Control device and method for variable tire pressure

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-12090798-B2
Application number	US-202217729666-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Apr 26, 2022
Priority date	Sep 30, 2021
Publication date	Sep 17, 2024
Grant date	Sep 17, 2024

Abstract

A control apparatus and method for varying tire pressure can improve fuel efficiency, energy efficiency, and driving performance by applying a bimetal to a rim portion of a wheel, inducing deformation of the bimetal by applying current to the bimetal according to conditions such as driving information and road information, and individually controlling air pressures of four tires of the front and rear wheels through the deformation of the bimetal.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1. A control apparatus for varying tire pressure, the control apparatus comprising:
a bimetal replacing a rim portion of a wheel coupled to a tire and configured to change the tire pressure by deforming when an electric current is applied to the bimetal; and
a controller configured to control the electric current applied to the bimetal by use of information of an input unit electrically connected to the controller.

2. The control apparatus of claim 1 , wherein the bimetal is provided on each of left and right front wheels and left and right rear wheels of a vehicle, and is individually operated by the controller.

3. The control apparatus of claim 1 , wherein when the bimetal is deformed to protrude toward the tire of a vehicle, the tire pressure increases and when the bimetal is deformed to protrude in an opposite direction of the tire, the tire pressure decreases.

4. The control apparatus of claim 1 , wherein the input unit includes a navigation, an acceleration (G) sensor, a weight sensor, an indoor ultrasonic sensor, an external camera, and a tire pressure sensor.

5. The control apparatus of claim 1 , wherein the bimetal is a thermal expansion type bimetal or an electromagnetic induction type bimetal.

6. The control apparatus of claim 5 , wherein in the thermal expansion type bimetal, a pressurization module and a depressurization module are alternately arranged one by one in a circumferential direction of the wheel to adjust an air pressure in the tire.

7. A control method for varying the tire pressure by use of the control apparatus of claim 1 , the method comprising:
selecting, by the controller, a mode for selecting one mode of a specified air pressure mode, a fuel economy improvement mode, a cornering performance improvement mode, a braking performance improvement mode, an acceleration performance improvement mode, a ride comfort improvement mode, and a driving stability improvement mode by use of the information transmitted from the input unit; and
controlling, by the controller, an air pressure in the tire of a vehicle for varying the tire pressure by controlling the electric current applied to the bimetal of the wheel according to the selected one mode.

8. The method of claim 7 , wherein the bimetal is provided on each of left and right front wheels and left and right rear wheels of the vehicle, and is individually controlled.

9. The method of claim 7 , wherein the bimetal replaces the rim portion in each of the left and right front wheels and the left and right rear wheels, and when the bimetal is deformed to protrude toward the tire of the vehicle, the tire pressure increases and when the bimetal is deformed to protrude in an opposite direction of the tire, the tire pressure decreases.

10. The method of claim 7 , wherein in the specified air pressure mode, which refers to a general city road driving situation, air pressures of left and right front tires and air pressures of left and right rear tires are all controlled at a predetermined pressure.

11. The method of claim 7 ,
wherein the fuel economy improvement mode refers to one of a first situation of cruising on a highway or high-speed road, and a second situation in which a load weight of rear seat passengers or in a trunk of the vehicle is greater than a reference value, and
wherein in the first situation, air pressures of left and right front tires and air pressures of left and right rear tires are all controlled to an increased pressure higher than a predetermined pressure.

12. The method of claim 11 , wherein in the second situation, the air pressures of the left and right front tires are controlled at the predetermined pressure, and the air pressures of the left and right rear tires are controlled to an increased pressure higher than the predetermined pressure.

13. The method of claim 7 , wherein in the cornering performance improvement mode, which refers to a vehicle turning situation, air pressures of left and right front tires are controlled to a reduced pressure lower than a predetermined pressure, and air pressures of left and right rear tires are controlled at the predetermined pressure.

14. The method of claim 7 , wherein in the braking performance improvement mode, which refers to a rapid deceleration situation, air pressures of left and right front tires are controlled to a reduced pressure lower than a predetermined pressure, and air pressures of left and right rear tires are controlled at the predetermined pressure.

15. The method of claim 7 , wherein in the acceleration performance improvement mode, which refers to a rapid acceleration situation, air pressures of left and right front tires are controlled at a predetermined pressure, and air pressures of left and right rear tires are controlled to a reduced pressure lower than the predetermined pressure.

16. The method of claim 7 , wherein in the ride comfort improvement mode, which refers to a rough road driving situation, air pressures of left and right front tires and air pressures of left and right rear tires are all controlled to a reduced pressure lower than a predetermined pressure.

17. The method of claim 7 ,
wherein the driving stability improvement mode refers to a slope driving situation which is one of a left slope with low left and high right of the vehicle, a right slope with high left and low right of the vehicle, an uphill slope with high front and low back of the vehicle, and a downhill slope with high bottom and high back of the vehicle, and
wherein in the left slope situation, air pressures of left tires of front and rear wheels are all controlled to an increased pressure higher than a predetermined pressure, and air pressures of right tires of front and rear wheels are all controlled to a reduced pressure lower than the predetermined pressure.

18. The method of claim 17 , wherein in the right slope situation, the air pressures of the left tires of the front and rear wheels are all controlled to the reduced pressure lower than the predetermined pressure, and the air pressures of the right tires of the front and rear wheels are all controlled to an increased pressure higher than the predetermined pressure.

19. The method of claim 17 , wherein in the uphill slope situation, the air pressures of the left and right front tires are all controlled to the reduced pressure lower than the predetermined pressure, and the air pressures of the left and right rear tires are all controlled to an increased pressure higher than the predetermined pressure.

20. The method of claim 17 , wherein in the downhill slope situation, the air pressures of the left and right front tires are all controlled to the increased pressure higher than the predetermined pressure, and the air pressures of the left and right rear tires are all controlled to the reduced pressure lower than the predetermined pressure.

Assignees

• Hyundai Motor Co Ltd
• Kia Corp
• Hyundai Motor Compnay

Inventors

• Shin Seong Su
• Hong Jang Won
• Jung Se Hoon

Classifications

• B60B21/02

  characterised by transverse section · CPC title

• B60C23/004

  the control being done on the wheel, e.g. using a wheel-mounted reservoir · CPC title

• B60W2552/15

  Road slope, i.e. the inclination of a road segment in the longitudinal direction · CPC title

• B60W40/076

  Slope angle of the road · CPC title

• B60W40/12

  related to parameters of the vehicle itself {, e.g. tyre models} · CPC title