Rotation support method

Abstract

To provide a rotation support method which suppresses tire moving work errors in a tire rotation, and can enhance working efficiency.SOLUTION: A rotation support method includes a figure arrangement processing step, an operation receiving step and a figure moving processing step. The figure arrangement processing step arranges a tire figure indicating a tire at an axle position of a vehicle, and a figure indicating a temporal placing place of the tire, on a display screen. The operation receiving step receives operation of a user of moving the tire figure arranged by the figure arrangement processing step. The figure moving processing step moves the tire figure at the axle position and the temporal placing place, on the basis of the operation received by the operation receiving step.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 1

Description

[Technical field]

[0001] The present invention relates to a rotation assistance method for assisting in the rotation of tires mounted on a vehicle. [Background technology]

[0002] Generally, tires wear according to driving conditions and mileage, and the wear can be uneven depending on the axle position on which the tires are mounted. Tires are maintained to suppress uneven wear and to extend their life by rotating the tires by changing the axle position within a vehicle or between vehicles.

[0003] Patent Document 1 describes a conventional tire management system. This tire management system includes a tire information acquisition unit, a sensor information acquisition unit, and a management unit. The tire information acquisition unit acquires identification information of tires mounted on a vehicle. The sensor information acquisition unit acquires identification information of sensors disposed in the tires. The management unit stores the tire identification information acquired by the tire information acquisition unit and the sensor identification information acquired by the sensor information acquisition unit in association with each other. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0004] [Patent Document 1] Patent Publication No. 2021-075243 Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0005] The tire management system described in Patent Document 1 manages tire identification information and sensor identification information in association with each other. The inventors of the present invention considered that it would be possible to improve conventional tire rotation work by easily simulating tire movement between vehicle axle positions, thereby reducing errors in tire movement work during actual tire rotation and increasing work efficiency. The inventors of the present invention also considered that it would be possible to reduce the effort required for managing tire axle positions in a tire wear estimation system that takes into account the axle positions of tires on a vehicle by providing tire rotation information as data.

[0006] The present invention has been made in consideration of the above circumstances, and an object of the present invention is to provide a rotation assistance method that can reduce errors in moving tires during tire rotation and improve work efficiency. [Means for solving the problem]

[0007] A rotation assistance method according to one embodiment of the present invention includes a graphic arrangement processing step of arranging on a display screen a tire graphic representing a tire at an axle position of a vehicle and a graphic representing a temporary tire placement location, an operation receiving step of receiving a user's operation to move the tire graphic arranged by the graphic arrangement processing step, and a graphic movement processing step of moving the tire graphic at the axle position and at the temporary tire placement location based on the operation received by the operation receiving step. Effect of the Invention

[0008] According to the present invention, errors in moving tires during tire rotation can be suppressed, and work efficiency can be improved. [Brief description of the drawings]

[0009] [Figure 1] 1 is a block diagram showing a functional configuration of a rotation assistance device according to an embodiment; [Diagram 2] 13 is a schematic diagram showing an example of a display screen by a graphic placement processing unit. FIG. [Diagram 3] 4 is a flowchart showing a procedure of a tire rotation process performed by the rotation assist device. [Figure 4] 4(a) and 4(b) are schematic diagrams showing an example of tire rotation on a display screen. [Diagram 5] FIG. 13 is a schematic diagram showing an example of tire rotation between two vehicles on a display screen. [Figure 6] 13 is a schematic diagram showing an example in which information indicating the orientation of a tire wheel is added to a display screen. FIG. [Figure 7] 13 is a schematic diagram showing an example in which information indicating the remaining tread depth of a tire tread is added to a display screen. FIG. [Figure 8] 1 is a schematic diagram showing a configuration of a tire wear amount estimation system including a rotation support device. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

[0010] The present invention will be described below based on preferred embodiments with reference to Figures 1 to 8. The same or equivalent components and members shown in each drawing are given the same reference numerals, and duplicated descriptions are omitted as appropriate. The dimensions of the members in each drawing are enlarged or reduced as appropriate for ease of understanding. Some of the members that are not important for explaining the embodiments are omitted in each drawing.

[0011] (Embodiment) 1 is a block diagram showing the functional configuration of rotation support device 100 according to an embodiment. Rotation support device 100 includes an operation unit 10, a display unit 15, a storage unit 20, and a control unit 30, and displays images relating to tire placement and movement during tire rotation work, providing an environment for a worker to perform tire movement operations on the display screen.

[0012] Each unit in rotation support device 100 can be realized in hardware terms by electronic elements and mechanical parts such as a computer CPU, and in software terms by a computer program, but the functional blocks realized by the cooperation of these are depicted here. Therefore, it will be understood by those skilled in the art that these functional blocks can be realized in various forms by combining hardware and software.

[0013] The operation unit 10 is an input device that can be operated, such as a touch panel, a switch, a keyboard, a mouse, etc. The worker operates the operation unit 10 to move a graphic representing a tire (hereinafter, referred to as a tire graphic) displayed on the display unit 15, thereby simulating tire rotation.

[0014] The display unit 15 is a display device such as a liquid crystal display, and displays on the screen of the display device a graphic representing the axle position, a tire graphic, and a graphic of a temporary placement location where the tire to be moved will be placed after being removed from the axle position. The worker moves the tire graphic while looking at the screen displayed on the display unit 15.

[0015] The storage unit 20 is a storage device configured, for example, with an SSD (Solid State Drive), a hard disk, a CD-ROM, a DVD, etc. The storage unit 20 stores a computer program executed by the control unit 30, information on the vehicle axle positions, and tire axle position information 20a in which the axle positions after rotation are associated with tire identification information. Information on the vehicle axle positions is determined in accordance with, for example, the vehicle name and vehicle model, and may be stored in the storage unit 20, or may be obtained from a server device (not shown) during a rotation operation and temporarily stored in the storage unit 20.

[0016] The control unit 30 includes a graphic placement processing unit 31, an operation receiving unit 32, a graphic movement processing unit 33, and a tire position management unit 34. Fig. 2 is a schematic diagram showing an example of a display screen by the graphic placement processing unit 31. The graphic placement processing unit 31 places, on the display screen, information on the axle position, a tire graphic representing the tire mounted at the axle position, and a graphic of a temporary placement location.

[0017] As shown in FIG. 2, the graphic layout processor 31 represents the axle position A1 by a line segment arranged on the front wheel side of the vehicle, and the axle positions A2 and A3 by line segments arranged on the rear wheel side of the vehicle. The graphic layout processor 31 arranges tire figures B11 and B12 on the left and right of the axle position A1. The graphic layout processor 31 arranges tire figures B21, B22, B23, and B24 on the left and right of the axle position A2. The graphic layout processor 31 arranges tire figures B31, B32, B33, and B34 on the left and right of the axle position A3. Each tire figure is assigned a code such as B11, and the tire figures are moved while still retaining the code, so that the operator can easily understand the destination of the tire. The graphic layout processor 31 also arranges figures C1 and C2 at temporary tire placement locations.

[0018] The graphic layout processing unit 31 may be configured to lay out tire graphics including information indicating the orientation of the tire wheels and a method for indicating the remaining amount of tire grooves. The graphic layout processing unit 31 may also be configured to lay out at least two or more vehicles on the display screen, and the axle positions and tire graphics of each vehicle are laid out on the display screen.

[0019] The operation reception unit 32 receives operation input by the worker via the operation unit 10. The operation reception unit 32 receives an operation to move the tire figure located at the axle position on the display screen to the position of the figure at the temporary placement location. The operation reception unit 32 receives an operation to move the tire figure located at the axle position on the display screen to another axle position where there is no tire figure, and an operation to move the tire figure at the temporary placement location to an axle position where there is no tire figure.

[0020] The operation receiving unit 32 may or may not receive an operation to move a tire figure located at an axle position on the display screen so as to overlap with a tire figure located at another axle position.

[0021] The figure movement processing unit 33 reflects the operator's operation received by the operation receiving unit 32 on the display screen. For example, when the operator performs an operation to move the tire figure B12 on the display screen to the figure of the temporary placement location, the figure movement processing unit 33 moves the tire figure B12 to the temporary placement location. The figure movement processing unit 33 moves the tire figure at the axle position on the display screen to another axle position where there is no tire figure. The figure movement processing unit 33 moves the tire figure at the temporary placement location on the display screen to an axle position where there is no tire figure. The figure movement processing unit 33 moves the tire figures at the axle positions and temporary placement locations of each vehicle for at least two or more vehicles.

[0022] The graphic movement processing unit 33 may have a function of storing operations in a simulated tire rotation trial on the display screen in the storage unit 20 and replaying the operations of the operator from the beginning. The movement of the tire graphic replayed by the graphic movement processing unit 33 can be checked by another operator or the user of the vehicle, or when performing actual tire rotation on the vehicle, the operator can work while checking the replay.

[0023] The graphic movement processing unit 33 may also store the display screen after the tire rotation as image data in the storage unit 20. The image data by the graphic movement processing unit 33 can be stored as a record of multiple tire rotations performed on the vehicle over the years.

[0024] The tire position management unit 34 acquires the tire identification information corresponding to each tire figure, associates the axle position after the tire rotation work (including information on the left and right axles) with the tire identification information, and stores the information as tire axle position information 20a in the memory unit 20. The tire position management unit 34 may read the tire axle position information 20a stored after the previous tire rotation from the memory unit 20 to acquire the tire identification information corresponding to each tire figure.

[0025] If there is no tire axle position information 20a after the previous tire rotation, the tire position management unit 34 may acquire tire axle position information stored in a server device, or may acquire tire axle position information by having an operator input tire identification information.

[0026] Next, the operation of rotation support device 100 will be described. Fig. 3 is a flow chart showing the procedure of tire rotation processing by rotation support device 100. Graphic placement processing unit 31 of rotation support device 100 places an axle position corresponding to the vehicle, a tire figure, and a figure of a temporary placement location on the display screen (S1). Graphic placement processing unit 31 displays information indicating the tire wheel orientation and information indicating the remaining amount of tread of the tire groove as additional information for the tire figure (S2).

[0027] The operation reception unit 32 determines whether the end button has been pressed (S3), and ends the process if it is determined that the end button has been pressed (S3: YES). If the operation reception unit 32 determines that the end button has not been pressed (S3: NO), it proceeds to the next step S4. The end button is, for example, arranged on the display screen, and the worker performs an operation of pressing the end button on the display screen.

[0028] The operation reception unit 32 receives an operation input by the operator regarding the movement of the tire graphic (S4). The graphic movement processing unit 33 moves the tire graphic at the axle position and the temporary placement location in accordance with the operator's operation received by the operation reception unit 32, reflects the operator's operation on the display screen (S5), and returns to step S3.

[0029] Rotation assistance device 100 receives an operator's operation regarding the movement of the tire figure at operation reception unit 32, and by moving the tire figure at the axle position and temporary placement location, it is possible to simulate tire rotation in an easily understandable manner and assist in tire rotation work. By simulating tire rotation in an easily understandable manner for the operator, rotation assistance device 100 can suppress work errors in actual tire rotation work and reduce unnecessary tire removal and installation, thereby improving work efficiency.

[0030] Figures 4(a) and 4(b) are schematic diagrams showing an example of tire rotation on the display screen. In this example, as shown in Figure 4(a), tire figure B12 is moved to temporary placement location figure C1, tire figure B23 at axle position A2 is moved to axle position A1, and tire figure B12 that was at temporary placement location figure C1 is moved to axle position A2. The display screen in Figure 4(b) shows the arrangement of tire figures after tire rotation.

[0031] For example, an operator may affix a sticker bearing the code B11 or the like to a tire mounted on an actual vehicle and then perform tire rotation. By comparing the code affixed to the tire diagram on the display screen in Fig. 4(b), which shows the results of a simulated tire rotation performed by rotation assistance device 100, with the code on the sticker affixed to the tire after the tire rotation has been performed, operational errors can be reduced.

[0032] Furthermore, rotation support device 100 can reduce errors in tire rotation work by performing actual tire rotation work while replaying and checking the movement of the tire graphic by graphic movement processing unit 33.

[0033] Fig. 5 is a schematic diagram showing an example of tire rotation between two vehicles on the display screen. In the example shown in Fig. 5, tire figure B12 at axle position A1 is moved to temporary placement location figure C1, and tire figure E22 at axle position D2 is moved to axle position A1. Rotation assistance device 100 can simulate tire rotation between two vehicles in a visually easy-to-understand manner and assist in tire rotation work.

[0034] Fig. 6 is a schematic diagram showing an example in which information indicating the direction of a tire wheel is added on a display screen. In Fig. 6, the direction of the tire wheel is shown by adding a graphic H12 simulating a tire wheel to a tire graphic B12, etc. Also, on the display screen, the graphic H12 simulating a tire wheel moves together with the tire graphic B12.

[0035] By adding information indicating the orientation of the tire wheel to the tire diagram, the rotation assistance device 100 allows the worker to easily understand in what orientation the tire can be attached to the axle position when rotating the tire.

[0036] Fig. 7 is a schematic diagram showing an example of adding information showing the remaining tread depth of tire treads on a display screen. In Fig. 7, the numerical value of the remaining tread depth is added to each tire figure, so that the worker can easily understand the remaining tread depth. In addition, on the display screen, the numerical value of the remaining tread depth moves together with the tire figure.

[0037] 7, tire wear is small at axle position A1 and large at axle position A3, making it easier to create a rotation plan to move the tire at axle position A1 to axle position A3 and move the tire at axle position A3 to axle position A1. By adding information indicating the remaining tread depth of the tire tread to the tire diagram, rotation assistance device 100 can provide the worker with information on the remaining tread depth and assist in creating a tire rotation plan.

[0038] In the example shown in Fig. 7, information regarding uneven tire wear is displayed on the display screen by showing the remaining tread depth of the tire tread. Also, as shown in Fig. 7, the numerical value of the remaining tread depth is displayed by encircling tire figures B11 and B12, which have greater uneven wear than the other tires, with a rectangular figure, for example. By adding a figure indicating that the uneven wear is greater than the other tires to the tire figures, the rotation assistance device 100 can assist the worker in creating a tire rotation plan.

[0039] 8 is a schematic diagram showing the configuration of a tire wear amount estimation system 110 including a rotation support device 100. The tire wear amount estimation system 110 includes a tire wear amount estimation device 102, and estimates the amount of tire wear based on vehicle information from the vehicle and tire axis position information 20a from the rotation support device 100.

[0040] The vehicle information includes, for example, information on the vehicle specifications, information on the vehicle's running conditions, etc. The vehicle specifications include, for example, information on the vehicle's weight, axle positions, drive wheels, etc. The vehicle's running conditions include information on the vehicle's running distance, speed, acceleration, etc., as well as information on the tire temperature, tire pressure, etc., measured by sensors provided in the tires.

[0041] The tire wear amount estimation device 102 has a learning type calculation model that inputs vehicle information to estimate the amount of tire wear, and learns the calculation model based on tire wear amount measurements during actual vehicle driving, and estimates the amount of tire wear using the learned calculation model. When tires are rotated on the vehicle, the tire wear amount estimation device 102 obtains tire axle position information 20a from the rotation assistance device 100 and changes the axle position of each tire in the calculation model.

[0042] In the tire wear amount estimation system 110, the tire wear amount estimation device 102 acquires the tire axis position information 20a from the rotation assistance device 100, so that the tire rotation can be reliably reflected in the estimation of the tire wear amount.

[0043] (Modification) In the above embodiment, an example was shown in which the worker operated the movement of the tire figure on the display screen, but the rotation assistance device 100 may move the tire figure in accordance with predetermined rotation rules and present the rotation plan to the worker.

[0044] The rules for tire rotation include moving a tire with a larger amount of uneven wear than other tires to the axle position of other tires with a smaller amount of uneven wear, changing the left and right positions when changing the axle position, etc. The rotation support device 100 stores such rotation rules in the memory unit 20.

[0045] The graphic movement processing unit 33 calculates the degree of uneven wear for each tire based on information on the remaining tread depth of the tire grooves, and automatically moves the tire graphic on the display screen and presents it to the worker based on the rotation rules read from the storage unit 20. By presenting the movement of the tire graphic based on the rotation rules, the rotation support device 100 can make it easier for the worker to create a rotation plan.

[0046] The rotation assistance device 100 may have a mode used for tire rotation and a mode used for tire replacement. The functions in the mode used for tire rotation are as described above. In the mode used for tire replacement, the device is provided with a function for removing a tire figure and a function for displaying a tire figure related to a new tire. In the mode used for tire replacement, for example, when the operation reception unit 32 receives a selection of a tire figure placed at an axle position, the figure movement processing unit 33 removes the tire figure from the axle position, erases the display of the tire figure, and places the axle position in a state where no tire is attached (a state where only a frame is displayed). Also, in the mode used for tire replacement, when the operation reception unit 32 receives a selection of an axle position where no tire is attached, the figure movement processing unit 33 displays a list of new tires. When the operation reception unit 32 receives a selection of a new tire from the list of new tires, the figure movement processing unit 33 places the tire figure related to the selected new tire at the axle position.

[0047] When a tire graphic corresponding to one tire is moved to an axle position after rotation, rotation assistance device 100 may display the tire life at the axle position after the movement. The tire life may be displayed as the predicted driving distance if tire rotation is not performed, the predicted driving distance after tire rotation, the increase rate of the predicted driving distance after tire rotation, or the like. For example, the degree of wear progression of the original tire at the axle position after movement (such as the ratio of the driving distance to the amount of wear) is calculated in advance, and the tire life may be calculated based on the calculated degree of wear progression with respect to the current amount of wear of the tire placed at that axle position after rotation.

[0048] Next, features of the rotation support method according to the embodiment and the modified example will be described. The rotation assistance method includes a graphic placement processing step, an operation reception step, and a graphic movement processing step. The graphic placement processing step places, on the display screen, a tire graphic representing the tire at the vehicle axle position, and a graphic representing a temporary tire placement location. The operation reception step receives a user operation to move the tire graphic placed by the graphic placement processing step. The graphic movement processing step moves the tire graphic at the axle position and the temporary placement location based on the operation received by the operation reception step. This rotation assistance method can reduce errors in moving tires during tire rotation and improve work efficiency.

[0049] The graphic layout processing step also displays information indicating the orientation of the tire wheel. According to this rotation support method, the worker can easily understand in what orientation the tire can be attached to the axle position during tire rotation.

[0050] The graphic layout processing step also displays information indicating the remaining tread depth of the tire. According to this rotation support method, the information on the remaining tread depth is provided to the worker, and it is possible to support the creation of a tire rotation plan.

[0051] The graphic arrangement processing step displays tire graphics for at least two or more vehicles on the display screen, and the operation receiving step receives a user operation to move the tire graphics between the at least two or more vehicles arranged by the graphic arrangement processing step. According to this rotation support method, tire rotation can be simulated in an easily visual manner even between at least two or more vehicles, and tire rotation work can be supported.

[0052] The rotation support method also stores the tire identification information corresponding to the tire graphic moved by the graphic movement processing step in association with the axle position after the movement. According to this rotation support method, the tire identification information and the information on the axle position after the movement can be provided to the tire wear amount estimation system 110, etc.

[0053] Furthermore, when the graphic movement processing step receives a selection of a tire graphic placed at an axle position, the tire graphic is removed from the axle position to create a tire-unmounted state. The graphic movement processing step displays a list of new tires based on the selection of an axle position with no tire mounted, and when the selection of a new tire is received, places a tire graphic for the selected new tire at the axle position. This rotation support method can simulate not only tire rotation, but also tire replacement.

[0054] The above description is based on the embodiments of the present invention. These embodiments are merely examples, and it will be understood by those skilled in the art that various modifications and changes are possible within the scope of the claims of the present invention, and that such modifications and changes are also within the scope of the claims of the present invention. Therefore, the descriptions and drawings in this specification should be treated as illustrative rather than restrictive. [Explanation of symbols]

[0055] 31 figure placement processing unit, 32 operation reception unit, 33 figure movement processing unit, 34 Tire position management unit, 100 Rotation support device.

Claims

1. a graphic layout processing step of arranging, on a display screen, a tire graphic representing a tire at an axle position of the vehicle and a graphic representing a temporary placement position of the tire; an operation receiving step of receiving a user's operation for moving the tire graphic arranged by the graphic arrangement processing step; a graphic movement processing step of moving the tire graphic at the axle position and the temporary placement location based on the operation received in the operation receiving step; A rotation support method comprising the steps of:

2. 2. The rotation support method according to claim 1, wherein the graphic layout processing step displays information indicating an orientation of the tire wheels.

3. 3. The rotation support method according to claim 1, wherein the graphic layout processing step displays information indicating a remaining tread depth of the tire tread.

4. The rotation assistance method described in Claim 3, characterized in that the graphic arrangement processing step displays a graphic indicating that one tire has greater uneven wear than the other tires.

5. the graphic layout processing step includes displaying the tire graphics of at least two or more vehicles on a display screen; 3. The rotation support method according to claim 1, wherein the operation receiving step receives a user's operation for moving the tire graphic between at least two or more vehicles arranged by the graphic arrangement processing step.

6. 3. The rotation support method according to claim 1, further comprising the step of: storing identification information of a tire corresponding to the tire graphic moved in the graphic movement processing step, in association with the axle position after the movement.

7. A rotation support method as described in claim 1 or 2, characterized in that the figure movement processing step reproduces the operation accepted by the operation acceptance step.

8. 3. The rotation support method according to claim 1 or 2, wherein, when selection of the tire graphic placed at an axle position is accepted, the graphic movement processing step removes the tire graphic from the axle position to set a tire-unmounted state, displays a list of new tires based on the selection of an axle position at which a tire is unmounted, and, when selection of a new tire is accepted, places the tire graphic for the selected new tire at the axle position.

Images