
• Inventors: Laermer, Franz, Pannek, Thorsten
• Granted Patent: US 8,332,092 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 701/30
• CPC Class Codes: B60C 23/064 comprising tyre mounted deformation sensors, e.g. to determine road contact area
• CPC Class Codes: B60T 2210/12 Friction
• CPC Class Codes: B60T 2210/14 Rough roads, bad roads, gravel roads
• CPC Class Codes: B60T 8/1725 Using tyre sensors, e.g. Sidewall Torsion sensors [SWT] for tyre pressure and temperature detection B60C23/00

Abstract

A method for detecting the state of a vehicle tire and/or a roadway, in which at least one sensor, in particular an acceleration sensor, disposed in the tire interior generates a signal that is assigned to physical variables of the vehicle tire and/or the roadway. A tire state and/or characteristics of the roadway are/is determined on the basis of the signal.

Claims

1-10. -10. (canceled)

11. A method for detecting a state of at least one of a vehicle tire and a roadway, the method comprising:

generating, using at least one acceleration sensor disposed in a tire interior, a signal that is assigned to physical variables of the at least one of the vehicle tire and the roadway; and

determining at least one of a tire state and characteristics of the roadway based on the signal.

12. The method of claim 11, wherein the sensor generates a signal that represents periodically alternating phases of a centripetal acceleration, the signal being assigned to a physical variable representing at least one of the tire state and characteristics of the roadway in those phases in which the signal drops below a lower limit value.

13. The method of claim 11, wherein a signal spectrum is obtained from the signal, the determined signal spectrum at least partially including vibrations that are generated by a movement of a part of a running surface of the vehicle tires adjacent to the acceleration sensor when rolling on the roadway.

14. The method of claim 11, wherein the signal spectrum is filtered, and the signal components determined in the process are analyzed according to their signal strength in order to obtain quantitative information with regard the state of at least one of the tire and the roadway.

15. The method of claim 11, wherein a vehicle tire is assigned a setpoint signal strength and a setpoint frequency spectrum of the signal spectrum, and an actual signal strength and an actual frequency spectrum of the signal spectrum is determined, and a profile height and material characteristics of the vehicle tire are determined by a comparison with the setpoint signal strength and the setpoint frequency spectrum.

16. The method of claim 11, wherein a tire pressure in the vehicle tire is determined based on the signal.

17. A device for detecting a state of at least one of a vehicle tire and a roadway, comprising:

at least one acceleration sensor, disposed in a tire interior generating a signal that is assigned to physical variables of at least one of the vehicle tire and the roadway, wherein at least one of a tire state and characteristics of the roadway is determined based on the signal.

18. The device of claim 17, wherein the signal is forwarded to an evaluation device provided inside the vehicle tire or in the vehicle interior, at least one display arrangement being disposed in the vehicle, which indicates the state of at least one of the tire and the roadway in response to a signal from the evaluation device.

19. The device of claim 17, wherein the acceleration sensor is a piezoelectric transformer element and is vulcanized into the vehicle tire.

20. A computer readable medium having a computer program executable on a processor, comprising:

a program code arrangement having program code for detecting a state of at least one of a vehicle tire and a roadway by performing the following;

generating, using at least one acceleration sensor disposed in a tire interior, a signal that is assigned to physical variables of the at least one of the vehicle tire and the roadway; and

determining at least one of a tire state and characteristics of the roadway based on the signal.

21. The computer readable medium of claim 20, wherein the sensor generates a signal that represents periodically alternating phases of a centripetal acceleration, the signal being assigned to a physical variable representing at least one of the tire state and characteristics of the roadway in those phases in which the signal drops below a lower limit value.

22. The computer readable medium of claim 20, wherein a signal spectrum is obtained from the signal, the determined signal spectrum at least partially including vibrations that are generated by a movement of a part of a running surface of the vehicle tires adjacent to the acceleration sensor when rolling on the roadway.

23. The computer readable medium of claim 20, wherein the signal spectrum is filtered, and the signal components determined in the process are analyzed according to their signal strength in order to obtain quantitative information with regard the state of at least one of the tire and the roadway.

24. The computer readable medium of claim 20, wherein a vehicle tire is assigned a setpoint signal strength and a setpoint frequency spectrum of the signal spectrum, and an actual signal strength and an actual frequency spectrum of the signal spectrum is determined, and a profile height and material characteristics of the vehicle tire are determined by a comparison with the setpoint signal strength and the setpoint frequency spectrum.

25. The computer readable medium of claim 20, wherein a tire pressure in the vehicle tire is determined based on the signal.