Real-time wireless dynamic tire pressure sensor and energy harvesting system

• US 9,315,078 B2
• Filed: 11/19/2013
• Issued: 04/19/2016
• Est. Priority Date: 05/20/2011
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Northeastern University
• Original Assignee: Northeastern University
• Inventors: Wang, Ming, Wang, Qi, McDaniel, J. Gregory, Sun, Nian X.
• Primary Examiner(s): TRIEU, VAN THANH
• Application Number:
  US14/084,156
• Publication Number:
  US 20140070935A1
• Time in Patent Office: 882 Days
• Field of Search: 340/442, 340/443, 340/445, 340/447, 731/46, 731/465, 701/31.9, 701/33.7, 701/34.4, 701/37, 303/140, 303/146, 290/1.A, 290/1.R
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: B60C 23/041 Means for supplying power to the signal- transmitting means on the wheel
• CPC Class Codes: B60C 23/0469 Transmission by sound, e.g. ultra-sound
• CPC Class Codes: B60C 23/0474 Measurement control, e.g. setting measurement rate or calibrating of sensors; Further processing of measured values, e.g. filtering, compensating or slope monitoring
• CPC Class Codes: B60C 23/0486 comprising additional sensors in the wheel or tyre mounted monitoring device, e.g. movement sensors, microphones or earth magnetic field sensors
• CPC Class Codes: B60C 23/0494 Valve stem attachments positioned inside the tyre chamber
• CPC Class Codes: B60R 2021/01304 monitoring rough road condition
• CPC Class Codes: B60R 2021/01306 monitoring vehicle inclination
• CPC Class Codes: B60R 2021/01308 monitoring distance between vehicle body and road
• CPC Class Codes: B60W 40/06 Road conditions
• CPC Class Codes: G01D 5/12 using electric or magnetic means G01D5/06 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: G01N 29/041 on the surface of the material, e.g. using Lamb, Rayleigh or shear waves

Abstract

An instantaneous/real-time wireless dynamic tire pressure sensor (DTPS) for characterizing pavement qualities and for detecting surface and subsurface pavement defects under normal driving conditions. Signal processing provides quantitative assessment of surface conditions. DTPS includes a vehicle tire valve stem-mounted pressure sensor and wheel hub-mounted signal conditioning, amplification, and transmitting circuitry. A signal processing computer within the vehicle is wirelessly coupled to the hub-mounted circuitry. Tire pressure changes caused by ground vibration excitation from the interaction between the tire and pavement at normal driving speeds are detected. When acoustic radiation from a surface wave is significantly stronger than acoustic noise, subsurface information can be extracted. An energy harvester based on strong magnetostatic coupling between a high permeability core solenoid, fixed proximate a vehicle wheel, and a bias magnet array, fixedly mounted in conjunction with a dust shield, can provide power the DIPS.

Claims

1. A system disposed in a vehicle for measuring surface height profile of the roadway over a range of driving speeds, comprising:

a dynamic tire pressure sensor coupled to a valve stem of a first tire of the vehicle for dynamically measuring tire pressure changes caused by the interaction of the respective tire and the roadway while the vehicle is moving on the roadway;

a signal processing circuitry, centrally disposed on a first wheel of the vehicle, the first tire being mounted on the first wheel and the signal processing circuitry having electrical communication with the pressure sensor for receiving input of the dynamic tire pressure data from the dynamic tire pressure sensor and producing an output of the processed tire pressure data; and

a signal recovery and processing computer having an associated database, the computer disposed with the vehicle for receiving the processed tire pressure data from the signal processing circuitry, for providing an output of the surface height profile of the roadway on which the vehicle is traveling, and for storing the analyzed data in the database.

2. The system according to claim 1, further comprising a wireless data transmitter, disposed in conjunction with and in electrical communication with the signal processing circuitry for receiving processed dynamic tire pressure data therefrom, and a wireless receiver, disposed in conjunction with the signal recovery and processing computer, whereby the transmitter is for wirelessly transmitting the processed tire pressure data to the receiver.

3. The system according to claim 1, wherein the signal processing circuitry is coupled to the computer via a slip ring and electrical signal cabling.

4. The system according to claim 3, wherein signal processing circuitry is capable of a higher sampling rate when connected to the signal recovery and processing computer via a slip ring than via a wireless transmitter and receiver pair.

5. The system according to claim 1, wherein the signal processing circuitry comprises an amplifier and an analog-to-digital converter.

6. The system according to claim 1 further comprising an energy harvester, disposed in conjunction with the first wheel, for providing electrical power to the pressure sensor and signal processing circuitry, the energy harvester comprising an arcuate array of magnets fixedly disposed adjacent the first wheel, at least one solenoid disposed in conjunction with the first wheel for rotation therewith, and a rectifier circuit for rectifying the alternating current generated in the at least one solenoid by the array of magnets.

7. The system according to claim 6, wherein the energy harvester further comprises a voltage conversion circuit, for adjusting the voltage from the rectifier circuit, and a battery for storing excess power generated in the at least one solenoid.

8. The system according to claim 1, further comprising a geopositioning device in communication with the computer for enabling the computer to associate location data with the analyzed data.

9. The system according to claim 1, further comprising at least one of a still and video camera in communication with the computer for enabling the computer to selectively associate image data with the analyzed data.

10. The system according to claim 1, further comprising an accelerometer disposed on an axle associated with the first wheel, the accelerometer in communication with the computer for enabling the computer to remove the effects of vehicle body accelerations from the analyzed data from the dynamic tire pressure sensor.

11. The system according to claim 1, further comprising threshold data stored in association with the computer for enabling the computer to identify inferior roadway conditions from the analyzed data.

12. The system according to claim 11, wherein the computer is configured to respond to the analyzed data attaining at least one threshold by at least one of highlighting the respective analyzed data in the database, sending an alert to an operator, and wirelessly transmitting the analyzed data to a remote database.

13. The system according to claim 12, wherein the alert is selected from the group consisting of an audible or visual indication to personnel in the vehicle, an electronic communication to remote personnel, and an electronic communication to a remote computer.

14. The system according to claim 11, wherein the analyzed data attaining at least one threshold is indicative of the presence of a roadway defect.

15. The system according to claim 1, further comprising acoustic damping material disposed in the first tire for reducing the resonant frequency response associated therewith.

16. The system according to claim 15, wherein the damping material is a sheet of acoustic damping foam with pyramidal projections.

17. The system according to claim 1, wherein the pressure sensor is coupled to the valve stem via a T connector, thereby enabling compressed air to be selectively introduced into the first tire without requiring the pressure sensor to be removed.

18. The system according to claim 1, wherein the signal processing circuitry and data transmitter are centrally disposed in a hub cover mounted on the first wheel.

19. The system according to claim 1, wherein the dynamic tire pressure sensor and signal processing circuitry form a tire pressure data source, and wherein the system further comprises a second such tire pressure data source in association with a second tire of the vehicle, both of which are in communication with the signal recovery and processing computer, thereby forming a tire pressure data source array.

20. The system according to claim 1, further comprising an accelerometer mounted on the axle proximate the first tire and first wheel and in communication with the signal recovery and processing computer, wherein the signal recovery and processing computer removes the vertical vehicle acceleration detected by the axle-mounted accelerometer from the received tire pressure data in order to characterize the roadway surface height profile.

21. The system according to claim 20, wherein the characterized roadway surface height profile is selected from the group consisting of an estimated International Roughness Index value, a Mean Texture Depth value, cracks, potholes, expansion joint, bleed, and corrugation.

22. The system according to claim 1, wherein the signal recovery and processing computer analyzes the received data by using a transfer function based upon a predetermined relationship between ground vibration and dynamic tire pressure, whereby an estimate of actual ground vibration, and thus subsurface condition, is derived from the analyzed tire pressure data.

23. The system of claim 1, wherein the roadway has a known profile, and wherein the characterization of the roadway realized by the signal recovery and processing computer is compared to the known profile to derive an assessment of the ride comfort performance of the respective tire.

24. The system according to claim 1, wherein characterization of the roadway includes an estimate of relative motion between the respective tire and the roadway, such relative motion being interpretable as indicative of a substance between the respective tire and the roadway, the substance being selected from the group consisting of ice, water, and particulate material.

25. A method of determining a road height profile, comprising:

dynamically detecting the internal pressure of a first vehicle tire using a dynamic tire pressure sensor disposed in conjunction therewith while the vehicle is traveling on a portion of a roadway;

sampling the tire pressure data using an on-wheel sampling and signal conditioning circuit;

providing the sampled tire pressure data to a processing device disposed within the vehicle;

generating pressure profile data by an on-vehicle processing device from the sampled tire pressure data;

measuring the acceleration of an axle due to the vehicle traveling on the portion of the roadway using an axle-mounted accelerometer disposed proximate the first vehicle tire;

applying, by the processing device, a predetermined transfer function to derive axle pressure from measured axle acceleration;

removing the effect of vehicle-induced accelerations by subtracting the axle pressure from the sampled tire pressure and forming a resulting pressure profile therefrom; and

performing a frequency analysis of the pressure profile, by the processing device, to generate an estimate of road height profile.

26. The method of claim 25, further comprising the step of low-pass filtering, by the processing device, the frequency analysis results to remove road geometry features therefrom.

27. The method of claim 25, wherein the step of providing comprises wirelessly transmitting the sampled tire pressure data from the sampling and signal conditioning circuit to the processing device.

28. The method of claim 25, wherein the step of providing comprises providing the sampled tire pressure data to the processing device via a slip-ring and electrical conductors.