JP2011192161A - Winter tire proposing system - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a winter tire proposing system, capable of determining a user's latent need for cold district traveling, and selecting a winter tire matched thereto. <P>SOLUTION: The winter tire proposing system 10: extracts two or more kinds of winter tires matched to the user's tire size from a tire performance DB 42; determines a latent need intensity corresponding to a latent need determination item related to the performance for cold district traveling, which is selected according to the user; selects a recommended winter tire from the extracted two or more kinds of winter tires based on the determined latent need intensity and performance data accumulated in the tire performance DB 42; and outputs information on the recommended winter tire. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2011,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to, for example, a studless tire proposal system that proposes a studless tire, and more particularly, to a studless tire proposal system that can propose a studless tire that meets the potential needs of a user.

  Conventionally, systems for proposing replacement tires for vehicles are known (Patent Documents 1 and 2). In Patent Document 1, a user inputs tire purchase conditions regarding a tire to be purchased, and introduces tires that match the tire purchase conditions (paragraphs [0045] to [0049] of Patent Document 1). When a plurality of tires are introduced, further detailed comparison (grip strength, riding comfort, etc.) of these tires is possible (see paragraphs [0051] to [0054] of FIGS. 5 and 6 in Patent Document 1).

  In Patent Document 2, the user himself / herself sets the tire, the traveling road surface, the mounting conditions, and the evaluation parameters for which the user wants to provide information ([0052] of Patent Document 2). The evaluation parameters here include riding comfort, steering stability, friction performance, and the like ([0049] of Patent Document 2, FIG. 16).

JP 2003-345967 A JP 2004-219173 A

  As described above, in Patent Document 1, when a user tries to obtain more detailed information when a plurality of tires are introduced, the user himself / herself needs to select a question for that purpose. In other words, the user himself / herself must be aware of the need for replacement tires. Similarly, in Patent Document 2, it is necessary for the user himself to select an evaluation parameter. For this reason, in Patent Documents 1 and 2, if the user himself / herself does not recognize the importance of tire performance (such as riding comfort and straight running stability), sufficient information cannot be provided to the user.

  In particular, when selecting studless tires for use in cold regions, it is natural that grip performance and wear resistance performance on snowy and frozen roads are emphasized, and the road surface is dry (wet) or wet (wet) Therefore, it is necessary to examine the importance of grip performance and wear resistance performance on asphalt roads, and to determine which performance should be prioritized by the user's driving frequency and environment. However, Patent Documents 1 and 2 do not discuss this point.

  The present invention has been made in consideration of such problems, and a studless tire proposal system capable of determining a user's potential needs related to running in a cold region and selecting a studless tire that meets the needs. The purpose is to provide.

  The system for proposing a studless tire according to the present invention accumulates the grip performance potential need determination item for determining the potential need for the grip performance of the studless tire during braking in association with the strength of the potential needs of the grip performance. Wear resistance accumulated by associating the grip performance needs database, the wear resistance potential needs determination item for determining the potential needs regarding the wear resistance performance of the studless tire, and the strength of the potential needs of the wear resistance performance Cold district travel accumulated by associating the performance needs database, the cold district travel potential need determination item for determining the potential needs regarding the cold district travel frequency, and the strength of the potential needs regarding the cold district travel frequency Needs database and sex with multiple types of studless tires A tire performance database storing data, and the performance data stored in the tire performance database includes a tire size of each of the plurality of types of studless tires and a plurality of studless tires mounted on the vehicle. Including the evaluation of the grip performance and the evaluation of the wear resistance performance for each of the plurality of types of studless tires determined based on the measurement results, and the studless tire proposal system further conforms to a tire size of a user. A plurality of types of studless tires are extracted from the tire performance database, and the strength of potential needs of the grip performance corresponding to the grip performance potential needs determination item selected according to the user, and according to the user Selected wear resistance potential Potential needs regarding the strength of the potential needs of the wear resistance performance corresponding to the item for determining the use of cold weather and the frequency of the cold region driving corresponding to the cold region driving potential need determination item selected according to the user The strength of the potential needs of the grip performance determined, the strength of the potential needs of the wear resistance performance and the strength of the potential needs regarding the frequency of running in the cold region, Based on the evaluation of the grip performance and the evaluation of the wear resistance performance accumulated in the tire performance database, a recommended studless tire is selected from the extracted types of studless tires, and the recommended studless tire is selected. Is output.

  According to the present invention, the strength of the potential needs of the grip performance determined based on the grip performance potential needs determination item and the strength of the potential needs of the wear resistance performance determined based on the wear resistance performance potential needs determination item. Then, a recommended studless tire is selected by using the strength of potential needs related to the cold region traveling frequency determined based on the cold region traveling latent need determination item, and information on the recommended studless tire is output. Therefore, in addition to the user's potential needs regarding grip performance and wear resistance performance, the user's potential needs regarding traveling in a cold region can be determined, and studless tires that match these can be selected and proposed.

  In addition, evaluation of grip performance and evaluation of wear resistance as performance data accumulated in the tire performance database for use in selecting and proposing studless tires are based on the results of measuring each studless tire mounted on a vehicle. is there. Therefore, selection and proposal of studless tires can be performed more finely.

  Regarding grip performance, for example, a distance required to satisfy a predetermined deceleration condition (for example, a distance for sudden braking at a speed of 100 km / h and reduction to a speed of 0 km / h), a wet asphalt road and a dry asphalt road Each of the values can be obtained from an actual measurement value, a theoretical value, and the like, and a difference between the two (a distance additionally generated when wet compared to dry) can be used as an index of grip performance. As a result, in the case of sudden change from dry to wet, the shorter the distance, the better the operability and the safe driving. In addition, as a case where it changes suddenly from dry to wet here, the case where it entered into the puddle by snow melting, the case where there was a sudden rain, etc. can be mentioned, for example.

  The grip performance potential need determination item may include at least one of a driver attribute and vehicle equipment. This makes it possible to estimate the strength of potential needs for grip performance based on driver attributes and vehicle equipment that can be determined relatively easily, and appropriately select and propose studless tires. be able to.

  The wear resistance performance is a standard travel distance until the decrease amount of the groove of the studless tire reaches a predetermined value, or a standard decrease amount of the groove when traveling the reference travel distance, and the wear resistance performance potential needs determination The item may include at least one of annual travel distance, vehicle use frequency, vehicle use purpose, and whether or not the highway is used on a daily basis. This makes it possible to easily select and propose a studless tire by determining the strength of potential needs for wear resistance performance based on the user's travel conditions and annual travel distance that are easy for the user to determine.

  The potential needs regarding the frequency of the cold region traveling are potential needs regarding the frequency of traveling on a snowy road or a frozen road, and the cold region traveling potential need determination item is used in a vehicle along with the cold region traveling. Equipment may be included. Accordingly, it is possible to determine the strength of potential needs regarding the frequency of traveling on a snowy road or a frozen road with the contents of the equipment that the user can easily determine. Therefore, it is possible to select and propose a studless tire relatively easily.

  The tire performance database stores the grip performance evaluation and the wear resistance performance by scoring and accumulating the evaluation of the wear resistance performance based on a result of measuring each of the plurality of types of studless tires mounted on the vehicle. The tire performance is scored by scoring the strength of potential needs of the grip performance corresponding to the potential needs determination item and the strength of potential needs of the wear resistance performance corresponding to the wear resistance potential needs determination item. The evaluation of the grip performance stored in the database may correspond to the evaluation of the wear resistance performance. Thereby, since the performance of each studless tire is scored based on the result of mounting and measuring on the vehicle, the comparison becomes easy and the proposal of the studless tire can be made finely.

  The system for proposing a studless tire according to the present invention includes a tire performance database storing performance data related to running in a cold region for a plurality of types of studless tires, and a potential for performance for running in a cold region for the plurality of types of studless tires. A plurality of types of studless tires suitable for a tire size of a user, comprising a latent needs database for storing potential needs determination items for determining general needs and the strengths of the potential needs. Extracting from the performance database and determining the strength of the potential needs corresponding to the potential needs determination item selected according to the user, and the determined strength of the potential needs and the tire performance database Based on the performance data accumulated in the Elected studless tire recommended from among types of studless tires, and outputs the information of the studless tire such recommendations.

  According to the present invention, a studless tire is selected using the strength of potential needs related to tire performance determined based on potential needs determination items related to performance for running in a cold region, and information on the studless tire is output. . Therefore, it is possible to determine a user's potential needs regarding tire performance for running in a cold region, and to select and propose a studless tire that matches this.

  According to the present invention, the strength of the potential needs of the grip performance determined based on the grip performance potential needs determination item and the strength of the potential needs of the wear resistance performance determined based on the wear resistance performance potential needs determination item. Then, a recommended studless tire is selected by using the strength of potential needs related to the cold region traveling frequency determined based on the cold region traveling latent need determination item, and information on the recommended studless tire is output. Therefore, in addition to the user's potential needs regarding grip performance and wear resistance performance, the user's potential needs regarding traveling in a cold region can be determined, and studless tires that match these can be selected and proposed.

  In addition, evaluation of grip performance and evaluation of wear resistance as performance data accumulated in the tire performance database for use in selecting and proposing studless tires are based on the results of measuring each studless tire mounted on a vehicle. is there. Therefore, selection and proposal of studless tires can be performed more finely.

It is a figure showing a schematic structure of a studless tire proposal system concerning one embodiment of this invention. It is a figure which shows simply an example of the compatible tire information database in the said embodiment. It is a figure which shows simply an example of the tire performance database in the said embodiment. It is a flowchart which selects the studless tire recommended in the said embodiment. It is a table for judging a relative accident rate. It is an evaluation table for determining the strength of the primary (temporary) latent needs regarding grip performance. It is an evaluation table for determining the strength of the primary (temporary) potential needs regarding cold district driving. It is a table for judging the strength of the potential needs regarding wear resistance performance. It is a flowchart which performs selection and output of a recommended studless tire. It is explanatory drawing which shows an example of a mode that narrows down the recommended studless tire. It is explanatory drawing which shows another example of a mode that narrows down the recommended studless tire.

  FIG. 1 is a diagram showing a schematic configuration of a studless tire proposal system 10 (hereinafter also referred to as “system 10”) according to an embodiment of the present invention.

  The system 10 is also referred to as a dealer terminal 12 (hereinafter also referred to as “terminal 12”) installed at a plurality of vehicle dealers and a replacement tire selection server 14 (hereinafter referred to as “server 14”) installed at the management center. ). In the present embodiment, each terminal 12 and the server 14 can communicate via the communication network 16.

  Each terminal 12 includes a communication device 20, an input device 22 including a keyboard and a mouse, an output device 24 including a display device, an arithmetic device 26, and a storage device 28. The storage device 28 stores a program for proposing a studless tire (studless tire proposing program), and the arithmetic device 26 activates and executes the program according to the operation of the input device 22. Further, when the input device 22 is operated and predetermined information (details will be described later) is input during execution of the program, the arithmetic device 26 exchanges with the server 14 via the communication device 20 and the communication network 16. Request information about tires (recommended tires).

  The server 14 includes a communication device 30, an input device 32, an output device 34, a calculation device 36, a storage device 38, a compatible tire information database 40 (hereinafter referred to as “compatible tire information DB 40”), and tire performance. A database 42 (hereinafter referred to as “tire performance DB 42”), a user information database 44 (hereinafter referred to as “user information DB 44”), and a user vehicle information database 46 (hereinafter referred to as “user vehicle information DB 46”). , Grip performance database 48 (hereinafter referred to as “grip performance DB 48”), cold region travel database (hereinafter referred to as “cold region travel DB 50”) 50, and wear resistance performance database 52 (hereinafter referred to as “wear resistance performance DB 52”). For example). Each database may be included in the storage device 38.

  As shown in FIG. 2, the compatible tire information DB 40 stores information on studless tires (compatible tires) according to the vehicle type and tire size. A suitable tire is selected in advance by an administrator of the server 14 or the like.

  As shown in FIG. 3, the tire performance DB 42 stores information on the performance of the studless tire for each tire manufacturer and model. Data (tire performance data) accumulated in the tire performance DB 42 includes tire size, product name, application, grip performance, wear resistance performance, price, and the like.

  The tire size includes a tire width, an oblateness ratio, a rim diameter, and the like (in FIG. 3, it is simplified). Applications include, for example, passenger cars, mini passenger cars, and off-road vehicles.

  The grip performance is classified into a snowy road, a frozen road, and an asphalt road. For evaluation of grip performance, each studless tire is actually mounted on a reference vehicle (a vehicle of a reference vehicle type used for performance evaluation on behalf of a plurality of models), and a test course {snowy road, freezing road, asphalt road (dry and wet) )} At a predetermined speed (starting speed), and based on the distance required to decrease to the target speed.

  In the case of a snowy road or a frozen road, for example, the distance required for sudden braking at 25 km / h and reduction to 5 km / h is obtained. Then, three levels are evaluated according to the distance (step 3 is the best).

  In the case of an asphalt road, for example, each of dry and wet is suddenly braked at a speed of 100 km / h, and a distance required to decrease to 0 km / h is obtained. Then, the difference between the wet distance and the dry distance is obtained. Then, three levels are evaluated according to the difference (stage 3 is the best).

  In addition, the wear resistance performance is evaluated by actually mounting each studless tire on a reference vehicle and running it at a predetermined speed on a test course {asphalt road (dry)}, and the groove depth of the studless tire is a predetermined ratio from the initial state. (For example, 25%) Based on the distance traveled until it decreases. Then, three levels are evaluated according to the distance (step 3 is the best). Alternatively, each studless tire is actually mounted on a reference vehicle, traveled for a predetermined distance at a predetermined speed on a test course {asphalt road (dry)}, and the ratio at which the groove depth of the studless tire is reduced is measured. Accordingly, a three-stage evaluation may be performed (stage 3 is the best).

  The user information DB 44 is information related to the user. For example, name, sex, date of birth (age), family structure, purpose of use of the vehicle, frequency of use of the vehicle, time zone for driving the vehicle (daytime / nighttime), high speed Including whether or not the road is used daily.

  The user vehicle information DB 46 is vehicle information for each user. For example, vehicle type, tire specifications, equipment specifications, cumulative travel distance, annual travel distance, presence of a roof carrier or roof box, presence of a trunk box, presence of a rear carrier including. Equipment specifications include, for example, navigation devices, mobile phones (hands-free), compact disc (CD) players, CD changers, accessories around the driver's seat, drink holders, ashtrays, dark smoke films on the rear window glass, and rear seats The presence or absence of dark smoke films on the left and right window glass, and equipment used in vehicles when driving in cold districts (for example, snow blades, window washer fluid (cold district specifications), batteries (cold district specifications), draining agents, Snow brush, window scraper, tire chain, deicing agent (for keyhole / window)}. Further, the annual travel distance can be, for example, a past year performance or a plan for the next year assumed by the user.

  The grip performance DB 48 stores the grip performance potential need determination items for determining the potential needs of the grip performance during driving of the vehicle and the strength of the potential needs of the grip performance in association with each other (details). Will be described later.)

  The cold region traveling DB 50 accumulates the cold region traveling potential need determination item for determining the potential needs regarding the cold region traveling frequency and the strength of the potential needs of the cold region traveling in association with each other. (Details will be described later.)

  The wear resistance performance DB 52 stores the wear resistance performance potential need determination items for determining the potential needs regarding the wear resistance performance of the studless tire and the strength of the potential needs of the wear resistance performance in association with each other. (Details will be described later).

  When receiving the request from the terminal 12 via the communication device 30, the computing device 36 of the server 14 selects a recommended studless tire (recommended tire) in response to the request, and transmits the recommended tire information to the terminal 12. To do.

  FIG. 4 shows a flowchart for selecting a recommended tire in the studless tire proposal system 10 of the present embodiment.

  In step S <b> 1, the terminal 12 receives input of the vehicle type and tire size via the input device 22. The vehicle type and tire size may be input using a character input via a keyboard or a pull-down menu. Alternatively, it may be read from the user vehicle information DB 46 of the server 14. The input vehicle type and tire size are transmitted from the terminal 12 to the server 14. The server 14 selects a compatible tire as a primary candidate that matches the received vehicle type and tire size from the compatible tire information DB 40.

  In step S <b> 2, the system 10 determines the strength of potential needs related to grip performance (hereinafter also referred to as “grip performance potential needs”). Specifically, the terminal 12 receives input of grip performance potential needs determination items for determining grip performance potential needs via the input device 22. In the present embodiment, the grip performance latent needs determination item includes the gender and age of the driver, the main time zone (daytime / nighttime) for driving the vehicle, and the equipment specifications. The input of the grip performance potential need determination item may be input using a keyboard or a pull-down menu. Or you may read from user information DB44 of server 14, and user vehicle information DB46. The input grip performance potential need determination item is transmitted from the terminal 12 to the server 14.

  The server 14 determines the relative accident rate Rinc (estimated value) based on the gender and age of the driver and the main time zone (daytime / nighttime) of driving the vehicle among the received grip performance potential need determination items. To do.

  Relative accident rate Rinc in the present embodiment is a ratio (estimated value) indicating the likelihood of an accident based on an accident rate of 1.0 when a man aged 25 to 34 is traveling at night. For example, the determination is made based on the table 60 shown in FIG. The table 60 in FIG. 5 is stored in the grip performance DB 48. The accident rate itself means the probability of causing a fatal injury when 10,000 vehicles travel 10,000 km.

  In addition, the server 14 uses the equipment specifications among the received grip performance potential needs determination items, and uses the equipment specifications as primary (temporary) potential needs (hereinafter also referred to as “grip performance temporary potential needs”). Determine the strength of the.

  FIG. 6 shows an evaluation table 70 for determining the strength of the temporary grip performance potential needs. The evaluation table 70 is stored in the grip performance DB 48. As shown in FIG. 6, in this embodiment, potential needs are assigned for each equipment specification. Then, the total of the points of the equipment mounted on the user's vehicle is set as the strength of temporary grip performance potential needs. For example, if the user's vehicle is equipped with a navigation device (2 points), a mobile phone (hands-free) (2 points), a CD player body (1 point), and a drink holder (1 point), the grip performance provisional potential The strength of needs is 6 points. The strength of needs required here reflects, for example, potential needs for brake operation (potential needs for grip performance) associated with delays in avoidance behavior of the driver accompanying side-view driving.

  Then, the server 14 determines the strength of the final potential needs (safety needs) (that is, the grip performance potential needs) regarding the grip performance based on the calculated relative accident rate Rinc and the strength of the potential grip performance potential needs. To do. Specifically, the server 14 divides the strength of potential grip performance needs into three levels of “large”, “medium”, and “small” according to the score. For example, “large” is 40.0 or more, “medium” is 8.1 to 39.9, and “small” is 8.0 or less. Then, the server 14 calculates the product of the calculated relative accident rate Rinc and the strength of the potential grip performance potential as the strength of the potential grip performance potential (safety needs) (the strength of the grip performance potential needs = the relative accident). Rate Rinc x strength of grip potential provisional potential needs).

  For example, when the relative accident rate Rinc is 0.8 and the strength of the potential grip performance potential is 12, the strength of the potential grip performance potential is 9.6 (= 0.8 × 12), “medium” It is determined.

  As can be seen from the above, the potential need for grip performance in the present embodiment is, for example, the possibility or probability of encountering a scene that requires high grip performance (scene that requires sudden braking, etc.), and is an objective fact (grip performance). It can be paraphrased as what is estimated from the potential needs determination item).

  Returning to FIG. 4, in step S <b> 3, the system 10 determines potential needs related to the frequency of cold district travel (hereinafter also referred to as “cold district travel potential needs”). Specifically, the terminal 12 accepts an input of a cold region travel potential need determination item for determining a cold region travel potential need via the input device 22. In the present embodiment, the cold district driving latent need determination item is composed of equipment specifications. The input in the cold region driving latent need determination item may be a character input via a keyboard or an input using a pull-down menu. Alternatively, it may be read from the user information DB 44 of the server 14. The input cold area travel potential need determination item is transmitted from the terminal 12 to the server 14.

  The server 14 determines primary (temporary) potential needs (hereinafter also referred to as “cold region travel temporary potential needs”) related to the frequency of cold region travel based on the received cold region travel potential need determination item. . Furthermore, the strength of the final potential needs regarding the frequency of cold district travel (that is, cold district travel potential needs) is determined based on the cold district travel temporary potential needs. In this embodiment, three levels of “Large”, “Medium”, and “Small” are set as the strength of potential needs in cold regions, but only two levels of “Large” and “Small” or four levels are set. It is good also as above. In the case of three stages, for example, “large” can be associated with specifications for snowfall areas, “medium” can be associated with specifications for semi-snowfall areas, and “small” can be associated with specifications for non-snowfall areas. In addition, the snowfall area means, for example, an area where the average amount of snowfall in the most recent 10 years is not less than the first predetermined value [m]. An area having a predetermined value [m] or more and less than a first predetermined value is referred to as a non-snowfall area, for example, an area where the average amount of snowfall in the most recent 10 years is less than a second predetermined value.

  FIG. 7 shows an evaluation table 80 for determining the strength of a cold district temporary travel potential need. The evaluation table 80 is stored in the cold district traveling DB 50. As shown in FIG. 7, in this embodiment, potential needs are assigned for each equipment specification. And let the sum total of the points | pieces with which the user's vehicle is mounted | worn be the intensity | strength of cold district driving | running | working temporary latent needs. For example, when the user's vehicle is equipped with snow blades (3 points), window washer fluid (cold region specification) (2 points), battery (cold region specification) (2 points), and tire chain (1 point) The strength of temporary potential needs in cold districts is 8 points.

  Then, the terminal 12 determines the strength of the cold district driving potential needs based on the obtained cold district traveling temporary needs strength. Specifically, the server 14 divides the strength of potential needs in cold districts into three levels of “large”, “medium”, and “small” according to the score. For example, “large” is 10 or more, “medium” is 6 to 9, and “small” is 5 or less. For example, when the score is 11, the strength of the cold district driving potential needs is “large”.

  As can be seen from the above, the cold region driving potential needs in the present embodiment are, for example, the time for traveling on a snowy road or a freezing road out of the total traveling time (or the total number of traveling times) in which the studless tire is mounted. Or the number of times) and the estimated time (or number of times) traveling on the asphalt road, which can be rephrased as an objective fact (estimated as a cold district driving potential needs determination item). it can.

  Returning to FIG. 4, in step S <b> 4, the system 10 determines a potential need for wear resistance performance (economic efficiency) (hereinafter also referred to as “wear resistance performance potential needs”). Specifically, the terminal 12 receives input of wear resistance performance potential need determination items for determining wear resistance performance potential needs via the input device 22. In the present embodiment, the wear resistance potential latent need determination item includes the purpose and frequency of use of the vehicle, the annual travel distance, and the presence or absence of daily use of the highway. The input of the wear resistance performance latent need determination item may be input using a keyboard or input using a pull-down menu. Alternatively, it may be read from the user information DB 44 of the server 14. The input wear resistance performance potential need determination item is transmitted from the terminal 12 to the server 14.

  The server 14 determines the strength of the wear resistance performance potential needs based on the received wear resistance performance potential needs determination item. In this embodiment, three levels of “large”, “medium”, and “small” are set as the strength of potential needs for wear resistance performance, but only two levels of “large” and “small” or four levels are set. It is good also as above. In the case of three stages, for example, “Large” means that a high friction resistance studless tire is required (for example, when a vehicle is used for business use), and “Small” means that friction resistance is hardly a problem ( For example, when the vehicle is used only for weekends at home), “medium” can be intermediate between “large” and “small” (for example, when the vehicle is used every day for home use). .

  FIG. 8 shows a table 90 for determining the strength of potential needs for wear resistance. The table 90 is stored in the wear resistance performance DB 52 of the server 14. As shown in FIG. 8, the computing device 36 of the server 14 first specifies the vehicle travel conditions (purpose of use) and the use frequency. There are “urban area”, “city area to suburb”, “family car”, and “business vehicle” as options for vehicle driving conditions. “Urban area” indicates that the normal traveling area is an urban area, and “urban area to suburb” indicates that the normal traveling area is an urban area and a suburb. A “suburb” indicating that the traveling area is only the suburbs may be provided. “Family car” indicates that the user's vehicle is used for home use, and “business vehicle” indicates that the user's vehicle is for business use.

  As usage frequency options, “2 days to 3 days / week” and “5 days / week + drive: weekend” corresponding to “city” and “commuting: 5 days” corresponding to “city to suburb” / Week "and" commuting: 5 days / week + homecoming, etc .: weekend "," family car "corresponding to" 7 days / week + travel, homecoming, etc .: weekend "and" business car "corresponding to" long " Distance business: 5 days / week ". If there is no matching option, select the closest option.

  The annual mileage is divided into three stages: “less than 5000 km”, “more than 5000 km and less than 10,000 km” and “more than 10,000 km”, and “medium / low speed” (no daily use of expressway) and “high speed” respectively. (There is daily use of highways).

  By selecting an option as described above, it is determined whether the strength of potential needs for wear resistance is “large”, “medium”, or “small”.

  As can be seen from the above, the potential needs for wear resistance in this embodiment are, for example, needs related to wear resistance estimated from objective facts (listed as items for determining potential needs for wear resistance) (necessity) In other words.

  Returning to FIG. 4, in step S5, the system 10 determines the recommended studless tire (recommended tire based on the strengths of the grip performance potential needs, the cold region driving potential needs, and the wear resistance potential needs determined in steps S2 to S4. Tires) and output.

  FIG. 9 shows a flowchart for selecting and outputting recommended tires based on the strengths of potential grip performance needs, cold district driving potential needs, and wear resistance potential needs.

  In step S <b> 11, the server 14 narrows down according to the tire size and application. The tire size and application are specified according to the input vehicle type.

  In step S <b> 12, the server 14 determines whether or not the cold district driving latent needs are “small”. When the cold region driving potential needs are “small” (S12: YES), in step S13, the server 14 narrows down the grip performance potential needs. In other words, when the potential needs for grip performance are “Large”, a recommended tire with an evaluation on grip performance on asphalt road of “3” is selected, and when it is “medium”, the evaluation regarding grip performance is “2” or more. When a recommended tire is selected and is “small”, a recommended tire having a grip performance evaluation of “1” or more is selected (refer to FIG. 3 for evaluation).

  In subsequent step S14, the server 14 narrows down according to potential needs for wear resistance performance. In other words, if the potential need for wear resistance is “Large”, select a recommended tire with an evaluation of wear resistance of “3”, and if it is “Medium”, the evaluation of wear resistance is recommended to be “2” or higher. When a tire is selected and is “small”, a recommended tire having an evaluation of wear resistance of “1” or more is selected (for evaluation, see FIG. 3).

  Returning to step S12, if the cold region driving potential needs are not “small” (S12: NO), in step S15, the server 14 determines whether the cold region driving potential needs are “medium”. When the cold region driving potential needs are “medium” (S15: YES), in step S16, the server 14 narrows down according to the cold region driving potential needs. That is, only tires with an evaluation on grip performance on asphalt roads of “2” or higher are selected. This is due to the following reason.

  That is, for example, due to a decrease in the amount of snowfall annually due to recent global warming, an increase in the types of snow melting equipment such as road heaters and an improvement in performance, it runs on wet asphalt roads in snowy areas and semi-snowy areas. Opportunities are increasing. For this reason, in snowfall areas and semi-snowfall areas, grip performance on asphalt roads (here, grip performance on wet asphalt roads is close to grip performance on dry asphalt roads) has become important. Therefore, in the cold region running needs “middle” corresponding to the semi-snowfall area, only tires with an evaluation on grip performance of asphalt roads “2” or higher are selected.

  In subsequent step S <b> 17, the server 14 narrows down the grip performance potential needs. That is, when the potential need for grip performance is “Large”, a recommended tire having a rating of “3” for grip performance on a snowy road or a frozen road is selected. If the tire is “small”, select a recommended tire having an evaluation regarding the grip performance of “1” or more (refer to FIG. 3 for the evaluation).

  In the subsequent step S18, the server 14 narrows down according to the potential needs for wear resistance in the same manner as in step S14.

  Returning to step S15, if the cold region driving potential need is not “medium” (S15: NO), that is, if the cold region driving potential need is “large”, in step S19, the server 14 is similar to step S16. , Narrow down according to cold district driving needs. That is, only tires with an evaluation on grip performance on asphalt roads of “2” or higher are selected.

  In the subsequent step S20, the server 14 narrows down the grip performance potential needs in the same manner as in step S17. That is, narrowing down is performed by associating potential needs for grip performance with evaluations regarding grip performance on snowy roads or frozen roads.

  In addition, when the cold region driving | running potential needs are "Large", narrowing down by the wear-resistant performance potential needs like step S14 and S18 is not performed. This is due to the following reason. In other words, tires are less likely to wear on snowy roads and frozen roads than on asphalt roads. For example, even when the travel distance is the same, the wear amount on the snow-capped road and the frozen road is 1/10 or less of the wear amount on the asphalt road. For this reason, if the potential needs for running in cold regions are “large”, the potential needs for wear resistance performance are not considered in the selection of recommended tires.

  After steps S14, S18, and S20, in step S21, the server 14 transmits information related to the recommended tire selected in the above step to the terminal 12. The terminal 12 that has received the information regarding the selected recommended tire outputs the information to the output device 24.

  FIG. 10 shows an example in which recommended tires are narrowed down assuming a semi-snowfall area. In the example of FIG. 10, the cold weather potential needs are “medium”, the grip performance potential needs are “medium”, and the wear resistance potential needs are “medium”.

  In FIG. 10, first, studless tires X101, X201, X301, X302, X401, and X402 are selected according to the tire size, application, and cold district driving potential needs. That is, these studless tires have a tire size of “YYY1”, an application of “passenger car”, and an evaluation regarding grip performance on asphalt roads of “2” or more (see FIG. 3).

  Next, these studless tires are narrowed down to studless tires corresponding to potential grip performance needs: “medium”. That is, the studless tires X101, X201, X401, and X402 whose grip performance on the snowy road or the frozen road is “2” or more are selected.

  Finally, narrow down according to potential needs for wear resistance: “medium”. That is, it is narrowed down to the studless tires X101, X401, and X402 whose wear resistance performance is “2” or more.

  FIG. 11 shows another example in which recommended tires are narrowed down assuming a snowfall area. In the example of FIG. 11, the potential needs for running in cold regions are “large”, the potential needs for grip performance are “large”, and the potential needs for wear resistance are “small”.

  In FIG. 11, first, studless tires X101, X201, X301, X302, X401, and X402 are selected according to the tire size, application, and cold district driving potential needs. That is, these studless tires have a tire size of “YYY1”, an application of “passenger car”, and an evaluation regarding grip performance on asphalt roads of “2” or more (see FIG. 3).

  Next, these studless tires are narrowed down to studless tires that meet the potential needs for grip performance: “large”. That is, the studless tires X101, X201, and X401 whose grip performance on the snowy road or the frozen road is “3” are selected.

  Regardless of the potential needs for wear resistance performance, studless tires corresponding to the potential needs for grip performance are used as recommended tires. This is because, as described above, the snow-capped road or the frozen road takes into account that the amount of wear of the groove is smaller than that of the asphalt road.

  Returning to FIG. 4, in step S <b> 6, the system 10 accepts studless tires that are ordered from one or more selected recommended tires. In the example of FIG. 10, any of the studless tires X101, X401, X402 is ordered, and in the example of FIG. 11, any of the studless tires X101, X201, X401 is ordered.

  As described above, according to the present embodiment, the strength of the grip performance potential needs determined based on the grip performance potential needs determination item and the strength of the wear resistance performance potential needs determined based on the wear performance potential needs determination item. Then, a recommended tire is selected using the strength of the cold region driving potential need determined based on the cold region driving potential need determination item, and information on the recommended tire is output. Therefore, it is possible to determine a user's potential needs regarding grip performance, wear resistance performance, and running in a cold region, and to select and propose a studless tire that matches this.

  The evaluation of grip performance and wear resistance performance (FIG. 3) as performance data stored in the tire performance DB 42 for use in selecting recommended tires is based on the results of measurement with each studless tire mounted on a reference vehicle. It is. Therefore, the recommended studless tire can be selected more finely.

  In this embodiment, the grip performance DB 48 uses driver attributes and vehicle equipment as grip performance potential need determination items (FIGS. 5 and 6). This makes it possible to estimate potential needs for grip performance from driver attributes and vehicle equipment that can be determined relatively easily, and can appropriately select and propose studless tires. .

  In the present embodiment, the wear resistance performance DB 52 uses the annual travel distance, the frequency of use of the vehicle, the purpose of use of the vehicle, and the presence / absence of daily use of the highway as the wear resistance performance latent need determination items (FIG. 8). . Thereby, it is possible to easily select and propose a studless tire by determining the strength of potential needs for wear resistance performance from the user's travel conditions and annual travel distance that are easy for the user to determine.

  In the present embodiment, the cold region traveling DB 50 uses equipment used in the vehicle along with the cold region traveling as a cold region traveling latent need determination item (FIG. 7). Thereby, it is possible to determine the strength of the cold district driving needs with the contents of the equipment that the user can easily determine. Therefore, it is possible to select and propose a studless tire relatively easily.

  The tire performance DB 42 accumulates and evaluates grip performance evaluation and wear resistance performance based on the results of measuring each of a plurality of types of studless tires mounted on a reference vehicle type, and the grip performance potential according to the user. The tire performance DB 42 is scored by scoring the strength of potential needs of grip performance corresponding to the need determination items and the strength of potential needs of wear resistance performance corresponding to the needs of wear resistance potential needs according to the user. The grip performance evaluation and wear resistance performance evaluation accumulated in Fig. 3 are made to correspond (Fig. 3). Thereby, since the performance of each studless tire is scored based on the result measured by mounting on the reference vehicle type, the comparison becomes easy and the proposal of the studless tire can be made finely.

  Note that the present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiment, and it is needless to say that various configurations can be adopted based on the description in this specification. For example, the following configuration can be adopted.

  In the above embodiment, the terminal 12 of the studless tire suggestion system 10 is installed in a vehicle dealer. However, the terminal 12 is not limited to this, and may be installed in other places such as a tire dealer and a vehicle maintenance factory.

  In the above embodiment, the configuration of the system 10 is divided into the terminal 12 and the server 14, but the function of the server 14 may be given to the terminal 12. That is, the recommended tire can be selected only by the terminal 12.

  In the above-described embodiment, both the potential needs for grip performance and the potential needs for wear resistance performance are determined, but only one of them may be used. In addition, regarding grip performance, potential needs for compressed snow roads, frozen roads, and asphalt roads were determined. For example, only compressed snow roads, frozen roads only, combinations of compressed snow roads and frozen roads, and combinations of compressed snow roads and asphalt roads. Or a combination of freezing and asphalt roads.

  In the above embodiment, the difference between wet and dry was used for the grip performance of the asphalt road, but not limited to this, only wet, dry only, or a combination of wet and dry (one of which satisfies the potential needs). As a condition, or as long as both meet potential needs).

  In the above embodiment, the wear resistance performance is determined by the reference travel distance until the groove reduction amount of the studless tire reaches a predetermined value. However, the wear resistance performance is not limited to this, for example, by the groove reduction amount according to the reference travel distance. You may judge.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10 ... Studless tire proposal system 12 ... Dealer terminal 14 ... Replacement tire selection server 40 ... Conforming tire information DB 42 ... Tire performance DB
44 ... User information DB 46 ... User vehicle information DB
48 ... Grip performance DB 50 ... Cold region travel DB
52 ... Wear resistance DB

Claims (6)

A studless tire proposal system that proposes studless tires,
A grip performance need database for accumulating the grip performance potential needs determination items for determining the potential needs for grip performance of studless tires during braking and the strength of the potential needs of the grip performance,
A wear resistance performance needs database that accumulates the wear resistance performance potential needs determination items for determining the potential needs regarding the wear resistance performance of the studless tire and the strength of the potential needs of the wear resistance performance,
A cold region travel needs database that is stored by associating the cold region travel potential needs determination item for determining potential needs regarding the cold region travel frequency and the strength of the potential needs regarding the cold region travel frequency;
With a tire performance database that stores performance data on multiple types of studless tires,
The performance data accumulated in the tire performance database is
Each tire size of the plurality of types of studless tires,
Including the evaluation of the grip performance and the evaluation of the wear resistance performance of each of the plurality of types of studless tires determined based on the result of measuring each of the plurality of types of studless tires mounted on a vehicle,
The studless tire proposal system further includes:
A plurality of types of studless tires that fit the user's tire size are extracted from the tire performance database,
The strength of the potential needs of the grip performance corresponding to the grip performance potential needs determination item selected according to the user, and the wear resistance performance potential needs determination item selected according to the user Determining the strength of potential needs for wear resistance and the strength of potential needs related to the frequency of cold district travel corresponding to the cold district travel potential needs determination item selected according to the user;
The determined potential strength of the grip performance, the strength of the potential needs of the wear resistance performance, and the strength of the potential needs related to the frequency of running in the cold region are accumulated in the tire performance database. In addition, based on the evaluation of the grip performance and the evaluation of the wear resistance performance, a recommended studless tire is selected from the extracted types of studless tires, and information on the recommended studless tire is output. A featured studless tire proposal system. In the studless tire proposal system according to claim 1,
The stud performance tire suggestion system characterized in that the grip performance latent needs determination item includes at least one of a driver attribute and a vehicle equipment. In the studless tire proposal system according to claim 1 or 2,
The wear resistance performance is a standard travel distance until the amount of decrease in the groove of the studless tire reaches a predetermined value, or a standard decrease amount of the groove when traveling the reference travel distance,
The potential requirement judgment item for wear resistance performance includes at least one of annual mileage, vehicle usage frequency, vehicle usage purpose, and whether or not the motorway is used on a daily basis. In the studless tire suggestion system according to any one of claims 1 to 3,
The potential need for the frequency of running in the cold region is the potential need for the frequency of running on a snowy or frozen road,
The cold region running potential need determination item includes equipment used in a vehicle in cold region traveling. A studless tire suggestion system, characterized in that: In the studless tire suggestion system according to any one of claims 1 to 4,
The tire performance database stores the evaluation of the grip performance and the evaluation of the wear resistance performance by scoring based on the result of measuring each of the plurality of types of studless tires mounted on the vehicle,
By scoring the strength of potential needs of the grip performance corresponding to the grip performance potential needs determination item and the strength of potential needs of the wear resistance performance corresponding to the wear resistance performance potential needs determination item, A studless tire proposal system characterized by corresponding to the evaluation of the grip performance stored in the tire performance database and the evaluation of the wear resistance performance. A studless tire proposal system that proposes studless tires,
A tire performance database that accumulates performance data related to cold district driving for multiple types of studless tires,
A latent needs database for storing potential needs determination items for determining potential needs regarding performance for running in a cold region for the plurality of types of studless tires and the strengths of the potential needs; ,
A plurality of types of studless tires that fit the user's tire size are extracted from the tire performance database,
Determining the strength of the potential needs corresponding to the potential needs determination item selected according to the user;
Based on the determined strength of potential needs and the performance data accumulated in the tire performance database, a recommended studless tire is selected from the plurality of types of studless tires extracted, and A studless tire proposal system that outputs information on recommended studless tires.

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