Method for the automatic identification of a type of vehicle on a test stand

• US 8,322,203 B2
• Filed: 09/12/2007
• Issued: 12/04/2012
• Est. Priority Date: 09/19/2006
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Goodyear Tire & Rubber Company
• Original Assignee: VENTECH GmbH (Goodyear Tire & Rubber Company)
• Inventors: Pingel, Ulrich, Viehl, Ralf
• Primary Examiner(s): MCCALL, ERIC SCOTT
• Application Number:
  US12/311,058
• Publication Number:
  US 20100058849A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,910 Days
• Field of Search: 731/160.1, 731/160.5, 731/160.6, 731/160.7, 731/160.9
• US Class Current: 73/116.01
• CPC Class Codes: B60S 5/04 Supplying air for tyre inflation arrangement of tyre inflating devices on vehicles B60C23/00; tyre pressure gauges G01L17/00 ; pumps actuated by muscle power F04B33/00
• CPC Class Codes: G08G 1/017 identifying vehicles G08G1/015, G08G1/054 take precedence

Abstract

A method for automatically identifying a type of vehicle on a test stand includes: a) supplying predetermined parameters characterizing the type of vehicle; b) providing a test stand encompassing a plurality of sensors; c) sensing at least some areas of a tire on the test stand; and d) determining at least one tire property from values sensed by means of at least some of the sensors. The properties determined in step d) are compared with the predetermined parameters, and the type of vehicle is assigned on that basis, or parameters of a new type of vehicle are defined if the properties fail to match the parameters.

Claims

1. A method for the automatic identification of a type of vehicle on a test stand, comprising the steps:

a) providing predetermined parameters that characterize the type of vehicle;

b) providing a test stand which has a plurality of sensors;

c) sensing of at least areas of a tire on the test stand;

d) determining at least one characteristic of the vehicle or of the tire from values, at least some of which have been sensed by the sensors;

e) comparing the characteristics determined in Step d) with the predetermined parameters; and

f) classifying the type of vehicle on the basis of the result from Step e) or, if it is not possible to classify the type of vehicle on account of a lack of coherence of characteristics with the parameters, defining parameters for a new vehicle model.

2. The method according to claim 1, wherein at least one of the characteristics is sensed or determined from sensed values and is selected from the group consisting of tire width, tire tread, rigidity of the tire, tire pressure, tire load, number of tires per axle, track width of at least one axle of the vehicle, the distances between the individual axles, current axle load, load distribution over the axles and the total weight of the vehicle.

3. The method according to claim 1, wherein the type of vehicle is associated with nominal values and/or tolerances for the parameters of the vehicle.

4. The method according to claim 1, wherein a verification is performed to determine whether a sensed or measured value lies within a specified range of nominal values or tolerance, and if the value lies outside the range of nominal values or tolerance, an action is carried out which brings the value into the range of nominal values or tolerance.

5. The method according to claim 1, wherein a weighting is assigned to each of the predetermined parameters, and the classifying of the type of vehicle performed in step f) is based on the predetermined parameters with assigned weightings.

6. The method according to claim 1, wherein an acceptance range is associated with each parameter, whereby the acceptance ranges for the parameters of each type of vehicle are adjusted so that the classification in Step f) is clear and unambiguous.