Vehicle Tire Tread Depth Correction for Uneven Wear
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing methods for determining vehicle tire tread depth often overestimate the minimum tread depth due to uneven wear, which can be caused by asymmetrical loads, tire type, wheel position, pressure, temperature, and driving behavior, leading to potential safety and legal issues.
Innovation Solution
A method and device that measure local tread depth and apply a correction factor based on empirical values, simulations, and wear patterns to account for uneven tire wear, ensuring accurate determination of the minimum tread depth without the need for multiple profile depth measurements.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Loss of time
If tread depth is measured at only one point to save time, then measurement time is reduced, but measurement precision deteriorates due to uneven tire wear
Solution Approach 1:
The patent introduces a correction factor as an intermediary element that mediates between the single-point measurement and the actual minimum tread depth. This correction factor, derived from wear patterns, tire characteristics, and operational data, adjusts the local measurement to compensate for uneven wear, thereby maintaining measurement precision without requiring multiple measurement points
Solution Approach 2:
The patent changes the parameter space by incorporating multiple influencing factors (wear patterns, tire type, wheel position, mileage, tire pressure, temperature, driving behavior) into a correction factor. This transforms a simple depth measurement into a corrected value that accounts for uneven wear, effectively improving measurement precision while maintaining single-point measurement efficiency
2Measurement precision
If multiple point measurements are performed to account for uneven wear, then measurement precision improves, but device complexity and time consumption increase
Solution Approach 1:
The correction factor serves as an intermediary that encapsulates the complexity of multiple measurement points and wear pattern analysis. Instead of requiring physically complex multi-point measurement systems, the patent uses this computational intermediary to achieve the same precision goal with simpler measurement hardware
Solution Approach 2:
The patent creates a virtual model (correction factor) that replicates the information that would be obtained from multiple physical measurements. By using wear patterns and influencing factors to generate this corrective model, the system achieves accurate minimum tread depth determination without the complexity of multiple physical measurement points
3Ease of operation
If local tread depth measurement is used to simplify the process, then ease of operation improves, but reliability deteriorates due to potential overestimation of minimum tread depth
Solution Approach 1:
The patent implements a feedback mechanism where the correction factor continuously adjusts the local measurement based on wear patterns and influencing factors. This feedback loop ensures that the simplified single-point measurement does not lead to overestimation, as the correction factor compensates for the difference between local and minimum tread depth, thereby maintaining safety assessment reliability
Solution Approach 2:
The patent changes the measurement parameter from raw local depth to corrected minimum depth by incorporating multiple influencing factors. This parameter transformation maintains the simplicity of single-point measurement while ensuring reliability by adjusting for uneven wear through the correction factor that considers wear patterns, tire characteristics, and operational conditions
Data Source
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AI summary
Method for determining the tread depth of a vehicle tire (1), comprising: - measuring a local tread depth at at least one measuring point of the vehicle tire (1) as an indicator of a minimum tread depth of the vehicle tire (1); - determining a correction factor that takes into account uneven tire wear (1); - determining the minimum tread depth of the vehicle tire (1) by correcting the measured local tread depth for uneven tire wear using the correction factor.