Method and device for determining amount of wear of tire

Abstract

The present invention relates to a tire wear determination device and method for determining the amount of tire wear on the basis of a frictional force calculated by reflecting the influence of a passenger load on each wheel. According to the present invention, a controller calculates a longitudinal friction force and a lateral friction force acting on a vehicle using data provided by a wheel speed sensor, a seat sensor, and a yaw velocity sensor, and applies tire characteristic information to calculate an instantaneous amount of tire wear.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present invention relates to a method and apparatus for determining tire wear, and more particularly, to a method and apparatus for determining tire wear based on friction calculated by reflecting the effect of occupant load on each wheel. Background Technology

[0002] Typically, vehicles are equipped with rotating wheels, on which are mounted tires. The part of the tire that contacts the road surface is called the "tire tread" or "tire pattern".

[0003] The tread (which is the contact patch of the tire) is formed by a thick layer of rubber to protect the internal tire body, buffer layer, etc., and various tread patterns are processed on the contact patch of the tire to ensure the coefficient of friction with the road surface and maintain directionality.

[0004] When a vehicle is in motion, the grooves in the tire tread will wear down due to contact with the ground (road surface). As the grooves wear down, the groove depth becomes shallower, which reduces the vehicle's steering and braking performance.

[0005] Furthermore, severe tire wear can lead to tire blowouts while driving. Therefore, checking the wear of vehicle tires and replacing them in a timely manner is crucial for safe driving. However, checking tire wear and lifespan may require the driver to visually inspect the wear indicators on the tire circumference.

[0006] If a driver fails to regularly check tire wear, they may not replace the tires until they are severely worn, which could lead to a serious accident.

[0007] In addition, if the driver inspects the tires with the naked eye, he may not be able to objectively determine when to replace them, and it is also necessary to check the wear of each tire on the vehicle. Summary of the Invention

[0008] One object of the present invention is to provide a tire wear determination device and a tire wear determination method using the tire wear determination device, which determines the amount of tire wear based on the influence of occupant load on each wheel of the vehicle and the vehicle's driving conditions.

[0009] Another object of the present invention is to provide a tire wear determination device and a tire wear determination method using the tire wear determination device, which can inform the user when to check and replace the tires.

[0010] According to one embodiment of the present invention, an apparatus for determining tire wear may include: a wheel speed sensor configured to measure the rotational speed of each wheel among a plurality of wheels of a traveling vehicle; a seat sensor configured to detect whether each seat among a plurality of seats of the vehicle is occupied; a yaw rate sensor configured to measure the yaw rate of the vehicle, which is a standard for determining vehicle stability; a memory for storing tire characteristic information for various tire types; a controller configured to use data provided by the wheel speed sensor, seat sensor and yaw rate sensor to determine the longitudinal and lateral friction forces acting on the vehicle, and to determine the instantaneous tire wear by applying the tire characteristic information; and a display unit configured to display the instantaneous tire wear.

[0011] The controller can be configured to: determine the slip ratio using the instrument panel vehicle speed and the actual speed measured by the wheel speed sensors; determine the load value for each wheel based on data provided by the seat sensors and initial vehicle load data; determine the longitudinal friction force acting on the vehicle using the slip ratio and the load value for each wheel when the slip ratio exceeds a set peak slip ratio; determine the lateral friction force acting on the vehicle by applying the rotational angular velocity measured by the yaw rate sensor to the longitudinal friction force; and determine the instantaneous tire wear by accumulating the instantaneous travel distance to the longitudinal and lateral friction forces based on the Archard wear model.

[0012] Seat sensors may include: weight-sensing resistors disposed under each seat, the resistance of which changes when a load is applied in a direction perpendicular to the surface of each seat; and seatbelt sensors configured to detect whether the occupants in each seat are wearing seatbelts.

[0013] The controller can be configured to distribute the weight of each occupant in each seat to each wheel based on data provided by the seat sensors.

[0014] The seat sensor can be configured to detect whether a child seat is installed and provide the corresponding information to the controller, and the controller is also configured to distribute the effect of the child seat to each wheel.

[0015] The controller can be configured to: correct the vehicle speed displayed on the instrument panel; apply a linear correction method when the actual vehicle speed is less than the predetermined speed; and apply a logarithmic correction method when the actual vehicle speed is greater than or equal to the predetermined speed.

[0016] The device may also include a communication unit configured to communicate with an external server wirelessly, and the controller is further configured to send information about instantaneous tire wear along with vehicle information to the external server via the communication unit.

[0017] According to another embodiment of the present invention, a method for determining tire wear may include: determining the slip ratio of each wheel among a plurality of wheels of a traveling vehicle using actual speeds measured by instrument panel speed and wheel speed sensors from the instrument panel; applying an occupant load to the vehicle and determining a load value for each wheel; determining longitudinal friction using the slip ratio and the load value for each wheel; determining lateral friction acting on the vehicle by applying a rotational angular velocity measured by a yaw rate sensor to the longitudinal friction; determining instantaneous tire wear by accumulating instantaneous travel distance to the longitudinal and lateral friction; and displaying information related to instantaneous tire wear in a form recognizable to the vehicle driver.

[0018] Based on the sensing data provided by the seat belt sensors, the load value of each wheel can be determined by distributing the influence of the weight of the occupants in each seat to the wheels.

[0019] The method may include: correcting the speedometer displayed on the instrument panel; applying a linear correction method when the actual speed is less than a predetermined speed; and applying a logarithmic correction method when the actual speed is greater than or equal to the predetermined speed.

[0020] Determining instantaneous tire wear may include reading tire characteristic information stored in the vehicle's memory.

[0021] According to embodiments of the present invention, the tire wear determination device and tire wear determination method can calculate the amount of tire wear and inform the driver of the amount of tire wear, thereby reducing the burden on the driver to visually inspect the vehicle tires and protecting the driver's safety. Attached Figure Description

[0022] Figure 1 This is a block diagram illustrating an example configuration of a tire wear determination device according to an embodiment of the present invention.

[0023] Figure 2 This is a diagram illustrating an example configuration of a seat sensor according to an embodiment of the present invention.

[0024] Figure 3 This is a flowchart illustrating a method for determining tire wear according to an embodiment of the present invention.

[0025] Figure 4 This is a flowchart illustrating the process of calculating the slip ratio in a tire wear determination method according to an embodiment of the present invention.

[0026] Figure 5 It is a graph showing the difference between the actual vehicle speed and the calibrated speedometer speed.

[0027] Figure 6This is a flowchart illustrating the process of calculating the corrected dashboard speed in a tire wear determination method according to an embodiment of the present invention.

[0028] Figure 7 This is a flowchart illustrating the process of calculating longitudinal friction force in a tire wear determination method according to an embodiment of the present invention.

[0029] Figure 8 It is a graph showing the relationship between longitudinal friction and peak slip ratio.

[0030] Figure 9 This is a flowchart illustrating the process of calculating lateral friction force in a tire wear determination method according to an embodiment of the present invention. Detailed Implementation

[0031] The following structural or functional descriptions of exemplary embodiments are for illustrative purposes only, and embodiments may be implemented in various forms.

[0032] The implementation methods should not be construed as being limited to this invention, but should be understood as including all changes, modifications, equivalents and substitutions within the scope of the concept and technology of this invention.

[0033] Although terms containing ordinal numbers, such as "first," "second," etc., may be used herein to describe various elements, these elements are not limited by these terms. These terms are used only to distinguish one element from another. For example, without departing from the scope of the invention, a first element may be referred to as a second component, and similarly, a second component may be referred to as a first element.

[0034] When an element is described as being "joined" or "connected" to another element, the element may be directly joined or connected to the other element. However, it should be understood that another element may exist between them. Conversely, when an element is described as being "directly joined" or "directly connected" to another element, it should be understood that there are no other elements between them. Similarly, when an element is described as being "located on another element," the element may be directly located on the surface of the other element, or disposed above the surface of the other element with a certain space between them. When the components, parts, units, devices, elements, etc., of the present invention are described as having a certain purpose or performing a certain operation, function, etc., the component, part, unit, device, or element shall be considered herein to be "configured" to satisfy that purpose or perform that operation or function.

[0035] Unless the context clearly indicates otherwise, the singular forms “a,” “an,” and “the” are intended to include the plural forms as well. It should also be understood that the terms “comprising / consisting of” and / or “including / comprise” as used herein specify the presence of the stated feature, integer, step, operation, element, and / or component, but do not preclude the presence or addition of one or more other features, integers, steps, operations, elements, components, and / or combinations thereof.

[0036] Unless otherwise defined, all terms used herein, including technical and scientific terms, shall have the same meaning as commonly understood by one of ordinary skill in the art to which this invention applies. Terms, such as those defined in common dictionaries, shall be interpreted as having the same meaning as they have in the relevant field and in the context of this invention, and shall not be interpreted as having an idealized or overly formal meaning unless expressly defined herein.

[0037] Furthermore, the order of operations or steps described herein is merely illustrative and is not limited to the order presented herein. It may be modified upon understanding the disclosure of this application, except for certain operations or steps that must occur in a specific order. Additionally, for clarity and brevity, descriptions of features known after understanding the disclosure of this application may be omitted.

[0038] The term "vehicle" as used in this article may include internal combustion engine vehicles powered by an engine, hybrid electric vehicles powered by both an engine and an electric motor, electric vehicles powered by an electric motor, fuel cell vehicles, etc.

[0039] The following description, in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, describes an apparatus (or simply "tire wear determining apparatus") for determining tire wear and a method (or simply "tire wear determining method") for determining tire wear according to embodiments of the present invention.

[0040] Figure 1 This is a block diagram illustrating an example configuration of a tire wear determination device according to an embodiment of the present invention. Figure 2 This is a diagram illustrating an example configuration of a seat sensor according to an embodiment of the present invention.

[0041] As shown in the figure, the tire wear determination device may include multiple sensors 110 to 140, a controller 200, a memory 300, a display unit 400, and a communication unit 500 that communicates data with the controller 200. Although some of the various sensors are shown, the sensors are not limited to those shown. Figure 1 The type shown can also be supplemented with other sensors, such as brake sensors, gyroscope sensors, tire pressure sensors, road condition sensors, etc., to allow the controller 200 to calculate tire wear.

[0042] Wheel speed sensor 110 measures the rotational speed of each wheel of a moving vehicle and transmits the measured rotational speed (i.e., by sending a signal) to controller 200.

[0043] Seat sensor 120 can provide controller 200 with information about whether the seat is occupied by a vehicle occupant and the occupant's weight. For example... Figure 2 As shown, the seat sensor 120 may include a weight-sensing resistor 121 disposed under each seat to measure the occupant's weight, and a seatbelt sensor 122 mounted on each seat to sense whether the seat is occupied. Although the figure shows both the weight-sensing resistor 121 and the seatbelt sensor 122, the tire wear determination device may also be implemented using only one of these configurations. For example, the weight-sensing resistor 121 may be disposed under each seat to extract occupant weight information and seat information. With only the seatbelt sensor 122 included, the occupant weight may be averaged and uniformly assumed to be 70 kg. The seat sensor 120 may detect whether a child seat is installed and provide the corresponding information to the controller 200.

[0044] The yaw rate sensor 130 measures the yaw rate, which is a standard used to determine vehicle stability, and provides the measured yaw rate to the controller 200.

[0045] Weather sensor 140 can send temperature or humidity information from outside the vehicle to controller 200. Generally, the braking distance of a vehicle can be determined by vehicle weight, friction between the road surface and tires, braking speed, coefficient of friction, and road conditions (such as road surface conditions).

[0046] Based on data provided by sensors 110 to 140, and taking into account factors such as vehicle weight and braking performance, controller 200 can calculate instantaneous tire wear based on vehicle driving, slip ratio, braking, and other conditions. Controller 200 can also consider road conditions based on temperature and humidity measured by weather sensor 140 to calculate the vehicle's slip ratio and braking distance. Controller 200 can calculate the vehicle's braking distance based on road conditions, such as whether the road surface is wet or icy due to rain or snow. For example, based on a braking distance of 10 meters (m) on a dry road surface, controller 200 can also consider road conditions (e.g., wet roads due to rain) and calculate the braking distance based on a predetermined correction factor for such wet roads, thereby calculating tire wear accordingly. Controller 200 can also use information provided by seat sensor 120 to distribute the influence on each wheel based on whether a child seat is installed.

[0047] The memory 300 can store various parameter information required for calculating tire wear, including characteristic information about various tire types. The display unit 400 displays the instantaneous tire wear calculated based on control signals provided by the controller 200 in a form recognizable to the vehicle driver. The communication unit 500 can wirelessly connect to an external data network, such as the Internet, to obtain information about the road the vehicle is traveling on and provide this road information to the controller 200. The controller 200 can send the calculated instantaneous tire wear information, along with vehicle information, to an external server via the communication unit 500.

[0048] Figure 3 This is a flowchart illustrating a tire wear determination method according to an embodiment of the present invention. The entity performing the following tire wear determination method may be... Figure 1 The controller 200 shown is used to calculate instantaneous tire wear based on data provided by various sensors and to provide the driver with real-time information about tire wear.

[0049] In step S100, the controller 200 can calculate the slip ratio of each wheel of the moving vehicle using the calibrated instrument panel speed displayed on the instrument panel and the actual speed measured by the wheel speed sensor 110. In step S200, the controller 200 can calculate the load on each wheel by combining seatbelt status data and initial vehicle load. In step S300, the controller 200 can calculate the longitudinal friction force using the slip ratio and the load value of each wheel. In step S400, the controller 200 can calculate the lateral friction force acting on the vehicle by applying the rotational angular velocity measured by the yaw rate sensor 130 to the longitudinal friction force. In step S500, the controller 200 can calculate the instantaneous tire wear by accumulating the instantaneous travel distance to the longitudinal and lateral friction forces. In step S600, the controller 200 can provide information about the calculated instantaneous tire wear in a driver-readable format.

[0050] Specifically, when a vehicle is moving or braking, slippage may occur between the vehicle's tires and the road surface. This slippage wears down the tires. As tire wear increases, the friction between the tire and the road surface decreases. This reduced friction, resulting in worn tires, leads to more slippage. Consequently, the tires wear further. This tire wear can damage the tires themselves, such as causing a blowout, and adversely affect the vehicle's braking performance. The less worn the tires, the greater the friction between the tire and the road surface. The vehicle can thus reduce slippage, and the percentage of slippage relative to vehicle speed can be lowered.

[0051] refer to Figure 4The process by which the controller 200 calculates the vehicle slip ratio is described. When the vehicle is moving, in step S110, the controller 200 can calculate the vehicle speed based on the wheel rotation speed measured by the wheel speed sensor 110. In step S120, the vehicle speed detected by the wheel speed sensor 110 can be corrected and sent to the speedometer or odometer on the instrument panel. In this case, the vehicle speed detected by the wheel speed sensor 110 and the vehicle speed displayed on the instrument panel may differ as follows: Figure 5 The difference is shown in the graph. It can be verified that as vehicle speed increases, the difference between the actual vehicle speed and the speed displayed on the dashboard also increases. This indicates that a correction process has been performed on the vehicle speed output from the dashboard. The process of calculating the corrected dashboard speed will refer to... Figure 6 The following describes the process. In step S121, the controller 200 calculates the wheel speed using the wheel speed sensor 110. In step S122, the controller 200 determines whether the actual vehicle speed is greater than 40 km / h. When the actual vehicle speed is less than 40 km / h, in step S124, the controller 200 applies a linear correction method. When the actual vehicle speed is greater than or equal to 40 km / h, in step S123, the controller 200 applies a logarithmic correction method to calculate the corrected instrument panel speed displayed on the dashboard in step S125.

[0052] review Figure 4 In step S130, the controller 200 determines whether the wheel speed is below 5 km / h. When the vehicle speed detected by the wheel speed sensor 110 is below 5 km / h, the slip ratio can be set to "0" in step S140. When the vehicle speed detected by the wheel speed sensor 110 is greater than 5 km / h, the vehicle slip ratio can be calculated in step S150 by limiting the value to between -1 and +1.

[0053] Although wheel speed can be directly obtained from the wheel speed sensors 110 installed on each wheel, vehicle speed is difficult to measure directly using the sensors. Therefore, vehicle speed can be approximated as the wheel speed with the maximum value among all wheel speeds. Generally, the slip ratio is a value representing the degree of slip between the tire and the road surface, which can be expressed as a percentage of the difference between the wheel speed (e.g., angular velocity or rotation) of the reference wheel and the wheel speed (e.g., angular velocity or rotation) of the measured wheel, as shown in <Formula 1> below.

[0054] Slip ratio = (vehicle speed - wheel speed) / vehicle speed × 100 <Formula 1>

[0055] To show the slippage of a tire on a road surface, the slip ratio can be calculated by obtaining the speed of the vehicle traveling on the road (e.g., vehicle speed) and the speed of the tire tread movement (e.g., tire speed indicated by a speed symbol), and by dividing the difference between them by the speed of the vehicle traveling on the road.

[0056] For example, if a vehicle is traveling at 30 km / h and no driving or braking force is applied, the tires roll, and the slip ratio can be calculated as "(30 km / h of road travel - 30 km / h of tire tread movement) / 30 km / h of road travel", which is "0". In other words, in this case, there is no slip between the tire and the road surface (although there may be tiny local slippage, it can be considered as "0" overall due to the different directions).

[0057] For example, when a vehicle is still traveling at 30 km / h and the tires are completely braked and stopped rotating (locked), the slip ratio can be calculated as "1" because the tire tread speed (i.e., tire rotation speed) is 0 at this time. This can be obtained by calculating "(road speed of 30 km / h - tire tread speed of 0 km / h) / road speed of 30 km / h".

[0058] When a tire actually rolls while braking, is not locked, and slips slightly, the slip ratio can be a value between 0 and 1. For example, if a vehicle is traveling at 30 km / h and the tire slows down due to braking, rolling at a tread speed (i.e., tire rotation speed) of 27 km / h, the slip ratio can be "(30-27) / 30=0.1".

[0059] The slip ratio is usually multiplied by 100 and expressed as a percentage, and can also be referred to as the slip percentage. For example, when the slip ratio is 0.1, the slip percentage is 10%, as shown in step S160.

[0060] Figure 7 This is a flowchart illustrating the calculation of longitudinal friction force by controller 200 in a tire wear determination method according to an embodiment of the present invention. In step S310, controller 200 receives motion signals from seat sensor 120 to calculate the load value of each wheel reflecting the occupant load, i.e., the occupant load inside the vehicle. In step S320, controller 200 may combine seat belt status data and initial vehicle load to calculate the load on each wheel. Controller 200 may determine which seat the occupant is sitting in based on information provided by seat sensor 120 (i.e., seat belt sensor 122). The axial load of each wheel is shown in Table 1 below, depending on seat occupancy. In this case, if the seat is not equipped with a weight sensing resistor 121, controller 200 may assume the passenger weight to be 70 kg.

[0061] Table 1

[0062] FL FR RL RR Driver's seat 0.4 0.2 0.3 0.1 Passenger seat 0.2 0.4 0.1 0.3 Rear middle seat 0.15 0.15 0.35 0.35 Rear left seat 0.2 0.1 0.5 0.2 Rear right seat 0.1 0.2 0.2 0.5

[0063] For example, since the weight of the person sitting in the driver's seat is 70kg, the controller 200 can calculate the load as follows: a load of 28kg, i.e., 70kg multiplied by 0.4, is allocated to and affects the left front wheel (FL); a load of 14kg, i.e., 70kg multiplied by 0.2, is allocated to and affects the right front wheel (FR); a load of 21kg, i.e., 70kg multiplied by 0.3, is allocated to and affects the left rear wheel (RL); and a load of 7kg, i.e., 70kg multiplied by 0.1, is allocated to and affects the right rear wheel (RR).

[0064] When the occupant is seated in the front passenger seat, the controller 200 can determine the loads corresponding to 14 kg, 28 kg, 7 kg, and 21 kg (70 kg multiplied by 0.2, 0.4, 0.1, and 0.3, respectively) affecting the FL, FR, RL, and RR wheels. When the occupant is seated in the center of the rear seat, the controller 200 can determine the loads corresponding to 10.5 kg, 10.5 kg, 24.5 kg, and 24.5 kg (70 kg multiplied by 0.15, 0.15, 0.35, and 0.35, respectively) affecting the FL, FR, RL, and RR wheels. When the occupant is seated on the left side of the rear seat, the controller 200 can determine the loads corresponding to 14 kg, 7 kg, 35 kg, and 14 kg (70 kg multiplied by 0.2, 0.1, 0.5, and 0.2, respectively) affecting the FL, FR, RL, and RR wheels. When an occupant is seated on the right side of the rear seat, the controller 200 can determine the effects of loads corresponding to 7kg, 14kg, 14kg, and 35kg (70kg multiplied by 0.1, 0.2, 0.2, and 0.5, respectively) on wheels FL, FR, RL, and RR. In other words, it can be verified that the impact on each wheel is proportional to the distance from the occupant to that wheel.

[0065] After calculating the load values ​​affecting each wheel, the controller 200 can calculate the longitudinal friction force. Figure 8 This is a graph showing the relationship between longitudinal friction and peak slip ratio. As shown, it can be verified that the peak slip ratio of each tire increases over time after tire installation. The x-axis represents slip ratio, and the y-axis represents longitudinal friction. The solid line (age 1) represents the peak slip ratio of a new tire, and the dashed line (age 5) represents the peak slip ratio of the most worn old tire. The contact area (or tread area) increases with tire wear, and the support stiffness increases as the tread height decreases, which increases the maximum friction (or peak friction).

[0066] review Figure 7In step S330, the controller 200 compares the slip ratio of each wheel with the peak slip ratio of the tires fitted to each wheel. When the slip ratio is less than or equal to the peak slip ratio, the controller 200 determines the friction force to be "zero (0)". In step S350, when the slip ratio is greater than the peak slip ratio, the controller 200 calculates the longitudinal friction force (or longitudinal sliding (or slip) force) acting on each wheel of the vehicle based on the slip ratio and the load value.

[0067] Figure 9 This is a flowchart illustrating the lateral friction calculation process in a tire wear determination method according to an embodiment of the present invention. In step S410, the controller 200 receives rotational angular velocity (or yaw rate) from a yaw rate sensor 130. The yaw rate sensor 130 is a sensor configured to detect the rotational angular velocity of a vehicle in the direction perpendicular to the vehicle's vertical axis, and can be used for vehicle steering control. It may be made of a single-piece piezoelectric ceramic, with its oscillator and detector arranged at 90 degrees. When an AC voltage is applied to the oscillator, the oscillator deforms and vibrates, causing it to oscillate left and right at a constant frequency. In this state, when the vehicle turns at a certain angular velocity, the sensor's detector tilts in a direction perpendicular to the vibration direction due to the Coriolis force and outputs an AC voltage. By detecting the AC waveform generated by the detector, the direction and magnitude of the turn can be detected and output as an analog signal. In step S420, the controller 200 can use the rotational angular velocity to calculate the lateral acceleration. In step S430, the controller 200 can use the lateral acceleration to calculate the lateral friction force. Lateral friction, also known as the lateral slip friction coefficient, represents the degree to which the vertical force acting on the road surface is converted into lateral friction between the tire and the road surface when a vehicle is traveling on a flat curve. The lateral slip friction coefficient depends on the vehicle's speed, the tire's position, and the shape and condition of the road surface. The lateral slip friction coefficient has the following characteristics: the faster the speed, the smaller the value; the value decreases on wet and icy surfaces; and the more severe the tire wear, the smaller the value.

[0068] The controller 200 can calculate instantaneous tire wear based on the Archard model by accumulating instantaneous travel distance into longitudinal and lateral friction forces. The controller 200 can also calculate cumulative distance based on a predetermined unit distance by adding the currently calculated instantaneous tire wear to the cumulative value of the previous unit distance, and then calculate the instantaneous tire wear over that cumulative distance.

[0069] The controller 200 can use tire information stored in the memory 300 to calculate tire wear. The memory 300 can store information such as tire dimensions (inches or size), differences in wear performance between different manufacturers (e.g., material differences). The data to be stored can be set as representative values. The controller 200 can apply the information stored in the memory 300 to the Arcard coefficient, contact patch area, and material hardness—basic information about the target tire. Prior to this, the controller 200 can set optimal values ​​through multiple tests to predict tire wear on actual vehicles.

[0070] As described above, the tire wear determination device and tire wear determination method according to embodiments of the present invention can determine the amount of tire wear during vehicle operation based on the influence of passenger load on each wheel, and can inform the user when the tires need to be inspected and replaced, thereby reducing the burden on the driver to visually inspect the vehicle tires and protecting the driver's safety.

[0071] Although various embodiments of the present invention have been illustrated and described above, the present invention is not limited to the specific embodiments described above. Those skilled in the art can make various changes and modifications without departing from the spirit and scope of the present invention, and such changes and modifications should not be construed as being independent of the technical ideas or viewpoints of the present invention.

Claims

1. An apparatus for determining the amount of wear on vehicle tires, the apparatus comprising: A wheel speed sensor is configured to measure the rotational speed of each of the multiple wheels of the vehicle in motion; Seat sensors are configured to detect whether each of the multiple seats in the vehicle is occupied; A yaw rate sensor is configured to measure the yaw rate of the vehicle, which is a standard used to determine the stability of the vehicle. The memory is configured to store tire characteristic information for various tire types; The controller is configured to use data provided by the wheel speed sensor, the seat sensor and the yaw rate sensor to determine the longitudinal and lateral friction forces acting on the vehicle, and to determine the amount of tire wear based on the tire characteristic information; as well as The display unit is configured to display information based on the tire wear amount.

2. The apparatus according to claim 1, wherein, The controller is also configured to: The slip ratio is determined using the instrument panel speed from the dashboard and the actual speed measured by the wheel speed sensors. Based on the data provided by the seat sensors and the initial vehicle load data, the load value for each wheel is determined; Based on the slip ratio exceeding a set peak slip ratio, the longitudinal friction force acting on the vehicle is determined using the slip ratio and the load value of each wheel; The lateral friction force acting on the vehicle is determined by applying the rotational angular velocity measured by the yaw rate sensor to the longitudinal friction force. as well as Based on the Archard wear model, instantaneous tire wear is determined by accumulating the instantaneous travel distance into the longitudinal friction force and the lateral friction force.

3. The apparatus according to claim 2, wherein, The seat sensor includes: A weight-sensing resistor is installed under each seat; the resistance value of the weight-sensing resistor changes when a load is applied in a direction perpendicular to the surface of each seat. Seatbelt sensors are configured to detect whether occupants in each seat are wearing their seatbelts.

4. The apparatus according to claim 3, wherein, The controller is also configured to: Based on the data provided by the seat sensors, the influence of the weight of the occupants in each seat is distributed to each wheel.

5. The apparatus according to claim 4, wherein, The seat sensor is also configured to detect whether a child seat is installed and provide the corresponding information to the controller, wherein the controller is further configured to distribute the influence of the child seat to each wheel.

6. The apparatus according to claim 2, wherein, The controller is also configured to: The vehicle speed displayed on the instrument panel is calibrated, wherein, When the actual vehicle speed is less than the predetermined speed, a linear correction method should be applied. When the actual vehicle speed is greater than or equal to the predetermined speed, a logarithmic correction method is applied.

7. The apparatus according to claim 2, further comprising: The communication unit is configured to communicate with an external server wirelessly. The controller is also configured to transmit information about the instantaneous tire wear, along with vehicle information, to the external server via the communication unit.

8. A method for determining the wear amount of vehicle tires, the method comprising the following steps: Using the instrument panel speed from the dashboard and the actual speed measured by the wheel speed sensors, the slip ratio of each wheel among multiple wheels of the vehicle in motion is determined. Determine the load value for each wheel that reflects the occupant load in the vehicle; Using the slip ratio and the load value for each wheel, the longitudinal friction force is determined; The lateral friction force acting on the vehicle is determined by applying the rotational angular velocity measured by the yaw rate sensor to the longitudinal friction force. Tire wear is determined by accumulating the travel distance into the longitudinal friction force and the lateral friction force; as well as Information related to the amount of tire wear is displayed in a form that is recognizable to the driver of the vehicle.

9. The method according to claim 8, wherein, Based on the sensing data provided by the seat belt sensors, the load value of each wheel is determined by distributing the influence of the weight of the occupants in each seat to each wheel.

10. The method of claim 8, further comprising the step of: The vehicle speed displayed on the instrument panel is calibrated, wherein, When the actual vehicle speed is less than the predetermined speed, a linear correction method should be applied. When the actual vehicle speed is greater than or equal to the predetermined speed, a logarithmic correction method is applied.

11. The method according to claim 8, wherein, The steps for determining the amount of tire wear include: Obtain tire characteristic information stored in the vehicle's memory.

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