Tire management system, tire management method

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-12293336-B2
Application number	US-202118021396-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Oct 13, 2021
Priority date	Dec 11, 2020
Publication date	May 6, 2025
Grant date	May 6, 2025

Abstract

A tire management system ( 100 ) includes: a first communication apparatus ( 2 ) that acquires state information regarding a state of a tire ( 11 ) that is transmitted from an air pressure detection device ( 12 ) provided in a vehicle ( 1 ) when the vehicle ( 1 ) is located in a communication range of a predetermined wireless communication standard; and a management server ( 4 ) including a storage processing portion ( 70 ) that stores, into a storage portion ( 43 ), the state information acquired by the first communication apparatus ( 2 ).

First claim

The invention claimed is:

1. A tire management system comprising:
processing circuitry configured to function as:
an acquisition processing portion configured to acquire, from at least a tire image acquisition apparatus, via a wireless communication network, state information regarding a state of a pneumatic tire attached to a vehicle when the vehicle is located in a predetermined specific range associated with the tire image acquisition apparatus;
a storage processing portion configured to store, into a predetermined storage portion, the state information acquired by the acquisition processing portion;
a detection processing portion configured to detect an abnormality of the pneumatic tire based on the state information stored in the storage portion;
a second output processing portion configured to, under a condition where the detection processing portion has detected the abnormality, wirelessly output, to a first output destination corresponding to the vehicle for display on a display of the vehicle, route information that indicates a route to a first location of a first office that is, among a plurality of offices where a maintenance service corresponding to the abnormality is provided, closest to a current position of the vehicle;
a third determination processing portion configured to, under a condition where the second output processing portion outputs the route information, determine whether or not an article used for the maintenance service is present in the first office; and
a fourth output processing portion configured to, under a condition where the third determination processing portion has determined that the article is absent at the first office, output second notification information, which includes an indication of the fact, to a third output destination corresponding to a second office that is, among the plurality of offices, closest to the first location of the first office and has the article; and

the tire image acquisition apparatus,
wherein the tire image acquisition apparatus is configured to acquire a tire image showing a ground-contact surface of the pneumatic tire as the state information regarding the state of the pneumatic tire,
wherein the tire image acquisition apparatus includes at least one image acquirer to acquire, under a condition where the pneumatic tire is on a photographing surface of the tire image acquisition apparatus, the tire image showing the ground-contact surface of the pneumatic tire, and
wherein the tire image acquisition apparatus is configured to output to the processing circuitry via the wireless communication network the state information regarding the state of the pneumatic tire corresponding to the ground-contact surface of the pneumatic tire.

2. The tire management system according to claim 1 , wherein the processing circuitry is configured to function as:
a second determination processing portion configured to, after the second output processing portion outputs the route information, determine whether or not the vehicle is moving according to the route information; and
a third output processing portion configured, to under a condition where the second determination processing portion has determined that the vehicle is moving according to the route information, output first notification information, which includes an indication that the route information has been output, to a second output destination corresponding to the first office.

3. The tire management system according to claim 1 , further comprising:
a first communication apparatus having a first antenna at a second location remote from the first location; and
a second communication apparatus having a second antenna,
wherein the processing circuitry receives the state information according to only a first format in a first case where the vehicle is located in the predetermined specific range associated with the first communication apparatus, and
wherein the processing circuitry receives the state information according to only a second format different from the first format in a second case where the vehicle is not located in the predetermined specific range associated with the first communication apparatus.

4. The tire management system according to claim 1 , further comprising:
a first communication apparatus having a first antenna; and
a second communication apparatus having a second antenna,
wherein first state data corresponding to a first portion of the state information regarding the state of the pneumatic tire attached to the vehicle when the vehicle is located in the predetermined specific range from the first communication apparatus is received by the first communication apparatus according to a first wireless communication standard corresponding to the predetermined specific range, and
wherein second state data, different from the first state data and corresponding to a second portion of the state information regarding the state of the pneumatic tire attached to the vehicle when the vehicle is located in the predetermined specific range from the second communication apparatus is received by the second communication apparatus according to a second wireless communication standard different from the first wireless communication standard and having a range greater than the predetermined specific range.

5. The tire management system according to claim 4 , wherein the second portion of the state information includes position information regarding the current position of the vehicle.

6. The tire management system according to claim 1 , further comprising:
a first communication apparatus having a first antenna,
wherein the first communication apparatus having the first antenna is configured to receive, from one or more detectors on or in the pneumatic tire, according to a predetermined first wireless communication standard, data corresponding to detected air pressure and air temperature in the pneumatic tire, when the vehicle is located in the predetermined specific range associated with the first communication apparatus.

7. The tire management system according to claim 6 , further comprising:
the one or more detectors on or in the pneumatic tire,
wherein the one or more detectors are configured to output the data corresponding to detected air pressure and air temperature in the pneumatic tire to the first communication apparatus according to the first wireless communication standard.

8. The tire management system according to claim 6 , further comprising:
a second communication apparatus having a second antenna,
wherein the second communication apparatus having the second antenna is configured to receive, from a vehicle-mounted communication apparatus external to the pneumatic tire, data corresponding to the detected air pressure detected by the one or more detectors on or in the pneumatic tire, according to a predetermined second wireless communication standard different from the predetermined first wireless communication standard, when the vehicle is located in a predetermined specific range associated with the second communication apparatus, and
wherein a second range associated with the predetermined second wireless communication standard is greater than a first range associated with the predetermined first wireless communication standard.

9. A tire management system comprising:
a non-volatile computer-readable memory; and
a processor operatively coupled to access the non-volatile computer-readable memory and configured to function as:
an acquisition processing portion configured to acquire, from a first communication apparatus having a first antenna, a second communication apparatus having a second antenna, and a tire image acquisition apparatus, respective state information regarding a

Assignees

• Sumitomo Rubber Ind

Inventors

• Teramoto Masaki
• TANIMURA Kazuharu
• Nishimoto Takahiro
• Yoneda Kenji
• Hashimoto Yukinori

Classifications

• G07C5/006

  Indicating maintenance · CPC title

• G06Q30/0213

  Consumer transaction fees · CPC title

• G07C5/008

  communicating information to a remotely located station (transmission systems for measured values G08C) · CPC title

• G06Q10/10

  Office automation; Time management · CPC title

• G06Q50/40

  Business processes related to the transportation industry (shipping G06Q10/083) · CPC title