Tire management device, program, and tire management method

Abstract

A tire management device 10 includes a control unit 15 that: acquires tire information including characteristics of tires 21 mounted on a vehicle 20; acquires road surface information of a travel route for which a travel frequency of the vehicle 20 is equal to or higher than a predetermined threshold; acquires driving information indicating a driving tendency of the vehicle 20; calculates, on the basis of the tire information, a first index, which is an index of the influence of the characteristics of the tires 21 on the wear of the tires 21; calculates, on the basis of the road surface information, a second index, which is an index of the influence of the travel route road surface on the wear of the tires 21; calculates, on the basis of the driving information. a third index, which is an index of the influence of the driving tendency on the wear of the tires 21; and calculates the wear rate of the tires 21 on the basis of the first index, the second index, and the third index.

Description

Tire Management Device, Program, and Tire Management Method

[0001] The present disclosure relates to a tire management device, a program, and a tire management method.

[0002] Tires gradually wear due to friction with the road surface during driving. If the wear rate of the tire is high, the tire life becomes short, and the frequency of tire replacement increases. A high frequency of tire replacement is not preferable from the perspective of effective utilization of resources such as natural rubber and carbon black used as tire materials,. Therefore, it is desirable to reduce the wear rate of tires as much as possible.

[0003] Conventionally, various approaches have been taken to reduce tire wear, such as improving the rubber used in tires and improving the way tires are used.

[0004] For example, Patent Document 1 discloses a technique for selecting a route that reduces tire wear when selecting a driving route in a navigation system.

[0005] Japanese Patent Translation No. 2023-522960

[0006] There is a need for further improvement in the technology for reducing the tire wear rate.

[0007] In view of such circumstances, an object of the present disclosure is to provide a tire management device, a program, and a tire management method that enable improvement of the technology for reducing the tire wear rate.

[0008] (1) A tire management device according to one embodiment of the present disclosure includes: a control unit which acquires tire information including the characteristics of tires mounted on a vehicle; road surface information of a driving route in which the vehicle's driving frequency is above a predetermined threshold; driving information indicating the driving tendencies of the vehicle; a first index which is an index of the influence of the tire characteristics on the wear of the tire based on the tire information; a second index which is an index of the influence of the road surface of the driving route on the wear of the tire based on the road surface information; a third index which is an index of the influence of the driving tendencies on the wear of the tire based on the driving information; and a control unit which calculates the tire wear rate based on the first index, the second index and the third index.

[0009] (2) A tire management device according to one embodiment of the present disclosure is the tire management device described in (1) above, wherein the tire information includes at least one of the following: information on the internal pressure of the tire, information on the tread modulus of the tire, and information on the load applied to the tire.

[0010] (3) A tire management device according to one embodiment of the present disclosure is a tire management device according to (1) or (2) above, wherein the road surface information includes at least one of the following: information on the roughness of the road surface of the driving route, information on corners included in the driving route, information on traffic signals included in the driving route, and information on the inclination of the road surface of the driving route.

[0011] (4) A tire management device according to one embodiment of the present disclosure is a tire management device according to any one of (1) to (3) above, wherein the driving information includes at least one of the following: information on the acceleration and deceleration of the vehicle, information on the speed of the vehicle, and information on the turning of the vehicle.

[0012] (5) A tire management device according to one embodiment of the present disclosure is a tire management device according to any one of (1) to (4) above, wherein the tire information includes information on the remaining tread depth of the tire, and the control unit calculates the drivable distance of the tire based on the tire wear rate and the remaining tread depth of the tire.

[0013] (6) A tire management device according to one embodiment of the present disclosure, in which the control unit generates wear reduction suggestion information, which is information for reducing the amount of tire wear, based on the first indicator, the second indicator and the third indicator, and transmits the wear reduction suggestion information to a terminal device owned by the user of the vehicle.

[0014] (7) A tire management device according to one embodiment of the present disclosure is a tire management device according to any one of (1) to (6) above, wherein the wear reduction suggestion information includes at least one of the following: a suggestion for tire maintenance, a suggestion for changing the driving route, and a suggestion for improving the driving tendency.

[0015] (8) A tire management device according to one embodiment of the present disclosure is a tire management device according to any one of (1) to (7) above, wherein the tire information includes information on the remaining tread depth of the tire, and the control unit calculates the tire wear rate when the content proposed by the wear reduction proposal information is implemented, and calculates the tire drivable distance when the content proposed by the wear reduction proposal information is implemented, based on the tire wear rate when the content proposed by the wear reduction proposal information is implemented and the remaining tread depth of the tire.

[0016] (9) A tire management device according to one embodiment of the present disclosure is a tire management device according to any one of (1) to (8) above, further comprising a storage unit, the storage unit storing: a first relational expression relating the characteristics of the tire to the first indicator; a second relational expression relating the road surface of the driving route to the second indicator; and a third relational expression relating the driving tendency to the third indicator.

[0017] (10) A tire management device according to one embodiment of the present disclosure is a tire management device according to any one of (1) to (9) above, wherein the storage unit stores a database relating the first indicator, the second indicator, and the third indicator to the wear rate.

[0018] (11) A program according to one embodiment of the present disclosure causes a tire management device to perform the following operations: acquire tire information including the characteristics of the tires mounted on the vehicle; acquire road surface information of a driving route in which the vehicle's driving frequency is above a predetermined threshold; acquire driving information indicating the vehicle's driving tendencies; calculate a first index, which is an index of the influence of the tire characteristics on the tire wear, based on the tire information; calculate a second index, which is an index of the influence of the road surface of the driving route on the tire wear, based on the road surface information; calculate a third index, which is an index of the influence of the driving tendencies on the tire wear, based on the driving information; and calculate the tire wear rate based on the first index, the second index and the third index.

[0019] (12) A tire management method according to one embodiment of the present disclosure is a tire management method in a tire management device, comprising: acquiring tire information including the characteristics of a tire mounted on a vehicle; acquiring road surface information of a driving route in which the vehicle's driving frequency is above a predetermined threshold; acquiring driving information indicating the vehicle's driving tendencies; calculating a first index, which is an index of the influence of the tire characteristics on the tire wear, based on the tire information; calculating a second index, which is an index of the influence of the road surface of the driving route on the tire wear, based on the road surface information; calculating a third index, which is an index of the influence of the driving tendencies on the tire wear, based on the driving information; and calculating the tire wear rate based on the first index, the second index and the third index.

[0020] This disclosure provides a tire management device, program, and tire management method that enable improvements in the technology for reducing tire wear rate.

[0021] This figure shows the configuration of a tire management system including a tire management device according to one embodiment of this disclosure. This block diagram shows the configuration of a tire management device according to one embodiment of this disclosure. This flowchart shows an example of the operation of a tire management device according to one embodiment of this disclosure.

[0022] Hereinafter, one embodiment of the present disclosure will be described with reference to the drawings.

[0023] Figure 1 is a diagram showing the configuration of a tire management system 1 including a tire management device 10 according to one embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0024] The tire management system 1 comprises a tire management device 10, a vehicle 20, and a terminal device 30. The tire management device 10, the vehicle 20, and the terminal device 30 are communicated with each other via a network 40. The network 40 may include a mobile communication network and the internet.

[0025] The tire management device 10 is, for example, a dedicated computer configured to function as a server. The tire management device 10 may also be a general-purpose PC (Personal Computer).

[0026] Vehicle 20 is equipped with tires 21. Tires 21 are the tires that the tire management device 10 manages. The tire management device 10 can calculate the wear rate of tires 21. Details of the process by which the tire management device 10 calculates the wear rate of tires 21 will be described later.

[0027] Vehicle 20 may be any type of vehicle. For example, vehicle 20 may be a passenger car, truck, bus, construction vehicle, etc. Although Figure 1 shows one vehicle 20, the tire management system 1 may be equipped with multiple vehicles 20.

[0028] The terminal device 30 is a terminal device owned by the user of the vehicle 20. The terminal device 30 may be, for example, a smartphone or a tablet.

[0029] Before describing the details of the operation of the tire management device 10, the configuration of the tire management device 10 according to one embodiment of the present disclosure will be described with reference to Figure 2.

[0030] The tire management device 10 comprises a communication unit 11, a storage unit 12, an input unit 13, an output unit 14, and a control unit 15.

[0031] The communication unit 11 includes a communication module that connects to the network 40. For example, the communication unit 11 may include a communication module that corresponds to a LAN (Local Area Network). In one embodiment, the tire management device 10 is connected to the network 40 via the communication unit 11. The communication unit 11 transmits and receives various information via the network 40. The communication unit 11 can communicate with the vehicle 20 and the terminal device 30 via the network 40.

[0032] The storage unit 12 is, for example, a semiconductor memory, magnetic memory, or optical memory, but is not limited to these. The storage unit 12 may function as, for example, a main memory, an auxiliary memory, or a cache memory. The storage unit 12 stores any information used in the operation of the tire management device 10. For example, the storage unit 12 may store a system program, an application program, and various information received by the communication unit 11. The information stored in the storage unit 12 may be updateable with information received from the network 40 via the communication unit 11, for example. Part of the storage unit 12 may be installed outside the tire management device 10. In that case, the part of the storage unit 12 installed outside may be connected to the tire management device 10 via any interface.

[0033] The input unit 13 includes one or more input interfaces that detect user input and acquire input information based on user operations. For example, the input unit 13 includes, but is not limited to, physical keys, capacitive keys, a touchscreen integrated with the display of the output unit 14, or a microphone that accepts voice input.

[0034] The output unit 14 includes one or more output interfaces for outputting information and notifying the user. For example, the output unit 14 includes, but is not limited to, a display for outputting information as an image, a speaker for outputting information as sound, etc.

[0035] The control unit 15 includes at least one processor, at least one dedicated circuit, or a combination thereof. The processor is a general-purpose processor such as a CPU (Central Processing Unit) or GPU (Graphics Processing Unit), or a dedicated processor specialized for a specific process. The dedicated circuit is, for example, an FPGA (Field-Programmable Gate Array) or an ASIC (Application Specific Integrated Circuit). The control unit 15 controls each part of the tire management device 10 and executes processes related to the operation of the tire management device 10.

[0036] (Operation of the tire management device) Next, the operation of the tire management device 10 will be explained.

[0037] The control unit 15 of the tire management device 10 acquires tire information including the characteristics of the tires 21 mounted on the vehicle 20, road surface information for driving routes where the vehicle 20's driving frequency is above a predetermined threshold, and driving information indicating the driving tendencies of the vehicle 20.

[0038] First, let's explain the tire information acquired by the control unit 15.

[0039] The tire information acquired by the control unit 15 includes information such as the characteristics of the tire 21 mounted on the vehicle 20. The tire information includes at least one of the following: information on the internal pressure of the tire 21, information on the tread modulus of elasticity of the tire 21, and information on the load applied to the tire 21. The tire information may also further include information on the remaining tread depth of the tire 21.

[0040] The control unit 15 of the tire management device 10 may acquire information on the internal pressure of the tire 21 from the vehicle 20.

[0041] Vehicle 20 includes a system for monitoring the state of tire 21. Vehicle 20 may, for example, include a tire pressure monitoring system (TPMS: Tire Pressure Monitoring System).

[0042] Vehicle 20 transmits information on the internal pressure of tire 21 to tire management device 10 at a predetermined cycle.

[0043] Communication unit 11 of tire management device 10 receives information on the internal pressure of tire 21 transmitted by vehicle 20. Control unit 15 acquires information on the internal pressure of tire 21 transmitted by vehicle 20 via communication unit 11.

[0044] Control unit 15 of tire management device 10 may acquire information on the tread elastic modulus of tire 21 and information on the load applied to tire 21 based on the information acquired from terminal device 30.

[0045] The user of vehicle 20 operates terminal device 30 to transmit information on the type of tire 21 of vehicle 20 and information on the type of vehicle 20 to tire management device 10. The user of vehicle 20 may transmit information on the type of tire 21 of vehicle 20 and information on the type of vehicle 20 to tire management device 10, for example, via an application installed in terminal device 30.

[0046] Communication unit 11 of tire management device 10 receives information on the type of tire 21 of vehicle 20 and information on the type of vehicle 20 transmitted by terminal device 30. Control unit 15 acquires information on the type of tire 21 of vehicle 20 and information on the type of vehicle 20 transmitted by terminal device 30 via communication unit 11.

[0047] Storage unit 12 stores a database that associates the type of tire 21 with the tread elastic modulus of tire 21. Control unit 15 refers to the database stored in storage unit 12 to acquire information on the tread elastic modulus of tire 21 based on the type of tire 21.

[0048] The storage unit 12 stores a database that associates the type of the vehicle 20 with the weight of the vehicle 20. The control unit 15 refers to the database stored in the storage unit 12 and acquires information on the weight of the vehicle 20 based on the type of the vehicle 20. The control unit 15 can acquire information on the load applied to the tire 21 based on the information on the weight of the vehicle 20.

[0049] The control unit 15 of the tire management device 10 may acquire information on the remaining groove amount of the tire 21 from the terminal device 30.

[0050] The user of the vehicle 20 operates the terminal device 30 to transmit information on the remaining groove amount of the tire 21 of the vehicle 20 to the tire management device 10. The user of the vehicle 20 may transmit information on the remaining groove amount of the tire 21 to the tire management device 10 via, for example, an application installed in the terminal device 30.

[0051] The user of the vehicle 20 may measure the remaining groove amount of the tire 21 of the vehicle 20 by various methods. For example, the user can measure the remaining groove amount of the tire 21 using a groove gauge. Also, for example, the user can measure the remaining groove amount of the tire 21 using an automatic tire remaining groove measuring device installed at a gas station or a parking lot. Also, for example, the user can measure the remaining groove amount of the tire 21 by taking a photograph of the tire 21 and using software that calculates the remaining groove amount of the tire 21 from the image.

[0052] The communication unit 11 of the tire management device 10 receives the information on the remaining groove amount of the tire 21 transmitted by the terminal device 3o. The control unit 15 acquires the information on the remaining groove amount of the tire 21 transmitted by the terminal device 30 via the communication unit 11.

[0053] Next, the road surface information acquired by the control unit 15 will be described.

[0054] The road surface information acquired by the control unit 15 is the road surface information of a driving route in which the vehicle 20's driving frequency is above a predetermined threshold. In other words, the road surface information is the road surface information of a driving route that the vehicle 20 frequently travels. The predetermined threshold may be set in advance. The predetermined threshold may be set as, for example, the number of trips in a predetermined period. In this case, for example, the predetermined threshold may be set as the number of trips per month of 10 trips.

[0055] The control unit 15 of the tire management device 10 may acquire location information of the vehicle 20 from the vehicle 20 and extract driving routes in which the vehicle 20's driving frequency is above a predetermined threshold based on the acquired location information. In this case, the location information of the vehicle 20 may be, for example, location information detected by the vehicle 20 using a GPS (Global Positioning System) installed in the vehicle 20.

[0056] The storage unit 12 or an external server stores map data including road surface information. The control unit 15 refers to the storage unit 12 or an external server to obtain road surface information for routes where the vehicle 20's travel frequency is above a predetermined threshold. The road surface information includes at least one of the following: road surface roughness information, corner information, traffic light information, and road surface inclination information.

[0057] Next, we will explain the operation information acquired by the control unit 15.

[0058] The driving information acquired by the control unit 15 is information indicating the driving tendencies of the user's vehicle 20. The driving information includes at least one of the following: information on the acceleration and deceleration of the vehicle 20, information on the speed of the vehicle 20, and information on the turning of the vehicle 20.

[0059] The control unit 15 of the tire management device 10 may acquire driving information of the vehicle 20 from the vehicle 20.

[0060] The vehicle 20 is equipped with various sensors, such as an acceleration sensor to measure the acceleration and deceleration of the vehicle 20, a speed sensor to measure the speed of the vehicle 20, and a sensor to measure the turning state of the vehicle 20.

[0061] The vehicle 20 transmits information about its acceleration and deceleration, its speed, and its turning, measured by various sensors, to the tire management device 10.

[0062] The communication unit 11 of the tire management device 10 receives information transmitted by the vehicle 20 regarding the acceleration and deceleration of the vehicle 20, the speed of the vehicle 20, and the turning of the vehicle 20. The control unit 15 acquires the information transmitted by the vehicle 20 regarding the acceleration and deceleration of the vehicle 20, the speed of the vehicle 20, and the turning of the vehicle 20 via the communication unit 11.

[0063] In this way, the control unit 15 of the tire management device 10 acquires tire information including the characteristics of the tires 21 mounted on the vehicle 20, road surface information of the driving route in which the vehicle 20 travels at a predetermined threshold or higher, and driving information indicating the driving tendencies of the vehicle 20.

[0064] When the control unit 15 acquires tire information, including the characteristics of the tire 21 mounted on the vehicle 20, it calculates a first index, which is an index of the influence of the tire 21's characteristics on tire wear, based on the acquired tire information. This allows the control unit 15 to calculate the first index considering at least one of the following: information on the internal pressure of the tire 21, information on the tread modulus of the tire 21, and information on the load applied to the tire 21. The first index may be in any format. For example, the first index may be expressed as a five-level rating.

[0065] The memory unit 12 stores a first relational expression that associates the characteristics of the tire 21 with a first indicator. The first relational expression may be in any format that allows the characteristics of the tire 21 to be associated with the first indicator. The first relational expression may be, for example, a function or a table.

[0066] When calculating the first index, the control unit 15 refers to the first relational expression stored in the memory unit 12 and calculates the first index based on the characteristics of the tire 21 included in the tire information.

[0067] When the control unit 15 acquires road surface information for a route where the vehicle 20 travels at a predetermined threshold or higher, it calculates a second index based on the acquired road surface information, which is an index of the influence that the road surface of the route where the vehicle 20 travels at a predetermined threshold or higher has on the wear of the tires 21. This allows the control unit 15 to calculate the second index by considering at least one of the following: road surface roughness information, corner information, traffic light information, and road surface inclination information. The second index may be in any format. For example, the second index may be expressed as a five-level rating.

[0068] The memory unit 12 stores a second relational expression that associates the road surface of the driving route with a second indicator. The second relational expression may be in any format that allows the road surface of the driving route to be associated with the second indicator. The second relational expression may be, for example, a function or in table format.

[0069] When calculating the second index, the control unit 15 refers to the second relational expression stored in the memory unit 12 and calculates the second index based on road surface information of the driving route in which the vehicle 20's driving frequency is above a predetermined threshold.

[0070] When the control unit 15 acquires driving information indicating the driving tendencies of the vehicle 20, it calculates a third index based on the acquired driving information, which is an index of the influence that the driving tendencies of the vehicle 20 have on the wear of the tires 21. This allows the control unit 15 to calculate the third index by considering at least one of the vehicle 20's acceleration / deceleration information, vehicle 20's speed information, and vehicle 20's turning information. The third index may be in any format. For example, the third index may be an index expressed on a five-point scale.

[0071] The memory unit 12 stores a third relational expression that associates driving tendencies with a third indicator. The third relational expression may be in any format that allows for the association of driving tendencies with the third indicator. The third relational expression may be, for example, a function or in table format.

[0072] When calculating the third indicator, the control unit 15 refers to the third relational expression stored in the memory unit 12 and calculates the third indicator based on driving information indicating the driving tendencies of the vehicle 20.

[0073] When the control unit 15 calculates the first index, the second index, and the third index, it calculates the wear rate of the tire 21 based on the calculated first index, second index, and third index.

[0074] The wear rate of the tire 21 may be expressed as a quantity such as the distance the vehicle 20 can travel while the tire 21 wears down by a unit length.

[0075] The memory unit 12 stores a database that associates the first indicator, the second indicator, and the third indicator with the wear rate of the tire 21. The database that associates the first indicator, the second indicator, and the third indicator with the wear rate of the tire 21 may be in any format. The database that associates the first indicator, the second indicator, and the third indicator with the wear rate of the tire 21 may be, for example, a function or a table.

[0076] When calculating the wear rate of the tire 21, the control unit 15 refers to the database stored in the memory unit 12 and calculates the wear rate of the tire 21 based on the first indicator, the second indicator, and the third indicator.

[0077] Furthermore, the control unit 15 generates wear reduction suggestion information, which is information for reducing the amount of wear on the tire 21, based on the first indicator, the second indicator, and the third indicator. The wear reduction suggestion information includes at least one of the following: a suggestion for maintenance of the tire 21, a suggestion for changing the driving route, and a suggestion for improving driving tendencies.

[0078] Suggestions for tire 21 maintenance may include, for example, suggestions to increase the internal pressure of tire 21, suggestions to decrease the internal pressure of tire 21, suggestions to rotate the front and rear tires 21, or suggestions to replace tire 21.

[0079] A proposal to change the driving route may be a proposal to change a driving route that is driven by vehicle 20 at a predetermined threshold or higher to a different driving route. For example, if the driving route that is driven at a predetermined threshold or higher is a driving route driven during commuting, the proposal may be to change the driving route driven during commuting to a different driving route. In this case, the different driving route may be, for example, a driving route that includes many roads with smooth surfaces, a driving route with few corners, a driving route with few traffic lights, or a driving route with few sections where the road surface is sloped.

[0080] Suggestions for improving driving habits may include suggestions such as driving with fewer sudden starts and stops, and driving with fewer sharp turns.

[0081] The control unit 15 transmits the calculated tire wear rate 21 and the generated wear reduction suggestion information to the terminal device 30 via the communication unit 11. This allows the user of the vehicle 20 equipped with the tire 21 to quantitatively understand the tire wear rate 21. Furthermore, the user of the vehicle 20 equipped with the tire 21 can understand what to do to reduce the tire wear rate 21. In addition, the user of the vehicle 20 equipped with the tire 21 can understand methods for reducing wear, such as tire maintenance, changing the driving route, and improving driving tendencies.

[0082] Furthermore, if information on the remaining tread depth of the tire 21 is available, the control unit 15 can calculate the remaining mileage of the tire 21 based on the tire wear rate and the remaining tread depth of the tire 21. For example, if the tire wear rate of the tire 21 is 5,000 km / 1 mm and the remaining tread depth of the tire 21 is 5 mm, the control unit 15 calculates that the remaining mileage of the tire 21 is 25,000 km.

[0083] When generating wear reduction suggestion information, the control unit 15 may calculate the wear rate of the tire 21 if the suggested actions in the wear reduction suggestion information are implemented. The control unit 15 may also calculate the drivable distance of the tire 21 if the suggested actions in the wear reduction suggestion information are implemented, based on the wear rate of the tire 21 if the suggested actions in the wear reduction suggestion information are implemented and the remaining tread depth of the tire 21. In this case, the wear reduction suggestion information may include multiple suggestions, and the control unit 15 may calculate the drivable distance of the tire 21 if the suggested actions are implemented for each of the multiple suggestions.

[0084] When the control unit 15 transmits wear reduction suggestion information to the terminal device 30, it may also transmit the mileage that the tire 21 can travel if the suggested actions are taken, along with the wear reduction suggestion information. This allows the user of the vehicle 20 on which the tire 21 is installed to understand how much the vehicle 20's mileage will increase if the suggested actions are taken.

[0085] An example of the operation of the tire management device 10 will be explained with reference to the flowchart shown in Figure 3.

[0086] Step S101: The control unit 15 of the tire management device 10 acquires tire information. The tire information includes at least one of the following: information on the internal pressure of the tire 21, information on the tread modulus of the tire 21, and information on the load applied to the tire 21. The tire information may also further include information on the remaining tread depth of the tire 21.

[0087] Step S102: The control unit 15 calculates a first index, which is an index of the influence that the characteristics of the tire 21 have on the wear of the tire 21, based on the acquired tire information.

[0088] Step S103: The control unit 15 acquires road surface information for a route where the vehicle 20 travels at a predetermined threshold or higher. The road surface information includes at least one of the following: road surface roughness information, corner information, traffic light information, and road surface inclination information.

[0089] Step S104: The control unit 15 calculates a second index, based on the acquired road surface information, which is an index of the influence that the road surface of a driving route where the vehicle 20 is driven at a predetermined threshold or higher has on the wear of the tires 21.

[0090] Step S105: The control unit 15 acquires driving information indicating the driving tendencies of the vehicle 20. The driving information includes at least one of the following: information on the acceleration and deceleration of the vehicle 20, information on the speed of the vehicle 20, and information on the turning of the vehicle 20.

[0091] Step S106: The control unit 15 calculates a third index, which is an indicator of the influence of the vehicle 20's driving tendencies on tire wear, based on the acquired driving information.

[0092] Step S107: After calculating the first indicator, the second indicator, and the third indicator, the control unit 15 calculates the wear rate of the tire 21 based on the calculated first indicator, the second indicator, and the third indicator. The control unit 15 may also generate wear reduction suggestion information, which is information for reducing the amount of wear on the tire 21, based on the first indicator, the second indicator, and the third indicator.

[0093] Step S108: When the control unit 15 calculates the wear rate of the tire 21, it transmits the calculated wear rate of the tire 21 to the terminal device 30. At this time, the control unit 15 may also transmit the generated wear reduction suggestion information to the terminal device 30.

[0094] The steps S101-S102, S103-S104, and S105-S106 described above may be executed in any order. For example, steps S103-S104 may be executed before steps S101-S102. Alternatively, steps S101-S102, S103-S104, and S105-S106 may be executed in parallel.

[0095] As described above, in the tire management device 10 according to this embodiment, the control unit 15 acquires tire information including the characteristics of the tires 21 mounted on the vehicle 20, acquires road surface information for driving routes where the vehicle 20's driving frequency is above a predetermined threshold, and acquires driving information indicating the driving tendencies of the vehicle 20. The control unit 15 then calculates a first index, which is an index of the influence of the tire 21's characteristics on tire wear, based on the tire information; a second index, which is an index of the influence of the road surface of the driving route on tire wear, based on the road surface information; and a third index, which is an index of the influence of the driving tendencies on tire wear, based on the driving information. The control unit 15 then calculates the tire wear rate of the tire 21 based on the first index, the second index, and the third index. In this way, the tire management device 10 according to this embodiment quantitatively calculates the first index based on tire information, the second index based on road surface information, and the third index based on driving information. The tire management device 10 according to this embodiment calculates the wear rate of the tire 21 based on the first indicator, the second indicator, and the third indicator. In this way, the tire management device 10 according to this embodiment can quantitatively calculate the wear rate of the tire 21 by taking various information into consideration, and thus can improve the technology for reducing the wear rate of the tire 21.

[0096] While embodiments of this disclosure have been described based on the drawings and examples, it should be noted that those skilled in the art will find it easy to make various modifications or alterations based on this disclosure. Therefore, it should be noted that these modifications or alterations are included within the scope of this disclosure. For example, the functions included in each component or step can be rearranged in a logically consistent manner, and multiple components or steps can be combined into one or divided. Embodiments relating to this disclosure can also be realized as storage media recording programs executed by a processor in the device. It should be understood that these are also included within the scope of this disclosure.

[0097] For example, it is also possible to configure a general-purpose electronic device such as a computer or smartphone to function as the tire management device 10 according to the above embodiment. Specifically, a program describing the processing content that realizes each function of the tire management device 10 according to the embodiment can be stored in the memory of the electronic device, and the electronic device's processor can read and execute the program. Therefore, the disclosure according to one embodiment can also be realized as a program that can be executed by a processor.

[0098] For example, in the embodiment described above, an example was shown in which the tire management device 10 acquires information on the remaining tread depth of the tire 21 from the terminal device 30, but this is just one example. The tire management device 10 may acquire information on the remaining tread depth of the tire 21 from a device other than the terminal device 30.

[0099] 1 Tire Management System 10 Tire Management Device 11 Communication Unit 12 Storage Unit 13 Input Unit 14 Output Unit 15 Control Unit 20 Vehicle 21 Tire 30 Terminal Device 40 Network

Claims

1. A tire management device comprising: a control unit that acquires tire information including the characteristics of the tires mounted on a vehicle; acquires road surface information for a driving route in which the vehicle's driving frequency is above a predetermined threshold; acquires driving information indicating the vehicle's driving tendencies; calculates a first index, which is an index of the influence of the tire characteristics on the tire wear, based on the tire information; calculates a second index, which is an index of the influence of the road surface of the driving route on the tire wear, based on the road surface information; calculates a third index, which is an index of the influence of the driving tendencies on the tire wear, based on the driving information; and calculates the tire wear rate based on the first index, the second index, and the third index.

2. A tire management device according to claim 1, wherein the tire information includes at least one of the following: information on the internal pressure of the tire, information on the tread modulus of elasticity of the tire, and information on the load applied to the tire.

3. A tire management device according to claim 1, wherein the road surface information includes at least one of the following: information on the roughness of the road surface of the driving route, information on corners included in the driving route, information on traffic signals included in the driving route, and information on the inclination of the road surface of the driving route.

4. A tire management device according to claim 1, wherein the driving information includes at least one of the following: information on the acceleration and deceleration of the vehicle, information on the speed of the vehicle, and information on the turning of the vehicle.

5. A tire management device according to claim 1, wherein the tire information includes information on the remaining tread depth of the tire, and the control unit calculates the drivable distance of the tire based on the tire wear rate and the remaining tread depth of the tire.

6. A tire management device according to claim 1, wherein the control unit generates wear reduction suggestion information, which is information for reducing the amount of tire wear, based on the first indicator, the second indicator, and the third indicator, and transmits the wear reduction suggestion information to a terminal device owned by the user of the vehicle.

7. A tire management device according to claim 6, wherein the wear reduction suggestion information includes at least one of the following: a suggestion for tire maintenance, a suggestion for changing the driving route, and a suggestion for improving the driving tendencies.

8. A tire management device according to claim 6, wherein the tire information includes information on the remaining tread depth of the tire, the control unit calculates the tire wear rate when the content proposed by the wear reduction proposal information is implemented, and calculates the tire's drivable distance when the content proposed by the wear reduction proposal information is implemented, based on the tire wear rate when the content proposed by the wear reduction proposal information is implemented and the remaining tread depth of the tire.

9. A tire management device according to claim 1, further comprising a storage unit, the storage unit storing: a first relational expression relating the characteristics of the tire to the first indicator; a second relational expression relating the road surface of the driving route to the second indicator; and a third relational expression relating the driving tendency to the third indicator.

10. A tire management device according to claim 9, wherein the storage unit stores a database relating the first indicator, the second indicator, and the third indicator to the wear rate.

11. A program that causes a tire management device to perform the following operations: acquire tire information including the characteristics of the tires mounted on the vehicle; acquire road surface information for a driving route in which the vehicle's driving frequency is above a predetermined threshold; acquire driving information indicating the vehicle's driving tendencies; calculate a first index, which is an index of the influence of the tire characteristics on the tire wear, based on the tire information; calculate a second index, which is an index of the influence of the road surface of the driving route on the tire wear, based on the road surface information; calculate a third index, which is an index of the influence of the driving tendencies on the tire wear, based on the driving information; and calculate the tire wear rate based on the first index, the second index, and the third index.

12. A tire management method for a tire management device, comprising: acquiring tire information including the characteristics of tires mounted on a vehicle; acquiring road surface information of a driving route in which the vehicle's driving frequency is above a predetermined threshold; acquiring driving information indicating the vehicle's driving tendencies; calculating a first index, which is an index of the influence of the tire characteristics on the tire wear, based on the tire information; calculating a second index, which is an index of the influence of the road surface of the driving route on the tire wear, based on the road surface information; calculating a third index, which is an index of the influence of the driving tendencies on the tire wear, based on the driving information; and calculating the tire wear rate based on the first index, the second index, and the third index.

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