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US 10,082,381 B2Granted
Sensor systems integrated with vehicle tires
AssigneeBeBop Sensors, Inc.
InventorKeith A. McMillen
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
Sensor systems using piezoresistive materials are described that may be integrated with vehicle tires for use in a variety applications such as, for example, tire pressure monitoring, tread wear monitoring, anti-lock braking system control, suspension adjustment and/or control, wheel-drive system control, or road surface determination.
Claims30
A sensor system for use with a vehicle tire, comprising:
- a flexible piezoresistive substrate;
- and
- an array of sensors, each sensor including at least two conductive traces formed directly on the piezoresistive substrate, each sensor being positioned on the piezoresistive substrate to align with a region of the vehicle tire, wherein resistance between the conductive traces varies with force applied to the piezoresistive substrate;
- and
- sensor circuitry configured to receive sensor signals from the array of sensors, each sensor signal representing a force associated with a corresponding one of the sensors, the sensor circuitry being further configured to generate sensor data from the sensor signals, the sensor data comprising a representation of a contact patch of the vehicle tire, the contact patch representing a distribution and magnitudes of the forces associated with the array of sensors;
- wherein the sensor system is configured to conform to an interior of the vehicle tire.
3 more elements
A sensor system for use with a vehicle tire, comprising:
- piezoresistive material;
- a dielectric substrate aligned and in contact with the piezoresistive material;
- and
- an array of sensors, each sensor including at least two conductive traces formed directly on the dielectric substrate such that the conductive traces are in contact with the piezoresistive material, each sensor being positioned on the dielectric substrate to align with a region of the vehicle tire, wherein resistance between the conductive traces varies with force applied to the piezoresistive material;
- and
- sensor circuitry configured to receive sensor signals from the array of sensors, each sensor signal representing a force associated with a corresponding one of the sensors, the sensor circuitry being further configured to generate sensor data from the sensor signals, the sensor data comprising a representation of a contact patch of the vehicle tire, the contact patch representing a distribution and magnitudes of the forces associated with the array of sensors;
- wherein the sensor system is configured to conform to an interior of the vehicle tire.
4 more elements
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.