Tire force detection apparatus
First Claim
1. A tire force detection apparatus for detecting a force exerted on a tire at a contact point of the tire, comprising:
- a tire/wheel assembly that has a wheel having a disc portion that extends perpendicularly to a rotation axis of the tire/wheel assembly and a tire that is held on an outer circumferential portion of the wheel;
a wheel support member for supporting the wheel via a wheel support portion so that the wheel can rotate about the rotation axis, the wheel support portion being supported by a vehicle body so as to be able to rotate about the rotation axis and extending perpendicularly to the rotation axis;
a connecting member that connects the disc portion of the wheel and the wheel support portion of the wheel support member;
an elastic body disposed between the disc portion and the wheel support portion, the elastic body including a column portion that extends in parallel with the rotation axis and that abuts, at opposite ends faces thereof, the disc portion and the wheel support portion and a plate-shaped portion that is integrated with the column portion between the opposite ends faces thereof and extends around the column portion, the plate-shaped portion being located apart from the disc portion and the wheel support portion;
a stress detector that detects stress applied to the elastic body by detecting a strain of the plate-shaped portion; and
a calculation unit that calculates the force exerted on the tire, based on the stress detected.
1 Assignment
0 Petitions
Accused Products
Abstract
A tire force detection apparatus estimates the force exerted on a tire at the contact point of the tire in a vehicle that includes: a tire/wheel assembly having a wheel and a tire held on an outer circumferential portion of the wheel; and a wheel support member that rotatably supports the wheel via a wheel support portion. The tire force detection apparatus includes: an elastic body disposed between the wheel and the wheel support portion, the elastic body having column portions that each abut, at opposite ends thereof, the wheel and the wheel support portion and a plate-shaped portion that is integrated with the column portions and extends around the column portions; stress detectors that detect stress applied to the elastic body by detecting a strain of the plate-shaped portion; and an electronic circuit device that calculates the force exerted on the tire, based on the stress detected.
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Citations
8 Claims
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1. A tire force detection apparatus for detecting a force exerted on a tire at a contact point of the tire, comprising:
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a tire/wheel assembly that has a wheel having a disc portion that extends perpendicularly to a rotation axis of the tire/wheel assembly and a tire that is held on an outer circumferential portion of the wheel; a wheel support member for supporting the wheel via a wheel support portion so that the wheel can rotate about the rotation axis, the wheel support portion being supported by a vehicle body so as to be able to rotate about the rotation axis and extending perpendicularly to the rotation axis; a connecting member that connects the disc portion of the wheel and the wheel support portion of the wheel support member; an elastic body disposed between the disc portion and the wheel support portion, the elastic body including a column portion that extends in parallel with the rotation axis and that abuts, at opposite ends faces thereof, the disc portion and the wheel support portion and a plate-shaped portion that is integrated with the column portion between the opposite ends faces thereof and extends around the column portion, the plate-shaped portion being located apart from the disc portion and the wheel support portion; a stress detector that detects stress applied to the elastic body by detecting a strain of the plate-shaped portion; and a calculation unit that calculates the force exerted on the tire, based on the stress detected. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8)
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Specification