JP2010254240A - Wheel for rental tire, condition monitoring device for rental tire, and terminal unit for managing rental tire - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a rental tire capable of detecting wear of the tire accurately and ensuring safe running of vehicle. <P>SOLUTION: The wheel 11 for the rental tire 12 to be rented while being mounted in the vehicle and be replaced on the condition that it is determined to be improper for safe running of the vehicle includes a thickness sensor 15 for measuring thickness of the tire to be mounted, transmission means 18, 19 for transmitting the data measured by the thickness sensor, and, preferably, a pneumatic sensor 13 for measuring air pressure in the tire in addition to them. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2011,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a rental tire wheel, a rental tire condition monitoring device, and a rental tire management terminal for renting tires attached to a contractor.

  In general, a tire of a vehicle such as an automobile is worn by traveling, and the ground surface or side surface of the tire may be damaged. Running a vehicle with a heavily worn or damaged tire will cause a serious accident and therefore requires periodic inspection. Particularly in the case of commercial vehicles, the tires are worn quickly because of the long travel distance, and there are many opportunities for damage.

Although it is obliged for the driver to check the condition of the vehicle including the tires before boarding, it is not easy for the driver to accurately determine the necessity of tire replacement only by such daily inspection. Absent.
In view of this, a device for warning of tire wear (Patent Document 1) and a device for determining a decrease in tire air pressure (Patent Document 2) have been proposed.

JP 2006-162384 A JP 2001-33259 A

Patent Document 1 discloses a tire wear warning device that estimates tire wear from a travel distance for a certain period, that is, the number of rotations of a wheel. However, the wear state of the tire itself cannot be directly detected, and there is damage. Even if this is not possible, it cannot be detected. Although the user is warned of wear, whether or not to change the tire depends on the intention of the user, that is, the driver. Patent Document 2 discloses a system that guides to a gas station using a navigation system when a decrease in air pressure is detected.

The techniques disclosed in these prior art documents are not based on the idea of renting a tire, but are considered to be about a normal purchased tire. Therefore, in consideration of the purchase cost of a new tire when replacing the tire, the tire tends to be used for as long as possible, and the use of the tire in an inappropriate state may be continued.

If the tire can be rented and the tire is replaced when it is worn to a predetermined standard, the vehicle can always be operated safely using an appropriate tire. In particular, in the case of passenger vehicles, it is possible not only to depend on the driver's safety awareness, but also to be able to fulfill the user management responsibility if the carrier can manage tire wear and breakage. .

In general, it is said that the taxi travels about 50,000 km per year and the truck travels about 100,000 km per year, and the tires are said to have to be replaced every about 30,000 km travel due to wear. Therefore, it is fully expected that the replacement time will come during the periodic inspection cycle. In such a business operator, it is not always easy to properly and completely grasp the tire wear state. In addition, it is useless from the viewpoint of effective use of resources to discard a large amount of used tires and purchase a large amount of new tires.

A first object of the present invention is to provide a rental tire and its state monitoring device that can ensure safe driving of a vehicle.
The second object of the present invention is to provide a rental tire management system capable of reliably collecting the rented rental tires.

The rental tire wheel according to the present invention is rented with a tire attached, and is replaced under the condition that it is determined that the vehicle has become unsuitable for safe driving, and the thickness of the attached tire is measured. And a transmission means for transmitting measurement data from the thickness sensor (may be groove depth data based on the thickness sensor). With this rental tire wheel, it is possible to accurately detect the wear of the mounted tire, and it is possible to ensure safe traveling by tire replacement without waste.

The rental tire wheel according to an embodiment of the present invention further includes an air pressure sensor for measuring the air pressure of the tire to be mounted.
Thereby, tire breakage that causes air leakage can be detected, and safe driving can be ensured.

The rental tire condition monitoring device according to the present invention has a receiving means for receiving measurement data from a rental tire wheel mounted on a vehicle, and when it is determined that the measurement data makes the vehicle unsuitable for safe driving, Alarm means for notifying As a result, the driver can correctly know the timing of tire replacement, and safe operation is ensured.

The rental tire management terminal according to the present invention is installed at a place where a contractor's vehicle equipped with a rental tire wheel is periodically returned, and when the vehicle returns to the installation location, It has ID acquisition means for acquiring the ID of the wheel for rental tires, and acquisition determination means for determining whether or not the ID is acquired at a predetermined time interval by the ID acquisition means, and by the determination result of the acquisition determination means The rental tires rented out are confirmed to be used by the contractor's vehicle. Thereby, it can be confirmed that the rental tire is properly used by the contractor, and the recycling rate of the tire is improved.

1 is a schematic cross-sectional view showing a schematic configuration of a rental tire according to an embodiment of the present invention. It is a figure which shows the structure of the rental tire condition monitoring apparatus by one Embodiment of this invention. It is a figure which shows the structure of the rental tire management terminal by one Embodiment of this invention. It is a figure which shows an example of the data table memorize | stored in the rental tire management terminal of FIG.

With reference to FIG. 1, the structure of the rental tire by one Embodiment of this invention is demonstrated. In FIG. 1, the rental tire 10 includes a wheel 11 and a tire 12 attached to the wheel 11. The wheel 11 is fixed to the axle by connecting a wheel hub (not shown) and the bolt hole 111 with a bolt. The end of the tire 12 is fitted into the flange portion 112 of the wheel 11 so that the tire 12 and the wheel 11 are integrated. The tire 12 includes an inner tire layer 121 and an outer tire layer 122. The outer tire layer 122 is a portion whose surface is in contact with the road surface, and is called a tread. A pattern called a tread pattern is three-dimensionally engraved on the tread, and a groove 123 is shown in the drawing. The groove 123 serves as drainage.

If the tires wear, the braking distance may increase or burst suddenly, hindering safe driving. When the remaining groove is 1.6mm or less, a slip sign appears on the tire. If the remaining groove is 1.6mm or less, it will be illegal, so tires should be replaced before that.

In the case of a radial tire, the inner tire layer 121 is formed by superposing a layer made of steel called a belt on a layer made of steel or polyester or nylon called carcass. In the case of a bias tire, the inner tire layer 121 is formed by layering a layer made of nylon called a breaker on a layer made of nylon called a carcass.

Damaged or worn tires can be recycled. In the case of a worn tire, the worn surface layer (outer tire layer 122) is removed by scraping and replaced with a new outer tire layer 122, so that practical performance is sufficiently exhibited while the inner tire layer 121 is reused. It can be used as a recycled tire. Also, a tire damaged by puncture or the like can be used as a recycled tire by repairing the damaged portion.

Along with the air pressure sensor 13 for measuring the tire air pressure, the temperature sensor 14 for measuring the tire temperature, and the thickness sensor 15 for measuring the thickness of the tire on the outer peripheral surface of the wheel 11, that is, the surface facing the tire 12 side, the arithmetic control is performed. A circuit 16, a battery 17 and a transmitter 18 are provided.

The air pressure sensor 13 is, for example, a piezoelectric element, and the temperature sensor 14 is, for example, a thermocouple sensor, an FBG temperature sensor, or the like. Tire pressure may not be too high or too low. Insufficient air pressure can cause damage to the tires, such as heat damage and reduction, and excessive air pressure can cause center wear and scratches. Further, the tire air pressure changes depending on the tire temperature. Even if the recommended air pressure for a tire is set to ² kg / m ² at room temperature, for example, the tire air pressure measured by the air pressure sensor 13 is 2.8 kg / m ² in summer, the 1.8kg / m ^2. The purpose of measuring tire air pressure is to detect damage such as puncture from the air pressure. Therefore, the tire temperature is measured by the temperature sensor 14, and the measured value by the air pressure sensor 13 is corrected to the air pressure at the reference temperature. When the corrected air pressure becomes 0.9 kg / m ² or less, it is determined as puncture.

The thickness sensor 15 is, for example, an ultrasonic echo sensor. The tire inner surface is irradiated with a laser, and the tire thickness is calculated from the echo traveling time, the reflection angle, and the ultrasonic wave propagation speed in which the generated ultrasonic waves travel within the thickness between the tire inner surface and the outer surface. Thereby, the wall thickness of several places is measured. The degree of tire wear is determined based on the measured tire thickness. Further, since the thickness of the groove is known, the groove depth is calculated from the thickness of the tire ground contact portion and the thickness of the groove.

The arithmetic control circuit 16 calculates the air pressure and groove depth of the tire at room temperature based on the measurement data from the air pressure sensor 13, the temperature sensor 14, and the wall thickness sensor 15, and passes through the transmitter 18 and the transmission antenna 19. Transmitted from the rental tire 10 to the outside. The transmission antenna 19 can be attached so as to be exposed to the outside from the side surface of the wheel 11, for example. In this way, data transmission can be performed by communication using radio waves of frequencies and electric power that do not require a radio license. The transmitter 18 and the transmission antenna 19 may be connected via a structure such as an air valve that can maintain airtightness.

The wheel 11 is given an ID (identification number), and the ID is transmitted to the outside from the rental tire 10 via the transmitter 18 and the transmission antenna 19. The wheel ID can be stored in the arithmetic control circuit 16. The arithmetic control circuit 16 controls the operation of the air pressure sensor 13, the temperature sensor 14, the thickness sensor 15 and the data transmission by the transmitter 18. The battery 17 supplies necessary power to the air pressure sensor 13, the temperature sensor 14, the thickness sensor 15, the transmitter 18, and the arithmetic control circuit 16.

The air pressure sensor 13, the temperature sensor 14, and the wall thickness sensor 15 may be constantly measured, but a decrease in air pressure or a wall thickness may be measured at a predetermined time interval. According to such sampling measurement, Power consumption can be reduced. Further, if the arithmetic control circuit 16 monitors changes in the air pressure and the groove depth, and if there is a significant change, the measured data after the change is transmitted by the transmitter 16, the power consumption is reduced. can do. The capacity of the battery 17 and the power consumption of the sensor, calculation control circuit, and transmitter attached to the wheel are set in accordance with the tire replacement cycle due to the expected wear in the commercial vehicle.

With reference to FIG. 2, the structure of the rental tire condition monitoring apparatus by one Embodiment of this invention is demonstrated. In FIG. 2, a tire monitoring device 20 (rental tire condition monitoring device) is attached to a vehicle, for example, a console. Attachment is also possible by simple means such as Velcro (registered trademark).

The tire monitoring device 20 includes a receiving antenna 21, a receiver 22, an arithmetic control circuit 23, a display 24, and an alarm lamp 25. A signal (wheel ID, tire air pressure and groove depth data, etc.) from the transmitting antenna 19 of the rental tire 10 is received by the receiving antenna 21 and the receiver 22, and numerical values of the wheel ID, tire air pressure and groove depth are obtained. This is displayed on the display 24. The arithmetic control circuit 23 compares the tire air pressure and the groove depth with predetermined reference values, and turns on the warning lamp 25 when it is determined that these have reached the reference values. The tire monitoring device 20 can be supplied with power from a built-in battery or a power source such as a cigarette lighter of a vehicle.

What is the groove depth of a new tire? In the case of sedan, it is 8mm. Due to tire wear, this groove becomes shallow. For example, if the groove is worn 60%, the braking distance is increased by 20%. Therefore, it is desirable to replace the tire when the depth reaches about half.

By using this rental tire and rental tire condition monitoring device, the tire can be used up to its use limit (safe range), and effective utilization of resources can be achieved.

The tire monitoring device 20 may be provided with only the alarm lamp 25 without providing the indicator 24 for displaying the groove depth, the air pressure, and the like. If the warning lamp 25 is lit, the driver can understand that there is a problem with the tire, so that the tire can be changed after actually checking the state of the tire.

FIG. 3 shows a configuration of a rental tire management system according to an embodiment of the present invention. In this embodiment, from the viewpoint of the efficiency of management, delivery, and collection of rental tires, taxi companies, bus companies, etc. have received permission for automobile transportation business stipulated in the Road Transportation Law. An example of lending tires to a transportation company operating in a predetermined area is shown as an example.

In order to rent tires, it is necessary to conclude a contract that defines the conditions, and it is convenient for customers who can deliver a certain amount of tires to deliver tires. If it is a transportation company, the operating vehicle is often based at the sales office, and it is efficient to deliver tires to the sales office and to collect used (bad) tires from the sales office. is there.

Further, business vehicles generally have a longer mileage per period than private vehicles, tire wear is fast, and tire replacement cycles are short, so there is a high need for tire rental. In the case of a commercial vehicle, the sales office is used as a base, so it is possible to track rental tires.

As for business vehicles such as taxis, buses, and trucks, vehicles of a specific type are used by most businesses, and the sizes of the wheels and tires are determined. For example, in the case of a taxi, the types of vehicles used are almost limited, the PCD (Pitch Circle Diameter, bolt hole pitch circle diameter (mm) is the same, and wheels of the same type and size can be used. , Convenient for rental tire management, delivery and collection.

In FIG. 3, the rental tire management system includes a vehicle 30 to which the rental tire 10 and the tire monitoring device 20 are attached, for example, a tire management terminal 40 installed in a sales office, and a central management device for a rental agent to manage tire rental. 50, and a data communication network 60 for data transmission / reception between the tire management terminal 40 and the central management device 50. The tire management terminal 40 includes a reception antenna 41, a receiver 42, a calculation control circuit 43, a storage circuit 44, and a transceiver 45. The receiving antenna 41 is installed, for example, at the entrance of a business office where business vehicles regularly return, and receives data from the tire monitoring device 20 when the business vehicle is received. The arithmetic control circuit 43 stores data in the storage circuit 44. The tire management terminal 40 is provided with a display 46 and an alarm lamp 47.

FIG. 4 shows an example of a data table stored in the storage circuit 44. As shown in FIG. 4, each tire is managed for a wheel ID. The registration of the wheel ID in the table can be performed by sending data from the central management device 50 to the tire management terminal 40 when the rental company ships the tire to the contractor. In the data table of FIG. 4, wheel IDs of all lent tires are registered. Then, at the time of rental tire replacement, the registration of the wheel ID is updated by sending data from the central management device 50 to the tire management terminal 40.

If the loaned tire is transferred or discarded without permission by the user, it cannot be recycled. For reliable recycling, it is necessary to reliably collect the loaned tires after use. It is also possible to track the position of individual vehicles and their tires in real time. However, it is sufficient to know that rental tires are used by contractors. Therefore, business vehicles such as taxis, buses, and delivery trucks are managed at the sales office by utilizing the characteristic that they regularly return to the sales office.

When the tire management terminal 40 receives the wheel ID of the tire mounted on the vehicle that has returned to the sales office, the ID reception date and time is recorded. The arithmetic control circuit 43 determines whether or not a predetermined period (for example, several days) has elapsed from the latest ID reception date and time, and notifies the central management device 50 when determining that the predetermined period has elapsed. In other words, the rental company can confirm whether the contractor (the transportation company) correctly manages the rented rental tires. Therefore, it is possible to reliably collect used tires.

As shown in FIG. 4, the data table stored in the storage circuit 44 stores measurement data (groove depth, air pressure, etc.) and presence / absence of an alarm for each rental tire. If any rental tire is determined to be inappropriate for safe driving due to wear or the like, the warning lamp 47 is turned on, and the wheel ID and vehicle ID are displayed on the display 46. In the example of FIG. 4, the groove depths of the tires with wheel IDs “0009” and “0010” are below the reference value, and the alarm lamp 47 is lit. The display 46 displays wheel IDs “0009”, “0010” and vehicle ID “3”.

The contractor can confirm the alarm, request the rental dealer to deliver the replacement tire, and return the used tire. Therefore, even if the driver of the vehicle overlooks an alarm from the tire monitoring device 20 or forgets to report it, the manager of the sales office can easily grasp the alarm and arrange tire replacement. The vehicle can be operated safely.

As described above, by installing the tire management terminal 40 according to the present embodiment in the sales office, the measurement data is collected at the time of warehousing without leaving the tire state management to the driver, thereby centralized monitoring by the administrator. It will be possible to fulfill the user responsibility of the contractor. In addition, since it can be confirmed that the rental tire is used by the contractor, careless management of the rental tire is prevented, and reliable recycling is possible. It is possible not only to effectively utilize resources by reliably collecting rental tires, but also to improve tire performance by investigating damaged and worn tires.

The rental tire contractor (transportation company) connects a personal computer or the like to the tire management terminal 40 at the sales office, reads the data table stored in the storage circuit 44, and displays it on the computer display. Then, more detailed management is possible.

In the rental tire according to the present embodiment, the wheel 11 and the tire 12 having a function of measuring the tire air pressure and the groove depth are set as a set, and are lent to the user from the rental company and collected. For example, the ID of the tire 12 and the ID of the wheel 11 can be recorded at the time of rental, and the one-to-one correspondence between the wheel and the tire can be confirmed at the time of rental tire collection.

In the above embodiment, the tire air pressure and the groove depth are calculated by the arithmetic control circuit 16 of the wheel 11, but the outputs of the sensors 13, 14, and 15 are transmitted as they are from the wheel 11, and the vehicle-mounted tire monitoring device The tire pressure and groove depth may be calculated at 20. That is, various combinations of the roles of the arithmetic processing device 16 of the wheel 11 and the arithmetic processing device 23 of the tire monitoring device 20 can be considered.

In the above embodiment, the measurement data is transmitted from the vehicle-mounted tire monitoring device 20 to the tire management terminal 40. However, the measurement data may be transmitted from each wheel 11 to the tire management terminal 40. The contractor (transportation company) may be allowed to read data from the tire management terminal 40, but by prohibiting the change of the data, the tire management becomes more reliable. An alarm at the tire management terminal 40 may be automatically transmitted to the central management device 50 so that the rental dealer can give advice on tire replacement to the contractor.

  According to the rental tire wheel of the present invention, tire wear and damage can be reliably detected by a sensor attached to the wheel, and the driver can be warned of wear and breakage exceeding the tire standard. The condition of a large number of rental tires mounted on a plurality of vehicles can be centrally managed, enabling reliable collection after use of rental tires, tire regeneration, and investigation of used tires for performance improvement.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10 Rental tire 11 Wheel 111 Bolt hole 112 Flange part 12 Tire 121 Inner tire layer 122 Outer tire layer 123 Groove 13 Air pressure sensor 14 Temperature sensor 15 Thickness sensor 16 Calculation control circuit 17 Battery 18 Transmitter 19 Transmitting antenna 20 Tire monitoring device 21 Reception antenna 22 Receiver 23 Arithmetic control circuit 24 Display 25 Alarm lamp 30 Vehicle 40 Tire management terminal 40
41 reception antenna 42 receiver 43 arithmetic control circuit 44 storage circuit 45 transmitter / receiver 46 display 47 alarm lamp 50 central management device 60 data communication network

Claims (4)

A wheel for rental tires that is exchanged on condition that it is determined that the tire has been worn out and rented out and is inappropriate for safe driving of the vehicle,
A wall thickness sensor for measuring the wall thickness of the mounted tire;
A wheel for rental tires, comprising: a transmission unit that transmits measurement data obtained by the thickness sensor. 2. The wheel for rental tire according to claim 1, further comprising an air pressure sensor for measuring an air pressure of a tire to be mounted. Receiving means for receiving measurement data from a wheel for rental tires mounted on a vehicle;
A rental tire condition monitoring apparatus comprising: an alarm means for notifying that when it is determined that the measurement data is inappropriate for safe driving of the vehicle. A rental tire management terminal that is installed in a place where a contractor's vehicle equipped with a wheel for rental tires returns regularly,
ID acquisition means for acquiring the ID of the wheel for rental tires when the vehicle returns to its installation location;
This ID acquisition means has an acquisition determination means for determining whether or not the ID is acquired at a predetermined time interval,
A rental tire management terminal characterized by confirming that the rented rental tire is used by a contractor's vehicle based on a determination result of the acquisition determination means.

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