Vehicle Fuel Economy by Optimizing Effective Rolling Tire Resistance
First Claim
1. A method for improving the fuel economy of a vehicle by optimizing effective tire rolling resistance, the method comprising the following steps:
- providing a vehicle with at least one principal axle and one lift axle, said axles having tires mounted thereon; and
determining whether the total load carried by the vehicle is greater than the sum of maximum allowable axle load multiplied by the number of lift axles added to the minimum allowable axle load necessary multiplied by the number of principal axles;
ordetermining whether the total load carried by the vehicle is less than or equal to the sum of maximum allowable axle load multiplied by the number of lift axles added to the minimum allowable axle load necessary multiplied by the number of principal axles while also being greater than the total number of axles multiplied by the minimum allowable axle load necessary, ordetermining whether the total load carried by the vehicle is less than or equal to the total number of axles multiplied by minimum allowable axle load necessary; and
further comprising the step of determining that the tires on a lift axle have lower rolling resistance characteristics than the tires on a principal axle.
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Accused Products
Abstract
The subject matter of the present invention relates generally to a vehicle that has axles with tires mounted thereon with at least one axle that is a lift axle, and more specifically, to a method that optimizes the effective tire rolling resistance by adjusting the load on the tires, resulting in an improvement in the fuel economy of the vehicle. According to one embodiment, the method takes into consideration the rolling resistance characteristics of the tires placed onto the axles of the vehicle and provides an algorithm for optimizing their rolling resistance by raising or lowering the lift axle.
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Citations
23 Claims
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1. A method for improving the fuel economy of a vehicle by optimizing effective tire rolling resistance, the method comprising the following steps:
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providing a vehicle with at least one principal axle and one lift axle, said axles having tires mounted thereon; and determining whether the total load carried by the vehicle is greater than the sum of maximum allowable axle load multiplied by the number of lift axles added to the minimum allowable axle load necessary multiplied by the number of principal axles;
ordetermining whether the total load carried by the vehicle is less than or equal to the sum of maximum allowable axle load multiplied by the number of lift axles added to the minimum allowable axle load necessary multiplied by the number of principal axles while also being greater than the total number of axles multiplied by the minimum allowable axle load necessary, or determining whether the total load carried by the vehicle is less than or equal to the total number of axles multiplied by minimum allowable axle load necessary; and further comprising the step of determining that the tires on a lift axle have lower rolling resistance characteristics than the tires on a principal axle. - View Dependent Claims (5, 6, 7, 8)
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2. The method of claim 0, wherein the total load carried by the vehicle is determined to be greater than the sum of the maximum allowable axle load multiplied by the number of lift axles added to the minimum allowable axle load necessary multiplied by the number of principal axles, said method further comprising the step of moving at least one lift axle so that a lift axle carries the maximum allowable axle load and a principal axle carries less load than one lift axle.
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3. The method of claim 0, wherein the total load carried by the vehicle is determined to be less than or equal to the sum of maximum allowable axle load multiplied by the number of lift axles added to the minimum allowable axle load necessary multiplied by the number of principal axles while also being greater than the total number of axles multiplied by the minimum allowable axle load necessary, said method further comprising the step of moving at least one lift axle so a principal axle carries a minimum axle load and a lift axle carries a load greater than a principal axle.
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4. The method of claim 0, wherein the total load carried by the vehicle is determined to be less than or equal to the total number of axles multiplied by the minimum allowable axle load necessary, said method further comprising the step of moving at least one lift axle so a principal axles carries the same load as a lift axle.
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9. (canceled)
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10. A method for improving the fuel economy of a vehicle by optimizing effective tire rolling resistance, the method comprising the following steps:
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providing a vehicle with at least one principal axle and one lift axle, said axles having tires mounted thereon; and determining whether the quantity of the total load carried by the vehicle minus the product of the maximum allowable axle load multiplied by the number of principal axles is greater than the minimum allowable axle load necessary multiplied by the number of lift axles;
ordetermining whether the quantity of the total load carried by the vehicle minus the product of the maximum allowable axle load multiplied by the number of principal axles is less than or equal to the product of minimum allowable axle load multiplied by the number of lift axles while at the same time the total load is greater than or equal to the total number of axles multiplied by the minimum allowable axle load necessary, or determining whether the quantity of the total load carried by the vehicle is less than the total number of axles multiplied by the minimum allowable axle load necessary, or determining whether the quantity of the load carried by the vehicle minus the product of the maximum allowable axle load multiplied by the number of lift axles is less than or equal to the product of the minimum allowable axle load multiplied by the number of principal axles while at the same time the total load is greater than or equal to the total number of axles multiplied by the minimum allowable axle load necessary; and further comprising the step of determining that the tires on a lift axle have the same or higher rolling resistance characteristics than the tires on a principal axle. - View Dependent Claims (11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17)
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18. (canceled)
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19. A system for improving vehicle fuel economy for a vehicle having at least one lift axle and one principal axle, comprising:
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tires mounted on the lift and principal axles; an input device for entering instructions or information; a memory for storing instructions, data or programs having algorithms; load sensors for determining the loads on the principal and lift axles; a lift mechanism for lowering or raising the lift axle; at least one processing device in communication with said input device, said memory, said load sensors, and said lift mechanism, said processing device configured for receiving measurements indicative of the load placed on the principal and lift axles as well as the total load carried by the vehicle; executing an algorithm depending on whether the tires on the lift axle have rolling resistance characteristics that are higher, lower or the same as the tires on the principal axle and subsequently sending a signal to the lift mechanism in order to move the lift axle to change the loads placed on the principal and lift axles; stopping the movement of the lift mechanism once the desired loads on the principal and lift axles have been reached; and
,monitoring the total vehicle load over time. - View Dependent Claims (20, 21, 22, 23)
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Specification