Methods and apparatus for reducing vehicle tire wear
First Claim
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1. A control system for reducing wear of a drive wheel tire of a vehicle, comprising:
- a control unit configured to control torque applied to the drive wheel tire based on a variable torque limit value;
a device, in communication with the control unit, that determines the torque limit value based on a coefficient of friction between the drive wheel tire and a surface supporting the drive wheel tire and on a load carried by the drive wheel tire;
wherein the determined torque limit value corresponds to a drive wheel tire slip value of substantially zero.
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Abstract
A control system and method for minimizing tire wear on vehicles such as highway trucks and tractors determines a drive wheel torque limit based on an assumed tire/road friction coefficient and at least an estimated vehicle weight. The drive wheel torque limit is used to control engine torque applied to the drive wheels.
25 Citations
17 Claims
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1. A control system for reducing wear of a drive wheel tire of a vehicle, comprising:
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a control unit configured to control torque applied to the drive wheel tire based on a variable torque limit value; a device, in communication with the control unit, that determines the torque limit value based on a coefficient of friction between the drive wheel tire and a surface supporting the drive wheel tire and on a load carried by the drive wheel tire; wherein the determined torque limit value corresponds to a drive wheel tire slip value of substantially zero. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8)
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9. A method of reducing wear of a drive wheel tire of a vehicle, comprising the steps of:
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collecting information corresponding to a load on an axle supporting the drive wheel tire; determining a torque limit at the drive wheel tire from at least the axle load and a coefficient of friction between the drive wheel tire and a surface supporting the drive wheel tire; determining at least one of an engine torque limit and a retarder torque limit based on the torque limit at the drive wheel tire; and using at least one of the engine torque limit as an upper limit on torque generated by an engine of the vehicle and the retarder torque limit as an upper limit on torque dissipated by a retarder of the vehicle, thereby reducing drive wheel tire slip to substantially zero. - View Dependent Claims (10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17)
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Specification