Automated Tire Inflation System with OCR and Laser Scanning
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Solution Overview
Problem
Many vehicles are driven with incorrectly inflated tires due to forgetfulness and lack of awareness about recommended pressures, leading to safety issues, increased energy consumption, and premature tire wear, as existing automated systems are either inefficient or not widely adopted.
Innovation Solution
An automated and interactive tire inflation system that uses optical character recognition and laser scanning to read the vehicle's registration number and tire technical characteristics, retrieves recommended inflation pressures from a database, and adjusts tire pressure using a central control unit and inflation automaton, allowing user validation and modification of settings.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Measurement precision
If automated tire inflation systems are implemented, then tire inflation accuracy is improved, but device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The system divides the tire identification process into multiple stages: first capturing images of the vehicle and tires, then extracting technical characteristics through OCR, and finally matching with database information. This segmentation allows accurate tire identification without requiring a single complex identification system.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent introduces an intermediary database that stores tire technical characteristics and recommended inflation pressures. Instead of directly measuring tire pressure requirements, the system uses the database as an intermediary to provide accurate inflation data based on identified tire characteristics, simplifying the overall system architecture.
2Loss of time
If manual tire pressure checking is eliminated, then time consumption is reduced, but reliability decreases
Solution Approach 1:
The system enables self-service tire inflation by automatically capturing images of the vehicle and tires, extracting technical characteristics through OCR, querying the database for recommended pressures, and executing inflation without manual intervention. This maintains reliability through automation while significantly reducing time consumption.
Solution Approach 2:
The system incorporates feedback mechanisms where the OCR-identified tire characteristics are validated against database records, and the inflation process is monitored to ensure accurate pressure application. This feedback loop maintains reliability even without manual verification.
3Manufacturing precision
If comprehensive tire information is collected, then inflation precision is improved, but loss of time increases
Solution Approach 1:
The system performs preliminary actions by pre-capturing images of the vehicle and tires, and pre-extracting technical characteristics through OCR before the inflation process begins. This preliminary information gathering is done in parallel with database querying, reducing the overall time required while maintaining comprehensive data collection for precise inflation.
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
Ensures accurate and efficient tire inflation based on specific vehicle tire fittings, reducing the risk of accidents, energy consumption, and tire wear, while being user-friendly and economically optimized.
Implementation Method 1
a step of reading a registration number of the vehicle by optical character recognition on an image taken by a first camera of a plate registration number of the vehicle
Implementation Method 2
a sub-step of reading tire technical characteristics data, identifying the tire fitment present in the vehicle, by optical character recognition on an image taken with laser beam scanning by the second camera of a tire sidewall of the wheel
Implementation Method 3
a control step with the inflation pressure data selected, as inflation pressure setpoints, of an inflation automaton tire assembly connected to tires of the vehicle in order to adjust the inflation pressures of the tires
Data Source
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AI summary
The tire inflation system of a vehicle (2) includes an inflation station (10), a first camera (11) dedicated to reading a vehicle registration number, a vehicle guidance and positioning device (13), a vehicle parking detection and tire image capture device (12), and a remote computer server (14), hosting a database (140).The vehicle guidance and positioning device includes a wheel guide rail (130) and a wheel chock (131) fixing a determined wheel position (PO) and the vehicle parking detection and tire image capture device includes a second camera (120) and a laser beam scanning device (121) arranged to perform a wheel detection function and absence of wheel movement for a determined time and a second function of reading technical tire characteristics on a tire sidewall of the wheel.