# US 11,908,250 B2 · Tire damage detection system and method

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- Number: US 11,908,250 B2
- Document ID: US11908250B2
- Status: Granted
- Kind: B2
- Application number: 17/059,528
- Filed: 2019-05-27
- Published: 2021-08-26
- Granted: 2024-02-20
- Earliest claimed: 2018-05-31
- Assignees: Bridgestone Europe NV/SA
- Applicants: Bridgestone Europe NV/SA [Be]
- Inventors: Marco Pascucci; Lorenzo Alleva
- Web page: https://patentgrep.com/patent/US11908250B2

## CPC

- G07C 5/008: {communicating information to a remotely located station (transmission systems for measured values G08C)}
- B60C 11/246: {Tread wear monitoring systems}
- B60C 19/00: Tyre parts or constructions not otherwise provided for
- B60C 23/04: mounted on the wheel or tyre
- B60C 23/0488: {Movement sensor, e.g. for sensing angular speed, acceleration or centripetal force}
- B60C 23/061: {by monitoring wheel speed (measuring distance traversed on the ground by vehicles G01C22/00)}
- B60R 16/0234: {related to maintenance or repairing of vehicles}
- G01L 5/0052: {measuring forces due to impact (G01L5/0061, G01L5/14 take precedence; impact testing of structures G01M7/08; impact testing of material G01N3/00)}
- G01M 17/02: Tyres
- G01N 3/34: generated by mechanical means, e.g. hammer blows
- G07C 5/0808: {Diagnosing performance data (testing of vehicles G01M17/00; testing of electrical installation on vehicles G01R31/005)}
- G07C 5/0816: {Indicating performance data, e.g. occurrence of a malfunction}
- H04L 67/10: in which an application is distributed across nodes in the network (software deployment G06F8/60; multiprogramming arrangements G06F9/46)
- B60C 2019/004: {Tyre sensors other than for detecting tyre pressure}
- B60R 16/0232: {for measuring vehicle parameters and indicating critical, abnormal or dangerous conditions}
- G07C: TIME OR ATTENDANCE REGISTERS; REGISTERING OR INDICATING THE WORKING OF MACHINES; GENERATING RANDOM NUMBERS; VOTING OR LOTTERY APPARATUS; ARRANGEMENTS, SYSTEMS OR APPARATUS FOR CHECKING NOT PROVIDED FOR ELSEWHERE
- B60C: VEHICLE TYRES; TYRE INFLATION; TYRE CHANGING; CONNECTING VALVES TO INFLATABLE ELASTIC BODIES IN GENERAL; DEVICES OR ARRANGEMENTS RELATED TO TYRES
- B60R: VEHICLES, VEHICLE FITTINGS, OR VEHICLE PARTS, NOT OTHERWISE PROVIDED FOR
- G01L: MEASURING FORCE, STRESS, TORQUE, WORK, MECHANICAL POWER, MECHANICAL EFFICIENCY, OR FLUID PRESSURE (weighing G01G)
- G01M: TESTING STATIC OR DYNAMIC BALANCE OF MACHINES OR STRUCTURES; TESTING OF STRUCTURES OR APPARATUS, NOT OTHERWISE PROVIDED FOR
- G01N: INVESTIGATING OR ANALYSING MATERIALS BY DETERMINING THEIR CHEMICAL OR PHYSICAL PROPERTIES (measuring or testing apparatus or processes other than immunoassay, involving enzymes or microorganisms C12M, C12Q)
- H04L: TRANSMISSION OF DIGITAL INFORMATION, e.g. TELEGRAPHIC COMMUNICATION (arrangements common to telegraphic and telephonic communication H04M)

## Abstract

A tire damage detection method includes a tire damage detection stage comprising: outputting quantities indicative of speeds of a vehicle and a corresponding wheel from an acquisition device to a processing device; computing, based on the received quantities, a normalized wheel speed indicative of a ratio of the wheel speed to the vehicle speed; and detecting a potential damage to a tire based on a predefined tire damage model and on the normalized wheel speed. A preliminary stage comprises: performing tests involving test tire impacts against/on different obstacles at different vehicle speeds; measuring/acquiring test-related wheel and vehicle speeds during the performed tests; computing test-related normalized wheel speeds based on the test-related wheel and vehicle speeds; and determining the predefined tire damage model to be used in the tire damage detection stage based on the test-related normalized wheel speeds and the test-related vehicle speeds that correspond to the test tire impacts.

## Claims

### Claim 1

A tire damage detection method comprising:
a tire damage detection stage comprising
acquiring, by an acquisition device which is installed on board a motor vehicle equipped with two or more wheels fitted with tires, and which is coupled to a vehicle bus of the motor vehicle, signals indicative of speeds of the motor vehicle and of a wheel of said motor vehicle,
outputting, by the acquisition device, quantities indicative of the speeds of the motor vehicle and of the wheel thereof,
receiving, by a processing system storing a predefined tire damage model from the acquisition device, the quantities indicative of the speeds of the motor vehicle and of the wheel of said motor vehicle,
computing, by the processing system, based on the quantities indicative of the speeds of the motor vehicle and of the wheel of said motor vehicle, a normalized wheel speed indicative of a ratio of the wheel speed to the motor vehicle speed, and
detecting, by the processing system, a potential damage to a tire of the wheel of the motor vehicle based on the predefined tire damage model and on the normalized wheel speed; and
a preliminary stage that comprises:
performing tests involving test tire impacts against/on different obstacles at different motor vehicle speeds,
acquiring test-related wheel and motor vehicle speeds during the performed tests,
computing test-related normalized wheel speeds based on the test-related wheel and motor vehicle speeds, and
determining the predefined tire damage model to be used by the processing system in the tire damage detection stage based on the test-related normalized wheel speeds and the test-related motor vehicle speeds that correspond to the test tire imp acts.

### Claim 2 (depends on 1)

The tire damage detection method of claim 1, wherein:
the predefined tire damage model includes a set of predefined thresholds related to different motor vehicle speed values and a set of predefined time lengths related to different motor vehicle speed values; and
detecting, by the processing system, a potential damage to a tire of the wheel of the motor vehicle includes:
selecting one of the predefined thresholds and one of the predefined time lengths depending on the motor vehicle speed,
analyzing the normalized wheel speed by means of a sliding time window having the predefined time length selected,
detecting a maximum value and a minimum value of the normalized wheel speed within the sliding time window, and
detecting a potential damage to the tire of the wheel of the motor vehicle if a difference between said maximum and minimum values exceeds the predefined threshold selected.

### Claim 3 (depends on 2)

The tire damage detection method of claim 2, wherein:
the predefined thresholds are related to different motor vehicle speed values and different tire inflation pressure values, and
in the tire damage detection stage:
further acquiring a signal indicative of a tire inflation pressure of the tire of the wheel of the motor vehicle;
further outputting quantities indicative of said tire inflation pressure;
further receiving the quantities indicative of the tire inflation pressure; and
selecting one of the predefined thresholds depending on the motor vehicle speed and the tire inflation pressure.

### Claim 4

A tire damage detection system comprising:
an acquisition device installed onboard a motor vehicle equipped with two or more wheels fitted with tires, and coupled to a vehicle bus of the motor vehicle;
wherein the acquisition device is configured to acquire signals indicative of speeds of the motor vehicle and of a wheel of said motor vehicle and to output quantities indicative of the speeds of the motor vehicle and of the wheel thereof;
a processing system storing a predefined tire damage model, and further configured to perform tire damage detection by
receiving the quantities indicative of the speeds of the motor vehicle and of the wheel of said motor vehicle,
computing, based on the quantities indicative of the speeds of the motor vehicle and of the wheel of said motor vehicle, a normalized wheel speed indicative of a ratio of the wheel speed to the motor vehicle speed, and
detecting a potential damage to a tire of the wheel of the motor vehicle based on the predefined tire damage model and on the normalized wheel speed.

### Claim 5 (depends on 4)

The tire damage detection system of claim 4, wherein the processing system is further configured to carry out preliminary operations comprising:
performing tests involving test tire impacts against/on different obstacles at different motor vehicle speeds;
acquiring test-related wheel and motor vehicle speeds during the performed tests;
computing test-related normalized wheel speeds based on the test-related wheel and motor vehicle speeds; and
determining the predefined tire damage model to be used by the processing system for tire damage detection based on the test-related normalized wheel speeds and the test-related motor vehicle speeds that correspond to the test tire impacts.

### Claim 6 (depends on 4)

The tire damage detection system of claim 4, wherein:
the predefined tire damage model includes a set of predefined thresholds related to different motor vehicle speed values and a set of predefined time lengths related to different motor vehicle speed values; and
the processing system is configured to detect the potential damage to a tire of the wheel of the motor vehicle by:
selecting one of the predefined thresholds and one of the predefined time lengths depending on the motor vehicle speed;
analyzing the normalized wheel speed by means of a sliding time window having the predefined time length selected;
detecting a maximum value and a minimum value of the normalized wheel speed within the sliding time window; and
detecting a potential damage to the tire of the wheel of the motor vehicle if a difference between said maximum and minimum values exceeds the predefined threshold selected.

### Claim 7 (depends on 6)

The tire damage detection system of claim 6, wherein:
the predefined thresholds are related to different motor vehicle speed values and different tire inflation pressure values, and
the processing system is further configured to perform tire damage detection by:
further acquiring a signal indicative of a tire inflation pressure of the tire of the wheel of the motor vehicle;
further outputting quantities indicative of said tire inflation pressure;
further receiving the quantities indicative of the tire inflation pressure; and
selecting one of the predefined thresholds depending on the motor vehicle speed and the tire inflation pressure.

### Claim 8 (depends on 4)

The tire damage detection system of claim 4, further comprising a notification device configured to, if a potential damage to the tire of the wheel of the motor vehicle is detected by the processing system, signal the detected potential damage to a user associated with the motor vehicle.

### Claim 9 (depends on 8)

The tire damage detection system of claim 8, wherein the processing system is an electronic control unit installed onboard the motor vehicle.

### Claim 10 (depends on 9)

The tire damage detection system of claim 9, wherein the notification device is a human-machine interface provided onboard the motor vehicle.

### Claim 11

A cloud computing system that is wirelessly and remotely connected to an acquisition device installed onboard a motor vehicle equipped with two or more wheels fitted with tires, and coupled to a vehicle bus of the motor vehicle;
wherein the cloud computing system stores a predefined tire damage model and is configured, in a tire damage detection stage, to:
receive from the acquisition device quantities indicative of the speeds of the motor vehicle and of the wheel of said motor vehicle;
compute, based on the quantities indicative of the speeds of the motor vehicle and of the wheel of said motor vehicle, a normalized wheel speed indicative of a ratio of the wheel speed to the motor vehicle speed; and
detect a potential damage to a tire of the wheel of the motor vehicle based on the predefined tire damage model and on the normalized wheel speed.

### Claim 12 (depends on 11)

The cloud computing system of claim 11, wherein the cloud computing system is further configured, in a preliminary state, to:
perform tests involving test tire impacts against/on different obstacles at different motor vehicle speeds;
acquire test-related wheel and motor vehicle speeds during the performed tests;
compute test-related normalized wheel speeds based on the test-related wheel and motor vehicle speeds; and
determine the predefined tire damage model to be used for the tire damage detection stage based on the test-related normalized wheel speeds and the test-related motor vehicle speeds that correspond to the test tire impacts.

### Claim 13 (depends on 11)

The cloud computing system of claim 11, further remotely connected to an electronic communication device associated with a user associated with the motor vehicle, wherein the cloud computing system is further configured to, if a potential damage to the tire of the wheel of the motor vehicle is detected, signal the detected potential damage to the user via the electronic communication device.

### Claim 14 (depends on 11)

The cloud computing system of claim 11, wherein:
the predefined tire damage model includes a set of predefined thresholds related to different motor vehicle speed values and a set of predefined time lengths related to different motor vehicle speed values; and
the cloud computing system is configured to detect the potential damage to a tire of the wheel of the motor vehicle by:
selecting one of the predefined thresholds and one of the predefined time lengths depending on the motor vehicle speed;
analyzing the normalized wheel speed by means of a sliding time window having the predefined time length selected;
detecting a maximum value and a minimum value of the normalized wheel speed within the sliding time window; and
detecting a potential damage to the tire of the wheel of the motor vehicle if a difference between said maximum and minimum values exceeds the predefined threshold selected.

### Claim 15 (depends on 14)

The cloud computing system of claim 14, wherein:
the predefined thresholds are related to different motor vehicle speed values and different tire inflation pressure values, and
the cloud computing system is further configured to perform tire damage detection by:
further acquiring a signal indicative of a tire inflation pressure of the tire of the wheel of the motor vehicle;
further outputting quantities indicative of said tire inflation pressure;
further receiving the quantities indicative of the tire inflation pressure; and
selecting one of the predefined thresholds depending on the motor vehicle speed and the tire inflation pressure.