Tire-Mounted Acceleration Sensing for Vehicle-Side Tire Type Detection

Resolve Bottlenecks,
Find Innovative Solutions
Generate Solutions

Solution Overview

Problem

Conventional methods for determining tire type are limited as they require external vibration sensors on the road and cannot determine tire type from the vehicle side, making it difficult to improve running safety performance.

Innovation Solution

A method using an acceleration sensor attached to the inner surface of a tire tread to detect acceleration waveforms, extract feature vectors, and determine tire type using machine learning algorithms such as support vector machines, decision trees, or neural networks.

Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles

VSEngineering Contradiction Analysis

1Measurement precision

If a vibration sensor is attached on the road surface to determine tire type, then tire type can be determined, but the system cannot determine tire type from the vehicle side and is limited to specific locations

Engineering Contradiction:
Improvetire type determination accuracyVSAvoidapplication location flexibility
Core Design Contradiction:
Measurement precisionVSAdaptability or versatility

Solution Approach 1:

Instead of placing the vibration sensor on the road surface to detect tire vibrations (external detection), the patent inverts the approach by attaching the acceleration sensor directly to the tire itself (internal detection). This allows the tire type determination system to move from fixed road locations to any vehicle equipped with the sensor, achieving both accurate measurement and location flexibility.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #13The other way round (Inversion)

Solution Approach 2:

The tire type determination system becomes self-sufficient by integrating the acceleration sensor directly onto the tire. The tire itself generates the vibration data needed for classification, eliminating the need for external road-mounted sensors. This self-service approach enables the system to determine tire type anywhere the vehicle travels, not just at predetermined tollgate locations.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #25Self-service

2Adaptability or versatility

If an acceleration sensor is attached to the tire to detect vibrations, then tire type can be determined from the vehicle side, but additional sensor attachment and processing complexity is required

Engineering Contradiction:
Improvevehicle side determination capabilityVSAvoidsensor attachment and processing system
Core Design Contradiction:
Adaptability or versatilityVSDevice complexity

Solution Approach 1:

The acceleration sensor attached to the tire serves multiple functions: it detects tire vibrations for type classification, can potentially monitor tire condition, and provides data for vehicle dynamics analysis. This multi-functionality justifies the added complexity by making the sensor attachment worthwhile for various automotive applications beyond just tire type determination.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #6Universality (Multi-functionality)

Solution Approach 2:

The patent replaces the mechanical road surface vibration detection system with an electronic sensor-based system attached to the tire. Instead of using physical road infrastructure (tollgates with vibration sensors), the solution uses electronic acceleration sensors and digital signal processing to achieve the same tire type classification function, reducing mechanical complexity in the overall system.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #28Mechanics substitution (Replace mechanical system)

3Measurement precision

If machine learning algorithms are used to classify tire types from acceleration waveforms, then accurate tire type determination is achieved, but computational processing requirements increase

Engineering Contradiction:
Improvetire type classification accuracyVSAvoidcomputational processing power
Core Design Contradiction:
Measurement precisionVSPower

Solution Approach 1:

The system performs preliminary processing of the acceleration waveform by extracting feature vectors that capture the essential characteristics of tire vibrations. This preprocessing step reduces the complexity of the data before it is fed into the machine learning algorithm, allowing accurate classification with reduced computational requirements during actual operation.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #10Preliminary action

Solution Approach 2:

The patent transforms the raw acceleration waveform data into a different parameter space by extracting feature vectors (such as frequency domain characteristics, time-domain statistics, or spectral features). This parameter transformation reduces the dimensionality and complexity of the input data for the machine learning classifier, enabling accurate tire type determination with lower computational power requirements.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #35Parameter changes

Applied Scientific Principles

This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.

Function Achieved in This Case

Enables accurate determination of tire type from the vehicle side, improving running safety performance by allowing for timely adjustments in vehicle control, such as ABS operation timing.

Implementation Method 1

a vibration sensor that measures vibration in a biaxial direction or a triaxial direction is attached on the road surface

Methodology Applied
Scientific EffectVibration: Vibration

Implementation Method 2

an acceleration sensor attached to an inner surface of a tire tread

Methodology Applied
Scientific EffectAcceleration: Accelerometer

Data Source

PatentEP3835090B1Tire type distinguishing method and tire type distinguishing device
Publication Date: 2025.02.19 BRIDGESTONE CORP
  • EP3835090B1 patent drawingFigure 1~2
  • EP3835090B1 patent drawingFigure 3~4
  • EP3835090B1 patent drawingFigure 5

AI summary

In order to provide a method and a device for determining a tire type of a running tire from a vehicle side, when determining the tire type, which is the type of the tire, from an output of an acceleration sensor attached to an inner surface side of a tire tread of the tire mounted on a vehicle, a feature vector is extracted from an acceleration waveform detected from the output of the acceleration sensor, and the tire type of the tire is determined, by a machine learning algorithm, from the extracted feature vector. The tire type is determined on the basis of the extracted feature vector and a determination model in which a feature vector obtained in advance for each tire type has been configured as learning data.