Tire Test Carriage for Variable Road Surface Simulation
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions
Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional indoor tire testing devices struggle to simulate various road surface conditions, particularly those with rain, snow, or gravel, due to the high-speed rotation of simulated road surfaces, which limits their ability to accurately test tire performance in diverse environmental conditions.
Innovation Solution
A tire testing device featuring a carriage and driving system that allows a test wheel with a test tire to travel on a base along a road surface, with a power distribution mechanism and torque application system to replicate the conditions of different road surfaces, including those with rain, snow, or gravel, by adjusting the speed and torque of the test wheel to match the carriage's movement.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Productivity
If the simulated road surface rotates at high speed in conventional indoor testing devices, then testing efficiency is improved, but the ability to simulate various road surface conditions (rain, snow, gravel) deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
Instead of rotating the road surface at high speed, the patent inverts the approach by moving the carriage (holding the test wheel) at high speed along a linear path while keeping the road surface stationary or moving slowly. This allows the test wheel to contact different road surface conditions (rain, snow, gravel) distributed along the track while maintaining high testing efficiency
Solution Approach 2:
The patent introduces dynamic elements by making the road surface conditions variable along the track length. Different sections of the track can have different road surface conditions (dry, wet, snowy, gravelly) that the test wheel encounters dynamically as the carriage moves, enabling versatile simulation without high-speed rotation
2Loss of time
If the simulated road surface rotates at high speed, then test duration is reduced, but measurement precision of tire performance under various conditions deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The patent inverts the traditional approach by moving the test wheel linearly along a fixed track rather than rotating the road surface. This allows precise control of the test wheel's path and contact points with different road surface conditions, improving measurement accuracy while maintaining short test duration through high-speed linear movement
Solution Approach 2:
The road surface conditions (rain, snow, gravel) are pre-distributed along the track before testing begins. This preliminary arrangement ensures that the test wheel encounters all required conditions in a controlled sequence, improving measurement precision without extending test duration
Data Source
AI summary
A tire testing device includes a carriage configured to rotatably hold a test wheel provided with a test tire and being capable of travelling on a base along a road surface in a state where the test wheel is made to contact the road surface, and a driving system configured to drive the test wheel and the carriage. The driving system includes a carriage driving part configured to drive the carriage with respect to the road surface in a predetermined speed, a test wheel driving part configured to drive the test wheel in a rotating speed corresponding to the predetermined speed, a driving part configured to generate power to be used to drive the carriage and the test wheel, and a power distributing part configured to distribute power generated by the driving part to the carriage driving part and the test wheel driving part.