Method for predicting tire life-cycle cost
First Claim
1. A method for determining tire life cycle cost, comprising:
- accessing, from a database, a purchase cost of an individual tire for installation on a vehicle;
obtaining, from a testing facility, test results that correlate roll resistance with respect to various values of inflation pressure and vehicle imposed load of the tire at a characteristic tread depth of the tire;
acquiring, from a customer, a specific inflation pressure of the tire, an installation position of the tire and an average load of the vehicle;
establishing, by a computer processor, an operating configuration including (i) an average load of the tire based on the average load of the vehicle, (ii) the specific inflation pressure and (iii) the installation position of the tire;
determining, from the test results, by the computer processor, the roll resistance of the tire for the operating configuration at the characteristic tread depth;
weighting the roll resistance of the tire based on the installation position of the tire;
determining, by the computer processor, fuel consumption required for overcoming the weighted roll resistance of the tire;
acquiring a unit cost of the fuel consumption;
determining, by the computer processor, operating cost of the tire from the fuel consumption multiplied by the unit cost;
combining, by the computer processor, the purchase cost of the tire and the operating cost of the tire to obtain a life cycle cost of the tire; and
outputting the life cycle cost from the computer processor to a terminal.
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Accused Products
Abstract
Exemplary embodiments provide a technique for determining life cycle cost of a tire that includes combining initial purchase information and an assessment of operating costs for a customer. Determination of operating costs includes correlating roll resistance with respect to inflation pressure and vehicle imposed load of the tire, as well as usage of the tire. The inflation pressure and vehicle imposed load are acquired for a configuration of the vehicle. The roll resistance can be determined for the pressure and load of the tire at a characteristic tread depth. The fuel consumption required for overcoming the roll resistance by the vehicle can be determined from the roll resistance and a unit cost of the fuel consumption. The operating cost can be determined from the fuel consumption multiplied by the unit cost. The life cycle cost can be determined by combining the purchase cost and the operating cost of the tire.
7 Citations
22 Claims
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1. A method for determining tire life cycle cost, comprising:
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accessing, from a database, a purchase cost of an individual tire for installation on a vehicle; obtaining, from a testing facility, test results that correlate roll resistance with respect to various values of inflation pressure and vehicle imposed load of the tire at a characteristic tread depth of the tire; acquiring, from a customer, a specific inflation pressure of the tire, an installation position of the tire and an average load of the vehicle; establishing, by a computer processor, an operating configuration including (i) an average load of the tire based on the average load of the vehicle, (ii) the specific inflation pressure and (iii) the installation position of the tire; determining, from the test results, by the computer processor, the roll resistance of the tire for the operating configuration at the characteristic tread depth; weighting the roll resistance of the tire based on the installation position of the tire; determining, by the computer processor, fuel consumption required for overcoming the weighted roll resistance of the tire; acquiring a unit cost of the fuel consumption; determining, by the computer processor, operating cost of the tire from the fuel consumption multiplied by the unit cost; combining, by the computer processor, the purchase cost of the tire and the operating cost of the tire to obtain a life cycle cost of the tire; and outputting the life cycle cost from the computer processor to a terminal. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10)
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11. A machine-readable storage medium having executable software code for determining tire life cycle cost, the software code comprising:
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a program for accessing, from a database, a purchase cost of an individual tire for installation on a vehicle; a program for obtaining, from a testing facility, test results that correlate roll resistance with respect to various values of inflation pressure and vehicle imposed load of the tire at a characteristic tread depth of the tire; a program for acquiring, from a customer, a specific inflation pressure of the tire, an installation position of the tire and an average load of the vehicle; a program for establishing, by a computer processor, an operating configuration including (i) an average load of the tire based on the average load of the vehicle, (ii) the specific inflation pressure and (iii) the installation position of the tire; a program for determining, from the test results, by the computer processor, the roll resistance of the tire for the operating configuration at the characteristic tread depth; a program for weighting the roll resistance of the tire based on the installation position of the tire; a program for determining, by the computer processor, fuel consumption required for overcoming the roll resistance of the tire; a program for acquiring a unit cost of the fuel consumption; a program for determining, by the computer processor, operating cost of the tire from the fuel consumption multiplied by the unit cost; a program for combining, by the computer processor, the purchase cost of the tire and the operating cost of the tire to obtain a life cycle cost of the tire; and a program for outputting the life cycle cost. - View Dependent Claims (12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21)
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22. A method for selling tires to a customer, wherein one factor includes determining tire life cycle cost, the method comprising:
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accessing, from a database, a purchase cost of an individual tire for installation on a vehicle; obtaining, from a testing facility, test results that correlate roll resistance with respect to inflation pressure and vehicle imposed load of the tire at a characteristic tread depth of the tire; acquiring, from a customer, a specific inflation pressure of the tire, an installation position of the tire and an average load of the vehicle; establishing, by a computer processor, an operating configuration including (i) an average load of the tire based on the average load of the vehicle, (ii) the specific inflation pressure and (iii) the installation position of the tire; determining, from the test results, by the computer processor, the roll resistance of the tire for the operating configuration at the characteristic tread depth; weighting the roll resistance of the tire based on the installation position of the tire; determining, by the computer processor, fuel consumption required for overcoming the roll resistance of the tire; acquiring a unit cost of the fuel consumption; determining, by the computer processor, operating cost of the tire from the fuel consumption multiplied by the unit cost; combining, by the computer processor, the purchase cost and the operating cost of the tire to obtain a life cycle cost of the tire; and using the life cycle cost to sell the tire to the customer.
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Specification