Vehicle tire positioning system and method using tire and / or wheel sensors and directional antennas

Abstract

A system for positioning a wheel position of a vehicle includes a sensor mounted on each tire of the vehicle. Each axle of the vehicle is associated with a first directional antenna arranged to capture wireless output signals from each tire on one side and a second directional antenna arranged to capture wireless output signals from each tire on the other side. A data processing unit (e.g., an in-vehicle controller, a remote server) receives the output signal from each sensor via the at least respective directional antenna, and automatically identify a respective wheel position on the vehicle based on the mapped relative position of each of the directional antennas and also based on detected relative output signal strengths of any tire and / or wheel sensors associated with an axle having a plurality of tires on each side of the vehicle. The switching device may optionally be able to select between each directional antenna to achieve the respective output signal.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present invention generally relates to automatic positioning of tire and / or wheel sensors on wheeled vehicles. More specifically, systems, methods, and related algorithms as disclosed herein can use tire and / or wheel sensors, directional antennas, and in some embodiments, relative signal strength indicators (RSSI) for tire positioning, which can be used, for example, for fleet management, cost prediction, and improved prediction of tire wear on wheeled vehicles, including but not limited to motorcycles, consumer vehicles (e.g., passenger cars and light trucks), commercial and off-the-road (OTR) vehicles. Background Art

[0002] Whether on a passenger vehicle or a commercial vehicle, knowing the relative position of the tires and / or wheel sensors (e.g., tire pressure monitoring system (TPMS) sensors, onboard sensors, or tire mounted sensors (TMS)) is an important feature. For commercial vehicles, the importance can be even higher because they typically have eighteen tires, and the tire positions may change during maintenance. However, most fleet management systems do not adequately track or otherwise record such information. This can cause difficulties for many important fleet management tasks, such as, for example, the generation of maintenance alerts, prediction of the amount of remaining wear life, prediction of which (and when) tires will need to be replaced, cost prediction, etc. Summary of the invention

[0003] Methods as disclosed herein may accurately and reliably track a given tire relative to tire and / or wheel sensors, or output signals thereof, of a given vehicle.

[0004] A first exemplary embodiment of a system for locating a vehicle wheel position as disclosed herein includes at least one tire and / or wheel sensor, the at least one tire and / or wheel sensor being respectively associated with each of a plurality of tires mounted on a vehicle, wherein the vehicle includes a plurality of axles, the plurality of axles having at least one tire on each of a first side and a second side of the vehicle. For each of the axles, a first directional antenna is arranged to capture a wireless output signal from a corresponding at least one tire associated with the axle on the first side, and a second directional antenna is arranged to capture a wireless output signal from a corresponding at least one tire associated with the axle on the second side. A data processing unit is configured to receive an output signal from each of the tire and / or wheel sensors via at least a corresponding directional antenna, and is further configured to automatically identify a corresponding wheel position of each of the tire and / or wheel sensors on the vehicle based on a mapped relative position of each of the directional antennas.

[0005] In a second embodiment, exemplary further aspects according to the above-mentioned first embodiment may include that the vehicle includes at least one axle having a single tire on each of the first side and the second side, and at least one axle having multiple tires on each of the first side and the second side, and the data processing unit is configured to automatically identify the corresponding wheel position of each of the tire and / or wheel sensors on the vehicle based on the mapped relative position of each of the directional antennas, and also based on the detected relative output signal strength of at least the tire and / or wheel sensors associated with the multiple axles having multiple tires on each of the first side and the second side.

[0006] In a third embodiment, exemplary additional aspects according to the first embodiment or the second embodiment described above may include that the wireless output signal from each tire includes data corresponding to one or more measured tire characteristics.

[0007] Exemplary additional aspects according to the third embodiment described above may include that the wireless output signal from a single tire and / or wheel sensor for at least one tire includes an identifier unique to the corresponding tire and data corresponding to one or more measured tire characteristics.

[0008] Alternatively, the wireless output signal from at least one tire may include a radio frequency identification (RF) signal unique to the corresponding tire of the first tire and / or wheel sensor via an RFID tag, and data corresponding to one or more measured tire characteristics from the second tire and / or wheel sensor.

[0009] Exemplary further aspects according to the third embodiment described above may include that the data processing unit is configured to associate at least one of the one or more measured tire characteristics in the data storage device with each of the corresponding identified tire and / or wheel sensors and wheel positions on the vehicle.

[0010] Exemplary further aspects according to the third embodiment described above may include a data processing unit configured to detect a change in position of an identified tire and / or wheel sensor and a corresponding tire on the vehicle from a first wheel position to a second wheel position, and to aggregate in a data storage device at least one of one or more measured tire characteristics received from the identified wheel and / or tire sensors at each of the first wheel position and the second wheel position.

[0011] In a fourth embodiment, the exemplary additional aspects described in accordance with one of the first to third embodiments described above may include an RF receiver configured with a plurality of channels, each channel corresponding to one of the directional antennas associated with the vehicle, for simultaneously implementing corresponding output signals through the channels.

[0012] Alternatively, the system may include an RF switching device configured to enable selection between each of the directional antennas associated with the vehicle for implementing a corresponding output signal via the directional antenna.

[0013] Exemplary further aspects described in accordance with one of the first to fourth embodiments described above may include that at least one tire and / or wheel sensor includes at least a tire pressure monitoring system (TPMS) sensor and / or a tire mounting sensor (TMS).

[0014] In a fifth embodiment, exemplary further aspects of an embodiment according to the first to fourth embodiments described above may include that the data processing unit is also configured to accumulate historical information about tire wear of each tire in a data storage device, and to estimate a current tire wear state of each tire based at least on a corresponding identified wheel position and the stored historical information about tire wear.

[0015] Exemplary additional aspects according to the fifth embodiment described above may include that the data processing unit is further configured to predict one or more tire traction characteristics of each tire based at least on the estimated tire wear state, to provide the one or more predicted tire traction characteristics to a vehicle control unit, and to automatically modify one or more vehicle operating settings via the vehicle control unit based at least on the predicted one or more tire traction characteristics.

[0016] According to another exemplary aspect of the fifth embodiment described above, the data processing unit is further configured to predict the replacement time for each tire based on one or more of the current tire wear state and the predicted tire wear state, by comparing with one or more tire wear thresholds.

[0017] Exemplary additional aspects according to the fifth embodiment described above may include that a respective tire wear threshold for a given tire corresponds to an identified wheel position associated with the tire.

[0018] An exemplary further aspect according to any one of the first to fifth embodiments described above may include an onboard vehicle control unit including a data processing unit.

[0019] Alternatively, the system may include a server-based network or a mobile computing device including a data processing unit.

[0020] Alternatively, the data processing unit may be comprised of distributed and functionally interacting modules associated with any one or more of an onboard vehicle control unit, a server-based network, and / or a mobile computing device. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0021] Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention are illustrated in more detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.

[0022] Figure 1 is a block diagram representing an embodiment of a system for tire alignment as disclosed herein.

[0023] Figure 2 is a modified top view showing an exemplary configuration of tire and / or wheel sensors and directional antennas in an embodiment of a system as disclosed herein.

[0024] Figure 3 is a flow chart representing an exemplary embodiment of an operating method as disclosed herein. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0025] Overall reference Figures 1 to 3 , various exemplary embodiments of the present invention may now be described in detail. Where various drawings may describe embodiments that share various common elements and features with other embodiments, similar elements and features are given the same reference numerals, and redundant descriptions thereof may be omitted below.

[0026] First reference Figure 1, the exemplary embodiments of the system 100 disclosed herein are generally applicable to commercial vehicles and passenger vehicles, and include at least one tire and / or wheel sensor 114 provided for each of a plurality of tires 112 mounted on the vehicle. The tire and / or wheel sensor 114 may include any of a variety of tire mounted sensors, and in some embodiments, a tire pressure monitoring system (TPMS) sensor is currently typically included on, for example, certain heavy trucks. An example of a conventional TPMS includes a sensor transmitter functionally linked to a TPMS receiver, which itself is further linked to a data processing unit. The TPMS sensor transmitter may be disposed, for example, on the inner surface of a tire wheel or tire in an internal air cavity of the tire 112. The transmitter detects the internal pressure of the tire at predetermined time intervals, and wirelessly transmits an output signal corresponding to the internal pressure value of the tire to a receiver together with a unique identifier associated with the tire. The transmitter may, for example, be mounted on a rim so as to be integrated with a tire valve. Alternatively, the transmitter may be attached to the inner surface of the tire. The receiver also relays the signal from the transmitter to the data processing unit via a communication device (such as, for example, Bluetooth).

[0027] Other examples of tire and / or wheel sensors 114 within the scope of the present disclosure may include sensors mounted on a valve stem of the tire 112 , or even sensors mounted on an outer surface of the tire 112 .

[0028] In certain embodiments, a single tire and / or wheel sensor 114 may be configured to transmit an output signal including an identifier along with other data corresponding to the measured tire characteristic, e.g., as part of a data string. In other embodiments, one or more tire and / or wheel sensors 114 on a given tire may be configured to generate an output signal corresponding to the measured tire characteristic, while another tire and / or wheel sensor 114 on the same tire is configured to generate identification data, such as, for example, via an RFID tag separate from the first set of one or more tire and / or wheel sensors 114. In such embodiments, the output signal from each of the tire and / or wheel sensors 114 may be continuously generated, or the output signal from the RFID tag may be selectively generated or otherwise generated via a command from an external source or from other tire and / or wheel sensors of the first set of one or more tire and / or wheel sensors, e.g., based on initialization of the output signal when the vehicle begins operation.

[0029] like Figure 1The illustrated embodiment of the system 100 also includes a pair of directional antennas 120 mounted on the vehicle in association with each axle 104 of the vehicle, and each of the directional antennas 120 is directed outwardly, for example, from an interior position of the tire 112 relative to the corresponding vehicle axle 104. For a single tire axle 104, a directional antenna 120 is assigned to each tire 112x. However, for example, Figure 2 , a single directional antenna 120 is assigned to both tires 112x1, 112x2 on a given side with the antenna 120 focused on one of the tires. Thus, the antenna 120 will be more sensitive to the signals of the tire and / or wheel sensors 114 attached to the tire 112 that is closer to the antenna 120, and less sensitive to the signals of the tire and / or wheel sensors 114 on the same axle side that are farther from the antenna 120. This sensitivity can be converted into a relative signal strength indicator (RSSI), where the RSSI of the close-range tire and / or wheel sensor 114 signals will be higher than the RSSI of the signals from the tire and / or wheel sensor 114 that is farther from the antenna.

[0030] For example, refer to Figure 2 , a single tire axle 104a is provided with a directional antenna 120a for a single tire 112a on one side of the axle / vehicle, and a directional antenna 120b for a single tire 112b on the other side of the axle / vehicle. In this context, RSSI is not a necessary factor for identifying the corresponding tire 112. It should be noted that the illustrated locations of the directional antennas 120a, 120b do not limit the scope of the present embodiment, and may vary based at least in part on the design requirements of a given vehicle, axle, antenna, etc., so long as the fields of the directional antennas are arranged to reliably capture the output signals from the associated tire and / or wheel sensors. It should also be noted that while the illustrated embodiments and the description herein may indicate that a given directional antenna 120 is provided for or for a corresponding one or more tires 112, the directional antenna 120 is also provided for or for a corresponding one or more tire and / or wheel sensors 114 associated with those tires 112.

[0031] For Figure 2In the illustrated first dual tire axle 104b, directional antenna 120c on a first side of the axle / vehicle is directed toward tires 112c1 and 112c2, and directional antenna 120d on a second side of the axle / vehicle is directed toward tires 112d1 and 112d2. In this example, based on the signal strength received by antenna 120c, the RSSI of the tire and / or wheel sensor 114c2 associated with tire 112c2 will be higher than the RSSI of the wheel and / or tire sensor 114c1 associated with tire 112c1, and based on the signal strength received by antenna 120c, the RSSI of the tire and / or vehicle sensor 114d2 associated with tire 112d2 will be higher than the RSSI of the vehicle and / or vehicle sensor 114d1 associated with tire 112d1. Figure 2 For each of the remaining dual-wheel axles 104b, equivalent arrangements and illustrative RSSI comparisons may be apparent to those skilled in the art.

[0032] like Figure 2 As shown, ten directional antennas 120 on a commercial vehicle may be connected to a data processing unit 140 via an RF switch 130 so that the output signal of each directional antenna 120 may be selectively received and analyzed individually. In an alternative embodiment, the directional antennas 120 may be communicatively coupled or functionally linked to the data processing unit 140 via a multi-channel receiver to simultaneously implement the respective output signals from each of the tire and / or wheel sensors 114. In another alternative embodiment, the directional antennas 120 may be connected to the data processing unit 140 via respective independent receivers (i.e., ten receivers for an embodiment including ten directional antennas).

[0033] The data processing unit 140 may take any of a variety of forms within the scope of the present disclosure, including, for example, a fleet management device or server, a third-party server network, a computing device that is onboard and configured to at least obtain data and send the data to a remote server and / or perform relevant calculations disclosed herein, etc. The onboard computing device, its components, or the intermediary between the directional antenna 120 and the data processing unit 140 as the data processing unit 140 may be portable or otherwise modular as part of a distributed vehicle data collection and control system, or may be provided integrally with respect to a central vehicle data collection control system, such as including an electronic control unit (ECU) 160. The data processing unit 140 may, for example, include or be functionally linked to a display unit 142, a processor 148, a memory / computer readable medium 144 having program logic resident thereon, and a data storage 146, such as including the mapped position of each directional antenna 120, tire data and / or vehicle operation data (whether directly or indirectly measured and stored), models derived therefrom over time, etc. The data processing unit 140 may also include a communication unit 150 for wired or wireless connection to various vehicle components, control units, server networks, and the like.

[0034] The system 100 as disclosed herein may thus implement a number of components distributed across one or more vehicles, such as but not necessarily associated with a fleet management entity, and may also implement a central server or network of servers in functional communication with each of the vehicles via a communication network. In addition to the tire and / or wheel sensors 114 and related on-board components described above, the vehicle components may typically also include one or more sensors 116 such as, for example, body accelerometers, gyroscopes, inertial measurement units (IMUs), position sensors such as global positioning system (GPS) transponders, ambient temperature sensors, engine sensors, etc., linked to a controller area network (CAN) bus network, and thereby provide signals to a data processing unit 140 or other local processing unit.

[0035] Other sensors for collecting and transmitting vehicle data, such as that relating to speed, acceleration, braking characteristics, etc., will become sufficiently apparent to one of ordinary skill in the art from the following discussion and are not discussed further herein. Various bus interfaces, protocols, and associated networks are well known in the art for communicating vehicle dynamics data, etc., between respective data sources and a local computing device, and one skilled in the art will recognize a wide range of such tools and apparatus for implementing such tools.

[0036] The system 100 may include a data processing unit 140 that is not discrete even in the example of an onboard computing device, but also includes additional distributed program logic (such as, for example, residing on a fleet management server or other user computing device), or a user interface for a device for real-time notification (e.g., via visual and / or audio indicators) resident in the vehicle or associated with its driver (not shown), where the fleet management device is functionally linked to the onboard device via a communication network in some embodiments. System programming information may be provided, for example, by the driver on the vehicle or from a fleet manager.

[0037] Next reference Figure 3 , an exemplary embodiment of the method 300 according to the present disclosure may include a first step of mapping a plurality of directional antennas 120 to corresponding wheel locations on the vehicle (step 310). As previously described, by using the directional antennas 120, output signals from the tire and / or wheel sensors 114 may be isolated and easily identified as being within a relevant field relative to the mapped wheel locations.

[0038] In one embodiment, the tire and / or wheel sensors 114 may also be provided with unique identifiers transmitted via the directional antenna 120 and the receiver / RF switch 130. Thus, the method 300 may also include mapping the tire and / or wheel sensor identifiers to each tire in a corresponding set of tires (step 320), particularly in the case where the output signals from the tire and / or wheel sensors during use include these identifiers, such as using radio frequency identification (RFID), wherein the data processing unit 140 may distinguish between signals provided from corresponding sensors 114 on the same vehicle, and may also distinguish between signals provided from tires 112 and associated tire and / or wheel sensors 114 on multiple vehicles, such as in a fleet management context. In other words, in various embodiments, the sensor output values ​​may be associated with a specific tire, a specific vehicle, and / or a specific tire-vehicle system for the purposes of on-board or remote / downstream data storage and implementations as disclosed herein. Thus, when the output signals are subsequently sent to the corresponding data processing unit 140, a tire 112 that has been relocated from a first wheel on a vehicle may be easily identified as having been moved from the first wheel to another wheel on the same vehicle or a different vehicle. In various embodiments, it can be assumed that, for example, the tire and / or wheel sensor 114 is mounted inside or otherwise to the tire in a substantially fixed manner, but in alternative situations where a first tire and / or wheel sensor is foreseeably removed from an initial tire and can be replaced with another (e.g., a second) tire and / or wheel sensor, the system 100 can also be configured to map a duration associated with a first tire and / or wheel sensor mounted on a given tire and a duration associated with a second tire and / or wheel sensor mounted on the same tire, for example, to monitor tire condition over time.

[0039] Exemplary method 300 also includes receiving output signals of tire and / or wheel sensors 114 at corresponding directional antennas 120 during vehicle operation (step 330 ) and routing the output signals to data processing unit 140 via, for example, the RF switch or multi-channel receiver 130 described above.

[0040] The signals received from the specific tire and / or wheel sensors 114 can be stored in the onboard device memory, or in an equivalent data storage unit functionally linked to the onboard device processor, for selective retrieval as needed for models, calculations, displayed alerts, etc. according to the methods disclosed herein. In some embodiments, the raw data signals from the various tire and / or wheel sensors 114 can be transmitted from the vehicle to the remote server in substantially real time. Alternatively, particularly in view of the inefficiencies inherent in the continuous data transmission of high-frequency data, the data can be compiled, encoded and / or aggregated, for example, for more efficient (e.g., based on periodic time or alternatively based on defined events) transmission from the vehicle to the remote server via an appropriate communication network.

[0041] In step 350, the mapped position in the data memory for each of the relatively directional antennas 120 may be associated with the output signal received via the corresponding directional antenna 120 to further determine the wheel position of each tire and / or wheel sensor 114 that generated the output signal. Figure 2 , for example, directional antenna 120k can be digitally mapped in association with two known wheel locations along one side of a particular dual tire axle 104b. The output signals received via directional antenna 120k are distinguishable, at least in view of the respective identifiers associated with the tire and / or wheel sensors 114 for tires 112k1 and 112k2 and / or the relative signal strengths (RSSI) of these tire and / or wheel sensors. The data processing unit 140 or other relevant portions of the system 100 can accordingly store and optionally aggregate tire data and / or vehicle-tire data associated with one or more of the tire and / or wheel sensors 114 (and therefore the tires 112k1 and 112k2 on which the sensors are mounted or otherwise associated), wheel locations on the vehicle, axles, vehicles, drivers, etc.

[0042] According to this example, for ease of illustration, tire 112k1 may later be moved to another location on the vehicle to replace tire 112d2, such as Figure 2As shown. During subsequent operation of the vehicle, the data processing unit 140 receives (via the directional antenna 120d) output signals from the tire and / or wheel sensor 114 associated with the tire 112k1, and output signals from the wheel and / or tire sensor 114 associated with the tire 112d1, and determines based on the identifiers associated with the tires and / or tire sensors and also taking into account the relative signal strength (RSSI) that the tire and / or vehicle sensor 114 associated with the tire 112k1 is at the new wheel position. The data processing unit 140 or other relevant parts of the system 100 can then continue to store and optionally aggregate tire data and / or vehicle-tire data associated with the tire 112k1 according to the new wheel position.

[0043] As previously described, output signals from tire and / or wheel sensors 114 (such as, for example, tire pressure monitoring system (TPMS) sensors) may include or otherwise correspond to real-time measurements of values ​​such as tire inflation pressure, contained air temperature, acceleration, etc. These measurements may be monitored and determined directly or indirectly at the data processing unit 140 or other downstream computing device (such as a remote server or fleet management network) and used to determine whether an alert should be generated for a given tire, for a given wheel position, for a given vehicle-tire combination, for the driver, etc. based on tire characteristics of the given tire (e.g., based on low tire inflation pressure) (step 360). Such an alert may take the form of a visual display or an audiovisual alert generated, for example, on an onboard user interface / display unit or a discrete display unit, such as on a mobile computing device associated with an operator of the vehicle (step 365).

[0044] In an embodiment, the tire data and / or vehicle-tire data, once sent to a remote server or fleet management network via a communication network, may be stored, for example, in a database associated therewith. The server / device / network may include or otherwise be associated with a tire wear model and / or a tire traction model for selectively retrieving and processing tire-vehicle data and / or tire data as appropriate inputs (step 370). These models may be selectively implemented manually or automatically based on identified triggering activities or measurements, or may be implemented periodically, for example, on a timed basis, to further enable retrieval of vehicle-tire data and / or tire data, and input any additional relevant data or algorithms from a database, lookup table, etc. stored in association with the server via electronic communication.

[0045] Various tire wear values ​​may be estimated based on a "digital twin" virtual representation of various physical parts, processes, or systems, where digital and physical data are paired and combined with a learning system such as, for example, a neural network. For example, real data from a vehicle and associated location / route information may be provided to generate a digital representation of the vehicle's tires for estimating tire wear, where a subsequent comparison of the estimated tire wear to the determined actual tire wear may be implemented as feedback to a machine learning algorithm. The wear model may be implemented at the vehicle for processing via an onboard system, or the tire data and / or vehicle data may be processed to provide representative data to a hosted server for remote wear estimation.

[0046] Tire wear state (e.g., tread depth) may be provided as input to a traction model, e.g., along with certain vehicle data, which may be configured to provide an estimated traction state or one or more traction characteristics of the corresponding tire. As with the aforementioned wear model, the traction model may include a "digital twin" virtual representation of a physical part, process, or system, wherein digital and physical data are paired and combined with a learning system such as, for example, an artificial neural network. Real vehicle data and / or tire data from a particular tire, vehicle, or tire-vehicle system may be provided throughout the lifecycle of the corresponding asset to generate a virtual representation of the vehicle tire for estimating tire traction, wherein a subsequent comparison of the estimated tire traction with the corresponding measured or determined actual tire traction may, for example, result in an alert corresponding to the determined active safety issue (step 380), wherein the alert is generated substantially in real time for operator attention on an associated display unit (step 365), and / or may be implemented as feedback to a machine learning algorithm executed at a remote server and / or fleet management device / network level.

[0047] In various embodiments, the traction model may utilize an associated combination of results from previous testing (including, for example, stopping distance test results, tire traction test results, etc.) as collected regarding a number of tire-vehicle systems, as well as values ​​for input parameters (e.g., tire tread, inflation pressure, road surface characteristics, vehicle speed and acceleration, slip rate and angle, normal force, brake pressure, and load), where tire traction output may be effectively predicted for a given set of current vehicle data and tire data inputs.

[0048] In one embodiment, the output from the traction model may be provided to a vehicle control unit, such as, for example, incorporated into an active safety system (step 390). The term "active safety system" as used herein may preferably encompass such systems generally known to those skilled in the art, including, but not limited to, examples such as collision avoidance systems, advanced driver assistance systems (ADAS), anti-lock braking systems (ABS), etc., which may be configured to utilize the traction model output information to achieve optimal performance. For example, a collision avoidance system is typically configured to take evasive action, such as automatically engaging the brakes of the host vehicle to avoid or mitigate a potential collision with a target vehicle, and enhanced information regarding the traction capabilities of the tires, and thus the braking capabilities of the tire-vehicle system, is highly desirable.

[0049] In another embodiment, a ridesharing autonomous fleet may use output data from a traction model to disable or otherwise selectively avoid using vehicles with low tread depth during inclement weather, or potentially limit the maximum speed of such vehicles.

[0050] In various embodiments, the method may further include comparing the current wear value to a threshold value to determine whether (or when) the tire needs to be replaced. The method may alternatively or further include predicting the wear value at one or more future time points, wherein such predicted value may be compared to a corresponding threshold value. A feedback signal corresponding to the predicted tire wear state (e.g., predicted tread depth at a given distance, time, etc.) may be provided, for example, via an interface to an onboard display unit associated with the vehicle itself (step 365), or to a mobile device associated with the user, such as, for example, integrated with a user interface configured to provide an alert or notification / recommendation that a tire should or will soon need to be replaced.

[0051] As another example, a fleet of autonomous vehicles may include a number of vehicles having different minimum tread condition values, where the fleet management system may be configured to disable deployment of vehicles that fall below a minimum threshold. The fleet management system may also implement different minimum tread condition values ​​corresponding to wheel positions. The system may accordingly be configured to act according to the minimum tire tread value for each of a plurality of tires associated with the vehicle, or in an embodiment, an aggregated tread condition of the plurality of tires may be calculated for comparison to the minimum threshold.

[0052] In various embodiments, the method may also include data streaming even in the event that no threshold violation is detected, wherein estimated and / or predicted wear values ​​may be displayed in real time on a local user interface and / or a remote display (e.g., associated with a fleet management server), and further displayed data may include (for example) included air temperature.

[0053] Throughout the specification and claims, unless the context dictates otherwise, the following terms have at least the meanings explicitly associated herein. The meanings identified below do not necessarily limit the terms, but merely provide illustrative examples of the terms. The meanings of "a," "an," and "the" may include plural references, and the meaning of "in" may include "in" and "on." As used herein, the phrase "in one embodiment" does not necessarily refer to the same embodiment, although it may be the same embodiment.

[0054] Various exemplary logic blocks, modules and algorithmic steps described in conjunction with the embodiments disclosed herein can be implemented as electronic hardware, computer software or a combination of the two. In order to clearly illustrate this interchangeability of hardware and software, various exemplary components, blocks, modules and steps have been generally described above in terms of their functions. Such functions are implemented as hardware or software depending on the specific application and the design constraints imposed on the entire system. The described functions can be implemented in different ways for each specific application, but such implementation decisions should not be interpreted as causing a departure from the scope of the present disclosure.

[0055] The various illustrative logical blocks and modules described in conjunction with the embodiments disclosed herein may be implemented or executed by a machine such as a general purpose processor, a digital signal processor (DSP), an application specific integrated circuit (ASIC), a field programmable gate array (FPGA) or other programmable logic device, discrete gate or transistor logic, discrete hardware components, or any combination thereof designed to perform the functions described herein. A general purpose processor may be a microprocessor, but in an alternative, the processor may be a controller, a microcontroller or a state machine, a combination thereof, etc. A processor may also be implemented as a combination of computing devices, such as a combination of a DSP and a microprocessor, a combination of multiple microprocessors, a combination of one or more microprocessors combined with a DSP core, or a combination of any other such configurations.

[0056] The steps of the methods, processes or algorithms described in conjunction with the embodiments disclosed herein may be directly embodied in hardware, in a software module executed by a processor, or in a combination of the two. The software module may reside in a RAM memory, a flash memory, a ROM memory, an EPROM memory, an EEPROM memory, a register, a hard disk, a removable disk, a CD-ROM, or any other form of computer-readable medium known in the art. An exemplary computer-readable medium may be coupled to a processor so that the processor can read information from a memory / storage medium and write information to a memory / storage medium. In an alternative, the medium may be integrated into the processor. The processor and the medium may reside in an ASIC. The ASIC may reside in a user terminal. In an alternative, the processor and the medium may reside in a user terminal as discrete components.

[0057] Unless specifically stated otherwise or otherwise understood within the context of use, conditional language used herein (such as "may," "might," "could," "for example," etc.) is generally intended to convey that certain embodiments include certain features, elements, and / or states, while other embodiments do not include certain features, elements, and / or states. Thus, such conditional language is generally not intended to imply that features, elements, and / or states are in any way required for one or more embodiments, or that one or more embodiments necessarily include logic for determining, with or without author input or prompting, whether such features, elements, and / or states are included in any particular embodiment or will be performed in any particular embodiment.

[0058] Although certain preferred embodiments of the present invention may be described herein generally with respect to tire wear estimation for fleet management systems and more specifically for autonomous vehicle fleet or commercial truck applications, the present invention is expressly not limited thereto and, unless otherwise specified, the term "vehicle" as used herein may refer to an automobile, truck, or any equivalent thereof (whether self-propelled or otherwise) that may include one or more tires and therefore require accurate estimation or prediction of tire wear and potential disabling, replacement or intervention in the form of, for example, direct vehicle control adjustments.

[0059] Unless otherwise noted, the term "user" as used herein may refer to a driver, passenger, mechanic, technician, fleet manager, or any other person or entity that may be associated with, for example, a device having a user interface for providing the features and steps disclosed herein.

[0060] The foregoing detailed description has been provided for purposes of illustration and description. Thus, while specific embodiments of new and useful inventions have been described, it is not intended that these references be construed as limitations on the scope of the invention, except as set forth in the following claims.

Claims

1. A system (100) for locating a wheel position of a vehicle, the system comprising: at least one tire and / or wheel sensor (114) respectively associated with each of a plurality of tires (112) mounted on a vehicle, wherein the vehicle includes a plurality of axles (104) having at least one tire on each of a first side and a second side of the vehicle; For each of the axles, a first directional antenna (120) is arranged to capture wireless output signals from a corresponding at least one tire associated with the axle on the first side, and a second directional antenna (120) is arranged to capture wireless output signals from a corresponding at least one tire associated with the axle on the second side; A data processing unit (140) is configured to receive (330) an output signal from each of the tire and / or wheel sensors via at least a corresponding directional antenna, and is also configured to automatically identify a corresponding wheel position of each of the tire and / or wheel sensors on the vehicle based on a mapped relative position (350) of each of the directional antennas.

2. The system of claim 1, wherein: The vehicle includes at least one axle having a single tire on each of the first side and the second side, and at least one axle having a plurality of tires on each of the first side and the second side; The data processing unit is configured to automatically identify the corresponding wheel position of each of the tires on the vehicle based on the mapped relative position of each of the directional antennas and also based on the detected relative output signal strengths of at least the tire and / or wheel sensors associated with the multiple axles having multiple tires on each of the first side and the second side.

3. The system of claim 2, wherein the wireless output signal from each tire includes data corresponding to one or more measured tire characteristics.

4. The system of claim 3, wherein the wireless output signal from a single tire and / or wheel sensor for at least one tire includes an identifier unique to the corresponding tire and the data corresponding to one or more measured tire characteristics.

5. The system of claim 3, wherein the wireless output signal from at least one tire comprises a radio frequency identification (RF) signal unique to the corresponding tire as a first tire and / or wheel sensor via an RFID tag and the data corresponding to one or more measured tire characteristics from a second tire and / or wheel sensor.

6. The system of claim 3, wherein the data processing unit is configured to associate at least one of the one or more measured tire characteristics in the data storage device with each of the corresponding identified tire and / or wheel sensors on the vehicle and the wheel positions.

7. A system according to claim 6, wherein the data processing unit is configured to detect a change in position of the identified tire and / or wheel sensor and the corresponding tire on the vehicle from a first wheel position to a second wheel position, and to aggregate in a data memory at least one measured tire characteristic of one or more measured tire characteristics received from the identified wheel and / or tire sensor at each of the first wheel position and the second wheel position.

8. A system according to any one of claims 1 to 7, wherein the system further comprises a wireless signal receiver configured with a plurality of channels, each channel corresponding to one of the directional antennas associated with the vehicle, for simultaneously implementing the corresponding output signals through the channels.

9. The system according to any one of claims 1 to 7, further comprising a switch device configured to be able to select between each of the directional antennas associated with the vehicle for implementing a corresponding output signal through the directional antenna.

10. The system according to any one of claims 1 to 7, wherein the at least one tire and / or wheel sensor comprises at least a tire pressure monitoring system (TPMS) sensor.

11. System according to any one of claims 1 to 7, wherein the at least one tire and / or wheel sensor comprises at least a tire mounted sensor (TMS).

12. The system according to any one of claims 1 to 7, wherein the data processing unit is further configured to: accumulating historical information about tire wear for each tire in a data store; and A current tire wear state of each tire is estimated based at least on the corresponding identified wheel position and the stored historical information regarding tire wear.

13. The system according to claim 12, wherein the data processing unit is further configured to: predicting one or more tire traction characteristics of each tire based at least on the estimated tire wear state; providing the one or more predicted tire traction characteristics to a vehicle control unit associated with the vehicle; and One or more vehicle operating settings are automatically modified via the vehicle control unit based at least on the predicted one or more tire traction characteristics.

14. The system according to claim 12, wherein the data processing unit is further configured to: For each tire, a replacement time is predicted based on one or more of the current tire wear state and the predicted tire wear state, and compared with one or more tire wear thresholds.

15. The system of claim 14, wherein the respective tire wear threshold for a given tire corresponds to the identified wheel position associated with the tire.

16. The system according to any one of claims 1 to 7, further comprising an onboard vehicle control unit, the onboard vehicle control unit comprising the data processing unit.

17. The system according to any one of claims 1 to 7, further comprising a server-based network comprising the data processing unit.

18. The system according to any one of claims 1 to 7, further comprising a mobile computing device, the mobile computing device comprising the data processing unit.

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