Monitoring pneumatic tire conditions

Details Monitoring pneumatic tire conditions Monitoring pneumatic tire conditions

2001-01-29

2003-07-15

Lefkowitz, Edward (Department: 2855)

Measuring and testing

Tire, tread or roadway

Tire inflation testing installation

C073S146000, C340S442000, C340S445000

Reexamination Certificate

active

06591671

ABSTRACT:

TECHNICAL FIELD OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to a system for and a method of measuring a dynamic condition of a pneumatic tire and, more particularly to a system for and a method of determining at least one dynamic condition of a pneumatic tire by measuring the rotational angular position of the tire and/or a wheel or wheel carrier the tire is mounted on.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to monitoring of conditions of any rotary element, but is particularly concerned with the monitoring of conditions of wheels and pneumatic tires mounted on wheels. As a rotary element, a tire's angular position, rotational (angular) velocity and acceleration, rate of change of acceleration, and revolution count are important in determining such things as vehicle and/or tire instantaneous position, speed, mileage, acceleration and braking, slip/skid, and are also factors in the wear of the tire. Certain of these elements are utilized in control of vehicle braking systems, such as automotive and aircraft ABS systems (anti-lock braking system). Existing monitoring systems generally assume the approximation that the tire/wheel assembly is rigid in the tangential direction (tangential to the direction of rotation, e.g., forward or backward relative to a rolling tire). The present invention moves beyond this rigid approximation in order to monitor other wheel and/or tire operating characteristics, such as for example, torque on the tire.
In addition to rotational/angular characteristics, other important characteristics to be monitored in a pneumatic tire are pneumatic pressure and temperature. Pressure (pneumatic pressure) is well known as a critical factor in pneumatic tire operation, most importantly if there is a loss of sufficient pressure to safely operate the tire, e.g., a “flat tire”. The (pneumatic) temperature is generally of secondary importance. Although it can be used to indicate an average temperature of the tire and wheel surrounding the pneumatic cavity, temperature is mostly used to normalize a pressure measured in a hot tire to a “cold pressure” value, i.e., the pressure as it would be in a “cold” tire.
A great deal of prior art is devoted to apparatus and methods for measuring and monitoring rotary element and pneumatic conditions, particularly as they relate to pneumatic tire conditions.
THE ASSIGNEE'S ONGOING DEVELOPMENT EFFORTS
For a century, the Goodyear Tire & Rubber Company of Akron Ohio, assignee of the present invention, has been the uncontested industry leader in tire product technology. For example, as early as 1892, a puncture-resistant tire was patented. In 1934, a year recognized as the beginning of the run-flat era, Goodyear introduced the Lifeguard (tm) safety tube, a fabric tube within the tire, used commercially by automakers and on trucks. In 1993, Goodyear's Eagle GS-C EMT (Extended Mobility Technology) Tire won the Discover Award for Automotive Technological Innovation. In 1996, the Goodyear Eagle F1 run-flat tire was chosen as standard equipment on the 1997 Chevrolet C-5 Corvette.
Other examples of the strides Goodyear has taken in the advancement of tire and related technologies include, but are not limited to, the following patented inventions:
Commonly-owned U.S. Pat. No. 3,665,387 (Enabnit; 1972), entitled SIGNALLING SYSTEM FOR LOW TIRE CONDITION ON A VEHICLE, incorporated in its entirety by reference herein, discloses a low tire pressure warning system adaptable for any number of wheels of a vehicle and providing dashboard indications of system operation and low pressure conditions while the vehicle is in motion.
Commonly-owned U.S. Pat. No. 3,831,161 (Enabnit; 1974), entitled FAIL-SAFE MONITORING APPARATUS, incorporated in its entirety by reference herein, discloses monitoring vehicle tire pressure wherein the operator is warned of an abnormal or unsafe condition of one or more of the tires.
Commonly-owned U.S. Pat. No. 3,872,424 (Enabnit; 1975), entitled APPARATUS AND METHOD FOR TRANSMITTING AUXILIARY SIGNALS ON EXISTING VEHICLE WIRING, incorporated in its entirety by reference herein, discloses communicating with low tire pressure monitoring circuits using power pulses carried on existing vehicle wiring (e.g., the turn signal circuits).
Commonly-owned U.S. Pat. No. 4,052,696 (Enabnit; 1977), entitled TIRE CONDITION MONITOR, incorporated in its entirety by reference herein, discloses a tire condition sensing circuit that includes a ferrite element that changes from a ferromagnetic to a non-ferromagnetic state in response to a temperature increase above the material Curie point.
Commonly-owned U.S. Pat. No. 4,099,157 (Enabnit; 1978), entitled SINGLE WIRE POWER/SIGNAL SYSTEM FOR VEHICLE AUXILIARY DEVICES, incorporated in its entirety by reference herein, discloses providing both power to and receiving detection signals from a remotely located condition monitoring device using a single wire with ground return through the vehicle frame.
Commonly-owned U.S. Pat. No. 4,911,217 (Dunn, et. al.; 1990), entitled INTEGRATED CIRCUIT TRANSPONDER IN A PNEUMATIC TIRE FOR TIRE IDENTIFICATION, incorporated in its entirety by reference herein, discloses an RF transponder in a pneumatic tire.
FIG. 1
a
of this patent illustrates a prior-art identification system (“reader”) that can be used to interrogate and power the transponder within the tire. The identification system includes a portable hand-held module having within it an exciter and associated circuitry for indicating to a user the numerical identification of the tire/transponder in response to an interrogation signal.
Commonly-owned U.S. Pat. No. 5,181,975 (Pollack, et. al.; 1993), entitled INTEGRATED CIRCUIT TRANSPONDER WITH COIL ANTENNA IN A PNEUMATIC TIRE FOR USE IN TIRE IDENTIFICATION, incorporated in its entirety by reference herein, discloses a pneumatic tire having an integrated circuit (IC) transponder and pressure transducer. As described in this patent, in a tire that has already been manufactured, the transponder may be attached to an inner surface of the tire by means of a tire patch or other similar material or device.
Commonly-owned U.S. Pat. No. 5,218,861 (Brown, et al.; 1993), entitled PNEUMATIC TIRE HAVING AN INTEGRATED CIRCUIT TRANSPONDER AND PRESSURE TRANSDUCER, incorporated in its entirety by reference herein, discloses a pneumatic tire having an integrated circuit (IC) transponder and pressure transducer mounted within the pneumatic tire. Upon interrogation (polling) by an external RF signal provided by a “reader”, the transponder transmits tire identification and tire pressure data in digitally-coded form. The transponder is “passive” in that it is not self-powered, but rather obtains its operating power from the externally-provided RF signal.
The commonly-owned U.S. Patents referenced immediately hereinabove are indicative of the long-standing, far-reaching and ongoing efforts being made by the Goodyear Tire & Rubber Company in advancing tire product technology, particularly in the area of monitoring tire operating conditions.
Dynamic Conditions
Dynamic conditions such as position and angular velocity of a rotary element are readily measured.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,831,570, incorporated in its entirety by reference herein, discloses measuring a crankshaft's rotary position using a magnetic pickup coil, a rotating toothed wheel, and a permanent magnet. The toothed wheel has a number of teeth corresponding to the number of spark plugs.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,832,640, incorporated in its entirety by reference herein, discloses determining a large number of angular relationships (rotary positions) in a rotating element such as a crankshaft.
Straightforward tire revolution counters are well known, and are disclosed for example in U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,842,486 and 5,524,034, both of which are incorporated in their entirety by reference herein.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,218,862, incorporated in its entirety by reference herein, discloses a tire pressure monitor comprising wheel speed sensors located at the vehicle's wheels to convey wheel speed information to

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