Methods and apparatus to facilitate a tire change

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-12522038-B2
Application number	US-202418632269-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Apr 10, 2024
Priority date	Apr 10, 2024
Publication date	Jan 13, 2026
Grant date	Jan 13, 2026

Abstract

Methods and apparatus to facilitate a tire change are disclosed. An example apparatus includes interface circuitry, machine readable instructions, and programmable circuitry to at least one of instantiate or execute the machine readable instructions to detect an underinflated tire of a vehicle, cause an air suspension system to increase a ground clearance height of the vehicle to a first height in response to detecting the underinflated tire, cause the air suspension system to prevent air movement after the ground clearance height is increased to the first height.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1 . An apparatus comprising:
interface circuitry; machine readable instructions; and programmable circuitry to at least one of instantiate or execute the machine readable instructions to:
determine an average pressure of at least two of a plurality of tires of a vehicle;
detect an underinflated tire of the vehicle in response to a pressure of the underinflated tire being at least a threshold percentage less than the average pressure;
cause an air suspension system to increase a ground clearance height of the vehicle to a first height in response to detecting the underinflated tire; and
cause the air suspension system to prevent air movement after the ground clearance height is increased to the first height.

2 . The apparatus of claim 1 , wherein the first height is approximately a maximum ground clearance height associated with the vehicle.

3 . The apparatus of claim 1 , wherein the underinflated tire is a first tire, wherein the vehicle includes a second tire, a third tire, and a fourth tire, and wherein the programmable circuitry is to at least one of instantiate or execute the machine readable instructions to determine the average pressure of the at least two of the plurality of tires as an average pressure of the second tire, the third tire, and the fourth tire.

4 . The apparatus of claim 1 , wherein the threshold percentage is greater than or equal to 15%.

5 . The apparatus of claim 1 , wherein the programmable circuitry is to detect the underinflated tire in response to the pressure of the underinflated tire not satisfying a pressure threshold.

6 . The apparatus of claim 1 , wherein the programmable circuitry is to at least one of instantiate or execute the machine readable instructions to cause the air suspension system to pause increasing the ground clearance height when a door of the vehicle is in an open position.

7 . The apparatus of claim 1 , wherein the programmable circuitry is to at least one of instantiate or execute the machine readable instructions to detect the underinflated tire in response to (i) detecting an object under the vehicle while stationary and (ii) an increase in the ground clearance height of the vehicle.

8 . A vehicle comprising:
a suspension system including an air compartment coupled to a body of the vehicle to control a height of the body; a plurality of tires; interface circuitry; machine readable instructions; and programmable circuitry to at least one of instantiate or execute the machine readable instructions to:
determine an average pressure of at least two of the tires of the vehicle;
determine whether a first tire of the plurality of tires is underinflated based on a comparison of a pressure of the first tire to the average pressure;
cause air to be delivered to the air compartment to increase the height of the body to a first height after determining that the first tire is underinflated; and
prevent the air from moving into or out of the air compartment after the height of the body is increased to the first height.

9 . The vehicle of claim 8 , further including a sensor to measure the pressure of the first tire, and wherein the programmable circuitry is to at least one of instantiate or execute the machine readable instructions to determine whether the first tire is underinflated based on the pressure.

10 . The vehicle of claim 9 , wherein the programmable circuitry is to at least one of instantiate or execute the machine readable instructions to determine that the first tire is underinflated when the pressure of the first tire is less than the average pressure of the at least two of the tires by at least a threshold.

11 . The vehicle of claim 10 , wherein the threshold is greater than or equal to 15% of the average pressure of the at least two of the tires.

12 . The vehicle of claim 10 , wherein the pressure of the first tire is a first pressure, wherein the first tire is associated with a first location, and wherein, in response to receiving an indication that the first tire has been replaced, the programmable circuitry is to at least one of instantiate or execute the machine readable instructions to:
enable air movement out of the air compartment; and prevent a subsequent determination that a second tire placed in the first location is underinflated before determining that a second pressure associated with the second tire is within a range of the average pressure of the at least two of the tires.

13 . The vehicle of claim 9 , wherein the programmable circuitry is to at least one of instantiate or execute the machine readable instructions to cause the suspension system to pause moving air into the air compartment to increase the height of the body when a door of the vehicle is in an open position.

14 . The vehicle of claim 9 , wherein the programmable circuitry is to at least one of instantiate or execute the machine readable instructions to determine that the first tire is underinflated in response to (i) detecting an object under the vehicle while stationary and (ii) an increase in the height of the body.

15 . The vehicle of claim 9 , wherein the first height is approximately a maximum height associated with the body of the vehicle.

16 . A method comprising:
determining an average pressure of at least first and second tires of a vehicle; determining whether a third tire of the vehicle is underinflated based on a comparison of a pressure of the third tire to the average pressure; after determining that the third tire is underinflated, causing air to be delivered to an air compartment coupled to a vehicle body to increase a height of the vehicle body to a first height; and after the height of the vehicle body is increased to the first height, preventing the air from moving into or out of the air compartment.

17 . The method of claim 16 , wherein determining whether the third tire of the vehicle is underinflated includes:
comparing the pressure of the third tire to the average pressure of the at least first and second tires of the vehicle; and determining that the third tire is underinflated when the pressure is less than the average pressure by at least 15% of the average pressure.

18 . The method of claim 16 , wherein the first height is approximately a maximum height associated with the vehicle body.

19 . The method of claim 16 , wherein the third tire is associated with a first location, and further including:
identifying that the third tire has been replaced; enabling air movement out of the air compartment; and preventing a subsequent determination that a fourth tire in the first location is underinflated before determining that a pressure of the fourth tire is within a range of the average pressure of the at least first and second tires.

20 . The method of claim 16 , further including:
detecting an object under the vehicle while the vehicle is stationary; detecting an increase in the height of the vehicle; and determining that the third tire is underinflated after (i) detecting the object under the vehicle while the vehicle is stationary and (ii) detecting the increase in the height of the vehicle.

Assignees

• Ford Global Tech Llc

Inventors

• Grassel Elaine
• Magagnoli Anthony Paul
• Tucco Jonathan Michael
• Legge Dakota Drake
• Gonzalez Emmanuel
• Remington Taylor
• Russell David Michael

Classifications

• B60C23/0415

  Automatically identifying wheel mounted units, e.g. after replacement or exchange of wheels · CPC title

• B60G11/27

  wherein the fluid is a gas · CPC title

• B60G17/017

  characterised by their use when the vehicle is stationary, e.g. during loading, engine start-up or switch-off · CPC title

• B60G17/0525 Primary

  Height adjusting or levelling valves · CPC title

• B60G2500/32

  of only one vehicle part or side · CPC title