System and method for monitoring wheel assembly

Abstract

To provide a system and a method for monitoring a wheel assembly including those with non-pneumatic tires.SOLUTION: A wheel assembly of a vehicle (e.g., a forklift or another material-handling vehicle) is monitored to obtain information regarding the vehicle, including information regarding the wheel assembly, which may be indicative of how the vehicle including the wheel assembly is used (e.g., a duty cycle), a state (e.g., a degree of wear) of the wheel assembly, loading and shocks on the wheel assembly, and / or a state of an environment (e.g., environmental temperature, a profile, compliance, or other condition of an underlying surface beneath the wheel assembly), and which may be, for example, conveyed to a user (e.g., an operator of the vehicle), transmitted to a remote party (e.g., a provider), and / or used to control the vehicle (e.g., a speed of the vehicle). This may improve use, maintenance, safety and / or other aspects of the vehicle, including the wheel assembly.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 2

Description

[Technical Field]

[0001] CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS This application claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 62 / 944,536, filed December 6, 2019, the entire contents of which are incorporated herein by reference.

[0002] The present disclosure relates generally to wheel assemblies for vehicles, such as material handling vehicles (e.g., forklifts) or other vehicles, and more particularly to systems and methods for monitoring such wheel assemblies, including those with non-pneumatic tires. [Background technology]

[0003] Wheel assemblies for vehicles may be equipped with pneumatic or non-pneumatic tires, depending on the use of these vehicles.

[0004] Non-pneumatic tires, sometimes referred to as "solid" or "elastic" tires, are not supported by gas (e.g., air) pressure, which can provide certain benefits, such as making them puncture resistant.

[0005] Vehicle tires may be selected, perform, and / or wear differently depending on how, where, when, etc. the vehicle is used. For example, material handling vehicles such as forklifts may be used in different ways, for different periods of time, and at different job sites, which may be indoors or outdoors. This can sometimes create problems for work or other activities performed on these vehicles (e.g., due to suboptimal tire selection, replacement, or other maintenance, etc.). Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0006] For these and other reasons, there is a need for improved wheel assemblies with tires, including non-pneumatic tires. [Means for solving the problem]

[0007] According to various aspects, the present disclosure relates to monitoring wheel assemblies of vehicles (e.g., forklifts or other material handling vehicles) to obtain information about the vehicle, including information about the wheel assembly that may indicate how the vehicle including the wheel assembly is used (e.g., the duty cycle of the vehicle and / or wheel assembly), the condition of the wheel assembly (e.g., the degree of wear), the loads and impacts on the wheel assembly, and / or the condition of the environment (e.g., the temperature of the environment, the shape, compliance, or other conditions of the surface underlying the wheel assembly), and information about the wheel assembly that may be conveyed to a user (e.g., the driver of the vehicle), transmitted to a remote party (e.g., a provider such as a manufacturer or seller of the wheel assembly and / or vehicle), and / or used to control the vehicle (e.g., the speed of the vehicle), which may improve the use, maintenance, safety, and / or other aspects of the vehicle, including the wheel assembly.

[0008] For example, according to one aspect, the present disclosure relates to a wheel assembly for a vehicle, the wheel assembly including a wheel configured to couple the wheel assembly to an axle of the vehicle, a tire disposed about the wheel, and a sensor mounted on the wheel.

[0009] According to another aspect, the present disclosure relates to a system for use with a vehicle, the vehicle including a wheel assembly including a wheel configured to couple the wheel assembly to an axle of the vehicle and a non-pneumatic tire disposed about the wheel, the wheel configured to couple the wheel assembly to the axle of the vehicle, the system including a sensor configured to be mounted on the wheel, and a processing device external to the wheel assembly and configured to receive information from the sensor.

[0010] According to another aspect, the present disclosure relates to a system for use with a vehicle. The vehicle includes a wheel assembly including a wheel configured to couple the wheel assembly to an axle of the vehicle and a non-pneumatic tire disposed about the wheel. The wheel is configured to couple the wheel assembly to the axle of the vehicle. The system includes a first sensor configured to be mounted on the wheel, a second sensor configured to be mounted on the vehicle and spaced apart from the first sensor, and a processing device external to the wheel assembly and configured to wirelessly receive information from the first sensor and information from the second sensor.

[0011] According to another aspect, the present disclosure relates to a sensor for a wheel assembly of a vehicle, the wheel assembly including a wheel configured to couple the wheel assembly to an axle of the vehicle and a non-pneumatic tire disposed about the wheel, the sensor including a base configured to be mounted to the wheel and a sensing unit configured to transmit information regarding the wheel assembly to a processing device external to the wheel assembly.

[0012] According to another aspect, the present disclosure relates to a wheel assembly for a vehicle. The wheel assembly includes a wheel configured to couple the wheel assembly to an axle of the vehicle and a non-pneumatic tire disposed around the wheel. The wheel assembly also includes a sensor mounted on the wheel and configured to transmit first information to a processing device external to the wheel assembly. The wheel assembly also includes a tag mounted on the non-pneumatic tire and configured to wirelessly transmit second information to the processing device.

[0013] According to another aspect, the present disclosure relates to a wheel assembly for a vehicle, the wheel assembly including a wheel configured to couple the wheel assembly to an axle of the vehicle, a non-pneumatic tire disposed about the wheel, and a sensor configured to transmit information to a processing device external to the wheel assembly, the processing device configured to derive information indicative of a duty cycle of at least one of the wheel assembly and the vehicle based on the information transmitted by the sensor.

[0014] According to another aspect, the present disclosure relates to a system for use with a vehicle, the vehicle comprising a wheel assembly including a wheel and a non-pneumatic tire disposed about the wheel, the wheel configured to couple the wheel assembly to an axle of the vehicle, the system comprising: a sensor configured to be mounted on the wheel assembly; and a processing device external to the wheel assembly and configured to derive information indicative of a duty cycle of at least one of the wheel assembly and the vehicle based on an output of the sensor.

[0015] According to another aspect, the present disclosure relates to a wheel assembly for a vehicle, the wheel assembly including a wheel configured to couple the wheel assembly to an axle of the vehicle, a non-pneumatic tire disposed about the wheel, and a sensor configured to transmit information to a processing device external to the wheel assembly, the processing device configured to derive information indicative of a degree of wear of the non-pneumatic tire based on the information transmitted by the sensor.

[0016] According to another aspect, the present disclosure relates to a system for use with a vehicle, the vehicle comprising a wheel assembly including a wheel and a non-pneumatic tire disposed about the wheel, the wheel configured to couple the wheel assembly to an axle of the vehicle, the system comprising a sensor configured to be mounted on the wheel assembly, and a processing device external to the wheel assembly and configured to derive information indicative of a degree of wear of the non-pneumatic tire based on an output of the sensor.

[0017] According to another aspect, the present disclosure relates to a wheel assembly for a vehicle, the wheel assembly including a wheel configured to couple the wheel assembly to an axle of the vehicle, a non-pneumatic tire disposed about the wheel, and a sensor configured to sense pressure between the wheel and the non-pneumatic tire.

[0018] According to another aspect, the present disclosure relates to a wheel assembly for a vehicle, the wheel assembly including a wheel configured to couple the wheel assembly to an axle of the vehicle, a tire disposed around the wheel, and a sensor mounted on the wheel.

[0019] According to another aspect, the present disclosure relates to a system for use with a vehicle. The vehicle includes a wheel assembly including a wheel and a tire disposed about the wheel. The wheel is configured to couple the wheel assembly to an axle of the vehicle. The system includes a sensor configured to be mounted on the wheel and a processing device external to the wheel assembly and configured to receive information from the sensor.

[0020] According to another aspect, the present disclosure relates to a system for use with a vehicle. The vehicle includes a wheel assembly including a wheel and a tire disposed around the wheel. The wheel is configured to couple the wheel assembly to an axle of the vehicle. The system includes a first sensor configured to be mounted on the wheel, a second sensor configured to be mounted on the vehicle and spaced apart from the first sensor, and a processing device external to the wheel assembly and configured to wirelessly receive information from the first sensor and information from the second sensor.

[0021] According to another aspect, the present disclosure relates to a sensor for a wheel assembly of a vehicle, the wheel assembly including a wheel configured to couple the wheel assembly to an axle of the vehicle and a tire disposed around the wheel, the sensor including a base configured to be mounted on the wheel and a sensing unit configured to transmit information regarding the wheel assembly to a processing device external to the wheel assembly.

[0022] According to another aspect, the present disclosure relates to a wheel assembly for a vehicle, the wheel assembly including a wheel configured to couple the wheel assembly to an axle of the vehicle, a tire disposed around the wheel, a sensor mounted on the wheel and configured to transmit first information to a processing device external to the wheel assembly, and a tag mounted on the tire and configured to wirelessly transmit second information to the processing device.

[0023] According to another aspect, the present disclosure relates to a wheel assembly for a vehicle, the wheel assembly including a wheel configured to couple the wheel assembly to an axle of the vehicle, a tire disposed about the wheel, and a sensor configured to transmit information to a processing device external to the wheel assembly, the processing device configured to derive information indicative of a duty cycle of at least one of the wheel assembly and the vehicle based on the information transmitted by the sensor.

[0024] According to another aspect, the present disclosure relates to a system for use with a vehicle. The vehicle includes a wheel assembly including a wheel and a tire disposed about the wheel. The wheel is configured to couple the wheel assembly to an axle of the vehicle. The system includes a sensor configured to be mounted on the wheel assembly and a processing device external to the wheel assembly and configured to derive information indicative of a duty cycle of at least one of the wheel assembly and the vehicle based on an output of the sensor.

[0025] According to another aspect, the present disclosure relates to a wheel assembly for a vehicle, the wheel assembly including a wheel configured to couple the wheel assembly to an axle of the vehicle, a tire disposed about the wheel, and a sensor configured to transmit information to a processing device external to the wheel assembly, the processing device configured to derive information indicative of a degree of tire wear based on the information transmitted by the sensor.

[0026] According to another aspect, the present disclosure relates to a system for use with a vehicle. The vehicle includes a wheel assembly including a wheel and a tire disposed about the wheel. The wheel is configured to couple the wheel assembly to an axle of the vehicle. The system includes a sensor configured to be mounted on the wheel assembly and a processing device external to the wheel assembly and configured to derive information indicative of a degree of tire wear based on an output of the sensor.

[0027] According to another aspect, the present disclosure relates to a wheel assembly for a vehicle, the wheel assembly including a wheel configured to couple the wheel assembly to an axle of the vehicle, a tire disposed about the wheel, and a sensor configured to sense pressure between the wheel and the tire.

[0028] According to another aspect, the present disclosure relates to a system for use with a vehicle including a plurality of wheel assemblies, each wheel assembly of the vehicle including a wheel configured to couple the wheel assembly to an axle of the vehicle and a tire disposed about the wheel, the system including a sensor configured to be mounted on the vehicle and spaced apart from every wheel assembly of the vehicle, and a processing device configured to derive information indicative of a degree of tire wear of a given one of the plurality of wheel assemblies based on an output of the sensor.

[0029] According to another aspect, the present disclosure relates to a system for use with a vehicle. The vehicle includes a wheel assembly including a wheel configured to couple the wheel assembly to an axle of the vehicle and a tire disposed about the wheel. The system includes a first sensor configured to be mounted to the wheel assembly, a second sensor configured to be mounted to the vehicle and spaced apart from the wheel assembly, and a processing device external to the wheel assembly. The processing device is configured to derive information indicative of a duty cycle of at least one of the wheel assembly and the vehicle based on an output of the first sensor, and to derive information indicative of a degree of tire wear based on an output of the second sensor.

[0030] According to another aspect, the present disclosure relates to a sensor for a vehicle having a wheel assembly including a wheel configured to couple the wheel assembly to an axle of the vehicle and a tire disposed about the wheel, the sensor including a sensing unit configured to transmit information related to the vehicle to a processing device external to the wheel assembly, the processing device configured to derive information indicative of a degree of tire wear based on the information related to the vehicle.

[0031] According to another aspect, the present disclosure relates to a system for use with a vehicle. The vehicle includes a plurality of wheel assemblies, each wheel assembly of the vehicle including a wheel configured to couple the wheel assembly to an axle of the vehicle and a tire disposed about the wheel. The system includes a sensor configured to be mounted on the vehicle and spaced apart from every wheel assembly of the vehicle and configured to obtain vehicle acceleration information. The system includes a processing device configured to filter the vehicle acceleration information at a first time interval and to identify a zero speed condition based on the filtered vehicle acceleration information.

[0032] According to another aspect, the present disclosure relates to a system for use with a vehicle. The vehicle includes a wheel assembly, the wheel assembly including a wheel configured to couple the wheel assembly to an axle of the vehicle, and a tire disposed about the wheel. The system also includes a first sensor configured to be mounted to the wheel assembly and configured to obtain wheel assembly acceleration information. The system also includes a second sensor configured to be mounted to the vehicle and spaced from the wheel assembly and configured to obtain vehicle acceleration information. The system also includes a processing device external to the wheel assembly. The processing device is configured to derive information indicative of a degree of tire wear based on a ratio of the vehicle acceleration information to the wheel assembly acceleration information.

[0033] According to another aspect, the present disclosure relates to a system for use with a vehicle. The vehicle includes a plurality of wheel assemblies, each one of which includes a wheel configured to couple the wheel assembly to an axle of the vehicle and a tire disposed around the wheel. The system includes a first sensor configured to be mounted to the drive wheel assembly and configured to obtain a first percentile value of a rotational speed of the drive wheel assembly. The system also includes a second sensor configured to be mounted to the free-rolling wheel assembly and configured to obtain a first percentile value of a rotational speed of the free-rolling wheel assembly. The system includes a processing device external to the drive wheel assembly and the free-rolling wheel assembly. The processing device is configured to derive information indicative of a degree of wear of the tire of the free-rolling wheel assembly based on a ratio of the first percentile value of the rotational speed of the drive wheel assembly to the first percentile value of the rotational speed of the free-rolling wheel assembly.

[0034] According to another aspect, the present disclosure relates to a system for use with a vehicle. The vehicle includes a plurality of wheel assemblies, each wheel assembly of the vehicle including a wheel configured to couple the wheel assembly to an axle of the vehicle and a tire disposed about the wheel. The system includes a sensor configured to be mounted on the vehicle and spaced apart from every wheel assembly of the vehicle and configured to obtain sensor acceleration information. The system includes a processing device configured to obtain reference information, compare the sensor acceleration information to the reference information, and derive a degree of tire wear of a given one of the plurality of wheel assemblies based on the comparison.

[0035] According to another aspect, the present disclosure relates to a system for use with a vehicle. The vehicle includes at least a front wheel assembly and a rear wheel assembly, each one of the wheel assemblies including a wheel configured to couple the wheel assembly to an axle of the vehicle and a tire disposed about the wheel. The system includes a sensor configured to be mounted on the vehicle and spaced apart from each one of the wheel assemblies and configured to obtain vehicle speed information. The system includes a processing device external to each one of the wheel assemblies, the processing device configured to derive information indicative of an extent of wear of at least one of the front wheel assembly and the rear wheel assembly based on a frequency analysis of a subset of the vehicle speed information.

[0036] According to another aspect, the present disclosure relates to a system for use with a vehicle, the vehicle including a wheel assembly, the vehicle wheel assembly including a wheel configured to couple the wheel assembly to an axle of the vehicle and a tire disposed about the wheel, the system including a sensor mounted on the wheel and configured to obtain information indicative of pressure between the wheel and the tire, and a processing device configured to derive data indicative of a load on the wheel assembly based on the information indicative of pressure between the wheel and the tire.

[0037] According to another aspect, the present disclosure relates to a system for use with a vehicle. The vehicle includes a wheel assembly, the wheel assembly of the vehicle including a wheel configured to couple the wheel assembly to an axle of the vehicle and a tire disposed about the wheel. The system includes a sensor configured to be mounted on the vehicle and spaced apart from any wheel assembly of the vehicle and configured to obtain vehicle acceleration information. The system includes a processing device configured to derive natural frequency information based on the vehicle acceleration information, and to derive data indicative of one of wear or load of the wheel assembly based on the derived natural frequency information.

[0038] According to another aspect, the present disclosure relates to a system for use with a vehicle. The vehicle includes a wheel assembly, the wheel assembly of the vehicle including a wheel configured to couple the wheel assembly to an axle of the vehicle and a tire disposed about the wheel. The system includes a sensor mounted on the wheel and configured to obtain information indicative of pressure between the wheel and the tire. The system also includes a processing device configured to derive data indicative of a surface on which the wheel assembly rolls based on the information indicative of pressure between the wheel and the tire.

[0039] According to another aspect, the present disclosure relates to a system for use with a vehicle. The vehicle includes a plurality of wheel assemblies, each wheel assembly of the vehicle including a wheel configured to couple the wheel assembly to an axle of the vehicle and a tire disposed about the wheel. The system includes a sensor configured to be mounted on the vehicle and spaced apart from every wheel assembly of the vehicle and configured to obtain vehicle acceleration information. The system also includes a processing device configured to derive information indicative of a degree of vibration of the vehicle based on the vehicle acceleration information.

[0040] According to another aspect, the present disclosure relates to a system for use with a vehicle. The vehicle includes a plurality of wheel assemblies, each wheel assembly of the vehicle including a wheel configured to couple the wheel assembly to an axle of the vehicle and a tire disposed about the wheel. The system includes a sensor mounted on the wheel, the sensor including an IMU, configured to obtain vehicle acceleration information. The system also includes a processing unit configured to derive a path for the vehicle based on the vehicle acceleration information.

[0041] According to another aspect, the present disclosure relates to a system for use with a vehicle. The vehicle includes a plurality of wheel assemblies, each wheel assembly of the vehicle including a wheel configured to couple the wheel assembly to an axle of the vehicle and a tire disposed about the wheel. The system includes a sensor configured to be mounted on the vehicle and spaced apart from every wheel assembly of the vehicle and configured to obtain vehicle acceleration information. The system also includes a processing unit configured to derive wheel assembly wear based on the vehicle acceleration information obtained during a zero speed condition of the vehicle.

[0042] According to another aspect, the present disclosure relates to a system for use with a vehicle. The vehicle includes a wheel assembly including a wheel configured to couple the wheel assembly to an axle of the vehicle and a tire disposed about the wheel. The system includes a sensor disposed on the vehicle and spaced from the wheel assembly such that the wheel assembly is sensor-free. The system also includes a processing device configured to derive information indicative of a condition of the tire based on an output of the sensor.

[0043] According to another aspect, the present disclosure relates to a system for use with a vehicle. The vehicle includes a wheel assembly including a wheel configured to couple the wheel assembly to an axle of the vehicle and a tire disposed about the wheel. The system includes a sensor disposed on the vehicle and spaced from the wheel assembly such that the wheel assembly is sensor-free. The system also includes a processing device configured to derive information indicative of a degree of tire wear based on an output of the sensor.

[0044] According to another aspect, the present disclosure relates to a system for use with a vehicle. The vehicle includes a wheel assembly including a wheel configured to couple the wheel assembly to an axle of the vehicle and a tire disposed about the wheel. The system includes a sensor disposed on the vehicle and spaced from the wheel assembly such that the wheel assembly is sensor-free. The system also includes a processing device configured to derive information indicative of a duty cycle of at least one of the wheel assembly and the vehicle based on an output of the sensor.

[0045] These and other aspects of the present disclosure will now become apparent to those skilled in the art upon review of the following description of the embodiments in combination with the accompanying drawings.

[0046] A detailed description of embodiments is provided below, by way of example only, with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which: [Brief explanation of the drawings]

[0047] [Figure 1] 1 is a diagram of a vehicle including a wheel assembly, according to an embodiment. [Figure 2] FIG. 1 is a diagram of an embodiment of a monitoring system, according to an embodiment. [Figure 3] FIG. 1 is a side view of a wheel assembly including a wheel and tire, according to an embodiment. [Figure 4] FIG. 1 illustrates a front view of a wheel assembly including a wheel and tire, according to an embodiment. [Figure 5A] 1 illustrates a tire secured to a wheel via one or more locking elements, according to an embodiment. [Figure 5B] 1 illustrates a tire secured to a wheel via one or more locking elements, according to an embodiment. [Figure 6] 1 is a diagram of a tire secured to a wheel via a press fit, according to an embodiment. [Figure 7] FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a cross-section cut of a tire where the interface between the wheel and the tire is a metal-elastomer interface, according to an embodiment. [Figure 8] FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a cross-section cut of a tire where the interface between the wheel and the tire is a metal-metal interface, according to an embodiment. [Figure 9] FIG. 1 is a block diagram of a monitoring system including wheel assembly sensors, tags, and a processing unit, according to an embodiment. [Figure 10] FIG. 10 is a block diagram of the sensor of FIG. 9, according to an embodiment. [Figure 11A]11 is a perspective view of a cross-section of the sensor of FIG. 10 configured for magnetic engagement with the wheel of FIGS. 3 and 4 according to an embodiment. FIG. [Figure 11B] 11 is a perspective view of the sensor of FIG. 10 configured for mechanical engagement with the wheel of FIGS. 3 and 4, according to an embodiment. [Figure 12A] 11 is a perspective view of the sensor of FIG. 10 configured for magnetic engagement with the wheel of FIGS. 3 and 4 according to another embodiment. FIG. [Figure 12B] 11 is a perspective view of the sensor of FIG. 10 configured for mechanical engagement with the wheel of FIGS. 3 and 4 according to another embodiment. [Figure 13] FIG. 11 is a perspective view of the sensor of FIG. 10 fixed to a wheel, according to an embodiment. [Figure 14A] 10 is a block diagram of the tag of FIG. 9, according to an embodiment. [Figure 14B] 14B is a perspective view of a cross-section cut of the tire of FIG. 7 with the tag of FIG. 14A embedded in the elastomeric material of the tire. [Figure 15] 10 is a block diagram of the processing device of FIG. 9, according to an embodiment. [Figure 16A] 16 is a block diagram of a mode of implementation of the processing device of FIG. 15, according to an embodiment. [Figure 16B] 16 is a block diagram of a mode of implementation of the processing device of FIG. 15, according to another embodiment. [Figure 17] 15 is a diagram of a process for deriving vehicle information from information from the sensor of FIG. 10 and the tag of FIG. 14, according to an embodiment. [Figure 18] FIG. 1 illustrates a process for determining wheel assembly wear based on historical data about the wheel assembly, according to an embodiment. [Figure 19] 1 is a diagram of a process for determining wheel assembly wear based on pressure at the wheel / tire interface, according to an embodiment. [Figure 20A] 19 is a plot of the pressure = f(time) measured by the sensor of FIG. 10 during the process of FIG. [Figure 20B]19 is a plot of the pressure = f (angle between the radial direction of the pressure transducer and the normal to the force exerted on the tire) measured by the sensor of FIG. 10 in the process of FIG. [Figure 21] 1 is a diagram of a process for determining tire wear based on a comparison between wheel assembly acceleration and vehicle acceleration, according to an embodiment. [Figure 22] FIG. 10 is a diagram of a vehicle with a wheel assembly according to another embodiment. [Figure 23] FIG. 10 is a diagram of a vehicle with a wheel assembly according to another embodiment. [Figure 24] FIG. 10 is a diagram of a vehicle with a wheel assembly according to another embodiment. [Figure 25] FIG. 10 is a diagram of a vehicle with a wheel assembly according to another embodiment. [Figure 26] FIG. 1 is a block diagram of an overall process including a boundary surface, a processor, and a storage device. [Figure 27] FIG. 10 is a block diagram of a monitoring system including a vehicle sensor and a processing unit according to another embodiment. [Figure 28] FIG. 28 is a block diagram of the vehicle sensor of FIG. 27, according to an embodiment. [Figure 29A] FIG. 29 is a block diagram of a mode of implementation of the vehicle sensor of FIG. 28, according to an embodiment. [Figure 29B] FIG. 29 is a block diagram of a mode of implementation of the vehicle sensor of FIG. 28, according to another embodiment. [Figure 30] FIG. 29 is a diagram of a process for deriving vehicle information from information from the vehicle sensors of FIG. 28, according to an embodiment. [Figure 31A] FIG. 1 illustrates a process for determining wheel assembly wear, according to an embodiment. [Figure 31B] 1 is a plot of acceleration=f(acceleration) for an acceleration event, according to an embodiment. [Figure 32A] 29 is a plot of acceleration = f(time) for two trips measured by the vehicle sensors of FIG. 28 at a first time interval. [Figure 32B] 32B is a plot of acceleration = f(acceleration) for the two runs in FIG. 32A. [Figure 33A] 32B is a plot of acceleration = f(time) for the two runs of FIG. 32A filtered over a second time interval. [Figure 33B] Plot of acceleration = f(acceleration) for the two runs in Figure 33A. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0048] It is expressly understood that the description and drawings are for purposes of illustrating particular embodiments only and are an aid to understanding. The description and drawings are not intended to be limiting.

[0049] 1, 2, and 9 show an embodiment of a monitoring system 10 for a vehicle 12 having wheel assemblies 20 and moving on an underlying surface 15 (e.g., the ground or floor). In this embodiment, the vehicle 12 is a material handling vehicle, which is an industrial vehicle designed to travel to move (e.g., transport) and / or otherwise handle materials (e.g., goods and products), such as during material manufacturing, storage, sale, consumption, and / or disposal. More specifically, in this embodiment, the material handling vehicle 12 is a forklift.

[0050] As discussed further below, in this embodiment, the monitoring system 10 is configured to monitor the material handling vehicle 12, including the wheel assemblies 20, to obtain information about the vehicle 12, including information about the wheel assemblies 20 that may indicate how the vehicle 12, including the wheel assemblies 20, is being used (e.g., the duty cycle of the vehicle 12 and / or the wheel assemblies 20), the condition of the wheel assemblies 20 (e.g., the degree of wear), the loads and impacts on the wheel assemblies 20, and / or the conditions of the environment (e.g., the temperature of the environment, the shape, compliance, or other condition of the surface 15 underlying the wheel assemblies 20), and information about the wheel assemblies 20 that may be conveyed to a user (e.g., the driver of the vehicle 12), transmitted to a remote party (e.g., a provider such as a manufacturer or seller of the wheel assemblies 20 and / or the vehicle 12), and / or used to control the vehicle 12 (e.g., the speed of the vehicle 12). This may improve the use, maintenance, safety, and / or other aspects of the vehicle 12, including the wheel assemblies 20.

[0051] In this embodiment, material handling vehicle 12 includes a frame 11, a power train 14, a steering system 16, a wheel assembly 20, a work implement 22, and a user interface 24 that enables a user of vehicle 12 to control vehicle 12 on an underlying surface 15, including steering vehicle 12 and performing work with work implement 22. Vehicle 12 has a length, a width, and a height.

[0052] The powertrain 14 is configured to generate and transmit motive power to each of the wheels 20 to propel the vehicle 12 across the underlying surface 15. To that end, the powertrain 14 includes a prime mover, which is a source of motive power and includes one or more motors. For example, in this embodiment, the prime mover includes an electric motor. Thus, the vehicle 12 is an electric vehicle. In other embodiments, the prime mover may include other types of motors (e.g., an internal combustion engine) or a combination of different types of motors (e.g., a combination of an internal combustion engine and an electric motor). The prime mover is in a driving relationship with each of the wheel assemblies 20. That is, the powertrain 14 transmits motive power generated by the prime mover to each of the wheel assemblies 20 to drive the wheel assemblies 20 (e.g., to impart motion to the wheel assemblies 20).

[0053] Steering system 16 is configured to allow a user to steer vehicle 12 on underlying surface 15. To that end, steering system 16 includes a control 28 operable by a user to direct vehicle 12 along a desired course on underlying surface 15. In this embodiment, control 28 includes a steering wheel. In other embodiments, control 28 may be any other steering component operable by a user to steer vehicle 12. Steering system 16 interacts with control 28 by rotating each one of wheel assemblies 20 in response to a user to change the orientation of wheel assemblies 20 relative to frame 11 of vehicle 12 to move vehicle 12 in a desired direction, although in other embodiments, vehicle 12 may be an autonomous vehicle. In this example, later ones of wheel assemblies 20 are rotatable in response to user input at control 28 to change the orientation of those later wheel assemblies 20 relative to frame 11 of vehicle 12 to steer vehicle 12. More specifically, in this example, each of the rear wheel assemblies 20 is pivotable about a steering axis of the vehicle 12 in response to user input at the steering device 28 to steer the vehicle 12 on the underlying surface 15. The front wheel assemblies 20 are not rotated relative to the frame 11 of the vehicle 12 by the steering system 16.

[0054] A work implement 22 is used to perform work. In this embodiment, the work implement 22 comprises forks 23 that can be raised and lowered to raise or lower an object being transported or otherwise handled. In other embodiments, for other types of vehicles, the work implement 22 may comprise a platform, an arm, a grapple, or any other type of implement.

[0055] The user interface 24 allows a user to interact with the material handling vehicle 12. More specifically, the user interface 24 includes acceleration, braking, and steering controls 28 that are operated by the user to control the movement of the vehicle 12 on the underlying surface 15 and to operate the work implement 22. The user interface 24 may also include an instrument panel (e.g., a dashboard) that provides indicators (e.g., speedometer, tachometer, etc.) to convey information to the user.

[0056] The wheel assemblies 20 engage the underlying surface 15 for traction of the material handling vehicle 12. Each wheel assembly 20 includes a wheel 32 for connecting the wheel assembly 20 to an axle of the vehicle 12 and a tire 34 disposed around the wheel 32 for contacting the underlying surface 15.

[0057] 3 and 4, the wheel assembly 20 has an axial direction defined by an axis 35 of rotation of the wheel assembly 20, which may also be referred to as a lateral, width, or "Y" direction, a radial direction, which may also be referred to as a "Z" direction, and a circumferential direction, which may also be referred to as an "X" direction. The axis 35 of rotation of the wheel assembly 20 corresponds to the axis of rotation of the tire 34 and the axis of rotation of the wheel 32, and the axial, radial, and circumferential directions of the wheel assembly 20 correspond to the axial (i.e., lateral or width), radial, and circumferential directions of each of the tire 34 and the wheel 32, respectively. The wheel assembly 20 has an outer diameter D W and width W W The wheel assembly 20 has a lateral inboard side 54 for facing the center of the vehicle 12 in the width direction of the vehicle 12, and a lateral outboard side 49 opposite the lateral inboard side 54. The wheel assembly 20 has an area of ​​contact 25 with the underlying surface 15, which may be referred to as the "contact patch" of the wheel assembly 20 with the underlying surface 15. The contact patch 25 of the wheel assembly 20, which is the contact interface between the tire 34 and the underlying surface 15, has a dimension L, which may be referred to as the "length" of the wheel assembly 20 in the circumferential direction. C and a dimension W referred to as the "width" of the wheel assembly 20 in the lateral direction. C and

[0058] The wheel 32 is the central structure of the wheel assembly 20, positioned radially inward of the tire 34. The wheel 32 is rigid, i.e., comprises a rigid material such as a metallic material (e.g., steel), and provides strength to the wheel assembly 20. In this example, the wheel 32 comprises a hub region 36 for securing the wheel assembly 20 to the axle 17 of the vehicle 12, and a rim 45 around which the tire 34 is mounted. For example, the hub region 36 may be fastened to the axle 17 of the vehicle 12 via fasteners (e.g., bolts or screws).

[0059] The tire 34 has an outer surface 37 for contacting the underlying surface 15, an inner surface 39 for facing the axis 35 of rotation of the wheel 32 and wheel assembly 20, and side surfaces 41 opposite and spaced apart from each other in the lateral direction of the tire 34. The tire 34 has an outer diameter D T and inner diameter d T and width W T and

[0060] The outer surface 37 of the tire 34 includes a tread 40. In this example, the tread 40 includes a pattern of traction elements 44 to enhance traction on the underlying surface 15. The pattern of traction elements 44 includes traction peaks 42 and traction recesses 43 between the traction peaks 42. Any suitable design for the pattern of traction elements 44 can be used. In other examples, the tread 40 can be smooth, i.e., lack a pattern of traction elements such as the pattern of traction elements 44.

[0061] The tire 34 is mounted around the wheel 32. For example, in some embodiments, the tire 34 may be moved laterally relative to the wheel 32 to press the tire 34 onto the wheel 32 (e.g., using a press such as a hydraulic press). In some embodiments, as shown in FIGS. 5A and 5B , the inner surface 39 of the tire 34 configured to contact the wheel 32 comprises an elastomeric material (e.g., rubber) such that the interface between the wheel 32 and the tire 34 is a metal-elastomer interface. For example, in some embodiments, the tire 34 may be secured to the wheel 32 by one or more locking elements (e.g., lateral rings and / or locking rings) of the wheel 32, as shown in FIG. 5A , or by locking elements of the tire 34, such as locking noses 55 configured to fit into corresponding grooves in the wheel 32, as shown in FIG. 5B . 6, the inner surface 39 of the tire 34 may comprise a metallic material such that the interface between the wheel 32 and the tire 34 is a metal-to-metal interface, and the tire 34 may be press-fit onto the wheel 32 and secured to the wheel 32 via the metal-to-metal interface between the tire 34 and the wheel 32 achieved by the press-fit. In such an example, the tire 34 may be referred to as a "press-on" tire.

[0062] In this embodiment, the tire 34 is a non-pneumatic tire. A non-pneumatic tire 34 is a flexible wheel structure that is not supported by gas (e.g., air) pressure and is elastically deformable (i.e., capable of changing configuration) when the wheel assembly 20 contacts the underlying surface 15. In this example, the tire 34 may also be referred to as a "solid" or "elastic" tire.

[0063] More particularly, in this embodiment, as shown in Figures 7 and 8, the tire 34 includes multiple layers 501, 502, 503 that may be structurally distinct and radially disposed about the tire 34. For example, in various embodiments, each one of the layers 501, 502, 503 of the tire 34 may have a different structure, such as a structure including different materials and / or a structure having a different shape.

[0064] The outer one of layers 501, 502, 503, i.e., layer 501, comprises the outer surface 37 and tread 40 of the tire 34. In that sense, outer layer 501 may be referred to as the "tread layer." The inner one of layers 501, 502, 503, i.e., layer 503, comprises the inner surface 39 of the tire 34. In some cases, depending on how the tire 34 is constructed, the inner surface 39 of the tire 34 may be part of the "heel" or "inner heel" of the tire 34, and thus inner layer 503 may be referred to as the "heel layer" or "inner heel layer." In some embodiments, there may be one or more intermediate layers 502 between the tread layer 501 and the inner layer 503.

[0065] One or more of the layers 501, 502, 503 of the tire 34 may each include an elastomeric material. The elastomeric material of a given one of the layers 501, 502, 503 of the tire 34 may include any polymeric material with suitable elasticity. For example, the elastomeric material may include rubber. Any suitable rubber compound may be used. As another example, in some cases, the elastomeric material may include other elastomers in addition to or instead of rubber (e.g., thermoplastic elastomers (TPEs) such as thermoplastic polyurethanes (TPUs)).

[0066] In various embodiments, the inner layer 503 of the tire 34 is made from an elastomeric material (i.e., the interface between the wheel 32 and the tire 34 is a metal-elastomer interface) or a metallic material (i.e., the interface between the wheel 32 and the tire 34 is a metal-metal interface), as further described below.

[0067] In one embodiment, if the inner layer 503 includes an elastomeric material that is provided adjacent to the wheel 32 when the tire 34 is mounted around the wheel 32, the inner layer 503 may include a reinforcement (e.g., a cable) embedded in the elastomeric material that can provide tension around the wheel 32.

[0068] 8, the tire 34 may be a press-on tire in which the inner layer 503 includes a mounting band 68 configured to mount the tire 34 to the wheel 32. The mounting band 68 includes a stiff material that is harder than the elastomeric material of adjacent ones of the layers 501, 502, 503 of the tire 34. For example, in this embodiment, the mounting band 68 is metallic (e.g., made from steel).

[0069] 9, an embodiment of the monitoring system 10 is shown. As part of the monitoring system 10, the wheel assembly 20 includes a wheel assembly sensor 90 and a tag 130 for interacting with (e.g., communicating with) a processing unit 120 external to the wheel assembly 20.

[0070] Wheel Assembly Sensor 10 , an embodiment illustrates a block diagram of a sensor 90 of a wheel assembly 20, which may be referred to as a wheel assembly sensor 90. The wheel assembly sensor 90 is configured to sense a physical aspect related to the wheel assembly 20, such as a physical aspect of the wheel assembly 20 itself (e.g., the temperature of the wheel assembly 20) or a physical aspect of the environment of the wheel assembly 20 (e.g., the physical aspect of the surface 15 under which the wheel assembly 20 rolls), and is configured to transmit a signal carrying information 84 about the wheel assembly 20 based on the sensed physical aspect, which may be referred to as a “wheel assembly sensor signal” or “wheel assembly sensor information” 84.

[0071] To that end, the wheel assembly sensor 90 includes a sensing device 92 for sensing physical aspects related to the wheel assembly 20 and an interface 94, which includes a transmitter 96 configured to transmit the wheel assembly sensor information 84 to the processing unit 120. In this embodiment, the transmitter 96 is a wireless transmitter configured to wirelessly transmit the wheel assembly sensor information 84 to the processing unit 120. The transmitter 96 may use any suitable wireless communication protocol (e.g., including one or more of Bluetooth, Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE), or other short-range or close-range wireless connection, WiFi or other wireless LAN, WiMAX or other wireless WAN, cellular communication, Universal Serial Bus (USB), etc.).

[0072] The sensing device 92 and interface 94 of the wheel assembly sensor 90 are operably coupled via a controller 98. The controller 98 is computer-based and, as such, may include a processing entity 2500 as described in connection with FIG. 26 . The processing entity 2500 comprises an interface 2510, a processor 2520, and a storage device 2530. The controller 98 may be operably coupled to a flash memory 104 that stores the wheel assembly sensor information 84, as described further below. The wheel assembly sensor 90 also comprises at least one battery 106 configured to provide electrical energy to the wheel assembly sensor 90, i.e., at least the sensing device 92, interface 94, controller 98, and flash memory 104 of the wheel assembly sensor 90. Any suitable battery 106 may be used, such as, but not limited to, a 1000 mAh battery, a 1500 mAh battery, etc. i In other examples, the wheel assembly sensor 90 may also include an energy harvesting unit that may be configured to derive energy from any one of the movement / rotation of the wheel assembly sensor 90, vibration of the wheel assembly sensor 90, solar radiation, etc.

[0073] In various embodiments, physical aspects of the wheel assembly 20 that may be sensed by the wheel assembly sensor 90 (or, in other words, to which the wheel assembly sensor information 84 stored by the flash memory 104 of the wheel assembly sensor 90 may be related) may include, but are not limited to: - rotational speed v of the wheel assembly 20 W In this case, the sensing device 92 of the wheel assembly sensor 90 comprises a rotational rate sensor (e.g., a gyroscope), where the rotational rate may correspond to the number of rotations of the wheel assembly 20 over a predetermined period of time (e.g., revolutions per minute—rpm) or the rate of change of the angular displacement of the wheel assembly 20 over a predetermined period of time (e.g., radians per second, etc.). In other examples, the sensing device 92 of the wheel assembly sensor 90 may be a pressure transducer or any other type of sensing device 92 capable of sensing pressure, where the rotational rate of the wheel assembly may be derived based on the frequency at which pressure is detected by the sensing device 92 and the wheel assembly 20 rolls on the underlying surface 15, as described further below. - The pressure within the wheel assembly 20 (e.g. the pressure at the interface between the wheel 32 and the tire 34). In this case, the sensing device 92 of the wheel assembly sensor 90 may comprise a pressure transducer or any other type of sensing device 92 capable of sensing pressure. - Vibrations of the wheel assembly 20. In this case, the sensing device 92 of the wheel assembly sensor 90 may comprise an accelerometer. - Load on the wheel assembly 20. In this case, the sensing device 92 of the wheel assembly sensor 90 may be a pressure transducer or any other type of sensing device 92 capable of sensing pressure, or an optical sensor or any other type of sensing device 92 capable of sensing tire deflection. the temperature of the wheel assembly 20, in which case the sensing device 92 of the wheel assembly sensor 90 may comprise a thermocouple, a thermistor, a resistance temperature detector, an infrared sensor, or any other type of sensing device 92 capable of sensing temperature; or any other physical parameter related to the wheel assembly 20 or its environment.

[0074] It will be readily appreciated that in some embodiments, the wheel assembly sensor 90 may include two or more sensing devices 92. Alternatively, two or more wheel assembly sensors 90, each with at least one sensing device 92, may be used simultaneously in other embodiments. In one example, a wheel assembly may include a first wheel assembly sensor 90 with a sensing device 92 comprising a rotational speed sensor and a second wheel assembly sensor 90 with a sensing device 92 comprising a pressure sensor. Any other suitable configurations are possible in other examples.

[0075] In this embodiment, the wheel assembly sensor 90 is mounted to the wheel 32. More specifically, in this example, the wheel assembly sensor 90 is mounted to the hub region 36 (e.g., hubcap) of the wheel 32, such as, for example, on the side of the hub region 36 that corresponds to the outboard side 49 of the wheel assembly 20. This may facilitate use and accessibility of the wheel assembly sensor 90. Because the wheel 32 is rigid (e.g., metal), it may also provide stability to the wheel assembly sensor 90 and allow for better wireless communication with the processing unit 120. In contrast, mounting the wheel assembly sensor 90 to the tire 34 (e.g., inside the elastomeric material of the tire 34) may be more difficult because the elastomeric material (e.g., rubber) of the tire 34 may deform during use, wear, and / or fail more quickly due to the presence of the wheel assembly sensor 90, etc. In some embodiments, each wheel assembly 20 of the vehicle includes a wheel assembly sensor 90 and a tag 130, while in other embodiments, one, two, or three of the wheel assemblies may not have sensors and / or tags such as the wheel assembly sensor 90 and tag 130. In still further embodiments, each wheel assembly 20 may include multiple wheel assembly sensors 90.

[0076] The wheel assembly sensor 90 with the sensing unit 92 can be mounted to the wheel assembly 20 in a number of ways, such as, for example, via magnetic or mechanical engagement, and specifically to the wheel 32. In one example, and with further reference to FIG. 11A , the wheel assembly sensor 90 may be encased in a housing 110. The housing 110 may be made of any suitable material, such as, but not limited to, plastic, that does not interfere with wireless communication from the wheel assembly sensor 90 to the processing unit 120, as described further below. The housing 110 defines a sealed compartment that houses the sensing unit 92 and shields the sensing unit 92 from any materials or substances that may come into contact with the wheel assembly 20, particularly as the wheel assembly 20 rolls on the underlying surface 15; such materials or substances could damage the sensing unit 92 or otherwise interfere with the operation of the wheel assembly sensor 90 and ultimately the operation of the monitoring system 10. In this example, the wheel assembly sensor 90, and more specifically, the sensing device 92 of the wheel assembly sensor 90, may be magnetically mounted to the wheel 32, where the wheel assembly sensor 90 further comprises at least one magnet 116 secured to the base 117, the at least one magnet 116 being fastened to the wheel 32 via magnetic attraction between the at least one magnet 116 and the metallic material of the wheel 32. Any suitable permanent magnet may be used in this embodiment. In this example, the sensing element 92 is secured to the base 117 via at least one threaded connection 118 between the base 117 and the housing 110, the at least one threaded connection 118 being established via engagement of corresponding threads present on both the base 117 and the housing 110. In the example of FIG. 11 , the corresponding threads have a corresponding circular configuration, and although a single threaded connection 118 is used, any other suitable configuration may be possible in other examples. In this example, wheel assembly sensor 90 further comprises an insulating layer 119 positioned between at least one battery 106 and base 117 to, among other things, prevent exchange of thermal energy and / or prevent electrical connection between at least one battery 106 and base 117 during operation of wheel assembly sensor 90. The insulating layer may be made from any suitable material, such as, but not limited to, polyurethane foam, rubber, etc.

[0077] Wheel assembly sensor 90 and housing 110 may have any other suitable shape in other examples. Still referring to FIG. 12A , in this example, sensing unit 92 is magnetically mounted to wheel 32 via two magnets 1161 and 1162 secured to housing 110 using two threaded connections 1181 and 1182 with two threaded fasteners 1141 and 1142 (e.g., bolts or screws). Threaded fasteners 1141 and 1142 are configured to engage corresponding threads on either one of magnets 1161 and 1162 and housing 110, respectively. 12B , in this example, the wheel assembly sensor 90 is mounted to the wheel 32 via a mechanical engagement between the housing 110 and the wheel 32, specifically via two threaded connections 1121 and 1122 that extend from the first side 113 to the second side 115 of the housing 110 and each involve a threaded fastener (labeled 1143 and 1144—e.g., a bolt or screw) and corresponding threads present on both the housing 110 and the wheel 32. While the threads present on the housing are integrally formed with the housing 110 in the example of FIG. 12B , they may not be integrally formed in other examples. It will be readily understood that any other suitable configuration of the housing 110 can be used in other examples.

[0078] 11B, in one embodiment, the wheel assembly sensor 90 can be fastened to the wheel 32 using existing fasteners (e.g., bolts) 111 that fasten the wheel 32 to the axle 17. For example, in this embodiment, the wheel assembly sensor 90 includes a base 121 that supports the sensing device 92, housing 110, etc., and that includes an opening to receive the fastener 111. This allows the wheel assembly sensor 90 to be easily mounted to the wheel 32 using available parts of the wheel assembly.

[0079] 13 , another example of a wheel assembly sensor 90 is shown, where the wheel assembly sensor 90 is still mounted to the wheel 32, but is mounted to the rim 45 of the wheel 32, specifically at the interface between the rim 45 and the tire 34. The sensing device 92 of the wheel assembly sensor 90 can be any suitable device in this example, but it will be readily understood that the sensing device 92 mounted to the interface between the rim 45 of the wheel 32 and the tire 34 preferably comprises a pressure transducer (or any other type of sensing device capable of sensing pressure) for measuring the pressure at the interface between the rim 45 and the tire 34. In this example, the sensing device 92 of the wheel assembly sensor 90 is mounted to the interface between the rim 45 and the tire 34 via a hole 133 in the rim 45, which allows the sensing device 92 to be positioned at the outer surface of the rim 45 where the outer surface of the rim 45 contacts the inner layer 503 of the tire 34.

[0080] Thereby, pressure exerted on the tire 34, specifically on the outer surface 37 / tread 40 of the tire 34 substantially along a radial direction corresponding to the radial direction of the pressure transducer or other type of sensing device capable of sensing pressure, is communicated through the elastomeric material of the tire 34 to the outer surface of the rim 45 where the rim 45 contacts the inner layer 503 of the tire 34. Any other suitable configurations of the wheel assembly sensor 90 are possible in other examples.

[0081] While in the above embodiment the wheel assembly sensor 90 is separate, i.e., separate from the vehicle 12, in other embodiments the wheel assembly sensor 90 may be integral to (i.e., part of) the vehicle 12, such as being incorporated into or otherwise provided on the vehicle 12 during the original manufacture of the vehicle 12. Thus, in such an embodiment, the monitoring system 10 may obtain information without any sensors on the wheel assembly 20, i.e., the wheel assembly 20 may be sensor-free (i.e., sensor-less). In this embodiment, the wheel assembly sensor 90 may be an "integrated" sensor on the vehicle 12, specifically a wheel encoder on the vehicle 12, which generally senses the same physical aspects of the wheel assembly 20, such as those described above. It will be readily appreciated that in this embodiment, the wheel assembly sensor 90 may communicate the data acquired by the sensing device 92 to the processing unit 120 via a wired connection, i.e., in this embodiment, the transmitter 96 is a wired transmitter and the on-board electronics of the vehicle 12 is used to relay the data acquired by the sensing device 92. Still, in this embodiment, the wheel assembly sensor 90 may not directly store the wheel assembly sensor information 84 at the wheel assembly sensor 90 level (e.g., the wheel encoder does not include a flash memory 104), in which case the wheel assembly sensor information 84 may be communicated to and stored at the processing unit 120 level. It will be readily understood that when the vehicle 12 is a clutchless vehicle (e.g., a forklift) and when the wheel assembly sensor 90 is integral with the vehicle 12 (i.e., when the wheel assembly sensor 90 is a wheel encoder of the vehicle 12), the data acquired by the wheel assembly sensor 90 (e.g., the speed / acceleration of the wheel assembly 20) can also represent data related to the vehicle 12 (e.g., the speed / acceleration of the vehicle 12).

[0082] tag 14A , a block diagram of a tag 130 is shown, according to an embodiment. The tag 130 is configured to emit a signal carrying information 86 for identifying a component of the wheel assembly 20 (e.g., the tire 34 or the wheel 32), which may be referred to as an “identification signal” or “identification information” (i.e., the identification information 86). For example, in various embodiments, the identification information 86 carried by the tag 130 may include the relationship between the tire 34 and the wheel 32, as well as a serial number, manufacturer, model number, type, manufactured date / time, installed date / time, sold date / time, discarded date / time, and / or any other information that identifies (i.e., indicates the identity of) that component of the wheel assembly 20 to enable identification of the component of the wheel assembly 20 (e.g., the tire 34 or the wheel 32).

[0083] In this embodiment, tag 130 includes an interface 132 that includes a transmitter 134 configured to transmit identification information 86 to processing device 120. Transmitter 134 is a wireless transmitter configured to wirelessly transmit identification information 86 to processing device 120.

[0084] Transmitter 134 may use any suitable wireless communication protocol (including, for example, radio frequency identification (RFID) or other short-range or near-field wireless connection, etc.). To that end, in this example, tag 130 may include an identification element 136 (i.e., RFID, etc.) configured to generate a tag signal that carries identification information 86. In the example of FIG. 14A, tag 130 further includes battery 106, although in other examples this may not be the case.

[0085] More specifically, in this embodiment, the tag 130 may be disposed inside the tire 34, i.e., within the elastomeric material of the tire 34. For example, and still referring to FIG. 14B , the tag 130 may be embedded under an elastomeric portion of the tire 34 adjacent a given one of the side surfaces 49 or 54 of the tire 34. In one example, the tag 130 may be embedded within any one of the layers 501, 502, 503, between the layers 501 and 502, or between the layers 502 and 503, such that the tag 130 may be positioned at any suitable location along the radial direction of the elastomeric material of the tire 34.

[0086] For example, in one embodiment, the width W of the tire 34 T , the thickness T of the elastomeric portion of the tire 34 covering the tag 130 t is 0.2 or less, in some cases 0.1 or less, and in some cases 0.05 or less.

[0087] It will be readily appreciated that, similar to the sensing devices 92 of the wheel assembly sensors 90, more than one tag 130 per wheel assembly 120 may be used simultaneously in embodiments where there is more than one tag 130 per wheel assembly 120.

[0088] Processing equipment 15 , a block diagram of a processing unit 120 is shown, according to an embodiment. The processing unit 120 is configured to receive and process wheel assembly sensor information 84 from the wheel assembly sensors 90 of the wheel assemblies 20 and identification information 86 from the tags 130 of the wheel assemblies 20 to obtain information about the vehicle 12 (i.e., vehicle information 95), which may include information about the wheel assemblies 20 and / or tires 34 and may indicate how the vehicle 12 is used (e.g., the duty cycle of the vehicle 12), the condition of the vehicle assembly 20 (e.g., the degree of wear), such as the condition of the tires 34 (e.g., the degree of wear), loads and impacts on the vehicle assembly 20, and / or the condition of the environment (e.g., the temperature of the environment, the shape, compliance, or other condition of the surface 15 underlying the wheel assemblies 20), which may be used in a variety of ways, as discussed below.

[0089] In this embodiment, the processing unit 120 includes a communication device 122 configured to wirelessly communicate with the wheel assembly sensors 90 and tags 130 of the wheel assembly 20. More specifically, in this example, and with further reference to FIG. 16A , the communication device 122 may be a smartphone or tablet (e.g., with an RFID reader) carried by a user, such as the operator of the vehicle 12. In other examples, the communication device 122 may be a laptop computer, a smartwatch, a head-mounted display, or other wearable device, or any other communication device carried, worn, or otherwise associated with a user. In yet a further example, and with further reference to FIG. 16B , instead of being carried by a user, such as the operator of the vehicle 12, the communication device 122 may be associated with (i.e., mounted on) or part of the vehicle 12 and configured to locally wirelessly communicate with the wheel assembly sensors 90 and tags 130 of the wheel assembly 20, as described further below. In still a further example, communication device 122 may be associated with a fixed location (e.g., a warehouse, etc.) where vehicle 12 operates. Monitoring system 10 may be implemented in a variety of other ways in other embodiments.

[0090] In some examples, the processing unit 120 may further include another device 170, separate from the communication device 122, to interact with the tag 130 of the wheel assembly 20. For example, if the tag 130 implements RFID technology, the device 170 may include an RFID reader. In some cases, the RFID reader 170 may be connected to the communication device 122 (e.g., a smartphone), although any other suitable configuration is possible in other examples.

[0091] The communication device 122 is also configured to communicate with a remote computer 140 via a communication link 128, which may be established wirelessly, wired, or partly wirelessly and partly wired, over a cellular or other wide area network 150 (including, for example, Bluetooth, BLE, or other short-range or close-range wireless connections, WiFi or other wireless LANs, WiMAX or other wireless WANs, cellular, Universal Serial Bus (USB), etc.).

[0092] Communications device 122 is computer-based and, as such, may include processing entity 2500 as described in connection with FIG. 26. In one example, as described further below, software encoded in storage 2530 may cause communications device 122 to derive vehicle information 95 from at least wheel assembly sensor information 84 (and optionally tag information 86). However, in other examples, processing unit 120 may communicate at least wheel assembly sensor information 84 (and optionally tag information 86) via communications link 128 (and network 150) to remote computer 140, with vehicle information 95, in this example, being derived at the level of remote computer 140. Like communications device 122, remote computer 140 is also computer-based and, as such, may include processing entity 2500 as described in connection with FIG. 26.

[0093] In one example, processing unit 120 may be associated with sensors 129 that are separate from wheel assembly sensors 90 and configured to sense physical aspects related to vehicle 12. Sensors 129, which may be referred to as "vehicle sensors," interact with processing unit 120, which is itself configured to transmit signals that convey vehicle information 95 related to vehicle 12 based on the physical aspects sensed by vehicle sensors 129. The physical aspects related to vehicle 12 that may be sensed by vehicle sensors 129 may include, but are not limited to (or, stated another way, vehicle information 95 may be further related to): - the speed (e.g., linear velocity) v of the vehicle 12 v In this case, the vehicle sensor 129 may comprise a speed sensor associated with (i.e., mounted on) or part of the vehicle 12 . - acceleration (e.g., linear acceleration) a of the vehicle 12 v In this case, the vehicle sensors 129 may include accelerometers and / or gyroscopes associated with (i.e., mounted on) or part of the vehicle 12. In one example, the accelerometers and / or gyroscopes may be micro-electromechanical systems (MEMS) accelerometers and / or gyroscopes, and the MEMS accelerometers and / or gyroscopes may be combined with magnetometers. v It will be readily appreciated that may be measured by the vehicle sensor 129 in any suitable direction (i.e., longitudinal, lateral, and / or vertical directions of the vehicle 12, etc.). - Information relating to the prime mover (i.e., motor) of the vehicle 12 (i.e., the rpm or other rotational speed of the prime mover, etc.).

[0094] It will be readily appreciated that in some embodiments, the vehicle information 95 obtained by the vehicle sensors 129 may represent data related to the wheel assembly 20, as previously described. It will be readily appreciated that when the vehicle 12 is equipped with a global positioning system (“GPS”) and a GPS signal is available (e.g., when the vehicle 12 is operated outdoors), the GPS signal may also be used by the processing unit 120 to derive the vehicle information 95. That is, in some examples, the speed v of the vehicle 12 may be v and / or the acceleration a of the vehicle 12 v can be derived at least in part based on GPS signals.

[0095] In some embodiments, an application (“app,” i.e., software) may be installed on the communication device 122 to interact with the wheel assembly sensors 90 and tags 130 of the wheel assembly 20 and the remote computer 140. For example, in some embodiments, a user (e.g., an operator) may download an app to the communication device 122 from a repository (e.g., Apple App Store, Google Play, Android Market, etc.) or any other website, such as when the communication device is a smartphone or tablet. Upon operation of the app on the communication device 122, the user may access certain features related to the monitoring system 10 locally on the communication device 122. Additionally, a data connection may be established over a network (e.g., the Internet, a cellular network, etc.) with the remote computer 140 running a complementary server-side application that interacts with the app on the communication device 122.

[0096] The communication device 122 may be configured to present vehicle information 95 to a user, as described further below. In this manner, the communication device 122 may be connected to a display device 160, which may or may not be integral with the communication device 122.

[0097] 15 embodiment, monitoring system 10 includes wheel assembly sensor 90, tag 130, and vehicle sensor 129, and in this case monitoring system 10 is able to obtain wheel assembly sensor information 84, identification information 86, and vehicle information 95, although this need not be the case in other embodiments, and any one of wheel assembly sensor 90, tag 130, and vehicle sensor 129 may be omitted from monitoring system 10. That is, in some embodiments, monitoring system 10 may include only wheel assembly sensor 90, both wheel assembly sensor 90 and vehicle sensor 129, or only vehicle sensor 129.

[0098] For example, with further reference to FIG. 27 , an embodiment of the monitoring system 10 is shown including a vehicle sensor 129 for interacting (e.g., communicating) with the processing unit 120. With further reference to FIG. 28 , an embodiment of a block diagram of the vehicle sensor 129 is shown. The vehicle sensor 129 is configured to sense physical aspects associated with the vehicle 12 including the wheel assembly 20 and to transmit signals conveying vehicle information 95. To that end, the vehicle sensor 129 includes a sensing device 91 and an interface 194 operably coupled to a controller 198. The controller 198 is computer-based and, as such, may include a processing entity 2500 as described in connection with FIG. 26 . The controller 198 may be operably coupled to a flash memory 105 that stores the vehicle information 95, as described further below. In some examples, the vehicle sensor 129 may include at least one battery 107 configured to provide electrical energy to the vehicle sensor 129, i.e., to at least the sensing device 91, interface 194, control device 198, and flash memory 105 of the vehicle sensor 129, while in other examples, the vehicle sensor 129 may be powered by being connected to the electrical system of the vehicle 12.

[0099] The vehicle sensors 129 may also comprise an inertial measurement unit (IMU) 109. In some embodiments, the sensing device 91 of the vehicle sensors 129 may comprise the IMU 109. In some embodiments, the vehicle sensors 129 including the sensing device 91 / IMU 109 may be separate, i.e., separate from the vehicle 12, or in other embodiments may be integral with (i.e., part of) the vehicle 12, in which case the vehicle sensors 129 including the sensing device 91 / IMU 109 may be "built-in" sensors of the vehicle 12. It will be readily appreciated that data acquired by the sensing device 91 may be communicated via a wired or wireless connection.

[0100] The vehicle sensor 129 detects the acceleration a of the vehicle 12. vIn examples where the IMU 109 is configured to sense vehicle speed and includes at least an accelerometer, the IMU 109 is generally configured to combine outputs from at least the accelerometer and gyroscope to derive vehicle information 95. It will be readily appreciated that various algorithms, such as, but not limited to, a Kalman filter, compensation methods, etc., may be used by the IMU 109 to perform such combination. The communication device 122 of the processing unit 120 is configured to wirelessly communicate with the vehicle sensors 129. More specifically, and with further reference to FIG. 29A , in some examples, the processing unit 120 may be remote from the vehicle 12, for example, in examples where the communication device 122 is a device carried by a user, such as an operator of the vehicle 12. In other examples, and with further reference to FIG. 29B , instead of being carried by a user, such as an operator of the vehicle 12, the processing unit 120 may be associated with (i.e., mounted on) or part of the vehicle 12 and configured to locally communicate (e.g., wirelessly or via wired communication) with the vehicle sensors 129. Monitoring system 10 may be implemented in a variety of other ways in other embodiments.

[0101] An embodiment of a process 3000 for filtering vehicle information 95 obtained from vehicle sensors 129 is further described with reference to FIG. 30 . In a first step 3002, monitoring system 10, specifically processing unit 120, obtains vehicle information 95. In one example, the obtained vehicle information 95 can be the acceleration of vehicle 12 in the longitudinal, lateral, and vertical directions of vehicle 12. In one example, first step 3002 is repeated by processing unit 120 at various time intervals, such as, but not limited to, every 9 seconds or less, every 8 seconds or less, every 7 seconds or less, every 6 seconds or less, every 5 seconds or less, every 4 seconds or less, or even less, such as every 10 seconds or less. In other examples, vehicle information 95 is continuously obtained by processing unit 120 in step 3002, in which case the obtained vehicle information 95 is subsequently filtered by processing unit 120 as described further below.

[0102] A time interval that is too short will result in some noise in the obtained vehicle information 95, while a time interval that is too long will result in unwanted vehicle information 95 (e.g., the true acceleration a of the vehicle 12). v It will be readily appreciated that the time interval will include unwanted acceleration data not associated with the vehicle 12, data associated with turns, and other events occurring during use of the vehicle 12. A time interval that is too short may also result in the identification of "false" acceleration events, for example, when the vehicle 12 decelerates rather than accelerates. Setting an appropriate time interval in step 3002 thereby avoids noise in the acquired vehicle information 95 while at the same time ensuring that changes in the acquired (and measured) vehicle information 95 represent actual changes in the state (e.g., motion) of the vehicle 12. In one example, using an appropriate time interval may be used to determine whether the vehicle 12 is traveling at a constant speed v v The vehicle acceleration a that can be observed when operated at v (i.e., the true acceleration a of vehicle 12) v When there is no change, the change (in other words, this change constitutes noise in the acceleration data) will not be taken into account and will not be “filtered” by the processing unit 120 .

[0103] It is also readily understood that what constitutes an appropriate time interval may vary depending on the type and use of vehicle 12, and therefore the values ​​provided above are in no way limiting, and any other appropriate time interval may be used in other examples. In another example, vehicle information 95 may be obtained at a first time interval in step 3002, and the obtained vehicle information 95 may optionally be filtered at a second time interval greater than the first time interval in step 3003. In other words, this allows monitoring system 10 to obtain vehicle information 95 with high temporal granularity, and thereafter, by filtering undesirable data from vehicle information 95, noise originally present in the vehicle information obtained in step 3002 may be reduced and / or eliminated. It is readily understood that when vehicle 95 is continuously obtained in step 3002, vehicle information 95 is filtered at an appropriate time interval in step 3003 to ensure that noise in the acceleration data is not further taken into account.

[0104] In a second step 3004, the monitoring system 10 determines whether the vehicle 12 has reached a "zero speed" condition based on the vehicle information 95 obtained in step 3002. The "zero speed" condition can be defined in several ways. In one example, the "zero speed" condition is determined by the acceleration a of the vehicle 12. vis less than a predetermined threshold in the longitudinal, lateral, and vertical directions of the vehicle 12 for a predetermined period of time. In one example, the predetermined acceleration threshold in the longitudinal, lateral, and vertical directions of the vehicle 12 may be 0.5 g or less, such as 0.25 g or less, 0.2 g or less, 0.1 g or less, 0.05 g or less, 0.025 g or less, and even less. In one example, the predetermined time interval may be about 1 second or less, such as about 500 ms or less, about 250 ms or less, about 200 ms or less, about 100 ms or less, about 50 ms or less, about 25 ms or less, about 20 ms or less, about 10 ms or less, about 5 ms or less, about 4 ms or less, about 1 ms or less, about 2 ms or less, about 1 ms or less, and even less. It will be readily appreciated that in this example, the acceleration of the vehicle 12 must be obtained over a sufficient period of time in step 3002 for the monitoring system 10 to make a determination as to whether the predetermined time period has been reached. The second step 3004 is also repeated at various time intervals which may or may not be the same as the time intervals at which the vehicle information 95 is obtained in step 3002. The "zero velocity" condition may be defined in any other suitable manner, and in one example, the "zero velocity" condition is determined by the acceleration a of the vehicle 12. v may be defined as the state during which the acceleration a of the vehicle 12 is less than a predetermined threshold in the longitudinal, lateral, and vertical directions of the vehicle 12. vThe "zero speed" condition may be reached regardless of the length of the wheel sensor 90 that is less than a predetermined threshold in the longitudinal, lateral, and vertical directions. In another example, when the wheel sensor 90 and the vehicle sensor 129 including the IMU 109 are both integral with the vehicle 12, the data acquired by the wheel sensor 90 and the data acquired by the IMU 109 may be synchronized. In this case, the determination of whether the "zero speed" condition has been reached may be based at least in part on information about the wheel assembly 20, specifically the rotational speed of the wheel assembly 20.

[0105] Unless a resulting determination is made in step 3004 that a "zero velocity" state has been reached by the vehicle 12, the process 3000 returns to step 3002 and steps 3002 and 3004 are repeated. If a determination is made by the monitoring system 10 in step 3004 that a "zero velocity" state has been reached, the IMU 109 is optionally recalibrated in step 3006. Recalibration may involve the use of vehicle information 95 (e.g., the acceleration a of the vehicle 12 from the accelerometer, gyroscope, and / or magnetometer) to calibrate the IMU 109. v ) is a process that compensates for errors and / or noise in the acquisition / measurement of the vehicle information 95, specifically the acceleration a of the vehicle 12 measured / acquired by the vehicle sensors 129. v Improve the accuracy of the vehicle information 95 so that it represents the “true” vehicle information as much as possible (e.g., the acceleration a of the vehicle 12 acquired / measured by the vehicle sensor 129). v is as close as possible to the "true" acceleration of the vehicle 12.

[0106] System Operation In one embodiment, the monitoring system 10 is configured to monitor at least one physical aspect of the wheel assembly 20 via the wheel assembly sensors 90 and then communicate the resulting wheel assembly sensor information 84 from the wheel assembly sensors 90 to the processing unit 120 to derive vehicle information 95 about the vehicle 12, including information about the wheel assembly 20.

[0107] As previously described, depending on, among other things, the type of sensing element 92 implemented in the wheel assembly sensor 90, the wheel assembly sensor information 84 may include information regarding the rotational speed of the wheel assembly 20, the rotational acceleration of the wheel assembly 20, the pressure in the wheel assembly 20 (specifically, the pressure at the interface between the rim 45 and the tire 34 of the wheel assembly 20), the temperature of the wheel assembly 20, the shape of the underlying surface 15, etc. In one example, the acquisition and communication of the wheel assembly sensor information 84 by the wheel assembly sensor 90 comprises an “active” mode of acquisition and communication, i.e., the sensing element 92 may be configured to acquire and communicate the wheel assembly sensor information 84 without relying on any external signal received by the sensing device 92 to initiate the acquisition and / or communication of the wheel assembly sensor information 84.

[0108] For example, the sensing device 92 may be configured to include a "standby" mode and a "recording" mode. In the standby mode, the sensing device 92 evaluates whether there is movement of the wheel assembly 20 (i.e., whether there is movement of the vehicle 12). This evaluation may be performed by the sensing device 92 periodically at any suitable time interval, such as, for example, every 5 seconds, every 2.5 seconds, every 1 second, or even shorter in some cases, and the evaluation may be performed over any suitable time period, such as, for example, every 100 ms, 50 ms, 25 ms, 10 ms, and even shorter in some cases. If there is no movement of the wheel assembly 20, the sensing device 92 remains in the standby mode and does not acquire wheel assembly sensor information 84. When movement of the wheel assembly 20 is detected by the sensing device 92, the sensing device 92 switches to a recording mode and begins acquiring wheel assembly sensor information 84 for any suitable time period, such as, for example, 5 seconds, 4 seconds, 3 seconds, 2 seconds, 1 second, 500 ms, 250 ms, 100 ms, 50 ms, 25 ms, 10 ms, and even shorter periods in some cases, and then waits until the start of a subsequent time interval to evaluate movement of the wheel assembly 20. The wheel assembly sensor information 84 acquired by the sensing device 92 can be time-stamped and stored in the flash memory 104 of the wheel assembly sensor 90 and communicated to the processing unit 120 at any suitable time interval, such as, for example, every hour, every 4 hours, every 8 hours, every 12 hours, every 24 hours, and even longer periods in some cases. Any other suitable modes of operation of the wheel assembly sensor 90 are possible in other examples.

[0109] The monitoring system 10 is also configured to communicate tag information 86 to the processing device 120, where the tag information 86 includes, among other things, a serial number, manufacturer, model number, model, manufacture date / time, sale date / time, disposal date / time, and / or any other information identifying the component of the wheel assembly 20 (i.e., the wheel 32 or tire 34) to enable identification of that component of the wheel assembly 20. Contrary to the wheel assembly sensor information 84, communication of tag information 86 by the tag 130 may include a “passive” mode of communication, i.e., the tag 130 may be configured to communicate tag information 86 only upon receiving an external signal (e.g., an interrogation signal) to initiate communication of the tag information 86. In one example, the external signal that initiates communication of tag information 86 to the processing device may be a signal generated by an RFID reader of the communication device 122. Any other suitable mode of operation of the tag 130 is possible in other examples.

[0110] The monitoring system 10 may be configured to assess the degree of wear on the wheel assembly 20 and / or the duty cycle of the wheel assembly 20 (and / or vehicle 12) in several ways. For example, wear on the wheel assembly 20 may occur as the tire 34 rolls against the underlying surface 15, resulting in a decrease in the outer diameter D of the tire 34 as a result of degradation of the elastomeric material of the tire 34. T Duty cycle may refer to any data related to intermittent operation of vehicle 12, including operation of wheel assembly 20.

[0111] In some embodiments, and still referring to FIG. 17, wheel assembly sensor information 84 and identification information 86 are obtained in steps 1710 and 1720, respectively, to obtain the following vehicle information 95 in step 1730, including information about wheel assembly 20: The date and / or time of installation of the wheel assembly 20, including the wheel 32 and tire 34. D T Historical data (i.e., D T=f(time) data), the dimensions of the wheel assembly 20, i.e., the dimensions of the tire 34 (i.e., the outer diameter D of the tire 34 T ). The standby state of the vehicle 12 (i.e., the duty cycle of the vehicle 12), including historical data of the standby / stop time of the vehicle 12 (i.e., when the vehicle 12 is in operation / not in operation, particularly with respect to the cooling period of the tires 34), for example in the form of a histogram or in any other suitable format, as well as the accumulated time of operation of the vehicle 12. The distance traveled by the vehicle 12, including, for example, the cumulative distance traveled by the vehicle 12 in the form of a histogram (e.g., distribution of distance traveled per trip) or in any other suitable format, and distance history data (i.e., vehicle distance traveled = f(time) data). The distance traveled by any one of the wheel assemblies 20, including the cumulative distance traveled by the wheel assembly 20, and distance history data (i.e., vehicle assembly distance traveled = f(time) data). The speed of the vehicle 12, including the cumulative speed of the vehicle 12 and historical speed data of the vehicle 12 (i.e., vehicle speed = f(time) data), and zero speed data (i.e., periods when the vehicle 12 is stationary), for example in the form of a histogram or in any other suitable format. The speed and acceleration of any one of the wheel assemblies 20 (including the wheels 32 and tires 34), including historical speed and acceleration data of the wheel assemblies 20 (i.e., vehicle assembly speed / acceleration=f(time) data). The running time of the wheel assembly 20, including cumulative running time, cumulative number of runs, and historical running time data (i.e., number of runs = f(time) data). Wheel assembly 20 and / or tire 34 temperatures, including historical temperature data (i.e., wheel assembly / tire temperature = f(time) data). The pressure at the interface between the wheel 32 and the tire 34, including pressure history data (i.e., pressure=f(time) data). The load on the wheel assembly 20, i.e. the load on the tire 34, including the load history data of the wheel assembly 20, for example in the form of a histogram or in any other suitable format. · Vibration of the wheel assembly 20, including vibration history data (i.e., vibration = f(time) data). · Sale date / time of wheel assembly 20. Wheel assembly 20 disposal date / time. Strength data for the wheel assembly 20 indicative of how the wheel assembly 20 (i.e., the tires 34) responds and / or reacts to a particular application of the vehicle 12, the strength data being derived based at least in part on historical speed data for the vehicle assembly 20 and historical waiting / stopping time data for the vehicle 12. In other examples, the strength data may be further derived based at least in part on historical load data for the wheel assembly 20.

[0112] Vehicle information 95 may be linked to a particular wheel assembly 20 and / or tire 34 via the identification information 86 obtained in step 1730. However, in some examples, obtaining the identification information in step 1720 may be optional, that is, in these examples, deriving vehicle information 95 in step 1730 may be performed solely based on the sensor information obtained in step 1710.

[0113] In one example, vehicle information 95 as described above may be stored in a database at the level of wheel assembly sensor 90, at the level of communication device 122, or at the level of remote computer 140. To that end, when vehicle information 95 is derived at the level of wheel assembly sensor 90 (rather than communication device 122), vehicle information 95 may be stored directly at the level of wheel assembly sensor 90 or may be communicated to communication device 122 at any suitable time interval, such as, for example, once a week, once every two days, once a day, and in some cases even shorter. Similarly, when vehicle information 95 is derived at the level of communication device 122 (rather than remote computer 140), vehicle information 95 may be stored directly at the level of communication device 122 or may be communicated to remote computer 140 via communication link 128 and network 150 periodically at any suitable time interval, such as, for example, once a week, once every two days, once a day, and in some cases even shorter. Vehicle information 95 may be readily accessed for presentation to a user in any suitable manner via any suitable display device, such as, but not limited to, display device 160, particularly via communication device 122.

[0114] It will be readily appreciated that the information content of vehicle information 95 may be optimized to facilitate its transfer and / or storage at any one level: wheel assembly sensor 90, communication device 122, or remote computer 140. For example, the generation of histograms representing vehicle 12 stop time history data, vehicle 12 speed history data, vehicle 12 distance history data, wheel assembly 20 load history data, etc., may enable a reduction in the overall size of the data being transferred, e.g., from wheel assembly sensor 90 to communication device 122 or from communication device 122 to remote computer 140, such that the transfer of the data does not involve the complete data set of “raw” data acquired by vehicle assembly sensor 90. Thereby, once the histograms are generated, the “raw” data may be deleted at any level: wheel assembly sensor 90, communication device 122, or remote computer 140. The reduction in the overall size of the data being transferred further minimizes the risk of interruption of the transfer and / or corruption of any subset of the data during the transfer. Similarly, the reduction in the overall size of the data also facilitates data storage at either the wheel assembly sensor 90, communication device 122, or remote computer 140 level, and also facilitates power management of any one of the wheel assembly sensor 90, communication device 122, or remote computer 140.

[0115] In one example, the app installed on the communication device 122 may be configured to generate an interactive graphical user interface (i.e., “GUI”) on the display device that allows a user to access the vehicle data 95 and, optionally, present the vehicle data 95 in a suitable manner via the display device 160. Because the vehicle information 95 may be stored in a database, a user may access historical data regarding the vehicle assembly 20, i.e., vehicle information 95 obtained or acquired by the communication device 122, from the installation of the wheel assembly 20 on the vehicle 12, the acquisition of wheel assembly sensor information 84 by the wheel assembly sensors 90, and optionally the acquisition of tag information 86 by the tags 130.

[0116] The presentation of vehicle information 95 to a user via display device 160 (e.g., at the level of communication device 122) can indicate how vehicle 12, including wheel assembly 20, is being used (e.g., the duty cycle of vehicle 12 and / or wheel assembly 20), the condition of wheel assembly 20 (e.g., the degree of wear), loads and impacts on wheel assembly 20, and / or environmental conditions (e.g., the temperature of the environment, the shape, compliance, or other condition of surface 15 underlying wheel assembly 20), and can, for example, be conveyed to a user (e.g., the driver of the vehicle), transmitted to a remote party (e.g., a provider such as a manufacturer or seller of wheel assembly 20 and / or vehicle 12), and / or used to control vehicle 12 (e.g., the speed of vehicle 12). This can improve the use, maintenance, safety, and / or other aspects of vehicle 12, including wheel assembly 20.

[0117] Wear of the wheel assembly 20 (e.g., tire 34) 18 , tire 34 wear can be assessed by obtaining vehicle data 95 relating to the cumulative distance traveled by the wheel assembly 20, i.e., by the tire 34, in step 1810, comparing the cumulative distance traveled by the wheel assembly 20 with a predicted total distance that can be traveled by the wheel assembly 20 (e.g., according to specifications from the tire 34 manufacturer) in step 1820, and then using the difference between the cumulative distance traveled by the wheel assembly 20 and the predicted total distance that can be traveled by the wheel assembly 20 in step 1830 to derive a predicted remaining distance to be traveled by the wheel assembly 20 (e.g., based on the tire 34 manufacturer's specifications), after which the tire 34 can be replaced (e.g., by replacing the worn tire 34 with a new tire 34) to ensure safety during operation of the vehicle 12. It will be readily appreciated that in this example, further information may be required to derive the predicted remaining distance to be traveled by the vehicle assembly 20, such as, but not limited to, changes in the load on the wheel assembly 20, the condition of the underlying surface 15, the average distance traveled per day, etc. In this example, this information derived in step 1830 may be provided to a user via the display device 160 in step 1840 and may be used by the user, for example, to schedule and / or plan maintenance work on the wheel assembly 20. If the cumulative distance traveled by the wheel assembly 20 exceeds the predicted total distance that can be traveled by the wheel assembly 20, a notification may be sent to the user, for example, via the display device 160, in step 1840 to the effect that the tire 34 may be changed and replaced with a new tire 34. This information may be provided to the manufacturer and / or seller of the tire 34, for example, to evaluate whether the tire 34 is performing according to predetermined specifications.

[0118] Based on the predicted remaining distance to be traveled by wheel assembly 20, derived as described above, in other examples, additional information may be provided to the user via display device 160, still in step 1840, regarding modes of operation of vehicle 12 that may extend or otherwise improve the predicted remaining distance to be traveled by vehicle assembly 20. For example, based on historical data of the speed and acceleration of wheel assembly 20 and / or vehicle 12, it may be determined to increase the predicted remaining distance to be traveled by wheel assembly 20 by operating vehicle 12 so that the speed and / or acceleration of wheel assembly 20 and / or vehicle 12 do not exceed predetermined thresholds. Thereby, in step 1840, a notification may be sent to the user to the effect that vehicle 12 cannot be operated above predetermined thresholds of speed, and / or acceleration, and / or load. Alternatively, in embodiments in which processing unit 120 is connected to a control system of vehicle 12 (e.g., a powertrain ECU or other controller), processing unit 120 may generate a control signal that is communicated to a prime mover to modulate operation of vehicle 12 in step 1850, e.g., via limits on the speed and / or acceleration of wheel assembly 20 and / or vehicle 12, so that the predicted remaining distance traveled by wheel assembly 20 may be improved or increased. In addition to monitoring and / or controlling the maintenance and / or use of vehicle 12 based on vehicle information 95 derived in step 1730, any other suitable method of estimating wear on wheel assembly 20 may be possible in other examples. That is, while the example above used the cumulative distance traveled by wheel assembly 20, in other examples any other subset of vehicle information 95 may be used separately or simultaneously (e.g., date / time of installation of wheel assembly 20, cumulative running time of wheel assembly 20, acceleration history data of wheel assembly 20, etc.).

[0119] 19, another embodiment of a process 1900 for deriving and / or estimating wear of the wheel assembly 20 (i.e., the tire 34) is shown. Without wishing to be bound by theory, as the tire 34 wears, less of the elastomeric material of the tire 34 deforms under load from the vehicle 12, and therefore, as the amount of elastomeric material of the tire 34 decreases, the pressure at the interface between the wheel body 32 and the tire 34 increases. Therefore, the pressure measured at the interface between the wheel 32 and the tire 34 can be calculated by multiplying the pressure by the tire's outer diameter D T and ultimately to the wear of the tire 34. Accordingly, in a first step 1910, the pressure at the interface between the wheel 32 and the tire 34 is measured in the exemplary graph of pressure = f(time) shown in Figure 20A. It will be readily appreciated that the pressure exerted on the tire 34, and specifically on the outer surface 37 / tread 40 of the tire 34, is detected as it is exerted substantially along a radial direction corresponding to the radial direction of the pressure transducer (or other type of sensing device capable of sensing pressure), as previously described, and the detection of pressure by the pressure transducer is periodic as the tire 34 rolls on the underlying surface 15, as shown in Figure 20A, with the period being correlated to the speed of the wheel assembly 20 and / or vehicle 12. Additionally, the pressure measured during each period exhibits a pressure peak corresponding to an angle of approximately 0° between the radial direction corresponding to the radial direction of the pressure transducer at the interface between the rim 45 and the tire 34 and the normal to the force exerted on the outer surface 37 / tread 40 of the tire 34, as shown in FIG. 20A.

[0120] In step 1920, the pressure measured by the pressure transducer is correlated with a reference pressure. For example, when the tire 34 is not exhibiting wear (i.e., when new), it may be known that the maximum pressure at the interface between the rim 45 and the tire 34 when using the vehicle 12 at a given load may be a maximum pressure P0. The deviation between P0 and the (maximum) pressure measured in step 1910 may then be used to determine wear of the wheel assembly 20 (on the vehicle 12 at the same given load) in step 1930. For example, still referring to FIG. 20B, it may be known that a new tire 34 (i.e., not exhibiting wear, i.e., no loss of elastomeric material) may exhibit a maximum pressure P0 at a first load of 60%. 0a and the maximum pressure P at 120% load 0b It can be seen that the maximum pressure at the two loads is higher in each case when the tire exhibits wear. In the example of FIG. 20B, the tire exhibits 7 mm of wear (i.e., the outer diameter D T The loss of elastomer material (corresponding to a decrease of approximately 7 mm in pressure) is the maximum pressure P 0a This translates to approximately a 10% increase in the maximum pressure measured at 60% load when compared to the maximum pressure P 0a and P 0b This translates to approximately a 10% increase in maximum pressure measured at 120% load when compared to the outer diameter D of the tire 34. This information can then be used to calculate the maximum pressure increase measured and the outer diameter D of the tire 34. T Based on the maximum pressure measured in step 1910, the outer diameter D of the tire 34 is calculated assuming a linear relationship between the decrease in the T In the above example, an increase of about 5% in the measured maximum pressure translates into an estimated wear of about 3.5 mm of wheel assembly 20 (i.e., about 50% of the wear observed with an increase of about 10% in the measured maximum pressure). However, the increase in the measured maximum pressure and the change in the outer diameter D of tire 34 TThe relationship between the decrease in pressure and the tire pressure may not be linear, depending, for example, on the tread pattern of the tread 40, the elastomeric material comprising the tire 34, etc. Therefore, as in the example of FIG. 18 , the user may be notified in step 1940, or the operation of the vehicle 12 may be modulated in step 1950 (e.g., based on speed / acceleration data of the wheel assembly 20 and / or the vehicle 12) so that wear on the wheel assembly 20 can be limited after the modulation is implemented. In the above example, the (maximum) pressure is measured in step 1910 and then used in step 1920 to determine tire wear in step 1930, but any other suitable pressure-derived data may be used in other examples to derive wear on the wheel assembly 20 in step 1930. For example, the width of the pressure peak and the surface area under the pressure peak may be used, as shown in FIGS. 20A and 20B . In yet a further example, the entire dataset of pressure data (i.e., all data acquired by sensing device 92, i.e., including data during and outside of pressure peaks) may be used to derive the wear of wheel assembly 20 in step 1930.

[0121] In yet a further example, wear of the wheel assembly 20 may be assessed based on historical pressure data (at a given load) at the interface between the wheel 32 and the tire 34. In a situation where the vehicle 12 is operated in a warehouse, the average distance traveled by the wheel assembly 20 over the course of a given unit of time (e.g., 12 hours, 1 day, 7 days, etc.) may be the same, or substantially the same, throughout the cumulative distance traveled by the wheel assembly 20. Nevertheless, as wear of the wheel assembly 20 increases (i.e., as the elastomeric material of the tire 34 degrades), the pressure at the interface between the wheel 32 and the tire 34 increases (at a given load). Similarly, as wear of the wheel assembly 20 increases (i.e., as the elastomeric material of the tire 34 degrades), the number of revolutions of the wheel assembly 20 to cover a unit distance increases. Thus, generating a histogram representing historical pressure data and / or historical distance data over the course of a given unit of time can be used to determine wear of the wheel assembly 20, i.e., wear of the tire 34.

[0122] 21 , another embodiment of a process 2100 for assessing wear on a wheel assembly 20 is shown. In this embodiment, the monitoring system 10 assesses wear on the wheel assembly 20 based at least in part on vehicle information 95 obtained by the sensing devices 91 of the vehicle sensors 129, such as, for example, the speed and / or acceleration of the vehicle 12, as described further below. Without wishing to be bound by theory, it is understood that when the tire 34 experiences wear as it rolls on the underlying surface 15 (i.e., when there is a reduction in the elastomeric material of the tire 34), the outer diameter D of the tire 34 decreases. T As decreases, the rotational (or angular) velocity of the tire 34, v t increases even though the vehicle velocity v remains the same (i.e., the tires 34 must undergo more revolutions for the vehicle 12 to travel a given distance). v remains the same, but the acceleration a of the wheel assembly 20 wincreases, thereby increasing the acceleration a of the wheel assembly 20. w Acceleration a of vehicle 12 relative to v It is possible to correlate a decrease in the acceleration a of the wheel assembly 20 with an increase in wear of the wheel assembly 20. w Acceleration of the vehicle relative to a v The ratio of a to b is a function of the wear of the wheel assembly 20. Without wishing to be bound by theory, the acceleration a of the vehicle 12 v is the outer diameter D of tire 34 T This is because the same acceleration a of the vehicle 12 is generally independent of v To maintain this, as the wear of the wheel assembly 20 increases, the acceleration a w means that it must increase.

[0123] Thereby, in a first step 2110, the rotational speed (and / or, in another example, acceleration) of the wheel assembly 20 is measured by the sensing device 92. If applicable, the rotational acceleration of the wheel assembly 20 is optionally derived in step 2120 (e.g., when the sensing device 92 measures the rotational speed of the wheel assembly 20), and then the vehicle information 95, specifically the acceleration of the vehicle 12, is measured by the sensing device 91 in step 2130. In step 2140, the vehicle acceleration a v The wear of the wheel assembly 20 is determined by correlating the acceleration of the wheel assembly 20 with the acceleration of the vehicle 12, with an increase in the acceleration of the vehicle assembly 20 relative to the acceleration of the vehicle 12 being correctable by an increase in the wear of the vehicle assembly 20. The determination of the wear of the wheel assembly 20 can be performed directly at the level of the processing unit 120, but in other examples it may also be performed at the level of the remote computer 140. As in the examples of Figures 18 and 19, the user may then be notified in step 2150, or the operation of the vehicle 12 may be modulated in step 2160, so that the wear of the wheel assembly 20 can be limited after the modulation is performed.

[0124] In yet a further example, wear of the wheel assembly 20 may be assessed based on historical rotational acceleration data and / or historical distance data of the wheel assembly 20. In a situation where the vehicle 12 is operated in a warehouse, the average distance traveled by the wheel assembly 20 over the course of a predetermined unit time period (e.g., 12 hours, 1 day, 7 days, etc.) may be the same, or substantially the same, throughout the cumulative distance traveled by the wheel assembly 20. Furthermore, as wear of the wheel assembly 20 increases (i.e., as the elastomeric material of the tires 34 degrades), the rotational acceleration of the wheel assembly 20 increases. Similarly, as wear of the wheel assembly 20 increases (i.e., as the elastomeric material of the tires 34 degrades), the number of rotations of the wheel assembly 20 to cover a unit distance increases. Therefore, generating a histogram representing historical rotational acceleration data over the course of a predetermined unit time period can be used to determine wear of the wheel assembly 20.

[0125] In still a further example, wear on a wheel assembly 20 may be assessed by calculating the ratio of the rotational speed of the vehicle assembly 20 to the rotational speed of another of the wheel assemblies 20 of the vehicle 12. In examples where the vehicle 12 includes at least a front wheel assembly and a rear wheel assembly, where the front wheel assembly is a drive wheel assembly and the rear wheel assembly is a free-rolling wheel assembly, wear on the rear free-rolling wheel assembly may be estimated by calculating the ratio of the rotational speed of the front wheel assembly to the rotational speed of the rear wheel assembly. In some cases, the rotational speeds of the front and rear wheel assemblies are the maximum rotational speeds of the front and rear wheel assemblies. In other cases, the rotational speeds of the front and rear wheel assemblies are the first percentile value of the rotational speeds of the front and rear wheel assemblies, in some cases the 50th percentile, in some cases the 55th percentile, in some cases the 60th percentile, in some cases the 65th percentile, in some cases the 70th percentile, in some cases the 75th percentile, in some cases the 80th percentile, in some cases the 85th percentile, in some cases the 90th percentile, in some cases the 95th percentile, and in some cases even greater.

[0126] In yet a further example, wear of the wheel assembly 20 can be measured based on the acceleration a of the vehicle 12 obtained via the vehicle sensor 129. v Without wishing to be bound by theory, as the tire 34 wears, the speed v of the vehicle 12 v and acceleration a v Both the axial force and the axial force decrease in a manner proportional to the decrease in circumference of the tire 34. Stated differently, a vehicle with a "new" tire 34 will experience greater speeds and accelerations compared to a vehicle with a "worn" tire 34.

[0127] Acceleration a of vehicle 12 v An embodiment of a process 3100 for measuring wear on a wheel assembly 20 (e.g., tire 34) using is shown in Figure 31A. In a first step 3102, the monitoring system 10, and specifically the processing unit 120, obtains vehicle information 95. In one example, the obtained vehicle information 95 includes the acceleration a of the vehicle 12. v and vehicle information 95 may be obtained at appropriate time intervals, for example, as described above in connection with process 3000.

[0128] In a second step 3104, reference information is obtained. The reference information references the type of vehicle information 95 of the vehicle 12 that is the same as the vehicle 12 for which the vehicle information 95 was obtained in step 3102. The reference information may also reference vehicle information 95 for a similar vehicle (e.g., a forklift) for which the vehicle information 95 was obtained with new, i.e., unworn wheel assemblies 20 (e.g., new, unworn tires 34), as described further below, and which is operated in generally the same manner as the vehicle for which the vehicle information 95 was obtained in step 3102. In one example, if the vehicle 12 is a forklift designed to move equipment along a generally linear path between two locations in a warehouse, the reference information may preferably reference vehicle information 95 for a forklift with new, i.e., unworn wheel assemblies, that is used to transport similar equipment along a generally linear path.

[0129] The reference information 95 for the vehicle 12 can be generated in several ways. v may be obtained in the driving direction of the vehicle 12, and the threshold may be set based on the measured acceleration a over a predetermined amount of time, such as at least about 0.3 seconds, in some cases at least about 0.4 seconds, in some cases at least about 0.5 seconds, in some cases at least about 0.6 seconds, in some cases at least about 0.7 seconds, in some cases at least about 0.8 seconds, in some cases at least about 0.9 seconds, in some cases at least about 1 second, in some cases at least about 2 seconds, in some cases at least about 3 seconds, in some cases at least about 4 seconds, in some cases at least about 5 seconds, or in some cases even longer. v The vehicle acceleration a remains above a predetermined threshold. v This can be set to record, for example, the vehicle acceleration a v Another threshold may be set to ensure that fluctuations in acceleration a are not recorded after a predetermined amount of time from the event, such as at least about 0.3 seconds after the event, in some cases at least about 0.4 seconds after the event, in some cases at least about 0.5 seconds after the event, in some cases at least about 0.6 seconds after the event, in some cases at least about 0.7 seconds after the event, in some cases at least about 0.8 seconds after the event, in some cases at least about 0.9 seconds after the event, in some cases at least about 1 second after the event, or in some cases after even longer. v occurs, the acceleration a of vehicle 12 v This ensures, for example, that "false" acceleration periods (too close in time to the event) are not taken into account. The acceleration a recorded in this way vare recorded in a reference database, for example in the remote computer 140, and constitute reference information associated with the vehicle 12. In other words, at least a portion of the data acquired by the vehicle sensors 129 is gradually stored as reference information in the reference database so long as it satisfies the threshold criteria defined above and additional criteria further described below. The reference database may contain, for a set of vehicle acceleration data, various information related to vehicle acceleration a, such as, but not limited to, vehicle type, load (if applicable), etc. v may also include information regarding the use of the vehicle 12 on which the measurement was made. In some examples, the size of the reference database may be managed to ensure adequate calculation speed in step 3106, as discussed further below.

[0130] As additional acceleration data is acquired by vehicle sensors 129 over time and meets the previously defined threshold criteria, the reference database may be supplemented with this additional acceleration data, at which point a determination must be made as to whether the additional acceleration data supplements and / or refines the reference information. To that end, in one embodiment, the measured additional acceleration data can be normalized and integrated, and the resulting speed increase is correlated against acceleration and speed increase data from the reference database (i.e., the reference information). When the correlation is less than a predetermined threshold, the additional acceleration data may be added to the reference information in the reference database. In other embodiments, average acceleration over a predetermined time period or machine learning and support vector machines may be used to determine whether the additional acceleration data may be added to the reference information. It is readily apparent that acceleration data representing more frequently occurring events (e.g., when vehicle 12 repeats the same pattern over time) may be prioritized in the reference database. This also ensures that as use of vehicle 12 changes and / or evolves over time, and as a result, the nature and types of events occurring during use of vehicle 12 change more frequently, the reference information is modified and / or updated accordingly.

[0131] For example, if a change in the load on the vehicle 12 causes an acceleration a v Because the reference information affects the vehicle's performance, the reference information needs to be periodically reevaluated. To that end, the reference information stored in the reference database may include distinct subsets of reference information, such as an "older" subset relating to the use of the vehicle 12 in a first load and a "more recent" subset relating to the use of the vehicle 12 in a second load. In this example, it is readily apparent that when the vehicle information 95 is compared to the reference information, the second subset of reference information may be preferred in step 3106 because it may be more representative of the current use of the vehicle 12. As the size and diversity of the reference information increases over time, the reliability of the reference information is less compromised even as the application / use of the vehicle 12 or the driver of the vehicle 12 changes.

[0132] In another example, the acceleration data acquired by vehicle sensing device 129 may exhibit a shape substantially similar to that of the reference information, but the magnitude of the acceleration data between the two may differ. In this example, it may be useful to (a) consider the maximum acceleration value within the shortest time scale and (b) include acceleration data for a predetermined time period before and after the maximum acceleration value in the reference information. Without wishing to be bound by theory, given that it is more difficult for vehicle 12 to maintain a constant speed after accelerating to half its maximum speed compared to maintaining a constant (maximum) speed after accelerating to its maximum speed, this additional acceleration data before and after the maximum acceleration value may be used by monitoring system 10 to differentiate between shapes that are substantially similar to the acceleration data of different magnitudes.

[0133] In still other examples, the reference information 95 may be generated without relying on any data acquired by the monitoring system 10. With further reference to Figure 31B, an example plot of acceleration = f(time) is shown that generally represents a "true" acceleration event and may be used as the reference information 95 in step 3104. It will be readily appreciated that various other suitable plots may be generated and used as the reference information 95 in process 3100, depending on the type of vehicle 12, the operation and use of the vehicle 12, etc.

[0134] Vehicle acceleration data obtained by vehicle sensors 129 is compared to reference information in step 3106, as further described below.

[0135] In step 3106, the vehicle information 95 obtained in step 3102 is compared to the reference information obtained in step 3104. The comparison can be performed in several ways. For example, assuming the vehicle information 95 includes a first data set and the reference information includes a second data set, a reference time frame can first be identified between the first data set and the second data set. This ensures, for example, that the comparison between the first data set and the second data set is performed over substantially the same time period and that the comparison begins with the same event (e.g., the vehicle 12 moving). In step 3108, the wear of the wheel assembly 20 (e.g., the tire 34) can be derived by calculating a ratio between the first data set and the second data set (called an acceleration ratio), which generally represents the wear of the wheel assembly 20. For example, the acceleration ratio can be calculated by performing a linear regression of the first data set against the second data set. The closer the ratio is to 1, the closer the data from the first data set is to the data from the second data set, and therefore the closer the wheel assembly 20 is to a new, unworn wheel assembly. When the acceleration ratio deviates from 1, the reduction in the diameter of the tire 34 and the acceleration a of the vehicle 12 increase. vAssuming there is a linear relationship between the acceleration ratio and the reference acceleration ratio, the wear of the wheel assembly can be estimated. For example, an acceleration ratio of about 0.9 means that the wheel assembly 20 has suffered wear of about 10% of its diameter compared to a new, unworn wear assembly. It will be readily appreciated that the acceleration data being compared in step 3106 may include an average of the acceleration data over a predetermined period of time and an integral of the acceleration data over time. The wear of the wheel assembly 20 (e.g., tire 34) may also be derived in step 3108 in any other suitable manner, such as, for example, by comparing acceleration data between reference information and vehicle information over a predetermined period of time.

[0136] In one example, vehicle acceleration was measured during the vehicle's initial acceleration for two separate runs, and the results are shown in FIG. 32A. Vehicle acceleration was measured at time intervals of approximately 10 ms due to the granularity of the acceleration measurements; this data set is considered "unfiltered" and therefore contains some noise. FIG. 32A shows that the vehicle begins to accelerate at approximately 700 ms and reaches a constant speed (i.e., acceleration generally becomes zero) at approximately 1700 ms; in other words, the vehicle reaches a constant speed after approximately 1000 ms. A comparison of the acceleration data obtained for both runs between 700 ms and 1800 ms is shown in FIG. 32B. Good correlation is found between the acceleration data for the two runs (acceleration ratio of 1.013). A comparison of the filtered acceleration data obtained for both runs between 700 ms and 1800 ms is shown in FIG. 33B. The correlation found with the filtered acceleration data is better than that with the unfiltered data (acceleration ratio of 0.995).

[0137] It is readily apparent that the acceleration ratio can be used to assess wear on the drive wheel assemblies 20. In a hypothetical case in which the vehicle 12 includes both a drive wheel assembly (e.g., a front wheel assembly) and a free-rolling wheel assembly (e.g., a rear wheel assembly) and the drive wheel assembly is not experiencing substantial wear, the acceleration ratio may be approximately 1, although the ratio of the maximum rotational speed of the drive wheel assembly to the maximum rotational speed of the "free-rolling" wheel assembly may change as the "free-rolling" wheel assembly experiences wear. In another hypothetical example in which the drive wheel assembly is experiencing substantial wear but the "free-rolling" wheel assembly is not experiencing substantial wear, the acceleration ratio may be substantially the same as the ratio of the maximum rotational speed of the front wheel assembly to the maximum rotational speed of the rear wheel assembly.

[0138] In another embodiment, the monitoring system 10 assesses the wear of the wheel assembly 20, specifically as a function of the speed v of the vehicle 12. v The vehicle 12 then performs a frequency analysis on a subset of the speed data corresponding to a time region associated with a constant speed v of the vehicle 12. v can be determined in any suitable manner, for example, by v may be constant when it does not change by more than about 0.1%, in some cases by more than about 0.5%, in some cases by more than about 1%, in some cases by more than about 1.5%, in some cases by more than about 2%, in some cases by more than about 2.5%, in some cases by more than about 5%, and in some cases by even more, over a predetermined period of time. vDeviations in the constant speed frequency analysis (performed over multiple instants of the vehicle 12 reaching v) indicate that one of the at least one front wheel assembly 20 and the at least one rear wheel assembly 20 is experiencing greater wear than the other. In this case, deviations in the constant speed frequency analysis are consistent with the vehicle 12 speed v v When the vehicle 12 has front and rear wheel assemblies 20 having tires 34 with treads 40 of known tread geometry (e.g., number of blocks, etc.), the speed of the vehicle 12 can also be caused to deviate from a constant speed frequency analysis of the vehicle 12.

[0139] In another embodiment, the monitoring system 10 may be used to assess the wear of the wheel assemblies 20 through an assessment of the tilt of the vehicle 12 relative to the underlying surface 15. In this embodiment, the monitoring system obtains acceleration data during a "zero speed" condition of the vehicle 12, which is defined as a condition where the velocity v of the vehicle 12 is greater than or equal to 1 / 2 of the vehicle 12. vis defined as the state during which the vehicle 12's longitudinal, lateral, and vertical accelerations are below predetermined thresholds for a predetermined period of time. In other words, a "zero velocity" state corresponds to a "stopped" state of the vehicle 12, and any acceleration measured during such a state represents the vehicle 12's tilt with respect to the underlying surface 15, specifically the vehicle 12's angle with respect to the horizontal plane (assuming the underlying surface is generally horizontal). Without wishing to be bound by theory, it is believed that the vehicle 12's angle with respect to the horizontal plane is a function of the slope of the underlying surface 15, the load on the vehicle 12, and the wear on the wheel assemblies 20 (i.e., wear on the tires 34). Over time, as the vehicle is in use, changes in the slope of the underlying surface 15 or changes in the load on the vehicle 12 are randomized (i.e., they result in the vehicle 12 tilting at various times, but the tilt is not constant over time and is in multiple directions rather than a single specific direction). A change in the wear of the wheel assembly 20 over time results in a tilt of the vehicle 12 in one particular direction, and therefore an increase in the acceleration of the vehicle 12 in a particular direction over time during a "zero velocity" condition. In this embodiment, the monitoring system 10 can derive the wear of the wheel assembly 20 based on acceleration data obtained during a "zero velocity" condition of the vehicle 12. In one example, the monitoring system 10 can derive the wear of the wheel assembly based on data representing the tilt of the vehicle 12 in a particular direction, including data representing the increase in the tilt of the vehicle 12 in a particular direction over time.

[0140] Load on wheel assembly 20 In another embodiment, the monitoring system 10 may be used to assess load on the wheel assembly 20. That is, in this example, instead of measuring and / or comparing the pressure at the interface between the wheel 32 and the tire 34 at a predetermined load to assess wear, the pressure at the interface between the wheel 32 and the tire 34 may be measured and / or compared at a predetermined wear to assess load. Thereby, in this example, differences in the measured pressures represent distinct loads on the wheel assembly 20.

[0141] Generally, changes in wear of the wheel assembly 20 occur over long periods of time (e.g., over days, weeks, months, etc.), while changes in load on the wheel assembly 20 occur over shorter periods of time (e.g., as the vehicle 12 is loaded / unloaded during use, over minutes, hours, etc.). Thereby, when pressure data is acquired by the sensing device 92, the load on the wheel assembly 20 can be assessed over a first time scale where the wear of the wheel assembly 20, i.e., the tire 34, does not change or does not substantially change, and over a second time scale where the wear of the tire 34 is greater than the first time scale and where the wear of the wheel assembly 20, i.e., the tire 34, changes over time based on the same pressure data acquired over time. In another example, instead of relying on pressure data, the load on the wheel assembly 20 can be assessed based on deflection data acquired by an optical sensor, and the deflection experienced by the wheel assembly 20, i.e., the tire 34, can be corrected to the wheel assembly 20.

[0142] In another embodiment, the acceleration a of the vehicle 12 vmay be used by the monitoring system 10 to estimate the load on the wheel assembly 20 during operation of the vehicle 12. Without wishing to be bound by theory, the vehicle 12 (such as a forklift) exhibits natural frequencies when dynamically excited, particularly when the vehicle 12 is being driven. These natural frequencies depend on spring, damping, and mass properties, whereby a first transition of the natural frequency over a predetermined period of time may be used to estimate wear on the wheel assembly 20 (i.e., the tire 34), while a second transition may be used to indicate a change in the load on the vehicle 12 (i.e., the load on the wheel assembly 20). In one non-limiting example, the first transition may be observed at a frequency peak that is greater than the frequency peak at which the second transition is observed. It is readily apparent that the natural frequencies may be used to estimate wear on the wheel assembly 20 and the load on the wheel assembly 20, either separately or simultaneously. The natural frequencies are represented by the following equation:

[0143]

number

[0144] where k is stiffness and m is mass. As an example, if the total mass of the vehicle 12 is increased by 25% as a result of an increase in the load carried by the vehicle 12, a -10.5% shift in the natural frequency can be expected in the short term.

[0145] Detecting floor conditions In still further embodiments, floor conditions may be evaluated by the monitoring system 10. For example, impacts and / or collisions experienced by the wheel assembly 20 may be measured, in some instances, by pressure transducers and used to derive data representative of the environment of the wheel assembly 20, specifically the environment of the underlying surface 15. Alternatively, the impacts and / or collisions may be evaluated based on acceleration data measured in the vertical direction by accelerometers positioned on the wheel assembly 20 and / or the vehicle 12. For a specific state of wear of the wheel assembly 20, a predetermined magnitude of vertical impact experienced by the wheel assembly 20 (e.g., an impact experienced by the wheel assembly 20 when encountering a rock or any other type of debris while rolling on the underlying surface 15) may result in a 50% chance of crack failure of the wheel assembly 20, specifically the tire 34. A user may thereby be notified by the monitoring system 10 that there is a risk of crack failure of the wheel assembly 20 when faced with such an impact. In other examples, data regarding vertical impacts experienced by wheel assembly 20 may be used to derive information about the environment of wheel assembly 20 (e.g., whether vehicle 12 is operated indoors, outdoors, etc.), such as the surface 15 beneath which wheel assembly 20 rolls.

[0146] Comfort Decision In still further embodiments, the monitoring system 10 may be used to estimate the comfort level experienced by the driver of the vehicle 12. The acceleration a of the vehicle 12 obtained by the vehicle sensor 129 vUsing this, ISO 2631 filtering (or any other filtering suitable for comfort determination) may be performed to estimate the vibrations experienced by the vehicle 12 and to monitor the effect of wheel assembly 20 wear on the vibrations of the vehicle 12. Using the acceleration data, corrective action may be taken on the wheel assembly 20. For wheel assemblies 20 having tires 34 with a clean tread profile, the vibrations induced at the initial onset and later disappearance of the tread pattern (one frequency peak for the front tire and another for the rear tire, at frequencies governed by the tread pitch) may further be used to ascertain the wear level of the wheel assembly 20, specifically the tires 34.

[0147] Full indoor tracking In still further embodiments, the monitoring system 10 including the IMU 109 may be used as an indoor navigation system, in which case the path and maneuvering of the vehicle 12 may be estimated via the IMU 109. Reliance on data acquired by the IMU may also translate to less reliance on data acquired by the wheel assembly sensors 90, which may reduce both size and battery requirements. The IMU 109 may be used to estimate the path and maneuvering of the vehicle 12 in many ways. In certain examples, various machine learning algorithms may be used, such as, but not limited to, Robust IMU Double Integration (RIDI), Robust Neural Inertial Navigation, etc. Data collected by the IMU 109 may be used to estimate, for example, the curvature of the path and the number of turns of the vehicle 12.

[0148] In the embodiment discussed above, the vehicle 12 is a forklift, although the monitoring system 10 may be used in connection with other types of vehicles in other embodiments.

[0149] For example, in other embodiments, as shown in Figures 22-25, the material handling vehicle 12 may be a baggage tug for transporting baggage (as shown in Figure 22), a reach stacker for moving containers (as shown in Figure 23), or a pushback tug for moving aircraft (as shown in Figure 24). The material handling vehicle 12 may also be a non-motorized vehicle in some embodiments, such as a baggage cart as shown in Figure 25.

[0150] As another example, in other embodiments, vehicle 12 may be other types of industrial vehicles that are not material handling vehicles. For example, in some examples, vehicle 12 may be a construction machine such as an articulated dump truck, a backhoe loader, a compact wheel loader, a telehandler, a wheel loader, an aerial work platform, a compaction device, a utility truck, a skid steer loader, or a wheeled excavator.

[0151] 26 , in various embodiments, a given component referred to herein (e.g., wheel assembly sensor 90, communication device 122, and / or remote computer 140, etc.) may comprise a processing entity 2500 including appropriate hardware and / or software (e.g., firmware) configured to perform the functions of the given component. Processing entity 2500 comprises an interface 2510, a processor 2520, and a memory device 2530.

[0152] The interface 2510 comprises one or more inputs and outputs that allow the processing entity 2500 to send and receive signals to other components to which the computing entity 2500 is connected (i.e., directly or indirectly).

[0153] Processor 2520 comprises one or more processing devices for performing processing operations that implement the functions of processing entity 2500. The processing device of processor 2520 may be a general-purpose processor executing program code stored in memory device 2530. Alternatively, the processing device of processor 2520 may be a special-purpose processor comprising one or more pre-programmed hardware or firmware elements (e.g., an application specific integrated circuit (ASIC), an electrically erasable programmable read-only memory (EEPROM), etc.), or other related elements.

[0154] The storage device 2530 comprises one or more memory elements for storing program code executed by the processor 2520 and / or data used during operation of the processor 2520. The memory elements of the storage device portion 2530 may be semiconductor media (including, for example, solid-state memory), magnetic storage media, optical storage media, and / or any other suitable type of memory elements. The memory elements of the storage device portion 2530 may be, for example, read-only memory (ROM) and / or random access memory (RAM).

[0155] In an embodiment, two or more elements of processing entity 2500 may be implemented by devices that are physically separate from one another (e.g., located at a common location or at remote locations) and may be connected to one another via a bus (e.g., one or more conductors or any other suitable bus) or via a communications link that may be wired, wireless, or both, and that may traverse one or more networks (e.g., the Internet, any other computer network such as a local area network (LAN) or wide area network (WAN), a mobile communications network, etc.). In other embodiments, two or more elements of processing entity 2500 may be implemented in a single device.

[0156] Certain additional elements that may be required for the operation of an embodiment are not described or shown, as they are deemed to be within the purview of those skilled in the art. Furthermore, certain embodiments may be free of, lack, and / or function without elements not expressly disclosed herein.

[0157] Any feature of any embodiment discussed herein may be combined in an implementation with any feature of any other embodiment discussed herein.

[0158] In the event of any contradiction, inconsistency, or other difference between a term used herein and a term used in any document incorporated by reference herein, the meaning of the term used herein shall prevail and be used.

[0159] While various embodiments and examples have been presented, this is for purposes of illustration and not limitation. Various modifications and improvements will be apparent to those skilled in the art. [Explanation of symbols]

[0160] 10. Surveillance System 11 frames 12 Material handling vehicles 14 Power transmission mechanism 15 Underlying Surface 16. Steering System 17 axles 20 Wheel assembly, wheel device 22 Work equipment 23 Fork 24 User Interface 25 Area of ​​contact, contact surface 28 Controls 32 Wheels, wheel bodies 34 Non-pneumatic tires 35 Axis of rotation 36 Hub Area 37 Exterior 39 Inner 40 tread 41 Side 42 Static friction convex part 43 Static friction recess 44 Static Friction Elements 45 rims 49 Outside of horizontal machine 501 outer layer, tread layer 502 layers 503 Inner layer, heel layer, inner heel layer 54 Horizontal machine inboard side 55 Locking nose 68 Wearing band 84 Signal Carrier Information, Wheel Assembly Sensor Signal, Wheel Assembly Sensor Information 86 Identification signal, identification information, signal carrier information, tag information 90 Wheel assembly sensor 91 Sensing Devices 92 Sensing devices, sensing units, sensing elements 94 Interface 95 Vehicle information, vehicle data, reference information 96 Transmitter 98 Control Device 104, 105 Flash memory 106, 107 Batteries 109 Inertial Measurement Unit (IMU) 110 Case 111 Fasteners, bolts 1121, 1122 screw connection 113 First Side 1141, 1142, 1143, 1144 screw fasteners 115 Second Side 116, 1161, 1162 magnets 117 Base 118, 1181, 1182 screw connection 119 Insulating Layer 120 Processing equipment 121 Base 122 Communication Devices 128 communication links 129 Vehicle sensors, vehicle detection devices 130 tags 132 Interface 133 holes 134 Transmitter 136 Identification Elements 140 Remote Computer 150 Mobile communications, wide area networks 160 Display devices 170 devices, RFID readers 194 Interface 198 Control Device 2500 Processing entities, computation entities 2510 Interface 2520 processor 2530 Storage device, storage device part a v Acceleration of vehicle 12 a w Acceleration of the wheel assembly 20 D T Outer diameter of tire 34 d T Inner diameter of tire 34 D W Outer diameter of wheel assembly 20 L C Length of contact area 25 T t Elastomer part thickness v v Vehicle 12 speed v t The rotational (or angular) speed of the tire 34 v W Rotational speed of the wheel assembly 20 W C Width of contact area 25 W T Tire width 34 W W Width of wheel assembly 20

Claims

1. 1. A system for use with a vehicle, the vehicle comprising a wheel assembly, the wheel assembly comprising a wheel configured to couple the wheel assembly to an axle of the vehicle, and a non-pneumatic tire disposed about the wheel; a first sensor configured to be mounted to the wheel assembly and configured to obtain wheel assembly acceleration information; a second sensor mounted on the vehicle and configured to be spaced apart from the wheel assembly, the second sensor configured to obtain vehicle acceleration information; a processing device external to the wheel assembly configured to derive information indicative of a degree of wear of the non-pneumatic tire based on a ratio of the vehicle acceleration information to the wheel assembly acceleration information; and A system comprising:

2. The system of claim 1 , wherein the first sensor is configured to wirelessly transmit the wheel assembly acceleration information to the processing unit.

3. The system of claim 2 , wherein the processing unit comprises a communication device configured to wirelessly receive the wheel assembly acceleration information.

4. The system of claim 3 , wherein the communication device comprises one of a smartphone and a tablet.

5. 5. The system of claim 1, wherein the processing unit is configured to derive information indicative of a duty cycle of at least one of the wheel assembly and the vehicle based on the wheel assembly acceleration information.

6. the information indicative of the duty cycle of at least one of the wheel assembly and the vehicle includes information indicative of a speed of at least one of the wheel assembly and the vehicle; the information indicative of the velocity of at least one of the wheel assembly and the vehicle includes information indicative of a change in the velocity of at least one of the wheel assembly and the vehicle over time; The system of claim 5.

7. The system of claim 5 , wherein the information indicative of the duty cycle of at least one of the wheel assembly and the vehicle includes information indicative of a distance traveled by at least one of the wheel assembly and the vehicle.

8. the processing unit is configured to derive information indicative of a state of an environment of the vehicle based on the information regarding the wheel assembly; the information indicative of the condition of the environment of the vehicle includes information indicative of the condition of a surface underlying the vehicle; A system according to any one of claims 1 to 4.

9. a tag configured to be mounted on the non-pneumatic tire; the tag is embedded under an elastomer portion of the non-pneumatic tire adjacent a sidewall of the non-pneumatic tire; the tag is further configured to transmit second information regarding the wheel assembly to the processing device; the second information about the wheel assembly includes information about the non-pneumatic tire, and the tag is spaced from the first sensor. A system according to any one of claims 1 to 4.

10. 10. The system of claim 9, wherein the information regarding the non-pneumatic tire includes at least one of an identifier of the non-pneumatic tire and an indication of a moment of mounting of the non-pneumatic tire.

11. the first sensor comprises at least one of an accelerometer and a gyroscope; the first sensor is magnetically attached to the wheel; A system according to any one of claims 1 to 4.

12. the first sensor comprises a sensing device disposed between the wheel and the non-pneumatic tire and configured to sense a load between the wheel and the non-pneumatic tire; the sensing device is a pressure sensing device configured to sense the pressure between the wheel and the non-pneumatic tire; A system according to any one of claims 1 to 4.

13. the first sensor comprises a base attached to the wheel and a sensing unit fastened to the base; the base is magnetically attached to the wheel; the base includes at least one magnet magnetically attached to the wheel; A system according to any one of claims 1 to 4.

14. the first sensor includes an insulating layer between the base and the sensing unit; The insulating layer includes polyurethane foam. The system of claim 13.

15. the first sensor comprises at least one of a battery and an energy harvesting unit; the first sensor further comprises an electronic circuit located farther from the wheel than the battery; A system according to any one of claims 1 to 4.

16. the processing unit is configured to cause transmission of a message based on information indicative of a degree of wear of the non-pneumatic tire; the message relates to at least one of an order for replacing the non-pneumatic tire and a wear status of the non-pneumatic tire; A system according to any one of claims 1 to 4.

17. 5. The system of claim 1, wherein the processing unit is configured to cause transmission of a control signal for controlling the vehicle based on information indicative of a degree of wear of the non-pneumatic tire.

18. 1. A system for use with a vehicle, the vehicle comprising a plurality of wheel assemblies, each one of the plurality of wheel assemblies comprising a wheel configured to couple the wheel assembly to an axle of the vehicle, and a non-pneumatic tire disposed about the wheel, the system comprising: a first sensor configured to be mounted to the drive wheel assembly and configured to obtain a first percentile value of the rotational speed of the drive wheel assembly; a second sensor configured to be mounted to the free-rolling wheel assembly and configured to obtain a first percentile value of the rotational speed of the free-rolling wheel assembly; a processing device external to the drive wheel assembly and the free-rolling wheel assembly; Equipped with the processing unit is configured to derive information indicative of a degree of wear of the non-pneumatic tires of the free-rolling wheel assemblies based on a ratio of the first percentile value of the rotational speed of the drive wheel assemblies to the first percentile value of the rotational speed of the free-rolling wheel assemblies.

Images