System for residual tire life prediction by ultrasound
First Claim
1. A system, useful to predict residual tire life of a steel belted tire, which comprises:
- a band generator having an input and an output to provide pulses of high-frequency electrical energy at said output when triggered by a signal at said input;
a clock;
time-delay means that is connected to said clock and to said input of said band generator to provide a trigger signal, after a predetermined delay, to said bang generator for each clock signal;
a pulse-echo transducer connected to said output of said bang generator to convert received pulses of electrical energy to pulses of ultrasonic energy, to receive ultrasonic energy reflected from plies of a tire when used to examine such tire, and to convert the received reflected ultrasonic energy to signals of electrical energy;
an amplifier circuit with time varying gain control circuit, said amplifier circuit having an input connected to said bang generator and said transducer and having an output;
a full-wave rectifier having an output and an input that is connected to said output of said amplifier circuit;
a gate having an output and an input that is connected to said full-wave rectifier;
processing means having an output and an input that is connected to said gate, said processing means being constructed to convert the time-gated rectified amplified signals from said output of said gate, after each electrical pulse provided to said transducer, to one voltage signal representing the condition of plies of the casing of the tire;
means having an input connected to said output of said processing means and constructed to provide a visual readout based on said voltage signal, provided at said output of said processing means that indicates the condition of plies of the casing of the tire; and
gate-enabling means connected to said gate, to said output of said full-wave rectifier and to said clock, said gate-enabling means being constructed to be responsive to each of said clock signals and after a predetermined delay, greater than said delay of said time-delay means, to process a signal from said rectifier, after said greater delay, that has an amplitude at least equal to that based on the reflected energy from the outer steel belt of the tire, to provide, after a further predetermined delay, an enabling of said gate for a predetermined period of time to pass signals from said rectifier to said processing means.
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Accused Products
Abstract
A residual tire life prediction system uses a clock to trigger a bang generator that provides pulses of electrical energy to a pulse-echo transducer. The transducer converts pulses of electrical energy to pulses of ultrasonic vibration. The transducer is located on the tread of a steel belted tire to transmit pulses of ultrasonic energy into the tire and to receive reflected ultrasonic energy from plies of the tire casing. The transducer converts the reflected ultrasonic energy to provide bursts of electrical signals. The transducer is connected to a time varying gain control circuit that has its output connected via a full-wave rectifier to a first gate and to an input of a voltage level detector. The clock is also connected to a first time-delay circuit that is operative after a delay, subsequent to the pulse of the bang generator, to enable a second gate, connected to the output of the voltage level detector, that provides a signal, when it receives the signal based on the reflection from the outer steel belt, to a second time-delay circuit that provides an enable signal at its output after a predetermined delay for a predetermined period of time to the first gate to open it for passage of signals from the rectifier to a peak sensing device that provides an output signal to a digital panel meter for display of the value of the maximum amplitude passing through the first gate.
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Citations
19 Claims
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1. A system, useful to predict residual tire life of a steel belted tire, which comprises:
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a band generator having an input and an output to provide pulses of high-frequency electrical energy at said output when triggered by a signal at said input; a clock; time-delay means that is connected to said clock and to said input of said band generator to provide a trigger signal, after a predetermined delay, to said bang generator for each clock signal; a pulse-echo transducer connected to said output of said bang generator to convert received pulses of electrical energy to pulses of ultrasonic energy, to receive ultrasonic energy reflected from plies of a tire when used to examine such tire, and to convert the received reflected ultrasonic energy to signals of electrical energy; an amplifier circuit with time varying gain control circuit, said amplifier circuit having an input connected to said bang generator and said transducer and having an output; a full-wave rectifier having an output and an input that is connected to said output of said amplifier circuit; a gate having an output and an input that is connected to said full-wave rectifier; processing means having an output and an input that is connected to said gate, said processing means being constructed to convert the time-gated rectified amplified signals from said output of said gate, after each electrical pulse provided to said transducer, to one voltage signal representing the condition of plies of the casing of the tire; means having an input connected to said output of said processing means and constructed to provide a visual readout based on said voltage signal, provided at said output of said processing means that indicates the condition of plies of the casing of the tire; and gate-enabling means connected to said gate, to said output of said full-wave rectifier and to said clock, said gate-enabling means being constructed to be responsive to each of said clock signals and after a predetermined delay, greater than said delay of said time-delay means, to process a signal from said rectifier, after said greater delay, that has an amplitude at least equal to that based on the reflected energy from the outer steel belt of the tire, to provide, after a further predetermined delay, an enabling of said gate for a predetermined period of time to pass signals from said rectifier to said processing means. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16)
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17. A method useful to predict residual tire life of a steel belted tire, which comprises:
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imparting pulses of ultrasonic energy into an area of steel belted tire in a manner to provide pulses of relected acoustic energy so that each reflected pulse includes reflected ultrasonic energy from plies of the casing of the tire; converting the pulses of reflected acoustic energy to pulses of electrical signals; amplifying the electrical signals with time varying gain during each received pulses of electrical signals; rectifying the amplified electrical signals; sensing after a predetermined delay, subsequent to said imparting of a pulse of ultrasonic energy, each pulse of rectified amplified electrical signals for the signal representing the reflected ultrasonic energy from the outer steel belt of the tire to provide after a further predetermined delay and then for a predetermined period of time a gating of electrical signals of the pulse; processing the gated signals of rectified amplified signals to provide information with respect to the amplitude of those gated signals; determining the difference between that information and information obtainable by the same processing of thus gated rectified amplified signals from an unused, new tire that is of the same type and that has a satisfactory ply construction and has a satisfactory bonding of the cords to the rubber matrix of the tire casing; and predicting from that difference the extent of circumferential degradation and thus the life of the tire being tested by the system. - View Dependent Claims (18, 19)
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Specification