Tire Deformation Sensing for Vehicle Body Motion Estimation
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing methods for estimating vehicle body motions along a road segment require dedicated hardware like accelerometers or complex software, and are not effective in monitoring long-term road unevenness, which affects driving comfort and vehicle wear.
Innovation Solution
Monitoring tire-road interactions using deformation measurement units fitted to vehicle tires, which exploit the difference in time scales between vehicle body motions and tire rolling to estimate vehicle body motions without dedicated hardware, by measuring tire deformations over multiple rotations and comparing trends between multiple tires.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Measurement precision
If accelerometers or complex software are used to estimate vehicle body motions, then measurement precision is improved, but device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent uses tire deformation as an intermediary parameter to indirectly measure vehicle body motions. Instead of directly measuring body motion with accelerometers, the system measures tire deformation (which is easier to obtain from existing tire pressure monitoring systems) and uses this as a proxy to infer vehicle body motion patterns, thereby avoiding complex hardware while maintaining measurement capability
Solution Approach 2:
The patent replaces the mechanical accelerometer-based measurement system with a system that uses existing tire pressure monitoring sensors. By substituting direct mechanical motion sensing with tire deformation measurement, the system eliminates the need for additional accelerometers and complex signal processing software, reducing both hardware and software complexity
2Measurement precision
If dedicated hardware like accelerometers is used, then measurement precision is improved, but manufacturing cost increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent makes the tire pressure monitoring system multi-functional by using it not only for its traditional purpose (monitoring tire pressure) but also for estimating vehicle body motions. This universal use of existing sensors eliminates the need for dedicated accelerometers, thereby reducing manufacturing costs while maintaining measurement precision
Solution Approach 2:
The system allows the existing tire pressure monitoring infrastructure to serve dual purposes. The same sensors that monitor tire pressure automatically provide data for vehicle body motion estimation, making the system self-sufficient and eliminating the need for additional expensive hardware components
3Measurement precision
If vehicle accelerometers are used to estimate body motions, then measurement precision is improved, but ease of operation deteriorates due to need for complex signal processing
Solution Approach 1:
The patent extracts the essential information for vehicle body motion estimation directly from tire deformation measurements without requiring complex signal processing steps. By taking out only the relevant deformation data from the tire pressure monitoring system and using straightforward comparison algorithms, the system avoids the complex signal processing chains needed for accelerometer data while maintaining ease of operation
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 the estimation of relative vehicle body motions along a road segment without the need for accelerometers or complex software, providing a cost-effective and efficient method to assess vehicle comfort and wear, and can be used to estimate road unevenness parameters.
Implementation Method 1
measuring the radial acceleration which said tire undergoes during rolling
Implementation Method 2
a tire is deformed by vertical force due to the weight of the vehicle body so that a contact area is formed between a tire and a rolling surface
Data Source
Figure 1
Figure 2~2B
Figure 3
AI summary
A method and system are disclosed for estimating a relative motion of vehicle body portions with respect to each other along a road segment having a length (L); the method and system allow to estimate road unevenness induced vehicle body motions and are based on the estimation of the deformation, over multiple tire rotations, of at least two tires of a vehicle.