Heavy-Duty Tire RFID Placement in a Recessed Sidewall Zone
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions
Solution Overview
Problem
Heavy duty tires with integrated RFID tags face challenges in creating a good communication environment while minimizing the risk of damage to the RFID tag, especially due to the presence of metal components like steel cords and the bending stresses in the tire design.
Innovation Solution
The heavy duty tire design includes a tag member with an RFID tag positioned in contact with the sidewall and outer apex of the tire, radially outward of the midpoint of the recess on the tire side surface. This placement reduces the influence of bending stresses and keeps the RFID tag away from metal components, enhancing communication efficiency and reducing damage risk.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If the RFID tag is placed in the bead portion to reduce damage risk and ensure distance from metal components, then the reliability of the RFID tag is improved, but the communication environment is degraded due to bending stresses in the tire side surface zone
Solution Approach 1:
The patent creates a localized zone with different bending characteristics by providing a recess in the tire side surface. This recess forms a relatively flat zone between the maximum width position and the end of the turned-up portion, where bending stresses are reduced. The RFID tag is specifically placed in this localized flat zone, allowing it to benefit from reduced bending damage risk while maintaining good radio wave propagation characteristics.
2Weight of moving object
If a recess is provided in the tire side surface to reduce tire mass, then the weight of the tire is reduced, but the bending degree in the recess zone increases which may damage the RFID tag
Solution Approach 1:
The recess is strategically designed to create a localized flat zone rather than affecting the entire side surface. By positioning the RFID tag specifically within this engineered flat zone of the recess, the tag benefits from the mass reduction effect of the recess while being protected from excessive bending stresses in other areas of the tire side surface.
Solution Approach 2:
The flat zone created by the recess acts as an intermediary region between the high-bending areas of the tire side surface and the RFID tag. This intermediate zone provides a protected environment that shields the RFID tag from the harmful bending effects while still allowing the recess to fulfill its mass reduction function.
3Device complexity
If the RFID tag is placed near steel cords to utilize the bead portion structure, then the device complexity is reduced, but radio waves are disturbed by metal components
Solution Approach 1:
The patent extracts the RFID tag from the immediate vicinity of the steel cords and metal components in the bead portion. By placing the tag in the flat zone of the recess, which is spatially separated from the metal components, the design removes the source of radio wave interference while maintaining the structural simplicity of using the bead portion as the placement region.
Data Source
Figure 1
Figure 2
Figure 3
AI summary
A heavy duty tire includes a pair of beads, a carcass, a pair of sidewalls, a pair of chafers, and a tag member including an RFID tag. Each of the beads includes a core, an inner apex, and an outer apex. A carcass ply included in the carcass includes a ply body and a pair of turned-up portions. A recess is provided in a zone of a side surface of the tire between a maximum width position and an end of the turned-up portion. The tag member is in contact with the sidewall and the outer apex on a radially outer side of the end of the turned-up portion, and a part of the tag member is located radially outward of a midpoint of a length from an inner end to an outer end of the recess.