TPMS-Based Freight Weight Estimation from Tire Tread Area Change
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions
Solution Overview
Problem
Drivers often inaccurately estimate the weight of loaded freight, leading to legal violations and accidents due to overloading, as existing technologies fail to provide accurate weight measurements for vehicles.
Innovation Solution
A freight weight estimating apparatus and method utilizing a tire pressure monitoring system (TPMS) with a controller that calculates tread areas before and after loading, storing a relationship between tire air pressure, tread area, and freight weight in tabulated map data to estimate the freight weight and display it to the driver.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Measurement precision
If a driver manually estimates freight weight, then the operation is simple and quick, but the measurement precision is poor leading to overloading accidents
Solution Approach 1:
The patent uses tire pressure as an intermediary parameter to indirectly measure freight weight. Instead of directly measuring weight, the system measures tire pressure changes caused by freight loading, which then infers weight through a pre-stored relationship map. This intermediary approach enables accurate weight estimation without complex direct weighing mechanisms.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent creates a computational model (tabulated map data) that copies the relationship between tire pressure, tread area, and freight weight. This model allows the system to estimate weight by referencing pre-calculated relationships rather than requiring complex real-time physics calculations or direct weight sensors.
2Reliability
If no weight measurement system is installed, then the device complexity is low, but the reliability of preventing overloading is poor
Solution Approach 1:
The patent makes the tire pressure monitoring system serve multiple functions: its original function of monitoring tire pressure for safety is enhanced with a new function of estimating freight weight. By adding weight estimation capability to the existing TPMS, the system achieves reliable overloading prevention without requiring a completely separate weight measurement system.
Solution Approach 2:
The system uses the vehicle's existing TPMS infrastructure to provide weight estimation services. The TPMS sensor and controller that already exist for tire pressure monitoring are leveraged to also perform freight weight estimation, making the existing system serve itself for an additional protective function.
3Reliability
If accurate weight measurement is implemented, then overloading accidents are prevented, but the ease of operation decreases due to additional measurement steps
Solution Approach 1:
The patent performs preliminary calculations by pre-storing the relationship between tire pressure, tread area, and freight weight in tabulated map data. During actual operation, the system only needs to measure current tire pressure and lookup the corresponding weight from pre-computed tables, significantly simplifying the operational process while maintaining accuracy.
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 accurate estimation of freight weight, preventing overloading and ensuring compliance with regulations by using a TPMS to calculate the difference in tread areas and corresponding weights, thereby enhancing safety and legal compliance.
Implementation Method 1
a TPMS sensor that measures an air pressure of a tire
Implementation Method 2
calculates a first tread area of the tire from a first air pressure of the tire measured by the TPMS sensor
Data Source
AI summary
A freight weight estimating apparatus includes a TPMS sensor that measures air pressure of a tire, and a controller that calculates a first tread area of the tire from a first air pressure of the tire measured by the TPMS sensor before loading freight, calculates a second tread area of the tire from a second air pressure of the tire measured by the TPMS sensor after loading the freight, and estimates a weight of the freight loaded in a vehicle based on the first tread area and the second tread area.