Sensors incorporated into tire plies to detect reversible deformation and/or temperature changes

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-12025510-B2
Application number	US-202318211166-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Jun 16, 2023
Priority date	Mar 27, 2019
Publication date	Jul 2, 2024
Grant date	Jul 2, 2024

Abstract

Tires formed of one or more tire plies are disclosed. In some implementations, tire plies may include a temperature sensor that may detect a temperature of a respective tire ply. The temperature sensor may include one or more split-ring resonators (SRRs), each having a resonance frequency that changes in response to one or more of a change in an elastomeric property or a change in the temperature of a respective one or more tire plies. In some aspects, the temperature sensor may include an electrically-conductive layer dielectrically separated from a respective one or more SRRs.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1. A system comprising:
an antenna configured to output an electromagnetic ping; and
a plurality of split-ring resonators (SRRs) embedded within a material, each SRR resonating at a unique resonant frequency in response to the electromagnetic ping, and each SRR configured to selectively shift its respective resonant frequency in response to a change in an elastomeric property of a corresponding portion of the material, wherein the antenna is further configured to receive, from each SRR of the plurality of SRRs, a return electromagnetic signal responsive to the electromagnetic ping.

2. The system of claim 1 , wherein the elastomeric property of a respective portion of the material includes one or more of a reversible deformation, stress, or strain.

3. The system of claim 1 , wherein each return electromagnetic signal indicates whether there is a change in the elastomeric property of a corresponding portion of the material.

4. The system of claim 1 , wherein the plurality of SRRs comprises a first SRR including a plurality of first carbon particles configured to uniquely resonate in response to the electromagnetic ping based at least in part on a concentration level of the plurality of first carbon particles.

5. The system of claim 4 , wherein the plurality of SRRs further comprises a second SRR adjacent to the first SRR and including a plurality of second carbon particles configured to uniquely resonate in response to the electromagnetic ping based at least in part on a concentration level of the plurality of second carbon particles.

6. The system of claim 5 , wherein the first carbon particles include first carbon aggregates forming a first porous structure, and the second carbon particles include second carbon aggregates forming a second porous structure.

7. The system of claim 5 , wherein the first SRR and the second SRR are three-dimensionally (3D) printed onto a surface of the material.

8. The system of claim 5 , wherein the first SRR is configured to resonate at a first frequency in response to the electromagnetic ping, and the second SRR is configured to resonate at a second frequency in response to the electromagnetic ping, the first frequency different than the second frequency.

9. The system of claim 5 , wherein an amplitude of resonance of one or both of the first and second SRRs is indicative of an extent of wear of the material.

10. The system of claim 5 , wherein an amount of the resonant frequency shift of a respective SRR in response to the electromagnetic ping is indicative of an amount of deformation of at least a portion of material.

11. The system of claim 1 , wherein the material comprises a tire including a plurality of tire plies, each tire ply associated with a respective SRR of the plurality of SRRs.

12. The system of claim 11 , wherein each SRR of the plurality of SRRs includes a plurality of carbon particles configured to resonate at a unique frequency in response to the electromagnetic ping.

13. The system of claim 11 , wherein each SRR of the plurality of SRRs has one of an oval shape, an elliptical shape, a cylindrical shape, a rectangular shape, a square shape, a circle shape, or a curved line.

14. The system of claim 11 , wherein one or more pairs of adjacent SRRs are configured as respective pairs of concentric rings.

15. The system of claim 11 , wherein the tire is associated with a vehicle.

16. The system of claim 15 , further comprising a control unit configured to selectively adjust a suspension of the vehicle based on shifts in the respective resonant frequencies of the plurality of SRRs.

17. The system of claim 16 , wherein the control unit is configured to decrease an intensity of the suspension in response to a presence of debris on the tire.

18. The system of claim 16 , wherein the shifts in the respective resonant frequencies of the plurality of SRRRs are responsive to the electromagnetic ping in a presence of a change in an elastomeric property of one or more of the plurality of tire plies.

19. The system of claim 15 , wherein the antenna is disposed within a wheel-well of the vehicle.

Assignees

• Lyten Inc

Inventors

• Stowell Michael W
• Montalvo Carlos

Classifications

• B60C2019/004

  Tyre sensors other than for detecting tyre pressure · CPC title

• G01K7/38

  the variations of temperature influencing the magnetic permeability · CPC title

• B33Y80/00

  Products made by additive manufacturing · CPC title

• H01P1/20381

  Special shape resonators · CPC title

• G01K2211/00

  Thermometers based on nanotechnology · CPC title