JP2009210317A - System, method and program for measuring tire touch-down characteristics - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a method and a system for measuring tire touch-down characteristics which enable measurement of the touch-down characteristics of a tire by a relatively simple constitution and in a short time, and a tire model preparing program. <P>SOLUTION: The measuring system 10 of the tire touch-down characteristics includes a card reader-writer which reads measuring data from a memory card whereon the measuring data regarding the posture of a vehicle in running are recorded, a plurality of actuators 14FL etc. which are attached respectively to different parts of a test vehicle 16 and change the posture of the test vehicle 16 by driving the parts respectively, a control part 12 which controls the actuators 14FR etc. on the basis of the read measuring data so that the characteristics of the touch-down surface of at least one tire in running of the vehicle be reproduced in the test vehicle 16, and pressure sensors 26FL etc. which measure the characteristics of the touch-down surfaces of the tires of the test vehicle 16. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2009,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a tire ground contact characteristic measuring device, a tire ground contact characteristic measuring method, and a tire ground contact characteristic measuring program. More specifically, the present invention relates to a tire ground contact characteristic measuring apparatus and tire for measuring the ground contact characteristics of a tire without traveling by an actual vehicle. The present invention relates to a ground contact characteristic measuring method and a tire ground contact characteristic measuring program.

  Conventionally, various techniques for measuring the ground contact characteristics of a tire have been proposed. For example, in Patent Document 1, a transparent plate having a convex line formed on the surface thereof is arranged in a tire traveling path. An apparatus for observing the shape of a tire contact surface is disclosed in which a photographing device and a lighting device are installed on the lower side, and the shape of the tire contact surface is clearly observed by photographing the contact surface of the tire when the vehicle travels on a transparent plate. Has been.

Further, Patent Document 2 discloses an indoor tire ground contact surface analysis device that gives a predetermined load, camber angle, and slip angle to a rim-assembled tire and measures the ground contact property of the tire at that time.
JP 2001-242044 A JP 2000-186982 A

  However, the apparatus described in Patent Document 1 has a problem that the apparatus becomes large, and only the contact shape can be measured, and the contact pressure distribution and the like cannot be measured. Moreover, when measuring with one apparatus, in order to measure the tire for one vehicle, there existed a problem that the same measurement had to be repeated 4 times and the measurement required a long time. In addition, there is a conventional testing machine that measures the contact pressure distribution of a tire alone, but there is no testing machine that can measure the contact pressure distribution under the condition that the vehicle posture is controlled with the tire attached to the vehicle. .

  Further, in the apparatus described in Patent Document 2, although measurement conditions can be easily set, it is not an apparatus that takes into account the characteristics of the vehicle (for example, a suspension), and thus it is difficult to measure with high accuracy. was there. In addition, in order to give the appropriate camber angle and slip angle, it is necessary to conduct tests on actual vehicles separately, but it is not easy to measure these during driving, and extensive measurement devices and vehicle modifications are required. There was a problem of becoming.

  The present invention has been made in order to solve the above-mentioned problem, a tire ground contact characteristic measuring device, a tire ground contact characteristic measuring method capable of measuring a tire ground contact characteristic in a relatively simple configuration and in a short time, And a tire ground contact characteristic measurement program.

  In order to achieve the above object, the tire ground contact characteristic measuring device according to the first aspect of the present invention is attached to an input means for inputting measurement data or simulation data relating to the posture of the vehicle at the time of traveling and to different parts of the test vehicle. A plurality of driving means for changing the posture of the test vehicle by driving each of the parts, and characteristics of the ground contact surface of at least one tire during traveling of the vehicle based on the input measurement data or simulation data Is provided with control means for controlling the plurality of drive means so as to be reproduced in the test vehicle, and measurement means for measuring the characteristics of the contact surface of the tire.

  According to the present invention, the characteristics of the ground contact surface of at least one tire during traveling of the vehicle are reproduced in the test vehicle based on the measurement data or simulation data relating to the posture of the vehicle during traveling input by the input means. And controlling a plurality of driving means. The plurality of driving means are respectively attached to different parts of the test vehicle, and change the posture of the test vehicle by driving the parts. As a result, the same load as when traveling is applied to the tire of the test vehicle, and the situation during traveling can be reproduced semi-dynamically. And the characteristic of the tire contact surface is measured by the measuring means. Thereby, the ground contact characteristic of the tire can be measured in a short time with a relatively simple configuration.

  According to a second aspect of the present invention, the measurement means may be a pressure sensor that measures the pressure applied to the tread surface of the tire. Further, for example, the pressure sensor may include a plurality of sensors that measure pressures at a plurality of locations on the tread surface of the tire. Thereby, the pressure distribution on the tread of the tire can be measured.

  According to a third aspect of the present invention, the measurement data or simulation data includes attitude rotation angle data including at least one of a roll angle, a pitch angle, and a yaw angle of the vehicle at the time of traveling, Vehicle acceleration data.

  According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, the apparatus further includes a rotational drive unit that rotationally drives the steering of the test vehicle, and the measurement data or simulation data may include steering angle data of the vehicle during the traveling. . Thereby, it can be brought closer to the situation during traveling.

  According to a fifth aspect of the present invention, the measurement data or simulation data is measurement data or simulation data relating to the attitude of the vehicle when traveling for a predetermined time, and the control means adds the input measurement data or simulation data to the measurement data or simulation data. Based on the above, the plurality of driving means may be controlled so that the characteristics of the ground contact surface of at least one tire when the vehicle travels are continuously reproduced in the test vehicle over the predetermined time. Good. Thereby, the situation at the time of driving | running | working can be reproduced faithfully.

  According to a sixth aspect of the present invention, the measurement data or simulation data is measurement data or simulation data relating to the posture of the vehicle when traveling for a predetermined time, and the control means adds the input measurement data or simulation data to the measurement data or simulation data. Based on this, the plurality of drive means are controlled so that the characteristics of the ground contact surface of at least one tire when the vehicle is running are continuously reproduced in the test vehicle in a time longer than the predetermined time. You may do it. Thereby, a driving | running | working condition can be reproduced in slow motion.

  In addition, as described in claim 7, the driving unit and the measuring unit for all tires may be provided. Thereby, measurement time can be shortened.

  The method for measuring tire ground contact characteristics according to claim 8 inputs the measurement data or simulation data relating to the posture of the vehicle at the time of traveling, is attached to each of the different parts of the test vehicle, and drives each of the parts. A plurality of drive means for changing the attitude of the vehicle are controlled based on the input measurement data or simulation data so that the characteristics of the ground contact surface of at least one tire when the vehicle is running are reproduced in the test vehicle And the characteristic of the contact surface of the tire is measured.

  According to the present invention, it is possible to measure the ground contact characteristics of a tire in a short time with a relatively simple configuration.

  According to a ninth aspect of the present invention, there is provided a tire ground contact characteristic measuring program comprising: a step of inputting measurement data or simulation data relating to a posture of a vehicle during traveling; and a driving unit that is attached to each of different parts of a test vehicle. A plurality of driving means for changing the attitude of the test vehicle is configured to reproduce the characteristics of the ground contact surface of at least one tire when the vehicle is running on the test vehicle based on the input measurement data or simulation data. And a step of measuring the characteristics of the ground contact surface of the tire.

  According to the present invention, it is possible to measure the ground contact characteristics of a tire in a short time with a relatively simple configuration.

  As described above, according to the present invention, there is an effect that the ground contact characteristics of a tire can be measured easily and in a short time.

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

(First embodiment)

  FIG. 1 shows a schematic block diagram of a tire ground contact characteristic measuring apparatus 10 according to the present embodiment. As shown in the figure, the tire ground contact characteristic measuring apparatus 10 includes a control unit 12. The control unit 12 includes a right front wheel actuator 14FR, a left front wheel actuator 14FL, a right rear wheel actuator 14RR, and a left side. A rear wheel actuator 14RL is connected.

  As shown in FIG. 2, the right front wheel actuator 14FR includes an arm 18FR attached to a part of the right front body of the test vehicle 16, and a drive unit 20FR for driving the arm 18FR. Yes.

  Similarly, as shown in FIG. 2, the left front wheel actuator 14FL includes an arm 18FL attached to a part of the left front body of the test vehicle 16, and a drive unit 20FL that drives the arm 18FL. It is configured.

  Similarly, as shown in FIG. 2, the right rear wheel actuator 14RR includes an arm 18RR attached to a part of the right rear body of the test vehicle 16, and a drive unit 20RR that drives the arm 18RR. It consists of

  Similarly, the left rear wheel actuator 14RL includes an arm 18RL attached to a part of the left rear body of the test vehicle 16 and a drive unit 20RL for driving the arm 18RL, as shown in FIG. It consists of

  For example, the actuator 14FL for the left front wheel can apply loads to the left front portion of the test vehicle 16 from various directions by the drive unit 20FL operating the arm 18FL according to an instruction from the control unit 12. As a result, it is possible to apply a load from various directions to the front left tire 22FL of the test vehicle 16. The same applies to other actuators.

  A steering rotation motor 24 is connected to the control unit 12. The steering rotation motor 24 is attached to a steering rotation shaft (not shown) of the test vehicle 16 and rotates a steering (not shown) of the test vehicle 16 according to an instruction from the control unit 12.

  In this way, each actuator can apply a load to each tire of the test vehicle 16, and the steering can be rotated. Therefore, it is possible to reproduce an arbitrary traveling situation.

  As shown in FIG. 1, the control unit 12 is connected to the right front wheel pressure sensor 26FR, the left front wheel pressure sensor 26FL, the right rear wheel pressure sensor 26RR, and the left rear wheel pressure sensor via the measurement unit 25. 26RL is connected. These pressure sensors are flat pressure sensors in which at least one sensor capable of detecting a pressure in at least one direction, for example, three component forces, is embedded. The measurement unit 25 measures the output value from each pressure sensor to obtain measurement data.

  For example, as shown in FIG. 2, the left front wheel pressure sensor 26FL is provided between the front left tire 22FL of the test vehicle 16 and the floor, and measures the pressure distribution on the ground contact surface of the tire 22FL. The same applies to other pressure sensors.

  As shown in FIG. 1, an operation unit 28, a monitor 30, a timer 32, a memory 34, and a card reader / writer 36 are connected to the control unit 12.

  The operation unit 28 is used to input conditions necessary for executing a tire contact characteristic measurement process, which will be described later, and to instruct the start of the process.

  The monitor 30 is for displaying the processing result of the tire ground contact characteristic measurement processing.

  The timer 32 is for adjusting the timing so that the reproduction speed when the driving condition is reproduced by the test vehicle 16 in the tire ground contact characteristic measurement process becomes a desired reproduction speed.

  The memory 34 stores a processing program for tire ground contact characteristic measurement processing, various parameters, and the like. The control unit 12 is constituted by a microcomputer including a CPU, a ROM, a RAM, and the like, for example, and measures tire contact characteristics by reading and executing a processing program stored in the memory 34.

  The card reader / writer 36 is for reading data recorded on a memory card 38 composed of, for example, a semiconductor memory or writing data to the memory card 38.

  In the present embodiment, measurement data at the time of traveling measured by a traveling data measuring device 50 described later is recorded in the memory card 38. The tire ground contact characteristic measuring device 10 reads the measurement data recorded in the memory card 38 and measures the tire ground contact characteristics based on the read measurement data.

  FIG. 3 shows a schematic block diagram of the travel data measuring device 50. As shown in the figure, the travel data measuring device 50 includes a control unit 52, a gyro sensor 54, a steering angle sensor 56, an acceleration sensor 58, and a card reader / writer 60.

  The travel data measuring device 50 is attached to a measurement data acquisition vehicle (not shown), and acquires various data necessary for measuring tire contact characteristics such as steering angle and acceleration, as well as data relating to the posture of the traveling vehicle. The measurement data acquisition vehicle can be, for example, a commercially available ordinary passenger vehicle.

  The gyro sensor 54 detects the roll angle, pitch angle, and yaw angle of the measurement data acquisition vehicle and outputs them to the control unit 52. The roll angle includes the center of gravity of the vehicle and is a rotation angle when the vehicle rotates around an axis (X axis) along the front-rear direction of the vehicle. The pitch angle includes the center of gravity of the vehicle. The rotation angle when the vehicle rotates about the axis (Y axis) along the left-right direction of the vehicle. The yaw angle includes the center of gravity of the vehicle and the axis (Z axis) along the vertical direction of the vehicle. This is the rotation angle when the vehicle rotates as the center.

  The steering angle sensor 56 detects the steering angle of the measurement data acquisition vehicle and outputs it to the control unit 52.

  The acceleration sensor 58 detects accelerations in three directions of the measurement data acquisition vehicle in the front-rear direction (X-axis), the left-right direction (Y-axis), and the up-down direction (Z-axis) and outputs them to the control unit 52. The control unit 52 has a function of obtaining measurement data by measuring output values from the sensors.

  The card reader / writer 60 is for writing various measured data into the memory card 38 described above.

  The control unit 52 captures measurement data from various sensors at a frequency of, for example, several times / second while the measurement data acquisition vehicle is traveling on a predetermined traveling course, and records the data in the memory card 38 as needed. The traveling course and the traveling speed can be set arbitrarily, but may be a traveling course and a traveling speed that make a steady turn at a constant speed of 40 km / h and a radius of 20 m, for example.

  When the measurement data is acquired, it is possible to reproduce the traveling state of the traveling course from which the measurement data is acquired by the tire ground contact characteristic measuring apparatus 10, and the tire ground contact characteristic can be measured. When starting the measurement of the tire ground contact characteristics, the operator sets the memory card 38 on which the measurement data is recorded on the card reader / writer 36 of the tire ground contact characteristic measurement apparatus 10 and the operation unit 28 sets the speed of reproduction of the traveling state. Set the conditions and instruct the start of measurement.

  Next, as an operation of the present embodiment, a processing routine of a tire contact property measurement processing program executed by the control unit 12 of the tire contact property measuring apparatus 10 will be described with reference to a flowchart shown in FIG. Note that the processing shown in FIG. 4 is performed in such a manner that the operator sets conditions such as the reproduction speed of the traveling state by the operation unit 28 in a state where the memory card 38 in which the measurement data is recorded is set in the card reader / writer 36. It is executed when the start is instructed.

  In step 100, measurement data recorded in the memory card 38, that is, roll angle, pitch angle, yaw angle, steering angle, and acceleration data in three directions are read. Note that the data read in step 100 is data for one measurement.

  In step 102, the drive amount of each actuator, that is, the magnitude of the force applied to each arm and the movement amount of each arm are calculated based on the measurement data read in step 100. Specifically, first, displacement in three directions of the vehicle is calculated based on acceleration data in three directions. The displacement in the three directions of the vehicle can be calculated by a predetermined function using acceleration data in the three directions as a parameter.

  Then, based on the posture angle of the vehicle such as the roll angle, the pitch angle, and the yaw angle, and the displacement in the three directions of the vehicle, the magnitude of the force applied to each arm and the amount of movement of each arm are calculated. The magnitude of the force applied to each arm and the amount of movement of each arm can be calculated by a predetermined function using the roll angle, pitch angle, yaw angle, and displacement in three directions of the vehicle as parameters.

  In step 104, the amount of steering rotation of the test vehicle 16, that is, the amount of rotation of the steering rotation motor 24 is calculated based on the steering angle data read in step 100.

  In step 106, the right front wheel actuator 14FR, the left front wheel actuator 14FL, the right rear wheel actuator 14RR, and the left rear wheel actuator 14RL are driven based on the drive amount of each arm obtained in step 102. The steering rotation motor 24 is driven based on the steering rotation amount obtained at 104.

  As a result, the steering of the test vehicle 16 has the same steering angle as when the measurement data acquisition vehicle travels, and the suspension of the test vehicle 16 changes and the measurement data acquisition vehicle travels to each tire. A similar load is applied. That is, the caster angle and the camber angle of the test vehicle 16 are the same as when the measurement data acquisition vehicle has traveled, and the situation during travel of the measurement data acquisition vehicle is statically reproduced in the test vehicle 16.

  In step 108, measurement data based on the output value from the pressure sensor installed under each tire is taken from the measurement unit 25 and recorded in the memory card 38. The output value from the pressure sensor provided for each tire becomes tire contact characteristic measurement data representing the characteristics of the contact surface of each tire.

  In step 110, for example, the tire contact characteristic measurement data for each tire is displayed on the monitor 30 as a pressure distribution. At this time, the color may be changed and displayed according to the pressure level so that the pressure level can be easily visually recognized. Thereby, the pressure distribution of the tire can be easily recognized.

  In step 112, it is determined whether or not the measurement data has been completed, that is, whether or not the above processing has been performed for all measurement data. If not, the process proceeds to step 114. End the routine.

  In step 114, timing adjustment is performed in accordance with the speed of reproduction of the driving situation set by the operator. For example, if the driving situation is reproduced at the same speed as when the vehicle for measuring data acquisition is running, the measuring data acquired by the driving data measuring device 50 may be obtained by capturing measurement data from various sensors at a frequency of several times / second. For example, the delay time is set in the timer 32 so that this routine loops at the same frequency. Then, after the set delay time has elapsed, the process returns to step 100 and the same processing as described above is repeated. As a result, the above measurement process is executed in the same amount of time as the travel time, and the situation during travel of the vehicle can be reproduced semi-dynamically.

  In addition, for example, when the traveling state is reproduced at a speed that is ½ of the traveling time of the measurement data acquisition vehicle, the delay time may be doubled. Thereby, it becomes possible to reproduce a driving | running | working condition in slow motion.

  As described above, in the present embodiment, an actual vehicle is used as a test vehicle, and an actuator is attached to the test vehicle. Based on measurement data such as the attitude, steering angle, and acceleration of the vehicle when the vehicle actually travels, Since the load is applied to the tire to reproduce the traveling condition, the ground contact characteristic of the tire can be accurately measured indoors in a relatively simple configuration and in consideration of the vehicle suspension and vehicle body characteristics in a short time.

  Further, in the present embodiment, since the timing adjustment can be performed in the measurement of the tire contact property in the tire contact property measuring apparatus 10, the traveling situation can be reproduced in slow motion, for example, with a tire hysteresis loss. It is possible to measure in consideration of deformation.

  Moreover, in this embodiment, since the pressure sensor is installed about all the tires of a vehicle and the ground contact characteristic of a tire can be measured simultaneously, the ground contact characteristic of a tire can be measured in a shorter time.

  In the present embodiment, each actuator is driven based on a rotation angle related to a posture such as a roll angle of the vehicle and a displacement calculated from the acceleration of the vehicle, but 3 based on the acceleration of the vehicle and the mass of the vehicle. Calculating the acting force in the direction (vertical direction of the vehicle, the front-rear direction, the left-right direction), the moment about the three axes calculated from the acting force, the rotation rate around the three axes of the X to Z axes and the vehicle inertia moment; Each actuator may be driven based on the above.

  Further, in this embodiment, the actuators are attached to the four places of the test vehicle 16, but the actuators are attached to the front and rear two places or the left and right two places where an arbitrary load can be applied to each tire of the test vehicle 16. Also good.

  In this embodiment, the ground contact characteristics of all four tires are measured, but the ground contact characteristics may be measured only for some of the tires.

  In the present embodiment, the ground contact characteristics of the tire are measured using a pressure sensor. However, the ground contact characteristics may be measured by installing a pressure sensitive paper or a plurality of pressure sensors on the ground contact surface. Furthermore, it is good also as a structure which installed the camera under the transparent board while installing the transparent board in the tread of a tire. In this case, the ground contact shape of the tire, that is, the deformation of the tire can be measured by photographing the tread surface of the tire with a camera.

  Further, in the present embodiment, the case where the ground contact characteristics of the tire are measured based on the measurement data at the time of traveling measured by the traveling data measuring device 50 is described. However, the present invention is not limited to this. The computer simulation is executed based on the vehicle model data, the course model data obtained by modeling an arbitrary traveling course, and the traveling condition data that defines the traveling conditions, and is the same as the measurement data measured by the traveling data measuring device 50 It is also possible to measure the ground contact characteristics of the tire obtained by obtaining the above data and based on the simulation data obtained by this simulation.

(Second Embodiment)

  Next, a second embodiment of the present invention will be described. In addition, the same code | symbol is attached | subjected to the same part as 1st Embodiment, and the detailed description is abbreviate | omitted. In this embodiment, a case will be described in which simulation data obtained by simulation is input to measure the ground contact characteristics of a tire.

  FIG. 5 shows a schematic block diagram of the tire ground contact characteristic measuring apparatus 70 according to the present embodiment. As shown in the figure, the tire ground contact characteristic measuring device 70 is compared with the tire ground contact characteristic measuring device 10 of FIG. 1 in that the right front wheel actuator 14FR, the left front wheel actuator 14FL, and the right rear wheel actuator of the tire ground contact characteristic measuring device 10 are. 14RR, left rear wheel actuator 14RL, etc., instead of the roll angle control actuator 72R for controlling the roll angle of the test vehicle, the pitch angle control actuator 72P for controlling the pitch angle of the test vehicle, and the yaw angle of the test vehicle A right front wheel alignment posture sensor 76FR, a left front wheel alignment posture sensor 76FL, and a right rear wheel alignment posture sensor 76RR that include a yaw angle control actuator 72Y for controlling, and detect a toe-in angle, a toe-out angle, and a camber angle of a wheel of the test vehicle. , Left rear wheel alignment posture set Sa 76RL, gyro sensor 77, a point having a steering angle sensor 78, the acceleration sensor 79 varies.

  FIG. 6 shows a schematic block diagram of a travel data measuring device 80 according to the present embodiment. As shown in the figure, the traveling data measuring device 80 is compared with the traveling data measuring device 50 of FIG. 3 to detect the toe-in angle, the toe-out angle, and the camber angle of the wheels of the measurement data acquisition vehicle. A difference is that a sensor 82FR, a left front wheel alignment posture sensor 82FL, a right rear wheel alignment posture sensor 82RR, and a left rear wheel alignment posture sensor 82RL are provided.

  The travel data measuring device 80 measures measurement data from various sensors while the vehicle for measurement data acquisition travels on a predetermined travel course, that is, the roll angle, pitch angle, yaw angle, steering angle, and three directions (left and right) of the vehicle. , Longitudinal, vertical) acceleration data, toe-in angle, toe-out angle, and camber angle data of each wheel are captured and recorded in the memory card 38 as needed. The speed and displacement may be obtained from the acceleration in three directions and recorded on the memory card 38 as needed. In the present embodiment, the roll angle, pitch angle, yaw angle, steering angle, and acceleration data in three directions of the vehicle are referred to as vehicle attitude parameters, and the toe-in angle, the toe-out angle, and the camber angle data of each wheel are referred to as the vehicle attitude parameters. This is referred to as an alignment posture parameter.

  In addition, it is also possible to obtain simulation data similar to the measurement data acquired by the travel data measuring device 80 by computer simulation without actually driving the measurement data acquisition vehicle.

  FIG. 7 shows a schematic block diagram of a travel data simulation apparatus 90 for obtaining the above simulation data. As shown in the figure, the traveling data simulation apparatus 90 includes a control unit 92 and a card reader / writer 94, and includes vehicle model data 96A that models a vehicle to be measured, and course model data 96B that models an arbitrary traveling course. , And traveling condition data 96 </ b> C defining conditions during traveling are input to the control unit 92. These data may be stored and read in a recording medium such as a hard disk (not shown), or may be stored in the memory card 38 and read by the card reader / writer 94. You may make it receive from the other computer on a network by the communication apparatus which does not.

  The travel data simulation apparatus 90 executes a simulation based on the vehicle model data 96A, the course model data 96B, and the travel condition data 96C when the control unit 92 executes a predetermined simulation program, and is actually measured by the travel data measurement apparatus 80. Simulation data corresponding to the measurement data measured by is generated. The generated simulation data is recorded on the memory card 38 by the card reader / writer 94.

  The tire ground contact characteristic measuring apparatus 70 measures the tire ground contact characteristics based on the measurement data acquired by the travel data measuring apparatus 80 or the simulation data acquired by the travel data simulation apparatus 90.

  Next, as an operation of the present embodiment, a processing routine of a tire contact property measurement processing program executed by the control unit 12 of the tire contact property measuring apparatus 70 will be described with reference to a flowchart shown in FIG. The process shown in FIG. 8 is executed when the operator instructs the start of measurement through the operation unit 28 in a state where the memory card 38 on which the measurement data or simulation data is recorded is set in the card reader / writer 36.

  In step 200, initial drive signals for driving the actuators and the steering are generated. This initial drive signal may be, for example, a predetermined fixed drive signal, or may be an optimum drive signal determined based on past accumulated data.

  In step 202, each actuator and steering are driven by the generated initial drive signal.

  In step 204, the vehicle posture parameters and alignment posture parameters of each wheel are measured. That is, vehicle attitude parameters such as roll angle, pitch angle, yaw angle, steering angle, and acceleration, and alignment attitude parameters such as toe-in angle, toe-out angle, and camber angle are measured from each sensor.

  In step 206, the measurement data or simulation data recorded in the memory card 38 is read, and this is compared with the vehicle posture parameters and alignment posture parameters captured in step 204.

  In step 208, it is determined whether or not the difference between the two is within a predetermined allowable range. If the difference is within the allowable range, the process proceeds to step 210. If not, the process proceeds to step 216.

  In step 216, based on the comparison result, the initial drive signal is corrected so that the error is minimized by, for example, the method of least squares. Then, the process returns to step 202 to drive each actuator and steering again. Such processing is repeated until an affirmative determination is made in step 208.

  In step 210, the output value from each pressure sensor is captured and recorded in the memory card 38. The output value from the pressure sensor provided for each tire becomes tire contact characteristic measurement data representing the characteristics of the contact surface of each tire.

  In step 212, for example, the tire contact characteristic measurement data for each tire is displayed on the monitor 30 as a pressure distribution. At this time, the color may be changed and displayed according to the pressure level so that the pressure level can be easily visually recognized. Thereby, the pressure distribution of the tire can be easily recognized.

  In step 214, it is determined whether or not measurement data or simulation data has been completed, that is, whether or not the above processing has been performed for all measurement data or simulation data. If not, the process proceeds to step 202. If completed, this routine is terminated.

  Thus, in the present embodiment, the same data as the measurement data obtained when the measurement data acquisition vehicle is run can be obtained by computer simulation, and the ground contact characteristics of the tire can be measured using this data. Significant measurement analysis efficiency and cost reduction are possible.

1 is a schematic block diagram of a tire ground contact characteristic measuring apparatus according to a first embodiment. It is a partial external view of a tire ground contact characteristic measuring device. It is a schematic block diagram of the travel data measuring device concerning a 1st embodiment. It is a flowchart of the process performed with the tire ground-contact characteristic measuring apparatus which concerns on 1st Embodiment. It is a schematic block diagram of the tire ground-contact characteristic measuring apparatus which concerns on 2nd Embodiment. It is a schematic block diagram of the driving | running | working data measuring apparatus which concerns on 2nd Embodiment. It is a schematic block diagram of the driving | running | working data simulation apparatus which concerns on 2nd Embodiment. It is a flowchart of the process performed with the tire ground-contact characteristic measuring apparatus which concerns on 2nd Embodiment.

Explanation of symbols

10, 70 Tire contact characteristic measuring device 12 Control unit (control means)
14RR Right rear wheel actuator (drive means)
14FR Right front wheel actuator (drive means)
14RL Left rear wheel actuator (drive means)
14FL Left front wheel actuator (drive means)
16 Test vehicles 18FR, 18FL, 18RR, 18RL, 18FL Arms 20FR, 20FL, 20RR, 20RL, 20FL Drive unit 24 Steering rotation motor (rotation drive means)
26RR Right rear wheel pressure sensor (measuring means)
26FR Right front wheel pressure sensor (measuring means)
26RL Left rear wheel pressure sensor (measuring means)
26FL Pressure sensor for left front wheel (measuring means)
28 Operation unit 30 Monitor 32 Timer 34 Memory 36 Card reader / writer (input means)
38 Memory Card 50, 80 Traveling Data Measuring Device 52 Control Unit 54 Gyro Sensor 56 Steering Angle Sensor 58 Acceleration Sensor 60 Card Reader / Writer 72R Roll Angle Control Actuator (Drive Unit)
72P Pitch angle control actuator (drive means)
72Y Yaw angle control actuator (drive means)
76FR Right front wheel alignment posture sensor 76FL Left front wheel alignment posture sensor 76RR Right rear wheel alignment posture sensor 76RL Left rear wheel alignment posture sensor 90 Driving data simulation device

Claims (9)

An input means for inputting measurement data or simulation data by actual measurement regarding the posture of the vehicle during traveling;
A plurality of driving means attached to different parts of the test vehicle, respectively, for changing the posture of the test vehicle by driving the parts;
Based on the input measurement data or simulation data, control means for controlling the plurality of drive means so that the characteristics of the ground contact surface of at least one tire during traveling of the vehicle are reproduced in the test vehicle;
Measuring means for measuring the characteristics of the contact surface of the tire;
A tire ground contact characteristic measuring device.   2. The tire ground contact characteristic measuring apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the measuring means is a pressure sensor that measures a pressure applied to a tread surface of the tire.   The measurement data or simulation data includes attitude rotation angle data including at least one of a roll angle, a pitch angle, and a yaw angle of the vehicle during traveling, and acceleration data of the vehicle during traveling. The tire ground contact characteristic measuring device according to claim 1 or 2.   4. The apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising a rotation driving unit that rotationally drives a steering of the test vehicle, wherein the measurement data or simulation data includes steering angle data of the vehicle during the traveling. The tire ground contact characteristic measuring device according to claim 1.   The measurement data or simulation data is measurement data or simulation data related to the attitude of the vehicle when traveling for a predetermined time, and the control means is based on at least one of the input measurement data or simulation data during traveling of the vehicle. 5. The drive unit according to claim 1, wherein the plurality of driving means are controlled so that characteristics of a ground contact surface of one tire are continuously reproduced in the test vehicle over the predetermined time. The tire ground contact characteristic measuring device according to item 1.   The measurement data or simulation data is measurement data or simulation data related to the attitude of the vehicle when traveling for a predetermined time, and the control means is based on at least one of the input measurement data or simulation data during traveling of the vehicle. The plurality of driving means are controlled so that the characteristics of the contact surfaces of two tires are continuously reproduced in the test vehicle in a time longer than the predetermined time. 5. The tire ground contact characteristic measuring device according to any one of 4 above.   The tire ground contact characteristic measuring device according to any one of claims 1 to 6, further comprising the driving unit and the measuring unit for all tires. Input measurement data or simulation data related to the attitude of the vehicle during driving,
A plurality of driving means that are attached to different parts of the test vehicle and change the posture of the test vehicle by driving the parts, respectively, based on the input measurement data or simulation data, Control so that the characteristics of the contact surface of at least one tire are reproduced in the test vehicle;
A tire ground contact characteristic measuring method for measuring the characteristics of the ground contact surface of the tire. Inputting measurement data or simulation data relating to the attitude of the vehicle during travel;
A plurality of driving means that are attached to different parts of the test vehicle and change the posture of the test vehicle by driving the parts, respectively, based on the input measurement data or simulation data, Controlling the characteristics of the ground plane of at least one tire to be reproduced in the test vehicle;
Measuring the characteristics of the contact surface of the tire;
A tire ground contact characteristic measurement program for causing a computer to execute processing including the above.

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