Measurement of adherence between a vehicle wheel and the roadway
First Claim
1. A tire whose tread comprises a plurality of first tread elements and a plurality of second tread elements, each of the first and second tread elements having a contact surface that, during normal operation of a vehicle wheel equipped with the tire, comes into contact with the ground in a contact area on each revolution of the tire, the first and second tread elements being configured such that, at least under a first rolling condition, the contact surfaces of the first tread elements slide relative to the ground during passage through the contact area, whereas the contact surfaces of the second tread elements do not slide under the first rolling condition, the first tread elements each comprising a sensor capable of producing a signal representative of a level of tangential force in the contact surface of the respective first tread element during passage through the contact area, wherein all of the first tread elements are oriented to extend from the tire perpendicularly and are configured to slide under substantially the same conditions, and an estimate of a tangential force on the vehicle wheel is obtainable based on the signal produced by each of the first tread elements.
2 Assignments
0 Petitions
Accused Products
Abstract
A tire includes, among the conventional tread pattern elements, at least one measuring element having a central zone and an encircling zone. In normal operation, the central zone 10 of a measuring element slides over the ground while, conversely, the tread as a whole does not slide over the ground. Measurements are carried out of the maximum adherence potential with the ground, at any moment, due to the central zone of a measuring element. In an alternative embodiment, the measuring element may comprise a circumferentially extending rib(s) or tread block(s) whose ground contact surface(s) is spaced at a lesser radial distance from the wheel axle than the spacing of the ground contact surfaces of the conventional tread blocks.
22 Citations
21 Claims
- 1. A tire whose tread comprises a plurality of first tread elements and a plurality of second tread elements, each of the first and second tread elements having a contact surface that, during normal operation of a vehicle wheel equipped with the tire, comes into contact with the ground in a contact area on each revolution of the tire, the first and second tread elements being configured such that, at least under a first rolling condition, the contact surfaces of the first tread elements slide relative to the ground during passage through the contact area, whereas the contact surfaces of the second tread elements do not slide under the first rolling condition, the first tread elements each comprising a sensor capable of producing a signal representative of a level of tangential force in the contact surface of the respective first tread element during passage through the contact area, wherein all of the first tread elements are oriented to extend from the tire perpendicularly and are configured to slide under substantially the same conditions, and an estimate of a tangential force on the vehicle wheel is obtainable based on the signal produced by each of the first tread elements.
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11. A tire whose tread comprises a plurality of first tread elements and a plurality of second tread elements, each of the first and second tread elements having a contact surface that, during normal operation of a vehicle wheel equipped with the tire, comes into contact with the ground in a contact area on each revolution of the tire, the first and second tread elements being configured such that, at least under a first rolling condition, the contact surfaces of the first tread elements slide relative to the ground during passage through the contact area, whereas the contact surfaces of the second tread elements slide, under the first rolling condition, insufficiently to allow measurement of tangential force, the first tread elements each comprising a sensor capable of producing a signal representative of a level of tangential force in the contact surface of the respective first tread element during passage through the contact area, wherein all of the first tread elements are oriented to extend from the tire perpendicularly and are configured to slide under substantially the same conditions, and an estimate of a tangential force on the vehicle wheel is obtainable based on the signal produced by each of the first tread elements.
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13. A tire whose tread comprises at least one first tread element and at least one second tread element, each of the first and second tread elements having a contact surface that, during normal operation of a vehicle wheel equipped with the tire, comes into contact with the ground in a contact area on each revolution of the tire, the first and second tread elements being configured such that, at least under a first rolling condition, the contact surface of the at least one first tread element slides relative to the ground during passage through the contact area, whereas the contact surface of the at least one second tread element does not slide under the first rolling condition, the at least one first tread element comprising a sensor capable of producing a signal representative of a level of tangential force in the contact surface of the at least one first tread element during passage through the contact area, wherein:
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an estimate of a tangential force on the vehicle wheel is obtainable based on the signal produced by the at least one first tread element; the first tread element, viewed at the surface of the tread, has a central zone surrounded by an encircling zone, the sensor being disposed so as to achieve a measurement in the central zone and being sensitive to at least one tangential force exerted at the surface of the central zone; the surface area of the central zone is at least substantially equivalent to the surface area of the encircling zone; the surface of the central zone is located at a distance from the wheel axle that is less than the distance of a surface of the encircling zone; and the central zone has a resistance to a force directed perpendicular to the surface of the tread which is less than a resistance to a force directed perpendicular to the surface of the tread offered by the encircling zone. - View Dependent Claims (14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21)
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Specification