System and method for tracking vehicle tires in a service shop environment
AssigneeHunter Engineering Company
InventorsGregory F. Meyer, Alex Smith, Timothy A. Strege
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
A system and method for utilizing identification data from RFID tags, engraved QR codes, or embossed serial numbers associated with individual tires or vehicles to monitor or track the physical location and/or condition of individual tires and/or a vehicle across multiple pieces of automotive service equipment within the service shop environment. Tire and/or vehicle identification data is communicated from automotive service equipment to a cloud-based data processing application to generate or supplement an accessible record or log of data associated with one or more pieces of automotive service equipment, a vehicle service shop, an individual tire, a vehicle, or a customer.
Claims14
A method for transferring vehicle identification data between automotive service devices having access to a networked data management system to enable tire and/or vehicle-specific service procedures, comprising:
- acquiring, at a first automotive service device, at least one unique tire identification from an RFID tag affixed to a tire associated with said vehicle by operating an RFID reader having an associated directional antenna and/or an optimized transmit power level calibrated to limit a spatial volume proximate to said first automotive service device within which said RFID tag is activated to avoid overlapping an operative spatial volume associated with another automotive service device;
- conveying said acquired unique tire identification to said networked data management system including an accessible data storage, together with an identifier for said vehicle;
- storing said unique tire identification in said accessible data storage in association with said identifier for said vehicle;
- responsive to a subsequent acquisition of said unique tire identification from said tire RFID tag at a second automotive service device by operating a second RFID reader having an associated directional antenna and/or an optimized transmit power level calibrated to limit a spatial volume proximate to said second automotive service device within which said RFID tag is activated to avoid overlapping an operative spatial volume associated with another automotive service device, conveying said unique tire identification to said networked data management system;
- responsive to receipt of said subsequently acquired unique tire identification at said networked data management system, using said subsequently acquired unique tire identification to recall said associated identifier for said vehicle from said accessible data storage together with a stored record containing at least one automotive service device setting or configuration associated with said identified tire or vehicle;
- communicating said recalled associated identifier for said vehicle and said stored record from said networked data management system to said second automotive service device;
- and
- wherein said second automotive service device responds to information contained within said communicated stored record by automatically selecting, altering, or configuring a service procedure for use with said identified tire or vehicle.
A method for utilizing tire identification data to automatically configure a tire service device for a tire service procedure, comprising:
- acquiring at said tire service device at least one unique tire identification from an RFID tag affixed to a tire positioned to undergo said tire service procedure on said tire service device by operating an RFID reader having a directional antenna and/or an optimized transmit power level calibrated to define a limited operative spatial volume proximate to said positioned tire within which said RFID tag is activated;
- conveying said acquired unique tire identification from said tire service device to a networked data management system having an accessible data storage;
- responsive to said conveyance, said networked data management system recalling from said accessible data storage at least one record associated with said unique tire identification which includes at least one of a tire-specific setting, tool movement or force limit, or operating procedural step for said tire service device;
- communicating said recalled at least one record from said networked data management system for receipt by said tire service device
- altering said tire service procedure on said tire service device in response to said received at least one record by at least one of:
- setting a configuration for said tire service device;
- adding, changing, or removing a step in said tire service procedure corresponding to said at least one tire-specific setting or procedural step;
- or setting a tool movement or force limit on said tire service device;
- and
- executing said altered tire service procedure on said tire service device.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.