TECHNICAL FIELD

The present disclosure relates generally to tires, and more particularly, to tire sensors and related methods.

BACKGROUND

Currently, tire pressure sensors may be provided in vehicle tires. Such sensors may be used to automatically monitor tire pressure, and a warning (e.g., a warning light) may be provided to the driver when low pressure is detected. Other aspects of the tire, however, may require manual monitoring and failure to adequately monitor such aspects may cause issues relating to safety. Accordingly, improved monitoring of vehicle tires may be desired.

SUMMARY

According to some embodiments of inventive concepts, methods may be provided to align a tire tread monitoring sensor. A raised portion of tread may be optically identified on an outside of a tire. Responsive to identifying the raised portion of the tread, a sensor placement location may be designated on an inside of the tire in alignment with the raised portion of the tread.

According to some other embodiments of inventive concepts, methods may be provided to mount a tire tread monitoring sensor to an inside surface of a tire. A raised portion of tread may be optically identified on an outside of a tire. Responsive to identifying the raised portion of the tread, the tire tread monitoring sensor may be affixed to a sensor placement location on an inside surface of the tire, wherein the sensor placement location is aligned with the raised portion of the tread in a radial direction of the tire.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The accompanying drawings, which are included to provide a further understanding of the disclosure and are incorporated in and constitute a part of this application, illustrate certain non-limiting embodiments of inventive concepts. In the drawings: Figure 1 is a photograph illustrating a lid and a carrier according to some embodiments of inventive concepts together with a 1 Euro coin provided to illustrate scale;

Figure 2 is a photograph illustrating a rubber mount according to some embodiments of inventive concepts;

Figure 3 is a cross-sectional/side view of a tread wear sensor mounted inside a carrier of Figure 1 according to some embodiments of inventive concepts;

Figure 4 to a top view of a tread wear sensor of Figure 3 according to some embodiments of inventive concepts;

Figure 5 is a cross-sectional/side view of a tread wear sensor mounted in the carrier of Figure 1 with a battery and a printed circuit board according to some embodiments of inventive concepts;

Figure 6 is a block diagram illustrating elements of a tire monitoring system according to some embodiments of inventive concepts;

Figures 7A and 7B are schematic diagrams illustrating operation of a tread wear sensor according to some embodiments of inventive concepts.

Figure 8A is a photograph illustrating a direction of measurement of a tread monitoring system according to some embodiments of inventive concepts;

Figures 8B and 8C are photographs illustrating a tread monitoring system on an inner tire surface according to some embodiments of inventive concepts;

Figure 9 is a cutaway view illustrating elements of a tire;

Figure 10 is a cross sectional view illustrating a tire monitoring system on an inner surface of a tire according to some embodiments of inventive concepts; and

Figures 11 A and 11B illustrate elements of a system used to align a tire monitoring system with a tread block of a tire according to some embodiments of inventive concepts.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Inventive concepts will now be described more fully hereinafter with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which examples of embodiments of inventive concepts are shown. Inventive concepts may, however, be embodied in many different forms and should not be construed as limited to the embodiments set forth herein. Rather, these embodiments are provided so that this disclosure will be thorough and complete, and will fully convey the scope of present inventive concepts to those skilled in the art. It should also be noted that these embodiments are not mutually exclusive. Components from one embodiment may be tacitly assumed to be present/used in another embodiment.

The following description presents various embodiments of the disclosed subject matter. These embodiments are presented as teaching examples and are not to be construed as limiting the scope of the disclosed subject matter. For example, certain details of the described embodiments may be modified, omitted, or expanded upon without departing from the scope of the described subject matter.

According to some embodiments of inventive concepts, printed tread wear sensors (TWS) may be used to monitor vehicle tire tread wear. There may be different ways to package such printed tread wear sensors for tire deployment. One approach for Tire Pressure Monitoring Systems TPMS is a package scheme like the one presented by VDO

(http://www.vdo.com/passenger-cars/tire-pressure-monitori ng-systems-tpms/the-vdo-redi- sensor/). In this approach, the TPMS sensors, battery, sense electronics and RF communications are all housed inside a small carrier roughly 1 inch in diameter as shown in Figure 1 including a carrier and a lid. The lid is placed over the contents of the carrier and sealed, and this“package” is then placed inside a rubber mount (shown in Figure 2) that is attached to the inside surface of the tire by an adhesive. The base of the package carrier may thus be mounted adjacent to the inside surface of the tire. According to some embodiments of inventive concepts, a tread wear sensor may be mounted in the same carrier and share the power management and RF

communications hardware used for TPMS. According to some embodiments of inventive concepts, methods may be provided to integrate tire tread wear and pressure monitoring systems.

Tread wear sensor structures/designs and methods according to some embodiments disclosed herein may enable integration with a tire pressure monitor into a carrier/package.

According to some embodiments, the tread wear sensor may be placed at the base of the carrier (also referred to as the bottom of the carrier) to position the sensor close to the inner tire surface. In a typical TPMS design, the battery may be placed at the bottom of the carrier.

According to some embodiments, the tread wear sensor (e.g., the tread wear sensor elements) may be positioned between the battery and a base of the carrier. This design may position the tread wear sensor close to the tire surface (e.g., as close as possible) and may reduce/avoid RF (radio frequency) interference from the battery and/or electronics in the package. According to some embodiments, an epoxy or similar underfill or potting material may be used underneath and/or above the tread wear sensor to secure the tread wear sensor. In addition, this

underfill/potting material may protect the tread wear sensor from harsh operating conditions including varying humidity and/or mechanical shock/vibration. The orientation of the tread wear sensor could be either upward facing or downward facing.

Figure 3 is a cross-sectional/side view of a tread wear sensor (labeled“sensor”) mounted inside the carrier of Figure 1. As shown, the tread wear sensor may be provided adjacent a base of the carrier, and an underfill/potting material may be provided on the tread wear sensor.

Moreover, sensor leads (e.g., pigtail sensor leads) from the sensor may extend through the underfill/potting material to provide electrical coupling with control circuitry. Figure 4 is a top view of the tread wear sensor of Figure 3 in the carrier. For purposes of illustration, the tread wear sensor is shown through the underfill/potting material in Figure 4, but it will be understood that the underfill/potting material may cover the tread wear sensor (except for the pigtail sensor leads).

Figure 5 is a cross-sectional/side view of the tread wear sensor mounted inside the carrier of Figure 1 with a battery and printed circuit board PCB. The pigtail sensor leads (“leads”) of the tread wear sensor may extend out of the carrier and may wrap around the battery and printed circuit board PCB. The leads of the tread wear sensor may then be attached to the PCB by soldering (surface mount technology), conductive epoxy, or by a connector or socket. It may be useful to include additional dielectric shielding (not shown in Figure 5) between the battery and the tread wear sensor. According to some embodiments, the underfill/potting material may provide adequate dielectric shielding, but in other embodiments, different/additional layers may be added.

Additional modifications to the tread wear sensor may further facilitate integration with the tire pressure monitor in the final package. According to some embodiments, the tread wear sensor may be encapsulated by applying a thin Kapton, PET (polyethylene terephthalate), or other layer over the top surface of the tread wear sensor after printing. This encapsulation may extend down the length of the leads but leave exposed the ends of the leads for subsequent electrical connection. Metal vias or feedthroughs may be provided in the tread wear sensor substrate (e.g., Kapton), particularly at the ends of the leads to improve subsequent electrical connection. These metal vias/feedthroughs may allow electrical and mechanical interface to the printed traces from either the top or bottom side of the sensor substrate. This may provide a thick, mechanically robust metal layer for connection either by solder, conductive epoxies or socket connectors, allowing for electrical connection from either side of the substrate. In addition, a metal layer may be provided on the backside of the sensor substrate (away from the carrier base and the tire surface) to provide an effective RF ground plane. This ground plane layer may be continuous or discontinuous based on RF characteristics of the sensor.

According to some embodiments, the sensor elements may be provided on a flexible sensor substrate, and mounted so that the sensor elements are between the flexible sensor substrate and the carrier base, and so that the sensor elements are between the flexible sensor substrate and the inner surface of the tire. Moreover, a metal layer may be provided (e.g., as an RF ground plane) on the backside of the sensor substrate so that the sensor substrate is between the metal layer and the sensor elements. In such embodiments, the sensor elements may be between the backside metal layer and the carrier base, and between the backside metal layer and the inner surface of the tire.

A lid (e.g., as shown in Figure 1) may be provide over the carrier of Figure 5 to seal the tread wear sensor, battery, and PCB within the carrier/lid package, and the carrier base may be mounted on an inside surface of the tire to be monitored. The structure of Figure 5 may thus be used to provide an integrated tread wear sensor and pressure monitor. While one PCB is shown in Figure 5 for purposes of illustration, control circuitry may be provided using one or a plurality of PCBs. Moreover, a pressure sensor (e.g., a micro-electro-mechanical-system MEMS pressure sensor) may be provide (inside the carrier/lid package) with the PCB (e.g., mounted on the PCB) to provide tire pressure monitoring. Components of the integrated tire monitoring system are illustrated in the block diagram of Figure 6.

As shown in Figure 6, circuitry may be provided in/on the printed circuit board to provide controller 601, wireless interface 603, and/or pressure sensor 605. Controller 601 and/or wireless interface 603 may be implemented using one or more integrated circuit devices that may be mounted (soldered) on PCB (or otherwise coupled with PCB). Moreover, pressure sensor 605 may be a MEMS pressure sensor that is provide as a discrete device on/in the PCB, and/or pressure sensor 605 may be integrated with circuits used to provide controller 601 and/or wireless interface 603. As shown in Figure 5, battery 609 may be positioned between the PCB and tread wear sensor 607 in the carrier, with the tread wear sensor positioned between battery 609 and the base of the carrier (which is mounted to the inside surface of the tire).

Controller 601 (also referred to as a control circuit or control circuitry) may thus generate tire pressure information based on signals received from pressure sensor 605, and controller 601 may thus generate tread wear information based on signals received from tread wear sensor 607. The tire pressure information and/or tread wear information may thus be transmitted through wireless communication interface 603 (also referred to as a wireless interface circuit or wireless interface circuitry) to a receiver in the vehicle that provides the information to a controller in the vehicle. The wireless interface 603 may thus provide wireless communication (e.g., radio communication) with a receiver in the vehicle to facilitate wireless transmission of tire pressure and/or tread wear information from the spinning tire to the vehicle controller. The wireless interface 603 may also receive information (e.g., instructions) from a transmitter in the vehicle, such as instructions to transmit tire pressure and/or tread wear information. While pressure and tire wear sensors are discussed by way of example, other sensors (e.g., a temperature sensor) may also be included in the tire monitoring system. With a temperature sensor, for example, controller 601 may generate tire pressure information based on signals received from the temperature sensor, and controller 601 may transmit such temperature information through wireless communication interface 603 to the receiver in the vehicle.

Operations of the tire monitoring system may be performed by controller 601 and/or wireless communication interface 603. For example, controller 601 may control wireless communication interface 603 to transmit communications (e.g., tread wear and/or tire pressure information) through wireless communication interface 603 over a radio interface to a vehicle receiver and/or to receive communications (e.g., requests for information) through wireless communication interface 603 from a vehicle transmitter over a radio interface. Moreover, modules may be stored in memory, and these modules may provide instructions so that when instructions of a module are executed by controller 601, controller 601 performs respective operations (e.g., operations discussed below with respect to the claims).

Figures 7A and 7B are schematic diagrams illustrating operation of a tread wear sensor according to some embodiments of inventive concepts. In the illustration of Figures 7A and 7B, the tread wear sensor is shown on an inside surface of the tire without the other elements of Figures 5/6 to more clearly illustrate operations thereof. Operation of the tread wear sensor is based on the mechanics of how electric fields interact with different materials. As shown in Figures 4 and 7B, the tread wear sensor (TWS) includes two electrically conductive sensor elements (also referred to as electrodes) side-by-side and very close to each other, and positioning the two sensor elements adjacent to the inside of the tire as shown in Figures 7A and 7B. As shown in Figure 5, the carrier base may be between the sensor elements and the inside surface of the tire, but the carrier has been omitted from Figures 7A and 7B for each of illustration.

The controller 601 may thus apply an oscillating electrical voltage to one of the sensor elements while the other sensor element is grounded to generate an electrical field between the two sensor elements (shown as arcs in Figures 7A and 7B). While most of the electric field may pass directly between edges of the sensor elements, some of the electric field arcs from the face of one electrode to the face of the other electrode through the tire tread (shown by arcs in Figures 7A and 7B). The tire rubber and tread structure interfere with this“fringing field,” and by measuring this interference through the electrical response of the grounded sensor element, the controller 601 may thus determine a thickness of the tire above the tread wear sensor.

Some embodiments of the present disclosure address alignment and/or proper placement of the sensor unit inside the tire for improved/optimal tread sensing.

A tire tread monitoring system (TTMS) may be defined as including a tread sensor (e.g., tread wear sensor 607), drive and sense electronics (e.g., provided by controller 601), battery (e.g., battery 609), power management (e.g., provided by controller 601), and RF communication electronics (e.g., wireless communication interface 603), and the TTMS may be placed in a package design similar to that described above for TPMS integration (e.g., as discussed with respect to Figures 1-6 and 7A-B). The TTMS may be provided in the package (without TPMS and/or temperature monitoring), the TTMS may be provided in the package integrated with TPMS (without temperature monitoring), the TTMS may be provided in the package integrated with temperature monitoring (without TPMS), or the TTMS may be provided in the package integrated with TPMS and temperature monitoring.

It may be desired/important for the TTMS sensor in the package to be aligned

appropriately. As shown in Figures 8 A, 8B, and 8C, the sensing direction of the sensor is on the axis normal to the bottom surface (as viewed in Figure 8A) of the package (including carrier, mount, and internal TTMS). The direction of measurement may also be the direction of placement for the sensor package on the inside surface of a tire, such that the bottom surface (as viewed in Figure 8A) is affixed to an inside surface of the tire.

To ensure proper performance of the TTMS sensor, the center axis of the sensor should align with a tread block or rib on the outside surface of the tire as shown in Figures 9 and 10.

This is a“blind” alignment as the installer cannot see through the tire to visually confirm proper alignment of the TTMS sensor relative to the blocks/ribs of the tire tread.

Some embodiments of inventive concepts may address the issue of proper axis alignment of the TTMS sensor. Here, alignment of the TTMS sensor refers to alignment of the TTMS sensor elements (e.g., shown in Figure 4) relative to a block/rib of the tire tread.

According to some embodiments, a placement fixture may be used to provide alignment of the TTMS sensor package relative to tread blocks/ribs on the outside of the tire. The fixture may include a laser(s) to provide location identification/designation, or alternatively, an inking system to place a spot on the inside of the tire for subsequent sensor attachment.

According to some embodiments illustrated in Figures 11A and 11B, the fixture may include:

A frame to position the tire and to provide/ensure vertical alignment

A gantry that holds a camera (or laser) to inspect (or align) the outside of the tire (tread side) and a fixed arm with optics (laser or focused light source) that extends into the inner part of the tire such that the optics are on the same axis as the camera on the outside of the tire.

The gantry may be on a hinge allowing it to be rotated into position for easy use, or the gantry may move along the gantry translation direction sufficiently to allow movement of the tire into and out of the tire frame.

The gantry may have translational motion (along the direction of gantry translation) across the width of tire to enable location of the desired/optimal tread location.

The camera and laser on the gantry can be calibrated to provide alignment with the tire removed from the fixture.

With the tire in place, the a desired/optimal location on the outside of the tire (e.g., a tread block) may be located. Simultaneously, the system may designate (e.g., illuminate or mark) a spot on the inside of the tire corresponding to the desired location on the outside of the tire. Once the desired location has been identified/designated, the sensor package may be placed on the desired location. In the example of Figures 11A and 11B, Figure 11B is a view taken 90 degrees relative to the view of Figure 11B (taken from the left side of Figure 11A).

According to some embodiments, the laser or marker may leave a visible mark at the desired location, and a technician may manually affix the sensor package to the marked location on the inside surface of the tire. According to some other embodiments, the laser may illuminate the desired location (without marking), and a technician may manually affix the sensor package at the illuminated location. According to some other embodiments, automated equipment may be used to affix the sensor package at the designated location based on marking and/or illumination provided by the laser or marker. According to still other embodiments, an actuator may be provided on the gantry in place of the laser or marker, and the actuator may place the sensor package in the desired location without requiring illumination or marking. For example, a piston actuator may be provided on the gantry in place of the laser or marker, and once the gantry is positioned over the tread block (based on optical information), the piston actuator may move along the radial direction to affix the sensor package to the inside of the tire in alignment with the tread block.

In the above-description of various embodiments of present inventive concepts, it is to be understood that the terminology used herein is for the purpose of describing particular embodiments only and is not intended to be limiting of present inventive concepts. Unless otherwise defined, all terms (including technical and scientific terms) used herein have the same meaning as commonly understood by one of ordinary skill in the art to which present inventive concepts belong. It will be further understood that terms, such as those defined in commonly used dictionaries, should be interpreted as having a meaning that is consistent with their meaning in the context of this specification and the relevant art and will not be interpreted in an idealized or overly formal sense unless expressly so defined herein.

When an element is referred to as being "connected", "coupled", "responsive", or variants thereof to another element, it can be directly connected, coupled, or responsive to the other element or intervening elements may be present. In contrast, when an element is referred to as being "directly connected", "directly coupled", "directly responsive", or variants thereof to another element, there are no intervening elements present. Like numbers refer to like elements throughout. Furthermore, "coupled", "connected", "responsive", or variants thereof as used herein may include wirelessly coupled, connected, or responsive. As used herein, the singular forms "a", "an" and "the" are intended to include the plural forms as well, unless the context clearly indicates otherwise. Well-known functions or constructions may not be described in detail for brevity and/or clarity. The term "and/or" includes any and all combinations of one or more of the associated listed items.

It will be understood that although the terms first, second, third, etc. may be used herein to describe various elements/operations, these elements/operations should not be limited by these terms. These terms are only used to distinguish one element/operation from another

element/operation. Thus, a first element/operation in some embodiments could be termed a second element/operation in other embodiments without departing from the teachings of present inventive concepts. The same reference numerals or the same reference designators denote the same or similar elements throughout the specification.

As used herein, the terms "comprise", "comprising", "comprises", "include", "including", "includes", "have", "has", "having", or variants thereof are open-ended, and include one or more stated features, integers, elements, steps, components or functions but does not preclude the presence or addition of one or more other features, integers, elements, steps, components, functions or groups thereof. Furthermore, as used herein, the common abbreviation "e.g.", which derives from the Latin phrase "exempli gratia," may be used to introduce or specify a general example or examples of a previously mentioned item, and is not intended to be limiting of such item. The common abbreviation "i.e.", which derives from the Latin phrase "id est," may be used to specify a particular item from a more general recitation.

The dimensions of elements in the drawings may be exaggerated for the sake of clarity. Further, it will be understood that when an element is referred to as being "on" another element, the element may be directly on the other element, or there may be an intervening element therebetween. Moreover, terms such as "top," "bottom," "upper," "lower," "above," "below," and the like are used herein to describe the relative positions of elements or features as shown in the figures. For example, when an upper part of a drawing is referred to as a "top" and a lower part of a drawing is referred to as a "bottom" for the sake of convenience, in practice, the "top" may also be called a "bottom" and the "bottom" may also be a "top" without departing from the teachings of the inventive concept (e.g., if the structure is rotate 180 degrees relative to the orientation of the figure). Example embodiments are described herein with reference to block diagrams and/or flowchart illustrations of computer-implemented methods, apparatus (systems and/or devices) and/or computer program products. It is understood that a block of the block diagrams and/or flowchart illustrations, and combinations of blocks in the block diagrams and/or flowchart illustrations, can be implemented by computer program instructions that are performed by one or more computer circuits. These computer program instructions may be provided to a processor circuit of a general purpose computer circuit, special purpose computer circuit, and/or other programmable data processing circuit to produce a machine, such that the instructions, which execute via the processor of the computer and/or other programmable data processing apparatus, transform and control transistors, values stored in memory locations, and other hardware components within such circuitry to implement the functions/acts specified in the block diagrams and/or flowchart block or blocks, and thereby create means (functionality) and/or structure for implementing the functions/acts specified in the block diagrams and/or flowchart block(s).

These computer program instructions may also be stored in a tangible computer-readable medium that can direct a computer or other programmable data processing apparatus to function in a particular manner, such that the instructions stored in the computer-readable medium produce an article of manufacture including instructions which implement the functions/acts specified in the block diagrams and/or flowchart block or blocks. Accordingly, embodiments of present inventive concepts may be embodied in hardware and/or in software (including firmware, resident software, micro-code, etc.) that runs on a processor (also referred to as a controller) such as a digital signal processor, which may collectively be referred to as "circuitry," "a module" or variants thereof.

It should also be noted that in some alternate implementations, the functions/acts noted in the blocks may occur out of the order noted in the flowcharts. For example, two blocks shown in succession may in fact be executed substantially concurrently or the blocks may sometimes be executed in the reverse order, depending upon the functionality/acts involved. Moreover, the functionality of a given block of the flowcharts and/or block diagrams may be separated into multiple blocks and/or the functionality of two or more blocks of the flowcharts and/or block diagrams may be at least partially integrated. Finally, other blocks may be added/inserted between the blocks that are illustrated, and/or blocks/operations may be omitted without departing from the scope of inventive concepts. Moreover, although some of the diagrams include arrows on communication paths to show a primary direction of communication, it is to be understood that communication may occur in the opposite direction to the depicted arrows.

Many variations and modifications can be made to the embodiments without substantially departing from the principles of the present inventive concepts. All such variations and modifications are intended to be included herein within the scope of present inventive concepts. Accordingly, the above disclosed subject matter is to be considered illustrative, and not restrictive, and the examples of embodiments are intended to cover all such modifications, enhancements, and other embodiments, which fall within the spirit and scope of present inventive concepts. Thus, to the maximum extent allowed by law, the scope of present inventive concepts are to be determined by the broadest permissible interpretation of the present disclosure including the following claims and their equivalents, and shall not be restricted or limited by the foregoing detailed description.