JP2005083819A - Device for determining propriety of air pressure in tire - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To easily inspect the propriety of pneumatic pressure of a tire by only installing a device of the present invention in a proper place such as a gas station and a garage. <P>SOLUTION: This device is provided with a wheel mounting table 10 for mounting at least one portion of a wheel in a vehicle, a sensor means 1 for detecting an installation area of the tire T1 on the mounting table 10. The installation area of the tire T1 is computed based on an output from the sensor means 1, and the propriety of the pneumatic pressure of the tire is determined based on a computed output therefrom. The sensor means 1 is preferably arranged planarly and matrixlikely with a large number of micro contact sensors. A circuit may be provided to compute or display the installation area of the tire T1 by integrating outputs of the contact sensors. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2005,JPO&NCIPI

Description

The present invention relates to an apparatus that can easily detect whether or not the tire air pressure of a truck or the like is in an appropriate state by simply riding a part of a wheel on a measurement panel.

Conventionally, when measuring the air pressure in tires of automobiles etc., a pencil type measuring instrument was inserted into the valve part provided on the rim of each tire, and the air pressure was measured. It took time and effort. Also, in so-called double tires such as trucks, since a valve portion is provided inside the tires arranged side by side, it is particularly troublesome when inserting the measuring instrument. For this reason, tire pressure measurement is often neglected, and a large accident occurs due to a burst (tire rupture) while traveling on a highway or the like in an inappropriate air pressure state.

In addition to using the measuring instrument, various measuring methods are provided. For example, in the invention shown in Patent Document 1, a sensor is attached to each wheel, and the decompression state of the tire is detected from the angular velocity signal of this sensor. Moreover, according to the invention shown in Patent Document 2, the amount of tire side wall deflection is detected by measuring the length of the tire contact patch with respect to the entire circumference of the tire by the monitoring device in the tire, and the tire pressure is optimized. To do.

According to these inventions, the tire pressure can be constantly measured without taking time and thus the above-mentioned problems can be solved. However, since sensors must be provided for all automobile tires, the price is very expensive. For automobiles that do not have sensors, the tire pressure cannot be measured unless the conventional method is used. Furthermore, there is a problem that the sensor needs to be inspected for each automobile, and the maintenance is very complicated.
JP-A-6-166308 JP-A-9-188113

The apparatus of the present invention includes a wheel mounting table for loading at least some of the wheels of the vehicle, and sensor means for detecting a tire installation area on the mounting table, and an output of the sensor means reduces the tire installation area. The calculation is performed, and the suitability of the tire pressure is determined based on the calculation output.

Preferably, the sensor means is characterized in that a large number of micro contact sensors are arranged in a matrix in a planar shape.

More preferably, a circuit for calculating or displaying an installation area of the tire by collecting the outputs of the contact sensors is provided.

Since the apparatus of the present invention does not require a sensor for each tire, the productivity is good and the cost can be kept low. In addition, there is no need to secure an installation space for the sensor on the tire or to perform an inefficient charging operation by removing the tire wheel, and no troublesome maintenance is required.

In addition, by permanently installing the device of the present invention in a gas station, a parking area, a garage, etc., it is possible to check tire pressure while refueling. For example, it is possible to easily determine suitability without impeding vehicle running efficiency. . Thereby, it can be expected that the number of times of measurement of the tire air pressure will increase, and it can be expected that traffic accidents due to bursts will be greatly reduced.

In large trucks, the rear wheels are equipped with so-called double tires in which two tires are arranged side by side, so there are many burst accidents due to unbalanced air pressure of each tire. However, according to the apparatus of the present invention, the contact area can be measured for each tire, and the tire pressure unbalance can be easily detected.

As described above, according to this apparatus, since the labor for checking the tire pressure is small and the workability is good, the spirit of the truck driver can be enhanced and the awareness of safe driving can be further improved.

In addition, since the apparatus of the present invention is controlled by inputting a value of an appropriate contact area of the tire to the program, new tire standard conditions (travel distance, etc.) can be handled only by software processing.

Hereinafter, embodiments of the apparatus of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.

FIG. 1 is a flowchart showing a procedure for measuring tire air pressure using the apparatus of the present invention. 2 is an explanatory view showing a state before the tire is placed on the mounting table, FIG. 3 is an explanatory view showing a state where the tire is placed on the mounting table, A is a plan view, and B is a side sectional view. FIG. As shown in FIG. 1, first, an automobile tire is mounted on a mounting table (S <b> 1). As shown in FIG. 2, this apparatus includes a vehicle mounting table 10 having a sensor means 1 having a flat upper surface, and this mounting table 10 has a pair of wheels 12, 12 ′ at the bottom and is movable. It is configured as follows.

The ground GR on which the mounting table 10 is installed is provided with a groove portion DI. The width W of the groove portion DI is slightly larger than the width of the mounting table 10, and the length L is between the tires TI and TI of the automobile. Greater than 'width. A pair of rails 2, 2 ′ extending in the length direction is provided on the bottom surface of the groove portion DI, and the wheels 12, 12 ′ of the mounting table 10 are adapted to the rails 2, 2 ′. It is configured to be movable on the rails 2 and 2 '. Further, the upper surface of the sensor means 1 is arranged so as to coincide with the height of the ground GR surface.

As described above, in the groove portion DI, two mounting tables 10 and 10 ′ are installed so as to move on the rails 2 and 2 ′, and a tire TI of a front wheel of an automobile is provided on each mounting table 10 and 10 ′. , TI ′. At that time, after the mounting tables 10 and 10 'are moved so as to fit the widths of the tires TI and TI', the tires TI and TI 'are mounted on the mounting tables 10 and 10' (see FIG. 3). In the state shown in FIG. 3, the sensors 1 and 1 'sense the ground contact portions 3 and 3' of the tires TI and TI '(S2).

FIG. 4 is a plan view showing the sensor means, in which A is a state before a tire is placed on the sensor means, and B is a state where it is placed. As shown in FIG. 4, the sensor means 1 is configured by arranging a large number of minute contact sensors 1a in a matrix. Since the contact sensor 1a detects a mechanical contact and transmits a signal, the tire TI (two-dot chain line) is grounded as shown in FIG. 4B by placing the tire TI on the sensor means 1. The contact sensor 1a (indicated by diagonal lines) senses and transmits a signal (S2).

The sensed signals are collected by the computer (S3), and the contact area (measured value) of the tire is calculated from the collected signals and displayed on the monitor (S4). This computer stores an appropriate tire contact area according to a tire standard (tire diameter, tire width, etc.). By inputting the tire standard, an appropriate contact area (appropriate value) of the tire is entered. Is displayed on the monitor (S6). FIG. 5 shows a monitor displaying measured values and appropriate values of the tire contact area.

In addition to normal tires (normal tires), there are, for example, studless tires and flat tires. The appropriate values for each tire can be handled by software processing even if they are not stored in advance in the computer. Is possible. Further, even if the tire has a different appropriate value depending on the travel distance and the travel time, it can be adjusted to a more appropriate tire pressure by storing the appropriate value according to these conditions in the computer.

Furthermore, since the appropriate tire contact area varies depending on the load of the truck or the like, it is possible to adjust the appropriate air pressure by storing an appropriate value corresponding to this condition in the computer. Further, since the appropriate tire contact area varies depending on the front and rear wheels of the automobile, the appropriate air pressure can be adjusted by storing an appropriate value in accordance with this in the computer. Therefore, when inputting the tire standard to the computer (S5), input correction terms according to the above conditions (loading load, front and rear wheels, travel distance, travel time, etc.) (S5 '), and monitor a more appropriate tire contact area. May be displayed.

Then, as shown in FIG. 5, the measured tire contact area (measured value) is compared with the appropriate tire contact area (appropriate value) (S7). If the measured value is within the range of the appropriate value, it is not necessary to inject air since the measured tire pressure is appropriate. However, if the measured value is outside the range of the appropriate value, the measured tire air pressure is inappropriate and an accident due to a burst or the like may occur. Therefore, it is necessary to inject air into the tire. Therefore, an air injection device is connected to the valve portion of the tire (S8), and air is injected into the tire with this injection device.

The injection device is controlled by a computer (S9), and this injection device injects air into the tire by the computer until the measured value is within the appropriate range (S10). As a result, after the front tire is set to an appropriate air pressure, the vehicle is moved, and the procedure described above is also performed on the rear wheel tire so that the air pressure of all tires of the vehicle is set to an appropriate value.

Moreover, since the rear wheels of a large truck are so-called double tires, there are many burst accidents due to the unbalance of the air pressure of each tire. However, by performing the above procedure, the contact area can be measured for each tire and displayed on the monitor, so it is possible to easily detect whether or not each tire air pressure is unbalanced.

Furthermore, the tire ground contact area detection device of the present invention is naturally not limited to the above-described embodiment. For example, the sensor provided on the upper surface of the mounting table is not limited to the contact sensor described above, and voltage is applied when pressure is received. Or a strain gauge for detecting surface strain generated in an elastic body.

The flowchart figure which shows the procedure which detects the pneumatic pressure of a tire using the apparatus of this invention. Explanatory drawing which shows the state before mounting a tire on a mounting base. Explanatory drawing which shows the state which mounted the tire on the mounting base. The top view which shows a sensor means. The front view which shows the monitor which displayed the measured value and appropriate value of the tire contact area.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Sensor means 2 Rail 10 Mounting stand 12 Wheel 1a Contact sensor

Claims (3)

A wheel mounting table for loading at least some of the wheels of the vehicle, and a sensor means for detecting a tire installation area on the mounting table. The tire installation area is calculated by the output of the sensor means, and the calculated output An apparatus for determining whether tire pressure is appropriate or not. 2. The apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the sensor means comprises a large number of micro contact sensors arranged in a matrix in a planar shape. The apparatus according to claim 2, further comprising a circuit that aggregates outputs of the contact sensors and calculates or displays an installation area of the tire.

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