LOAD ESTIMATION SYSTEM AND METHOD FOR A VEHICLE TIRE
First Claim
1. A method of estimating a load bearing on a vehicle tire, comprising:
- (A) deploying a deformation measuring sensor in the vehicle tire, the deformation measuring sensor generating a cyclical tire deformation signal indicative of tire deformation in a contact patch of a rolling tire;
(B) deploying a tire inflation pressure measuring sensor in the vehicle tire, the inflation pressure measuring sensor measuring tire inflation pressure from within a tire cavity;
calculating a tire rolling speed estimation based upon the tire deformation signal;
(C) calculating a tire contact patch length estimation based upon the tire deformation signal;
(D) calculating a load estimation on the tire based upon the tire inflation pressure, the tire contact patch length estimation, and the tire rolling speed estimation.
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Accused Products
Abstract
Estimating a load bearing on a vehicle tire includes an inflation pressure measuring sensor for measuring tire inflation pressure and generating a measured tire inflation pressure signal; a deformation measuring sensor mounted in a tire region of the vehicle tire, the deformation measuring sensor in the form of a piezoelectric bending sensor generating a deformation signal estimating a length of a tire contact patch length as the senor rolls through a tire footprint. Tire rolling speed is estimated from the deformation signal and a peak to peak amplitude variation within the deformation signal is detected and measured. An artificial neural network receives the tire rolling speed estimation, the contact patch length estimation, the amplitude variation within the deformation signal, and the measured inflation pressure of the tire. The artificial neural network adaptively interprets the input data and generates an output load estimation based thereon.
16 Citations
18 Claims
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1. A method of estimating a load bearing on a vehicle tire, comprising:
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(A) deploying a deformation measuring sensor in the vehicle tire, the deformation measuring sensor generating a cyclical tire deformation signal indicative of tire deformation in a contact patch of a rolling tire; (B) deploying a tire inflation pressure measuring sensor in the vehicle tire, the inflation pressure measuring sensor measuring tire inflation pressure from within a tire cavity;
calculating a tire rolling speed estimation based upon the tire deformation signal;(C) calculating a tire contact patch length estimation based upon the tire deformation signal; (D) calculating a load estimation on the tire based upon the tire inflation pressure, the tire contact patch length estimation, and the tire rolling speed estimation. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12)
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13. A system of estimating a load bearing on a vehicle tire, comprising:
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(A) a vehicle tire supporting a load; (B) an inflation pressure measuring sensor for measuring tire inflation pressure and generating a measured tire inflation pressure signal; (C) a deformation measuring sensor mounted in a tire region of the vehicle tire, the deformation measuring sensor comprising a piezoelectric sensor rotating with the tire region through a tire footprint, the deformation measuring sensor generating within the tire footprint a deformation signal indicative of opposite edge boundaries of a footprint contact patch and a length of the contact patch; (D) a programmed data processor for calculating a contact patch length estimation from the deformation signal; (E) a programmed data processor for calculating a tire rolling speed estimation from the deformation signal; (F) an artificial neural network programmed to adaptively interpret the tire rolling speed estimation, the contact patch length estimation, and the measured inflation pressure of the tire and generate an output load estimation based thereon. - View Dependent Claims (14, 15, 16, 17, 18)
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Specification