US 2015.0005982A1 (19) United States (12) Patent ... · steering by controlling tires cornering ......

(19) United States US 2015.0005982A1

(12) Patent Application Publication (10) Pub. No.: US 2015/0005982 A1 (43) Pub. Date: Jan. 1, 2015 Muthukumar

(54) SMART ACTIVETYRE PRESSURE OPTIMISING SYSTEM

(71) Applicant: Prasad MUTHUKUMAR, (US)

(72) Inventor: Prasad Muthukumar, Tamil Nadu (IN)

(21) Appl. No.: 14/368,192

(22) PCT Filed: Dec. 18, 2012

(86). PCT No.: PCT/N2O12AOOO826

S371 (c)(1), (2) Date: Jun. 23, 2014

(30) Foreign Application Priority Data

Dec. 23, 2011 (IN) ........................... 4539/CHFA2011

Publication Classification

(51) Int. Cl. B60C 23/00 (2006.01) GOIN 9/10 (2006.01) GOIP 5/00 (2006.01) G0IB 2/16 (2006.01) GOIL 7/00 (2006.01) GOIM 7702 (2006.01) GOIL 5/28 (2006.01)

(52) U.S. Cl. CPC ............. B60C23/002 (2013.01); G0IM 17/02

(2013.01); G0IN 19/10 (2013.01); G0IL 5/282 (2013.01); G0IB 2 1/16 (2013.01); G0IL 1700

(2013.01); G0IP 15/00 (2013.01) USPC .............................................................. 701/1

(57) ABSTRACT

Smart Active Tyre Pressure Optimising System (TPOS 102 is a highly time sensitive design and technique that acts instantaneously in sensing and controlling the tire pressure particularly in imminent and inevitable critical driving situa tions to reduce emergency & high speed breaking distance, mitigate—loss of traction, hydroplaning, roll over, loss of stability, over & under steering, break failure, loss of control

due to puncture by Smartly sensing, perform context aware computing and directing the Tyre Pressure Control Units TPCU 104 to instantaneously control the tyre pressure in right time with right pressure on right tyres thereby actively controlling the footprint and sidewall deformation rate to enhance traction & Stability simultaneously Sustaining driv ability or steerability ultimately to avoid or reduce the impact of collusion and overcome or mitigate critical situations for protecting the vehicles, occupants, pedestrians and other objects around or on the way; also according to design, con figurations and Scenarios the system instantaneously opti mises the tyre pressure on all tyres for further safe driving till next restoration else restores the pressure to optimum preset value utilising inbuilt reservoir or other external restoration systems immediately after the vehicle overcomes the critical situation to continue with safe and comfortable driving. In critical situations TPOS performs sensing, pre computing, current computing for controlling the tire pressure during critical situation, post computing to optimise tire pressure after overcoming accordingly. TPOS 102 utilise Smart and adaptive closed loop processing algorithm with predeter mined and tested lookup table to instantaneously check and compare the effects between predetermined and tested real world scenarios to the actual real world scenarios for actively sensing, computing and controlling the tire pressure accord ingly to mitigate the critical situations. The controlling of tyre pressure is computed mainly based on parameters comprising of sensor system, vehicle safety and stability systems, nature of breaking & break force distribution, tires upper & lower cut-off pressure values, sensing reservoirs and tires internal & external pressure, temperature, moisture, humidity, wheel & tire specifications, vehicle & wheel speed, acceleration & deceleration, vehicle orientation & axial rotation, transverse motion & lateral acceleration, tires position orangle of attack, load & torque distribution, tire traction, steering position, cornering effects, change in Centre of gravity, over & under steering, hydroplaning, sensing road conditions, etc and to further enhance the efficiency, the system interoperates with vehicles existing safety and stability systems like ABS, EBD, ESC, TCS, Rollover mitigation systems, ECU, BA, Precrash systems, Suspension & Vertical dynamics, radar assisted auto breaking, cruise control system, aerodynamics & airbrakes etc. Other aspects of present invention are controlling the tire temperature according to environmental temperature, mois

EE

&&. six-series -

sia: 88& i

skis ress:

Sixes: 5s;8ssssss''' ''

- - - - - - - - - b. 3 C

s:secrer, six.x: ise:::::8:

8

r Myses:

. . . . .

: - - - - - - - - - - - C

Ssssss is 8:28:8.

3888 xxxists:

US 2015/0005982 A1

ture and humidity thereby to enhance traction and vary tire driving modes—comfort, standard and sports modes. pressure according to change in centre of gravity & load,

Patent Application Publication Jan. 1, 2015 Sheet 2 of 6 US 2015/0005982 A1

FG - 2

FLOW CHAR:

START D 210

SYSTEMSTARTS MONITORNG - - - - - - 220

On A WW 230

TRGGER SIGNA

S CRTCA OR EMERGENCY SITUATION DETECTED

- - - - - 240

SAPOSACVELY COMPUES HE CONTROSGNAL BASED ON NAURE OF TRIGGER SIGNAL FROM SENSORS, WSTABLY AND SAFETY

PARAMETERS E.G. ABS, EBD, BA, ESP, TCS, EULER ANGLES, ECU etc. STANDARD YRE PRESSURE 8.

EMPERATURES MANANED

TPCUACCORDINGLY WARY, CONTROLS to 270 AND OPTIMIZE THE TRE PRESSURE ANDEMPERAUREN REAME TO ENHANCE WEHICLE TRACON AND SABLY


FIG - 3

HGH PRESSURE RESERVOR CONFIGURATIONS

FG - 3A

FIG - 3B


FIG - 4 SATPOS USENG KINETIC BREAK ENERGY TO RUN THE PUMP OR COMPRESSOR

FOW CHART

D 30

SYSTEMSTARTS MONTORNG . . . . . b. 220

2 TRGGER SGNA 230

STYRE & IOR RESERVOR PRESSURE SUFFICIENTP

SYSTEM MONTORS NATURE OF BREAKNG

S KINETIC BREAKENERGY SUFFECENT TO RUN

PUMP or COMPRESSOR

NO STANDARD YRE & RESERWOR PRESSURE IS MANTAINED

SATPOS ACTWEY COMPUTES THE CONTROLSIGNATO DIRECT THE

TPCUTO RECHARGE, RESTORE AND OPTIMISE RESERVOR & ORTYRE

PRESSURE AVALABETYRE & RESERVOR PRESSURE IS MANTANED

as we see war as at D 40 ----> 360

TPCUACCORONGY RUNS THE NTEGRATED COMPRESSOR TO

RECHARGE, RESTORE AND OPTIMISE TYRE AND RESERWOR PRESSURE


FIG - 5

SATPOS UTILISING KINETIC BREAKENERGY TO RUN THE PNEUMATIC VALVES FOR FLUID TRANSFER

FLOW CHART

re. as as aD 310

SYSTEMSTARTS MONTORNG 220

230 TRGGER SGNA

STYRE & OR RESERVOR PRESSURE SUFFICENTR

SYSTEM MONTORS NATURE OF BREAKNG

S KNETC BREAK ENERGY SUFFCENT TO RUN PNEUMATC WAVE

NO STANDARD TYRE & RESERVOR PRESSURE IS MANTANED

SATPOS ACTWELY COMPUTES THE CONTROSGNATO DIRECT THE

TPCUTO RECHARGE, RESTORE AND OPTIMSE RESERVOR & ORTYRE

PRESSURE AVALABLE YRE & RESERWOR PRESSURE IS MANTANED

a was at as as a D 600

TPCUACCORONG Y RUNS THE

PNEUMATIC VALVESTO RECHARGE, RESTORE AND OPTMSE YRE AND

RESERVOR PRESSURE


FG - 6 FIG - 6A

SATPOS UTSNG KNETIC BREAK ENERGY TO RUN THE PUMP OR COMPRESSOR

SATPOS UTLSENG KiNETIC BREAKENERGY TO RUN THE PNEUMATIC VALVES FOR FLUED TRANSFER

US 2015/0005982 A1

SMART ACTIVETYRE PRESSURE OPTIMISING SYSTEM

FIELD OF INVENTION

0001. The present invention is related to automobile or transportation domain and more particularly into vehicles utilising pneumatic tires.

BACKGROUND OF INVENTION

0002 Tire pressure plays an important role in vehicle trac tion and stability. Generally the vehicles tyre pressure are manually set to an optimum value or tire pressure control system works to maintain set pressure value to enhance driv ing on various terrains, better mileage, enhance driving com fort, reduced—tyre noise, friction, wear and tear etc. But maintaining these optimum or set pressure fixed value val ues constantly irrespective of the critical situations which won’t vary tire pressure instantaneously according to critical situations in turn doesn’t helps in enhancing the vehicles available traction and stability in critical situation. For example in critical situations these constantly maintained optimum or set tyre pressure values only Sustains the avail able traction & Stability of corresponding pressure value which won't help in improving traction and stability rolling resistance, friction etc thereby to reducing emergency break ing distance, won't help in mitigating hydroplaning by increasing tire thread depth to deflect more water outward thereby helping in clearing water, wont aid to mitigate roll over or loss of vehicle stability by controlling tyre pressure for vehicle moving in highly uneven, slope Surfaces, vehicles experience extreme cornering force etc where the vehicle tends to move beyond available stability systems limits that can leads to loss of stability, doesn’t mitigate over and under steering by controlling tires cornering stiffness, controlling tire deformation rate, contact patch or foot print to increase traction, mitigate positive and negative gradient to Sustain a neutral gradient etc. The ABS and TCS can prevent loss of traction from happening by limiting power to the wheels. ESC detects loss of steering control and automatically applies the brakes selective wheel braking, which depends in turn on road contact to helps in steering the vehicle where the driver intends to go. But in critical situations these system cannot increase the limits of much needed available tire traction or stability and is used only to decrease the effect of driver error or compensate for a drivers inability to react quickly enough to wheel slip. Braking is automatically applied to wheels individually, such as the outer front wheel to counter over steer or the inner rear wheel to counter understeer. Some ESC systems also reduce engine power until control is regained. So ESC can help to regain the control but cannot mitigate aqua planing. The ESC works with the available traction between the tires and road and is not so effective in severe hydroplan ing scenario as the wheels that ESC would use to correct a skid may not even initially be in contact with the road, reduc ing its effectiveness. Aquaplane or hydroplaning occurs when the tyre's grooves cannot remove water quickly enough which in turn leads to loss contact with the road Surface and skims across the top of the standing water. Hydro planing happens more easily with lack of tyre tread depth, under inflation which causes a tyre to deflect water inward thereby raising the tyre centre and preventing the treads from clearing water.

Jan. 1, 2015

0003. There are some tyre pressure control systems that only works to maintain optimum or set tyre pressure value throughout the period of time that won't change according to critical situations which only helps to enhance driving on various terrains and won’t sense critical situations or instantly vary or control the maintained tire pressure thereby to aid the vehicle to overcome the critical situations like—emergency breaking, hydroplaning, loss of traction, loss of Stability or roll over mitigation, over and under steering mitigation etc. There are scenarios where the fixed optimum and presetter rain based tyre pressure control system used enhancing driv ing in various terrains which maintain constant pressure irre spective of critical situation like hydroplaning that won't helps in mitigating hydroplaning. During emergency break ing the tyre traction can also vary based on contamination between tyres and road Surfaces contact area like layer of water, sand etc which can causes significant loss of traction and the tire pressure control system won’t works in sensing and mitigating these scenarios. More particularly the slow processing and functioning speed of the other TPCS systems won't work or help in critical situations as these scenarios are highly time sensitive that requires instant processing and functioning. Also other systems that utilise vehicles with integrated or inbuilt compressor and similar systems posse lot of complications as it consumes the valuable space and power also adding extra weight to the vehicle which makes the system more expensive, complex to operate, integrate, maintain and service that prevents it from large-scale imple mentation.

OBJECTIVE OF INVENTION

0004 Objective of the invention is to enhance vehicle traction and stability in critical driving situations like emer gency breaking distance, avoid or mitigate—loss of traction, hydroplaning, roll over or loss of stability, inevitable collu Sion, over and under steering through instantaneously con trolling tire pressure ultimately to protect the vehicle, occu pants, pedestrians and other things around or on the way by preventing or reducing the impact of collusion.

SUMMARY

0005 To address the issues with optimally maintaining tire pressure constantly all over the time and other non time sensitive tire pressure control systems, the present invention provides a Smart active tire pressure optimising system that instantaneously works in critical situations by sensing, com puting and controlling the tire pressure on right tires with right pressure in right time according to critical situations thereby to enhance the available traction and stability. The SATPOS aids in enhancing and effectively optimising vehicles overall performance in safety, stability, control, speed, mileage, reducing tire wear & tear and impact on environment. The critical situations won’t occur always but can occur at any time as a Surprise and the present system constantly monitors and equipped to face the challenges placed ahead thereby helps in overcoming or mitigating the critical driving situation ultimately protecting the passengers, pedestrians, vehicles and other objects in and around the way. Even an inch to a meter distance is crucial in extreme situa tions to avoid, mitigate and reduce the impact of collusion that in turn helps in saving valuable lives and property. The TPOS 102 system performs active sensing, pre computing & set ready to control the tire pressure prior to critical situation,

US 2015/0005982 A1

current computing for controlling the tire pressure during critical situation, post computing to optimise tire pressure after overcoming the critical situation ultimately to overcome and mitigate the critical situations. The TPOS mainly controls the tire pressure between upper and lower cut-off tire pressure values with corresponding change in vehicles load and centre of gravity thereby mitigating critical situations simulta neously preventing over and under inflation ultimately to sustain stability. TPOS utilise Smart and adaptive closed loop processing algorithm with predetermined and tested lookup table to instantaneously check and compare the effects between predetermined and tested real world scenarios to the actual real world Scenarios for actively sensing, computing and controlling the tire pressure in right time on right tyres with right pressure thereby to mitigate the critical situations. Besides alerting the driver regarding the controlling of tire pressure the present system also optimises the tire pressure once the vehicle overcomes the critical situation to continue with optimal driving. Since various parameters and multiple critical situations are simultaneously taken into account by TOPS for computation, the systems algorithm smartly sense, prioritise & balance between to achieve an optimised solu tion. The present system works in standalone mode based on sensor System parameters or in addition interoperate with vehicles safety and stability systems to further enhance the efficiency of ABS, EBD, ESC, TCS, BA, suspension system, roll over mitigation system, automotive aerodynamics & air brakes etc thereby enhancing the overall performance in sus taining traction and Stability. As most of the parameters uti lised by the system are already available with vehicles; which in turn aids in easy implementation of the system. TPOS in addition to instantaneously varying and controlling the tyre pressure in critical situations also immediately optimises or restores the tyre pressure if difference or variation in tires pressure is detected from the optimum or preset pressure value once the vehicle overcomes the critical situations to continue with safe & comfortable driving with enhanced stability, mileage and to reduce tyre noise. According to design, configuration and scenarios the present system either controls the pressure by releasing the fillers to atmosphere while maintaining the tires lower cut off threshold pressure value to Sustain stability and instantaneously optimise the pressure on all tyres for further safe driving till next gas station or filling until restoration or else restores the pressure to optimum preset value utilising in inbuilt reservoir or other external restoration systems immediately after the vehicle overcomes critical situation to continue with comfortable driving. The TPOS works in standalone mode or interoperate with vehicles safety and stability systems or its combinations according to design, configurations and Scenarios. Either dedicated hard or soft or its combinations TPOS switches are utilised for manually activate TOPS. The following aspects are flexible as either basic to higher end, one or multiple or combination of following aspects are utilised according to design, configurations, requirements and scenarios. 0006. According to one aspect of present invention the TPOS instantaneously works in critical situation to reduce high speed and emergency breaking distance by actively sensing, computing and controlling the tire pressure to some extent from optimum or existing value to right pressure on right tires in right time ultimately to increase the rolling resistance and friction thereby instantaneously improving traction while Sustaining stability. The system maintaining

Jan. 1, 2015

the tires upper & lower cut-off threshold pressure values to prevent over inflation and under inflation or tire deformation. 0007 According to another aspect of present invention the TPOS instantaneously mitigates the extreme loss of traction, skid and wheels spin on either one or multiple wheel tires by actively sensing, computing and controlling the tire pressure between or corresponding tires in right time with right pres Sure thereby to restore and mitigate loss of traction. 0008 According to another aspect of present invention the TPOS system instantaneously mitigates hydroplaning or aquaplaning by actively sensing, computing and controlling increasing the tire pressure on right tires with right pressure on right time while maintaining the tires upper cut-off thresh old value to reduce the surface area of tire to avoid water deflected inwards, increasing the tires grooves & thread depth to deflect more water outward thereby helping in clearing water which in turn prevents the rising of tires thereby to restoring traction and mitigating aquaplaning. 0009. According to another aspect of present invention the TPOS instantaneously works to mitigate over and under steering by actively sensing, computing and controlling the tire pressure in right time with right pressure on right tires thereby controlling thread depth, enhancing traction, control ling contact patch or foot print, controlling tires cornering stiffness and controlling tire deformation thereby mitigating positive and negative gradient to Sustain Zero or neutral gra dient.

0010. According to another aspect of present invention the TPOS instantaneously mitigate roll over and loss of stability by actively sensing the vehicle moving with hard cornering and in Surface that are highly uneven, inclined, slope etc that tend to move beyond available stability systems limits thereby computing and controlling the tire pressure in right time with right pressure on right tires thereby to Sustain sta bility. 0011. According to another aspect of present invention the TPOS system mitigates the loss of control & stability in puncture scenario besides alerting the driver regarding rapid loss of pressure in puncture Scenarios by actively sensing and instantaneously supplying the fillers air or nitrogen from the reservoir to the punctured tires thereby to sustain the pressure preventing the rapidloss oftire pressure ultimately improving the time of drivability and stability of the vehicle. 0012. According to another aspect of present invention the TPOS instantaneously works to enhance extreme and high speed—cornering hard cornering performance, torque vec toring and handling characteristic by instantaneously sens ing, computing and controlling the tire pressure in right time with right pressure on right tires thereby assist in sharp cor nering, preventing tires sidewall deformation simultaneously optimising traction and stability. 0013. According to another aspect of present invention the TPOS system vary, control and optimise the tire pressure according to driving modes like comfort, comfort+, standard, economic, sport, sport+ modes etc to enhance the comfort level, performance, improving fuel efficiency thereby reduc ing effect on environment, controlling tire noise according to modes and also works irrespective of modes in instanta neously controlling the tire pressure according to critical situations. According to design, configuration and Scenarios the TPOS system either controls the tire pressure by releasing the fillers to atmosphere or utilise inbuilt reservoir or other external restoration systems or its combinations.

US 2015/0005982 A1

0014. According to another aspect of present invention the TPOS system works to control and optimise the tire pressure according to change in centre of gravity and load on each wheel tires by sensing, computing and controlling or optimis ing the tires accordingly to enhance the vehicle stability and handling characteristic. 0015. According to another aspect of present invention the system particularly utilises one or more high pressure reser Voirs or tanks for storing the fillers like air and nitrogen that are optimally located mounted or integrated on wheel's rim, spokes, hub, axle etc with pneumatic valve and control sys tem for controlling the tire pressure in critical situations and optimising or restoring the tire pressure during and after overcoming the critical situations according to the control signal from TPOS. These reservoir systems operates without any compressor or similar sources as the pressure maintained in the reservoir is higher multiple times than the optimum tire pressure for the fluids or fillers to flow from reservoir to tire thereby controlling the tire pressure accordingly and the fillers are restored through external sources. 0016. According to another aspect of present invention the TPCU comprises of integrated compressor or pump powered by kinetic break energy—in combination with high pressure fluid reservoir to recharge reservoir fluid and in turn the reservoir restores the tyre pressure or without high pressure reservoir system for directly recharging tire pressure or its combinations based on design, configuration and scenarios thereby to restore and optimise the tyre pressure ultimately to provide maintenance free operation of tires. The users don’t need to maintain or restore the tire pressure as the TPOS system itself will autonomously work to recharge and main tain the optimum tyre pressure. 0017. According to another aspect of present invention the TPCU utilise kinetic break energy to run the pneumatic valves thereby to control or transfer the fluid air, nitrogenetic flow from & to or between atmosphere, pump, compressor, reservoirs and tires or its combinations according design, configuration, requirement and scenarios ultimately to restore and optimise the tyre and reservoir pressure. 0018. According to another aspect of the present invention in an extreme worst case scenario that comprising of malfunc tion, partial or complete failure of vehicle safety and stability system (E.g. failure of breaks, TCS, rollover mitigation sys tem etc occurs either the onboard system automatically sense the failure to trigger TPOS or the TPOS system is manually triggered to instantaneously control the tire pressure for increasing the friction, traction and rolling resistance ulti mately to reduce the stopping distance while simultaneously maintaining the vehicle stability, drivability and steerability thereby mitigating critical situations. 0019. According to another aspect of present invention the TPCU 104 integrated with Active Tire Temperature Opti miser System ATTOS that works to control and maintain the tire temperature and pressure according to change intempera ture of weather or environment and critical situations thereby controlling the tires property, softening, hardening or Solidi fication and sidewall deformation rate ultimately to enhance tire traction, reduce breaking distance emergency or normal according to scenario, enhance cornering & handling char acteristics, mitigate hydroplaning, mitigate over and under steering etc. The ATTOS controls the tire temperature instan taneously in critical situation or continuously according to design, configuration and Scenarios.

Jan. 1, 2015

0020. According to another aspect of present invention the system utilise inbuilt sensor System to actively scan, sense, compute and alerts the driver irrespective of vehicles in motion or stationary regarding wheels or rims structural dam age comprising of bends & cracks and potentially hazardous foreign objects. E.g. Stones stuck in tires based on its nature, dimension & depth of penetration, tires wear & tear, tire cuts, bulges, Sidewall damages, slow puncture with corresponding tires location & position.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DIAGRAM

0021. To get a comprehensive understanding of the sys tem, diagrams are described by examples. 0022 FIG. 1 illustrates the block diagram of the present system comprising components according to present inven tion Tyre Pressure Optimising System (TPOS, Tyre pres sure Control Unit TPCU, User Interface, Interaction with other sensor Systems, ECU, safety and stability systems 0023 FIG. 2 illustrates the flowchart and describes the method of operation of the Smartactive tyre pressure optimis ing System. (0024 FIG. 3 illustrates the TPOS system with various reservoir configurations. One 3A with centralised reservoir system and another 3B with dedicated reservoir system. 0025 FIG. 4 illustrates the flowchart and describes the method of operation of the SATPOS utilising Kinetic Break Energy to run pump and compressor. 0026 FIG. 5 illustrates the flowchart and describes the method of operation of the SATPOS utilising Kinetic Break Energy to run Pneumatic valves. (0027 FIG. 6 A&B illustrates the block diagram of present system that describes the method of operation of the SATPOS utilising Kinetic Break Energy to run pneumatic valves, pump and compressor.

DETAIL DESCRIPTION

0028 TPOS works by actively sensing critical situations and computing the tire pressure in real time based on param eters comprising of sensor System, vehicle stability & safety systems, nature of breaking & break force, tires lower & upper cut-off threshold pressure values, sensing reservoirs and tires internal & external or environmental pressure, temperature, moisture, humidity, vehicles speed, wheel speed, acceleration & deceleration, orientations & axial rota tion yaw, pitch and roll, load distribution load on each wheel tire, torque distribution, vehicles suspension & verti cal dynamic, transverse motion & lateral acceleration, tire traction, Coefficient of Friction ICOF), slip and slide angle, steering wheel position, cornering effects, change in centre of gravity, over & under Steering, aqua or hydroplaning, radars detecting objects with pre & current computing of tire pres Sure to assist in emergency breaking & Stability based on range, direction and dimension of objects in and around the vehicle, rim or wheel specifications, tire specifications & parameters comprising of size, type, load index, speed sym bol or rating, thread wear & tear, traction & temperature rating, tires dimension, direction, compound & material used, maximum load rating, maximum permissible inflation pres Sure, patterns of treads, lugs, Voids, sipes & groves, wheel alignment & balancing, camber angle, Tires position orangle of attack, sensing nature oftires present & impending contact area road sensing. GPS information to predict the turns, curves and bends on roads ahead and inter operating with

US 2015/0005982 A1

vehicles existing stability & safety systems comprising of Anti-lock Braking System (ABS), Electronic Brakeforce Distribution (EBD), Electronic Stability Control (ESC), Traction Control System (TCS), Roll over mitigation sys tems, Engine Control Unit (ECU), Brake Assist BA, Pre crash systems, Suspension system, Vertical dynamics & damping force, Sway or anti-roll or stabilizer bar, radar assisted auto breaking with partially & complete break to stop, automotive aerodynamics & airbrakes, sensing Drivers reaction with evasion evasive manoeuvre of objects, Cruise or Adaptive Cruise Control with partial & full auto breaking: thereby instantaneous direct the TPCU to control the tire pressure on corresponding tyres in right time thereby to over come or mitigate the critical situations. As various parameters and multiple critical situations are simultaneously taken into account by TOPS for computation, the systems algorithm Smartly sense, prioritise and balance between one or more parameters and scenarios to achieve an optimised solution. The design actively monitors the status of the TPOS system and their component thereby updates the driver in real time. Also mainly alerts the driver in case of the system is active and functioning through user interface regarding systems opera tions in critical situations comprising of controlling the tyre pressure, TPCU's lower power reserve, availability & lack of fillers in reservoir, component failure, temperature control ling status, potentially hazardous object stuck in tires etc according to design, configuration and scenarios. The TPOS system performs self diagnostic or test to Verify and conform regarding working of components and accessibility of corre sponding parameters; in case of crucial parameters inacces sible and components failure the system will operate in fail proof or failsafe mode and default mode to ensure safe operation. Based on configurations the testing are performed automatically like whenever the vehicle is started, in a set or schedules timings etc and manually. The controlling of pres Sure is either even or uneven & continuous or discontinuous on all tires according to design, configurations, critical situ ations and scenarios. The system utilise either utilise wireless transceiver transmitter/receiver with antenna or wires for communication between TPOS and TPCU. The TPCU utilise failsafe and fail proof pneumatic valves system with actuators for controlling the tire pressure according to control signal from TPOS. The TPCU system comprise of and utilise wheel tires integrated with single to multiple internal and external, unidirectional and bidirectional, valves with & without actua tors, normally open & normally closed valves, basic & electro pneumatic valves, dedicated & common valves for storing, controlling, optimising and restoring the tire pressure accord ing to design, configurations and scenarios. The system sense the valve connected with external sources for restoring the filers and the valves works with basic valve function in sce narios of absence and low power reserve. The present system also helps in enhancing the tire performance where the driver is not in a feasible situation to change the tires to adopt according to environment or scenarios like usage of different environment specific tires like dry tires, wet tires, all terrain tires, Summer tires, winter tires, Snow tires etc., all weather tires and even enhancing performance of worn tires that are about to reach tread wear bar or indicator. TPCU systems are optimally designed, compact, highly reliable, withstand mechanical stress, pressure and temperature are located on each wheel tires. The TPCU can be integrated or hidden in the spokes of the wheels for protection and to better the appear ance. As the system Substantially utilises and interoperate

Jan. 1, 2015

with most of the vehicles already existing sensor Systems, safety and Stability parameters which helps in easy imple mentation of the system. 0029 FIG. 1 is a block diagram describing the working principle and various integral components of SATPOS on vehicle 100 according to the present invention comprising of Tire pressure Optimising System 102, Tire Pressure Control Units 104 ABC&D, user interface with display and control unit 101, Interaction with vehicle's ECU, safety and stability parameters 103 etc. TPOS 102 is the centralised system that computes and controls all the TPCU’s 104. The TPOS system performs active monitoring & sensing, pre computing & set ready to control the tire pressure prior to critical situation, current computing for controlling the tire pressure during critical situation, post computing to optimise tire pressure after overcoming the critical situation ultimately to overcome and mitigate the critical situations. Information and control signals are transmitted and received in a periodic and con tinuous manner through wired and wireless communication network between TPOS 102 and TPCUS 104 regarding the status of the components and parameters according to design, configuration and Scenarios. The processing unit utilise adap tive closed loop processing algorithm with predetermined and tested correlation or lookup table to instantaneously check and compare the effects between predetermined and tested real world scenarios to the actual real world scenarios for Smart & actively sensing, computing and controlling the tire pressure in right time on right tyres with right pressure thereby to mitigate the critical situations. TPCU’s 104 con trols the tire pressure and temperature according to the con trol signal from TPOS. The processing unit TPOS 102 com putes the control signal based on the real time parameters form sensor systems, TPCU, ECU, vehicle Safety & stability systems, predetermined & tested parameters also accounting user interface 101 with corresponding configurations. According to control signal from TPOS 102 the TPCUS 104 instantaneously controls the tire pressure on right tyres with right pressure in right time and varies tire temperature thereby to enhance traction and stability. The TPCU comprise of sensors, pneumatic valves and electropneumatic valve actua tors (Solenoid actuated value, pneumatic, pizo electric etc), sensor System, control circuitry, transceiver, antennas, Active Tire Temperature Optimising System ATTOS, heating ele ments, power source, reservoir, moisture control system, air filter etc and actively shares the sensor System parameters and components status with TPOS 102. Each TPCU’s 104 posses an unique identifier Signal ID to identify, transmit & receive information with TOPS 102 and are located mounted on all wheel tires representing corresponding wheel tires with its position that are utilised by TPOS for centralised manage ment of all TPCU’s 104. The reservoir design utilise moisture control system to remove excess moisture and maintain opti mum moisture level of fillers in reservoir thereby to achieve optimum TOPS operations. TPOS 102 learns, detects and saves the IDs of TPCUS 104 on each wheel tires with the location or position and the learning process for is both auto matic and manual configurable according to design and Sce narios which also accounts changed or rotated tires. The TPOS 102 detects and transmits the computed control signal pressure and temperature values to corresponding TPCU's 104 based on the unique IDs. Once the learning process is completed and synchronised the TPOS starts monitoring and controlling the TPCU’s 104, which are further wired into control and display units. At any time when the engine is on &

US 2015/0005982 A1

running or off, the TPOS 102 according to design, configu rations and scenarios monitor's signals from TPCU’s and updates the status for active computing and controlling. The controlling of tyre pressure is preformed either simulta neously on all the tyres or any particular tires according to Scenarios. Both TPOS 102 and TPCU 104 contain Trans ceiver Transmitter/Receiver with antennas for communica tion. The system works either in wireless and wired mode according to designed, configuration and requirement. TPCU 104 comprise of provision to enable and disable on spare tyres. The TPOS system also accounts the turbulence created during controlling of tire pressure and thereby accordingly controls the tire pressure to compensate the turbulence based on Scenarios.

0030. According to one aspect of present invention the TPOS 102 actively sense high speed & emergency breaking situations thereby immediately compute and direct the TPCU 104 to instantaneously control the tyre pressure from opti mum or existing value to right pressure on right tires in right time to enhance traction and rolling resistance thereby reduc ing breaking distance while Sustaining stability ultimately to protect the vehicles, occupants, pedestrians and other things around or on the way. In high speed and emergency breaking the breaking distance is influenced by the tire traction which in turn is also mainly influenced by tyre pressure. The system works based on—maintaining the tires upper and lower cut off value to avoid tire deformation and over inflation of tires, sensor system parameters, suspension, vehicle safety and stability parameters ultimately to reduce the breaking dis tance simultaneously sustaining the vehicle stability. Instan taneously reducing the tyre pressure to some extent increases the rolling resistance and friction by controlling the contact patch or foot print which in turn increases the rolling resis tance and traction there by reducing the high speed & emer gency breaking distance. The system restores and optimises the tyre pressure immediately after the vehicle overcomes the emergency breaking situation to continue with safe and com fortable riding. 0031. According to another aspect of present invention the TPOS 102 actively sensing the loss of traction, skid & wheel spin thereby immediately compute and direct the TPCU 104 to instantaneously controls the tyre pressure on right tyres between wheels tires that experiencing loss of traction wheel spin and the wheels that have traction with right pressure to restore traction thereby to mitigate loss of traction and wheel spin. Generally TCS acts as secondary function of ABS and are designed to prevent loss of traction. Traction control system works to prevent loss of traction from happen ing by limiting power to the wheels through applying brake force at one or more wheels, reducing or Suppressing spark sequence to one or more cylinders, reducing fuel Supply to one or more cylinders, closing the throttle if the vehicle is fitted with drive by wire throttle, in turbo-charged vehicles a boost control solenoid are actuated to reduce boost and there fore engine power etc. So in critical situations the TCS cannot increase the limits of friction or grip and works with available wheel tires traction thereby only used to decrease the effect of driver error or compensate for a drivers inability to react quickly enough to wheel slip. But the present system either works in Standalone mode or interoperates with Traction Control System thereby controlling the tires contact patch or foot print to enhance the available traction in critical situa tions ultimately further enhancing the efficiency of TCS. The

Jan. 1, 2015

system restores and optimises the tyre pressure immediately after the vehicle overcomes loss of traction to continue with safe and comfortable riding. 0032. According to another aspect of present invention the TPOS 102 actively mitigates hydroplaning or aquaplaning by sensing, computing and directing the TPCU 104 to instanta neously control increasing the tire pressure in right tires with right pressure on right time while maintaining the tires upper cut-off threshold value thereby enhancing the grooves and threads to disperse more water beneath the tires to restore traction. The ESC can help to regain the control but cannot mitigate aquaplaning. Although bald tires give better grip on dry roads than treaded tires, they are unsafe in rain as the efficiency of these tires in removing water between tires and contact area is low. Thread depth plays an important role in mitigating hydroplaning and the present system works instan taneously enhancing the thread depth thereby reducing the surface area oftires to avoid water deflected inwards, increas ing the tires thread depth to deflect water outward ultimately helping in clearing water which in turn prevents the rising of tires to restoring traction and mitigate aquaplaning. The sys tem even helps in enhancing the wet traction efficiency of worn tires that are about to reach tread wear bar or indicator. The TPOS system detects hydroplaning by sensing loss of traction slip, increase in wheel spin, vehicle stability, con tact area or road sensing parameters to sense the property of road wet, dry etc., sensing vehicle accelerate at higher rate than the intended speed, vehicles direction, Sudden rise in engine RPM due to wheel spin without traction, load on wheel tires, nature of drivers input like acceleration and breaking etc; thereby computing and directing the TPCU to control the pressure on right wheels with right pressure in right time to mitigate aquaplaning and restore vehicles trac tion. The system restores and optimises the tyre pressure once the vehicle overcomes aquaplaning to continue with safe and comfortable riding. 0033 According to another aspect of present invention the TPOS 102 instantaneously works to mitigate over and under steering. ESC detects loss of steering control and traction thereby automatically apply the brakes on wheels individu ally selective wheel braking such as the outer front wheel to counter over steer or the inner rear wheel to counter under steer ultimately to help “steer the vehicle where the driver intends to go. Some ESC systems also reduce engine power until control is regained; but these ESC and similar systems works with available traction and cannot enhance the avail able tire traction. Generally over and under steering are caused by loss of traction tires and the present system works by actively sensing, computing and directing the TPCU 104 to instantaneously control the tire pressure in right time with right pressure on right tires thereby controlling thread depth, enhancing traction, controlling contact patch or foot print, controlling tires cornering stiffness and controlling tire defor mation rate thereby mitigating positive and negative gradient to Sustain Zero or neutral gradient. The system either works in standalone mode or interoperates with vehicles safety and stability systems like ESC, ESP, DSC, TCS, suspension etc to enhancing the performance. The system restores and opti mises the tyre pressure immediately after the vehicle over comes under and over steering to continue with safe and comfortable riding. 0034. According to another aspect of present invention the TPOS 102 actively sense the roll over & loss of stability thereby immediately computing and directing the TPCU 104

US 2015/0005982 A1

to instantaneously control the tyre pressure in right time on right tyres with right pressure to restore or mitigate roll over and loss of stability ultimately to sustain stability. When the vehicle tends to roll generally the Electronic stability control, roll over mitigation systems, Suspension etc and other related systems works to certain extent to mitigate roll over. But there are certain scenarios where the vehicles tends to go beyond the extreme roll over limits of these systems like vehicle moving around on highly uneven terrain, leaning, slope Sur faces, vehicle experiencing extreme cornering force like entering with high speed in tight corners etc that can leads to loss of stability. The system sense the limits beyond which roll over is imminent or inevitable thereby accordingly con trols the pressure on right tires with right pressure on right time thereby to improve stability, centre of gravity and trac tion. The system won't interrupt the vehicle tyre pressures until the vehicle is about to reach the limit beyond which the vehicle will tend to roll. The present system works in standa lone mode or interoperates with to enhances the performance of ESC, rollover mitigation systems etc. The system restores and optimises the tyre pressure immediately after the vehicle overcomes the critical situation to continue with safe and comfortable riding. 0035. According to another aspect of present invention the TPOS 102 system works in critical situations to mitigates the loss of control and stability in puncture scenarios besides alerting the driver regarding rapid loss of pressure in puncture scenarios by actively sensing and directing the TPCU 104 to instantaneously supply the fillers air or nitrogen from the reservoir or tank to the punctured tires thereby to sustain the pressure preventing the rapid loss of tire pressure ultimately improving the time of drivability and stability of the vehicle. Loss of pressure in punctured tires leads to high or difference in rolling resistance and traction than other tires which com paratively comprise of least rolling resistance and traction that in turn leads to loss if vehicle stability and steer ability or drivability. So the present system actively works to control tire pressure ultimately to control the rolling resistance and traction of the other tires in accordance with punctured tires to mitigate difference in rolling resistance and traction levels. Besides controlling the tire pressure on punctured tires the TPOS system also controls reduce the pressure on other tires according to scenarios to enhance the vehicles drivabil ity, stability and increasing the rolling resistance thereby reducing the breaking distance of vehicles in high speeds. As the loss of pressure in punctured tires leads to high or differ ence in rolling resistance and traction than other tires which comparatively comprise of least rolling resistance and trac tion that in turn leads to loss if vehicle stability and steer ability or drivability. So the present system actively works to control tire pressure ultimately to control the rolling resis tance and traction of the other tires in accordance with punc tured tires to compensate difference in rolling resistance and traction levels. Generally tubeless tires help in preventing the rapid loss of pressure in puncture scenarios and the present system assist in further enhancing its performance. 0036. According to another aspect of present invention the TPOS 102 instantaneously works to enhance high speed or extreme cornering characteristic hard cornering, torque vectoring and vehicle handling characteristic by actively sensing, computing and directing the TPCU 104 to instanta neously control the tire pressure in right time with right pres Sure on right tires thereby preventing & controlling tires side wall deformation rate & contact patch while simultaneously

Jan. 1, 2015

providing traction and stability. The present system works in standalone mode or interoperates with to enhances the per formance of safety and stability systems like TCS, ESC, rollover mitigation systems etc. The system restores and opti mises the tyre pressure immediately after the vehicle over comes the critical situations to continue with safe and com fortable riding. 0037 According to another aspect of present invention the TPOS 102 sense, compute and direct the TPCU 104 to control and optimise the tire pressure according to driving modes like comfort, comfort+, standard, economic, sport, sport+ mode etc to enhance the comfort level, performance, improving fuel efficiency thereby reducing effect on environment, reduce tire noise while simultaneously works irrespective of driving modes to instantaneously controlling the tirepressure accord ingly in critical situations to protect and Sustain vehicle sta bility. The system works in standalone mode or interoperates with Suspension, safety and Stability systems to further enhance the efficiency. 0038 According to another aspect of present invention the TPOS 102 system works to control and optimise the tire pressure according to change in centre of gravity and load on each wheel tires thereby to enhance the stability and handling characteristic of the vehicle. The system either works in stan dalone mode or Interact with Suspension, vehicle safety and stability systems to further enhance the vehicle handling effi ciency. The system restores and optimises the tyre pressure once the load and centre of gravity is restored to continue with safe and comfortable riding. 0039. According to another aspect of present invention the system particularly utilises one or more high pressure reser Voirs tanks for storing the fillers like air and nitrogen are optimally located mounted on wheel's rim, spoke's, hub, axle etc with pneumatic valve and control unit for controlling the tire pressure in critical situations and optimising or restor ing the tire pressure after overcoming the critical situations according to the control signal from TPOS 102. These reser Voir systems doesn’t need any internal or external compressor systems or other similar sources for controlling the pressure, as the pressure of fillers in the reservoir is already maintained in higher pressure multiple times than the optimum tire pressure for the fillers or fluids to flow from reservoir to tire thereby to control the tire pressure accordingly. The reservoir system comprise of container for storing the fillers, pneu matic valves for controlling the tire pressure as well as recharging or restoring the fillers, power Source for systems operation, air filters, moisture control system, sensor System for monitoring the status of fluids like pressure, temperature, quantity etc. The reservoir system comprises of failsafe and fail proof pneumatic valves system with actuators and utilise single to multiple internal and external, unidirectional and bidirectional, basic and electropneumatic valves, valves with & without actuators, normally open & normally closed valves, dedicated & common valves for storing, controlling, optimising and restoring the tire pressure according to design, configurations and scenarios. The reservoir system comprise of control system with internal pneumatic valve that connects the reservoir with tire internally for controlling the tire pres Sure and external valves for controlling as well as recharging the fillers. The system utilise either common or dedicated valves for controlling the tire pressure as well as restoring the fillers. The control valves are selected from pneumatic valves, electropneumatic valve, mechanical valve, electro mechani cal valve, hydraulic valves and its combinations. The reser

US 2015/0005982 A1

Voir system comprise of dedicated sensor System for sensing the pressure, temperature, moisture and humidity of the fillers available in the reservoir with status of the sensor system being updated to TPOS for computation and user display or interface. The TPOS also accounts the quantity of fillers available in the reservoir with sensor system parameters for the computations of controlling and restoring the tyre pres sure. As there are lot of complications with vehicles inte grated or inbuilt compressor and similar systems that con Sumes the valuable space and power also adding extra weight to the vehicle which makes the system more expensive, com plex to—operate, integrate, maintain and service; the present system utilised high pressure reservoir without any compres sor or similar systems that helps to simplify the operation and overcomes the complications with compressor systems. The system alerts the driver regarding lack of fillers, component status, and low pressure in reservoir. In scenarios of reservoir with not sufficient fillers or pressure the system alerts the driver regarding the same and operate in default mode where the system won't utilise fillers in the reservoir to control the tire pressure. The FIGS. 3 A&B describes reservoir system and fluid lines configurations comprise of dedicated inbuilt or integrated reservoir with TPCU 104 on all wheel tires, utilise common reservoir, utilise common reservoir for recharging the fillers of dedicated reservoir and its combinations. The reservoir Systems and fluid lines are optimally are designed and integrated according to design of wheels and are either fixed or interchangeable with the wheels. The TPCU 104 utilises either common or dedicated high pressure reservoir according to design and Scenarios. The fillers for the reservoir are recharged or restored during or similar to filling the tire pressure but with higher pressure. The reservoir and its con trol systems and pneumatic valves are designed to withstand high pressure in different temperature, humidity and mois ture. The TPCU system with reservoir aids in scenarios where someone had intentionally or playfully deflated the tires by helping to inflate the tires with fillers in the reservoir thereby to continue with driving. As the control and access to TPOS, TPCU & reservoir systems are limited to unauthenticated and outsiders the actual user when back and turn on the vehicle can restore or mitigate situation by controlling the tire pres sure through user interface of the system. The system with dynamically controlling the tyre pressure through high pres sure reservoirs are utilised in active vehicle protection in critical situations, dynamically increasing traction according to driving conditions, optimising stability, saving fuel and reducing tyre noise. 0040. According to another aspect of present invention the TPCU comprise of integrated compressor or pump powered by kinetic break energy—in combination with high pressure fluid reservoir to recharge reservoir fluid and in turn the reservoir restores the tyre pressure or without high pressure reservoir system for directly recharging tire pressure or its combinations thereby to restore and optimise the tyre pres Sure ultimately to provide maintenance free operation of tires. The users don't need to maintain or restore the tire pressure as the TPOS system itself will autonomously work to recharge and maintain the optimum tyre pressure. FIG. 6A is a block diagram describes the working principle of present system. The system utilise Kinetic break energy generated during breaking is either converted into electrical energy or con Verted into mechanical energy or its combinations according to design, configurations and Scenarios and are utilised to run the pump or compressor ultimately for recharging, restoring

Jan. 1, 2015

and optimising the tyre pressure and the reservoir pressure. The whole system Smartly monitors, senses, computes and operates in optimal or right energy band and conditions to utilise the kinetic break energy based on sensor system parameters, thereby efficiently handling lower and higher or excessively generated kinetic break energy. The computation is performed based on intensity or level of kinetic break energy, reservoirs and tyres—internal and external pressure, temperature and moisture, engine and vehicle running condi tions thereby accordingly computes, runs and controls the pump or compressor DEL pneumatic valves ultimately to recharge, restore and optimise the reservoir pressure and tire pressure. The fail safe and fail proof pneumatic and or electro pneumatic valves with pump & or compressor are utilised to ensure safe operations in the event of failure by operating in failsafe mode and default mode. Over Pressure release valve or electropneumatic valve works to release over pressure in reservoir and tires. Either dedicated over pressure protection valve or electropneumatic valve or its combination is also used. The whole system interoperates with TPOS to efficiently varies, control, recharge, restore and optimise the pressure in tyres and reservoirs according design, configura tion and Scenarios.

0041 According to another aspect of present invention the TPCU utilise kinetic break energy to run the pneumatic valves thereby to control or transfer the fluid air, nitrogenetic flow from & to or between atmosphere, pump, compressor, reservoirs and tires or its combinations according design, configuration, requirement and Scenarios ultimately to restore and optimise the tyre and reservoir pressure. FIG. 6B is a block diagram describes the working principle of present system. The system utilise Kinetic break energy generated during breaking is either converted into electrical energy or converted into mechanical energy or its combinations accord ing to design, configurations and Scenarios and are utilised to run and control the pneumatic valves ultimately for recharg ing, restoring and optimising the tyre pressure and reservoir pressure. The whole system Smartly monitors, senses, com putes and operates in optimal or right energy band and con ditions to utilise the kinetic break energy based on sensor system parameters, thereby efficiently handling lower and higher or excessively generated kinetic break energy. The computation is performed based on intensity or level of kinetic break energy, reservoirs and tyres internal and exter nal pressure, temperature and moisture, engine and vehicle running conditions thereby accordingly computes, runs and controls the pneumatic valves ultimately to recharge, restore and optimise the reservoir pressure and tire pressure. The fail safe and fail proof pneumatic and or electro pneumatic valves with pump & or compressor are utilised to ensure safe operations in the event of failure by operating in failsafe mode and default mode. Over Pressure release valve or elec tropneumatic valve works to release over pressure in reser voir and tires. Either dedicated over pressure protection valve or electro pneumatic valve or its combination is also used. The whole system interoperates with TPOS to efficiently varies, control, recharge, restore and optimise the pressure in tyres and reservoirs according design, configuration and Sce a1OS.

0042. According to another aspect of the present invention in extreme worst case scenarios that comprises of malfunc tion, partial or complete failure of vehicle safety and stability system (E.g. like failure of breaks, TCS, rollover mitigation system etc. occurs either the onboard system automatically

US 2015/0005982 A1

sense the failure to trigger TPOS or the TPOS system is manually triggered to instantaneously control the tire pres Sure for increasing the friction, traction and rolling resistance ultimately to reduce the stopping distance while simulta neously sustaining the vehicle stability, drivability and steer ability. The system utilise sensor System and radar system to automatically sense control the tire pressure according to scenarios. The system assists in break—failure or malfunc tion that comprising of partial or complete break failure and either one or multiple break failure; where maintaining the constant pressure wont assist in reducing the stopping dis tance.

0043. According to another aspect of the present invention the TPOS 102 works with TPCU 104 integrated with Active Tire Temperature Optimising System ATTOS that monitors and senses the change in temperature of weather and environ ment with present tire temperature and pressure there by to controls and optimise the tire temperature and pressure accordingly to improve traction, reduce breaking distance emergency or normal according to scenario, enhance cor nering & handling characteristics, mitigate hydroplaning, mitigate over steering and under steering. The tire compound plays an important role in traction, breaking distance, struc tural stability etc which in turn is influenced by tire tempera ture. The ATTOS controls the tire temperature instanta neously in critical situation or continuously according to design, configuration and scenarios. The ATTOS operate in standalone mode or interoperate the TPOS taking status of power backup in to account. The ATTOS operate in standal one mode interoperate with vehicles safety and stability sys tems or its combinations according to design, configurations and Scenarios to enhance traction and stability. All tires have an optimum operating temperature and the property of tire compound varies according to change in temperature. When they reach it the rubber compound is at its stickiest and the carcass at its most flexible. Below that temperature, traction is reduced and the tire may have a tendency to slide; as the temperature reduces tire compound becomes harder reducing the traction thereby increasing the breaking distance and affecting vehicle handling characteristics. All weather tires and particularly Summer tires undergoes more solidification or hardening than winter tires when exposed to extremely low environment temperature winter and these hardened tires can have negative impact like increasing the breaking dis tance and loss of traction. There are scenarios where the driver could not predict the Sudden change in weather or not in a feasible situation to change the vehicle tyres accordingly or frequently to match with change in weather or environ mental conditions thereby to achieve optimised perfor mance—E.g. generally the winter tyres are recommended in winter to provide optimum performance in breaking distance, driving comfort etc on wet, Snow and slippery road surface or pavement. 0044) The present system actively controls the tire tem perature thereby controls the tires property, Softening, hard ening and controlling sidewall deformation rate ultimately to enhance traction, stability and handling characteristic accord ing to scenarios. The system controls the tire temperature either instantaneously in critical situations or continuously according to design, configuration and scenarios. For example—In environments like winter, wet, Snow and slip pery Surfaces etc the system increase and maintains the tire temperature accordingly to prevent tires form getting harder or solidification thereby to enhance traction and stability. The

Jan. 1, 2015

system utilise correlation or lookup tables to actively check and compare the effects caused in actual real world Scenarios with predetermined and tested real world scenarios thereby to control and optimise the tyre temperature and pressure according to design, configuration and Scenarios. The system accounts status of power source, sensor System parameters, heating element, change in temperature, moisture & pressure oftires and environment, driving modes, rim or wheel and tire specification & parameters comprising of size, type, load index, speed symbol or rating, thread wear & tear, traction & temperature rating, tires dimension, direction, nature of com pound & material used, maximum load rating, maximum permissible inflation pressure, patterns of treads, lugs, Voids, sipes & groves, vehicle safety and stability systems, change in temperature, pressure, moisture and humidity of fillers in reservoirs and compressors for actively sensing, computing the tire temperature and controlling the tire temperature. The ATTOS works in both pneumatic and non pneumatic tires. 0045. The Tire Temperature Optimising System ITTOS works with and utilise either one or combination of direct and indirect heating techniques that comprise of thermal conduc tion, diffusion, convection, radiation and advection to gener ate, control and maintain the tire temperature. Energy transfer and heating elements are optimally integrated in wheels, tires, hub, axle, Suspension and vehicles chassis etc. The direct heating works utilising heating elements and the indirect heating generate and maintain temperature through heating fillers or fluids & principle of electromagnetic induction heat ing that operates irrespective of vehicle in stationary or motion according to design, configurations and Scenarios. The system make use of Induction heating coil and materials that Support electromagnetic induction to generate and main tain heat are utilised in tire manufacturing that comprises one or combination of ferromagnetic metals, ferromagnetic alloys and other suitable metals or element in fabrication of tires, radial tires, plies, steel belted tires etc thereby to pre cisely transfer the heat to contact path or foot print area simultaneously saving power. Either dedicated heating ele ment or the plies or belts with suitable material is utilised for induction heating. The TPCU integrated with TTOS accounts controlling the tyre pressure to an optimum value according to change in temperature to further enhances traction & Sta bility—since controlling of tyre pressure increases or con trols the contact patch or footprint surface area with the road thereby further enhancing traction through increasing and controlling the tyre temperature. Generally present system helps in enhancing traction, stability and performance of all tires and particularly other non winter tires like Summer tires, all weather tires etc in winter, Snow and wet conditions. The system utilise one or more or combination of internal or external power source according to design, configurations and scenarios for controlling and maintaining the tempera ture. The ATTOS operate in standalone mode with either dedicated power source or interoperate with vehicle power Source or its combinations taking status power backup in to account. Regenerative breaks Kinetic Energy Recovery Sys tem or Break Energy Recuperation System breaking energy can be utilise to control tire temperature. There are scenarios where excess power available with the vehicle and to avoid over charging these powers are not consumed and this excess available power are utilised by the system for controlling the tire temperature, also according to scenarios the system main tains threshold level to prevent excess power consumption form vehicles power source. The system is highly user con

US 2015/0005982 A1

figurable and the system maintains temperature either auto matically or manually according to design, configurations and scenarios.

0046 According to another aspect of present invention the system utilise inbuilt sensor System to actively scan, sense, compute and alerts the driver irrespective of vehicles in motion or stationary regarding structural damage on wheels or rims comprising of bends & cracks and potentially hazard ous foreign objects E.g. Stones stuck in tires based on its nature, dimension & depth of penetration, tires wear & tear, tire cuts, bulges, sidewall damages, slow puncture with cor responding tires location & position. The system utilise Smart and adaptive closed loop processing algorithm with correla tion or lookup tables to actively check and compare the effects caused in actual real world Scenarios with predetermined and tested real world Scenarios for precisely sensing, comparing, computing and alerting the driver in advance regarding the potentially hazardous critical situations. The system works based on online and preloaded wheel & rim specifications, balancing beads, tire specifications & parameters comprising of size, type, load index, speed symbol or rating, thread wear & tear, traction & temperature rating, compound & material used, maximum load rating, maximum permissible inflation pressure, patterns of treads, lugs, Voids, sipes & groves. The system utilise one or more optimally located internal and external sensors or sensor arrays on wheel tires and vehicle for Scanning comprising of distance or range sensors, visual cameras, IR cameras & sensors, acoustic or ultrasonic sensor, electromagnetic sensors, electrostatic sen sors, inductive sensors, capacitive sensors, echo sensors, ther mal sensors for Scanning & detecting wheels, balancing beads and tire parameters comprising of specifications, change in properties nature, patterns, direction, dimension, positions, multilayers and range. The system works by sensing wheel specifications and nature or property of tyres and foreign objects comprise of permittivity-6, permeability-L, conduc tivity-O, Susceptibility, dielectric, capacitive sensing, capaci tive displacement sensing, inductive sensing. 0047 FIG. 2 is the flowchart describes the method of operation of SATPOS according to the present invention. By starting with 210 the sensor system 220 monitors the param eters comprising of sensing pressure, temperature, moisture, humidity of fillers available in tires as well as reservoirs, sensing nature of break force, sensing vehicle and wheel speed, sensing vehicles orientation, acceleration and decel eration, sensing vehicles load and load on each wheel tires, sensing steering angle or position with vehicles relative motion, sensing objects in the environment of the vehicle with its direction, dimension, nature, approaching & departing speed with respect the vehicle, sensing nature of road, terrain or contact area, utilise GPS sensors for predicting the turns, curves and bends ahead etc and accordingly generate the trigger signal 230. The system analyse the state of trigger signal to compute and detect the critical situation, matching parameters and Scenarios to decide on further action 240. SATPOS actively compute the control signal based on nature of trigger signal 230, safety & stability parameters E.G. ABS, EBD, BA, ESP, TCS, EULER ANGLES, ECU, auto motive aerodynamics & airbrakes etc and predetermined and tested correlation or mapping table to precisely sensing the critical situations with its effects thereby to control the tire pressure in an active, adoptive and closed loop manner to overcome and mitigate the critical situations 250. Based on the control signal from TOPS the TPCU260 actively controls

Jan. 1, 2015

and optimise the tire pressure in right time on right tire with right pressure to reduce the breaking distance, overcome and mitigate the critical situations and to restore & Sustain vehicle stability 260. In case of no critical situations is detected or not matches any parameters and scenarios the system maintains standard tire pressure and won't work on controlling tem perature 270 according to preset configuration and ends with 280.

0048 FIG. 4. is the flowchart describing the method of operation of SATPOS utilising Kinetic Break Energy to run the Pump and or Compressor to restore and maintain tire and reservoir pressure according to the present invention. By starting with 310 the sensor system 220 monitors the param eters comprising of sensing pressure, temperature, moisture, humidity of fillers available in tires as well as reservoirs, sensing nature of break force, sensing vehicle and wheel speed, sensing vehicles orientation, acceleration and decel eration, sensing vehicles load and load on each wheel tires, sensing steering angle or position with vehicles relative motion, sensing objects in the environment of the vehicle with its direction, dimension, nature, approaching & departing speed with respect the vehicle, sensing nature of road, terrain or contact area, utilise GPS sensors for predicting the turns, curves and bends ahead etc and accordingly generate the trigger signal 230. The system analyse the state of trigger signal to compute and detect whether the tire and reservoir pressure sufficient to decide on further action 340. In case of insufficient pressure the system monitors the nature of break ing 380 with magnitude ofkinetic energy. The system analyse whether the Kinetic break energy is sufficient to run the pump or compressor 390. SATPOS actively computes the control signal based on magnitude and nature of kinetic break energy, safety & stability parameters E.G. ABS, EBD, BA, ESP. TCS, EULER ANGLES, ECU, automotive aerodynamics & airbrakes etc and predetermined and tested correlation or mapping table to precisely sensing effects thereby directs the TPCU to act accordingly 360. Based on the control signal from TPOS the TPCU 370 actively controls and runs the integrated pump or compressor to recharge, restore and opti mise the tire and reservoir pressure 370. In case of kinetic break energy not sufficient the system won’t run the pump or compressor and maintains the available tire and reservoir pressure 370 according to preset configuration and ends with 410.

0049 FIG. 5. is the flowchart describing the method of operation of SATPOS utilising Kinetic Break Energy to run the Pneumatic valves for fluid transfer thereby to restore and maintain tire and reservoir pressure according to the present invention. By starting with 310 the sensor system 220 moni tors the parameters comprising of sensing pressure, tempera ture, moisture, humidity of fillers available in tires as well as reservoirs, sensing nature of break force, sensing vehicle and wheel speed, sensing vehicles orientation, acceleration and deceleration, sensing vehicles load and load on each wheel tires, sensing steering angle or position with vehicles relative motion, sensing objects in the environment of the vehicle with its direction, dimension, nature, approaching & departing speed with respect the vehicle, sensing nature of road, terrain or contact area, utilise GPS sensors for predicting the turns, curves and bends ahead etc and accordingly generate the trigger signal 230. The system analyse the state of trigger signal to compute and detect whether the tire and reservoir pressure sufficient to decide on further action 340. In case of insufficient pressure the system monitors the nature of break

US 2015/0005982 A1

ing 380 with magnitude ofkinetic energy. The system analyse whether the Kinetic break energy is sufficient to run the pneumatic valves 590. SATPOS actively computes the con trol signal based on magnitude and nature of kinetic break energy, safety & stability parameters E.G. ABS, EBD, BA, ESP, TCS, EULER ANGLES, ECU, automotive aerodynam ics & airbrakes etc and predetermined and tested correlation or mapping table to precisely sensing effects thereby directs the TPCU to act accordingly 560. Based on the control signal from TPOS the TPCU 370 actively controls and runs the pneumatic valves to transfer fluids ultimately to recharge, restore and optimise the tire and reservoir pressure 570. In case of kinetic break energy not sufficient the system won't run the pneumatic valves and maintains the available tire and reservoir pressure 550 according to preset configuration and ends with 610.

0050. The TPCU 104 comprise of internal or external power source for its operation and are selected from TPCU's inbuilt batteries, capacitors and vehicle batteries. The power Source is wired or wireless and the charging sources for the TPCU’s inbuilt battery and capacitor are sourced from vehicle battery, external charging systems, internal self changing systems with feasible alternator or generator, capacitive coupling, inductive coupling, electromagnetic coupling etc. The type of batteries utilised comprise of pri mary batteries or rechargeable batteries, Regenerative breaks Kinetic Energy Recovery System or Break Energy Recu peration System or its combinations. The power source is internal fixed or replaceable, external and its combinations with the system Smartly managing the charging and backup E.g. under & over charging protection of the power levels with updating & alerting the status of power source to TPOS, display and user interface. In case on both capacitor and battery utilised, according design configuration and scenarios the system utilise the battery to power the monitoring system for sensing and updating the status of tyre pressure, tempera ture, RF transmission etc and the capacitor can be utilised to instantaneously supply the power to electro pneumatic valve actuator for controlling the tire air pressure according to the trigger from TPOS. The present system taps the required power for its operation according to vehicle's running condi tions and engine parameters E.g. like vehicle running down the slope or declined roads with excess speeds where the cruise control system control the excess speed to maintain preset speed. 0051. The TPOS 102 comprise of sensor system that works based on one or combination of sensors, safety & stability parameters, configurations, operating modes and usage scenarios for detecting the critical situations of vehicles experiencing or moving beyond the limits of vehicles avail able safety and stability systems with sensors for active sens ing and utilise it for pre computing & set ready to control tire pressure, current computing to control the tire pressure during critical situation and post computing to control the tire pres Sure after critical situation ultimately to overcome and miti gate the critical situations—1. Sensors for sensor System comprise of Pressure sensors, Temperature sensors, humidity and moisture sensors for sensing the pressure, temperature, humidity and moisture content of fluids or fillers available in tires and reservoirs. The sensor System in addition senses the external or environments temperature, moisture and humidity for computation thereby to enhance the precision of the sys tem; 2. Vehicle speed and wheel speed sensor for sensing the vehicle speed and wheels speed thereby sensing the loss of

Jan. 1, 2015

traction and wheel slip or spin ultimately for computing the tire pressure accordingly in critical situations; 3. Orientation sensors and accelerometer for sensing the vehicles orienta tion, acceleration and deceleration ultimately for computing the tire pressure accordingly in critical situations; 4. Load sensor for sensing the load of the vehicle, load on individual wheel tires and change in centre of gravity ultimately for computing the tire pressure accordingly in critical situations; 5. Steering angle or position sensor for sensing the position of the steering wheel and vehicles relative motion thereby sens ing vehicle stability, over and under Steering ultimately for computing the tire pressure accordingly in critical situations; 6. Break force sensor for sensing the nature of the break force during breaking scenarios ultimately for pre computing, cur rent computing and post computing thereby to control the tire pressure accordingly in critical situation in critical situations; 7. Sensors for sensing tire properties and foreign objects stuck in tire, dimension & depth of penetration, tires wear & tear, tires cuts, bulges, sidewall damages, slow puncture with cor responding tires location & position comprise of distance or range sensors, visual cameras, IR cameras, acoustic or ultra Sonic sensor, electromagnetic sensors, electrostatic sensors, inductive sensors, capacitive sensors, echo sensors, thermal sensors. The system utilise one or more optimally located internal and external sensors or sensor arrays on tires and vehicle for Scanning comprising of distance or range sensors, visual cameras, IR cameras, acoustic or ultrasonic sensor, electromagnetic sensors, electrostatic sensors, inductive sen sors, capacitive sensors, echo sensors, thermal sensors for scanning & detecting tires parameters comprising of change in tire properties nature, patterns, direction, dimension, positions, multilayers & range, pressure, temperature, mois ture and humidity. The sensor sensing the nature or property of tyre and foreign object comprise of permittivity-6, perme ability-L, conductivity-O, Susceptibility, dielectric, capacitive sensing, capacitive displacement sensing, inductive sensing: 8. Radar and range sensors for Scanning the environment around the vehicle by detecting vehicles, pedestrians and objects in front, rear and around the vehicle with its direction, dimension, nature, approaching & departing speed with respect the vehicle thereby utilised for pre, current and post computing ultimately for controlling the tire pressure accord ing to critical situation. The radar System comprises of visual, active and passive infrared cameras with real-time digital image and signal processing thereby to sense the nature of the objects around the vehicle: 9. Terrain, road or contact area sensors for sensing the nature of present contact and impend ing road and terrain Surfaces with its property comprising of normal dry roads, wet, mud & ruts, rocks, gravel, grass, Snow, sand, rough, highly uneven terrain, rocky crawl and its com binations thereby computing the tire pressure accordingly in critical situations; 10. GPS sensors for predicting the turns, curves and bends ahead of the road for pre computing and set ready for action in controlling the tire pressure accordingly; 11. The system utilizes predetermined and tested field map ping or lookup table for sensing, comparing & matching the effects between real time sensor System parameters with pre determined and tested sensor System parameters ultimately for computing the tire pressure accordingly; 12. The sensor systems precision levels, sensing depth of dimension and multilayer sensing are utilised depends upon the design & requirement. The sensor System utilise sensors, capable of either fixed or tuneable sensitivity and the range are selected according to design, Scenarios and requirement.

US 2015/0005982 A1

0052. The TOPS 102 system utilise correlation or lookup tables to actively check and compare the effects caused in actual real world scenarios with predetermined and tested real world Scenarios to control and optimising the tyre pressure accordingly in critical situations. The tables comprise of pres sure values that lies between upper and lower cut-off tire pressure values designed and developed with corresponding change in vehicles load and centre of gravity thereby the TOPS 102 system controls the tire pressure between upper and lower cut-off tire pressure values according to scenarios to mitigate critical situations while preventing the over infla tion and deflation or tire deformation ultimately to sustain stability. The table is designed and developed based on TPOS system designs, scenarios, configurations and parameters comprising of sensor System, vehicle stability & safety sys tems, nature of breaking & break force, tires lower & upper cut-off threshold pressure values, sensing reservoirs and tires internal & external or environmental pressure, temperature, moisture, humidity, vehicles speed, wheel speed, acceleration & deceleration, orientations & axial rotation yaw, pitch and roll, load distribution load on each wheel tire, torque dis tribution, vehicles Suspension & Vertical dynamic, transverse motion & lateral acceleration, tire traction, slip and slide angle, Steering wheel position, cornering effects, change in centre of gravity, over & under steering, aqua or hydroplan ing, rim or wheel specifications, wheel alignment & balanc ing, tire specifications & parameters comprising of size, type, load index, speed symbol or rating, thread wear & tear, traction & temperature rating, compound & material used, maximum load rating, maximum permissible inflation pres Sure, direction, dimension, patterns of treads, lugs, Voids, sipes & groves, tires position orangle of attack, Coefficient of Friction ICOFI, radars detecting objects with pre & current computing of tire pressure to assist in emergency breaking & stability based on range, direction and dimension of objects in and around the vehicle, sensing nature of tires present & impending contact area, GPS information to predict the turns, curves and bends on roads ahead and inter operating with vehicles existing stability & safety systems comprising of ABS, EBD, ESC, TCS. Roll over mitigation systems, ECU, BA, Pre crash systems, suspension system, vertical dynamics & damping force, Sway or anti-roll or stabilizer bar, radar assisted auto breaking with partially & complete break to stop, Drivers reaction with evasion evasive manoeu Vre of objects, automotive aerodynamics & airbrakes, Pre crash systems, Cruise or Adaptive Cruise Control with partial & full auto breaking. As various parameters and multiple critical situations are simultaneously taken into account by TOPS for computation, the table is designed and developed based on prioritising and balancing between one or more parameters and Scenarios ultimately to achieve an optimised performance. 0053 With self supporting reinforced tires the efficiency of the system is further enhanced where these tyres have an additional Supporting ring attached to the wheel that can support the weight of the vehicle in the event of a loss of pressure. For E.g. Run-flat tyres RFT have specially rein forced side walls and additional lateral strengthening helps continue to perform their function even if all air pressure is lost. The heat-resistant rubber compounds are able to with stand additional heat build-up and the wheel rims of run-flat tyres have special design that ensures the tyre will not detach from the rim, even on tight bends. The present system also assists in reducing the breaking or stopping distance of air

Jan. 1, 2015

crafts—landing or takeoffon runway in critical situations like abort takeoff, rejected takeoff due to over running of runway for takeoff, emergency landing, reducing stopping distance in brake failure etc which can sometimes leads to aircraft mov ing beyond safety margin and the available runway may be insufficient to stop the aircraft. The wheel tires with TPCU system are constructed with a counterweight or utilise exter nally added tire weights balance to compensate the mass of the TPCU. The precisely well equipped TPOS system helps in mitigating the negative effects caused by vehicles utilising mixed tires like old & new tires, different thread pattern tires and different types like wet & dry tyres, Soft & hard com pound tyres, slick & intermediate tires, Summer & winter tyres with various patterns off treads, lugs, Voids, grooves etc thereby by ultimately enhancing the overall performance. 0054 The embodiments of the present invention is not limited to listed scenarios described here or its combinations and the above presented are just examples. There may be other scenarios and those who skilled in field can understand and modify, enhance, alter the herein system without depart ing from the scope of the invention in its widest form.

1. The Smart Active Tyre Pressure Optimising System comprise of

a. A sensor System for actively monitoring, sensing and generating trigger signal to TPOS for detecting the criti cal situations of vehicle comprising of emergency break ing, loss of traction, hydroplaning or aquaplaning, loss of stability, rollover, over and under steering.

b. A processing unit Tyre Pressure Optimising System TPOS which is highly time sensitive design and tech nique with high processing and functioning speeds that instantaneously sense and controls the tire pressure par ticularly in imminent and inevitable critical driving situ ations—to reduce emergency & high speed breaking distance, mitigate hydroplaning, mitigate loss of trac tion, mitigate roll over, mitigate loss of stability & con trol, mitigate over and under steering, mitigate loss of control due to puncture by actively sensing, perform context aware computing and directing the Tyre Pres sure Control Units TPCU to instantaneously vary and control the tyre pressure in right time with right pressure on right tyres thereby actively controlling the tires con tact patch or footprint area and sidewall deformation rate to enhance traction and stability while Sustaining vehi cle's drivability or steerability thereby to avoid or reduce the impact of collusion and to overcome or mitigate the critical situations ultimately to protect the occupants, vehicles, pedestrians and other things around & on the way. The TPOS system performs active monitoring & sensing, pre computing & set ready to control the tire pressure prior to critical situation, current computing for controlling the tire pressure during critical situation, post computing to immediately optimise tire pressure after overcoming the critical situation. TPOS utilise Smart and adaptive closed loop processing algorithm with predetermined and tested correlation or lookup table to instantaneously check and compare the effects between predetermined and tested real world scenarios and parameters to the actual real world Scenarios for Smart & actively sensing, computing and controlling the tire pressure accordingly to mitigate the critical situa tions.

c. TPOS works by actively sensing critical situations and computing the tire pressure in real time based on param

US 2015/0005982 A1

eters comprising of sensor System, vehicle stability & safety systems, nature of breaking & break force, tires lower & upper cut-off threshold pressure values where lower cut-off pressure is above the minimum tire pres Sure value, sensing reservoirs and tires internal & exter nal or environmental pressure, temperature, moisture, humidity, vehicles speed, wheel speed, acceleration & deceleration, orientations & axial rotation yaw, pitch and roll, load distribution load on each wheel tire, torque distribution, vehicles Suspension & Vertical dynamic, transverse motion & lateral acceleration, tire traction, Coefficient of Friction ICOF), slip & slide angle, steering wheel position, cornering effects, change in centre of gravity, over & under Steering, aqua or hydroplaning, radars detecting objects with pre & cur rent computing of tire pressure to assist in emergency breaking & stability based on range, direction and dimension of objects in and around the vehicle, tire specifications & parameters comprising of size, type, load index, speed symbol or rating, thread wear & tear, traction & temperature rating, tires dimension, direc tion, compound & material used, maximum load rating, maximum permissible inflation pressure, patterns of treads, lugs, Voids, Sipes & groves, rim or wheel speci fications, camber angle, wheel alignment & balancing, Tires position or angle of attack, terrain sensing detect ing nature of tires present & impending contact area, GPS information to predict the turns, curves and bends on roads ahead and inter operating with vehicles existing stability & safety systems comprising of Anti-lock Brak ing System (ABS), Electronic Brakeforce Distribution EBD), Electronic Stability Control (ESC), Traction Control System (TCS), Roll over mitigation systems, Engine Control Unit ECU, Brake Assist BA, Pre crash systems, Suspension system, Vertical dynamics & damping force, Sway or anti-roll or stabilizer bar, radar assisted auto breaking with partially & complete break to stop, automotive aerodynamics & airbrakes, sensing Drivers reaction with evasion evasive manoeuvre of objects, Cruise or Adaptive Cruise Control with partial & full auto breaking; thereby instantaneous direct the TPCU to control the tire pressure on corresponding tyres in right time ultimately to overcome or mitigate the critical situations. As various parameters and multiple critical situations are simultaneously taken into account by TOPS for computation, the systems algorithm Smartly sense, prioritise and balance between one or more parameters and scenarios to achieve an optimised Solution.

. TPOS in addition to instantaneously varying and con trolling the tyre pressure in critical situations; immedi ately optimises or restores the tyre pressure if difference or variation in tires pressure is detected from the opti mum or preset pressure value once the vehicle over comes the critical situations to continue with comfort able driving, enhancing stability, mileage and reducing tyre noise. According to design, configuration and sce narios the present system either controls the pressure by releasing the fillers to atmosphere while maintaining the tires lower cut off threshold pressure value where the pneumatic valve's automatically closes when lower cut off tire pressure value is reached which is above mini mum tire pressure value to Sustain stability and instan taneously optimise the pressure on all tyres for further

12 Jan. 1, 2015

safe driving till next gas station or filling until restora tion or else restores the pressure to optimum pre set value utilising inbuilt reservoir or other external resto ration systems immediately after the vehicle overcomes critical situation to continue with comfortable driving. The TPOS works in standalone mode or interoperate with vehicles safety and stability systems or its combi nations according to design, configurations and Sce narios. Either dedicated hard or soft or its combinations TPOS switches are utilised in case to manually activate TOPS.

e. Tyre pressure Control Unit TPCU that instantaneously acts according to control signal from TPOS which is located on each wheel tyre to instantly vary and control the pressure on right tyres with right pressure in right time thereby to enhance traction and Sustain stability. TPCU comprise of sensor system, pneumatic valve with actuators, transceivers, antennas, power source, reser voirs, Active Tire Temperature Optimising System AT TOS), heating elements where TPCU actively shares sensor system parameters and components status with TPOS. The controlling of tyre pressure is preformed either simultaneously on all the tyres or any particular tires according to scenarios and control signal from TPOS.

f. The TPOS system performs self diagnostic or test to Verify and conform regarding Working of components and accessibility of corresponding parameters. In case of crucial parameters inaccessible and components fail ure the system will operate in failproof or failsafe mode and default mode to ensure safe operation. The system comprises of standard to highly configurable settings for the user to configure the TPOS parameters according to requirements and the system comprise of provision to enable and disable the system. In critical situations the TPOS is either configured to trigger automatically or manually according to scenarios. In scenarios of further controlling of tire pressure is not possible due to com ponent failure, lack of fillers or pressure and power the system alerts the driver regarding the same and works in default mode to retain the available or even or optimum pressure on all tires.

2. The system said in claim 1, comprise of sensor system that works based on one or combination of sensors, safety & stability parameters, configurations, operating modes and usage scenarios for detecting the critical situations of vehicles experiencing or moving beyond the limits of vehicles avail able safety and stability systems with sensors for active sens ing and utilise it for pre computing & set ready to control tire pressure, current computing to control the tire pressure during critical situation and post computing to control the tire pres Sure after critical situation ultimately to overcome and miti gate the critical situations. Sensors for sensor System com prise of

a. Pressure sensors, Temperature sensors, humidity and moisture sensors for sensing the pressure, temperature, humidity and moisture content of fluids or fillers avail able in tires and reservoirs. The sensor system in addi tion senses the external or environments temperature, moisture and humidity for computation thereby to enhance the precision of the system.

US 2015/0005982 A1

. Vehicle speed and wheel speed sensor for sensing the vehicle speed and wheels speed thereby utilising it for computing the tire pressure accordingly in critical situ ations.

c. Orientation sensors and accelerometer for sensing the vehicles orientation, acceleration and deceleration thereby utilising it for computing the tire pressure accordingly in critical situations.

. Load sensor for sensing the load of the vehicle, load on individual wheel tires and change in centre of gravity thereby utilising it for computing the tire pressure accordingly in critical situations.

e. Steering angle or position sensor for sensing the position of the steering wheel and vehicles relative motion thereby sensing vehicle stability, over and under steering ultimately utilising it for computing the tire pressure accordingly in critical situations.

f. Break force sensor for sensing the nature of the break force during breaking scenarios ultimately utilising it for pre computing, current computing and post computing thereby to control the tire pressure accordingly in critical situation.

g. Sensors for sensing damage in wheels, tire properties and foreign objects stuck in tire, its dimension & depth of penetration, tires wear & tear, tires cuts, bulges, side wall damages, slow puncture with corresponding tires location & position comprise of one or more optimally located internal and external sensors or sensor arrays on tires and Vehicle for scanning comprising of distance or range sensors, visual cameras, IR cameras & sensors, acoustic or ultrasonic sensor, electromagnetic sensors, electrostatic sensors, inductive sensors, capacitive sen Sors, echo sensors, thermal sensors for Scanning & detecting tires parameters comprising of change in tire properties nature, patterns, direction, dimension, posi tions, multilayers & range, pressure, temperature, mois ture and humidity. The sensor sensing the nature or property of tyre and foreign object comprise of permit tivity-6, permeability-L, conductivity-O, Susceptibility, dielectric, capacitive sensing, capacitive displacement sensing, inductive sensing.

. Radar and range sensors for Scanning the environment around the vehicle by detecting vehicles, pedestrians and objects in front, rear and around the vehicle with its direction, dimension, distance, nature, approaching & departing speed with respect the vehicle thereby utilised for pre, current and post computing ultimately utilising it for controlling the tire pressure according to critical situation. The radar system comprises of visual, active and passive infrared cameras with real-time digital image and signal processing thereby to sense the nature of the objects around the vehicle.

i. Terrain, road or contact area sensors for sensing the nature of present contact and impending road and terrain Surfaces with its property comprising of normal dry roads, wet, mud & ruts, rocks, gravel, grass, Snow, sand, rough, highly uneven terrain, rocky crawl and its com binations thereby utilise it computing the tire pressure accordingly in critical situations.

j. GPS sensors for predicting the turns, curves and bends ahead of the road for pre computing and set ready for controlling the tire pressure accordingly,

k. The system utilizes predetermined and tested field map ping or correlation or lookup table for sensing, compar

13 Jan. 1, 2015

ing & matching the effects between real time sensor system parameters with predetermined and tested sensor system parameters ultimately for computing the tire pressure accordingly.

1. The sensor systems precision levels, sensing depth of dimension and multilayer sensing are utilised according the design & requirement. The sensor system utilise sensors, capable of either fixed or tuneable sensitivity and the range are selected according to design, configu ration, Scenarios and requirement.

3. The system said in claim 1, where the TPOS comprise of processing unit, Transceiver transmitter/receiver, antennas, interconnections with sensor systems, ECU, vehicle stabil ity and safety parameters, memory and online access for live update. The TPOS actively computes the control signal to control the tyre pressure based on either one or combination of following

a. The computation of TPOS control signal to TPCU is based on tires upper and lower cut-off or threshold pres sure values thereby to enhance vehicle traction while sustaining stability. The TPOS controls the tire pressure between upper and lower cut-offorthreshold pressure to prevent over and under inflation of tires thereby prevent ing deformation of the tyres which in turn leads to loss of vehicle stability

b. To enhance the efficiency of the system the TOPS com putation of control signal to TPCU's utilises parameters comprising of sensor system, vehicle stability & safety systems, nature of breaking & break force, tires lower & upper cut-off threshold pressure values, sensing reser Voirs and tires internal & external or environmental— pressure, temperature, moisture, humidity, vehicles speed, wheel speed, acceleration & deceleration, orien tations & axial rotation yaw, pitch and roll, load distri bution load on each wheel tire, torque distribution, vehicles Suspension & Vertical dynamic, transverse motion & lateral acceleration, tire traction, Coefficient of Friction ICOF), slip & slide angle, steering wheel position, cornering effects, change in centre of gravity, over & under steering, aqua or hydroplaning, tire speci fications & parameters comprising of size, type, load index, speed symbol or rating, thread wear & tear, trac tion & temperature rating, compound & material used, maximum load rating, maximum permissible inflation pressure, direction, dimension, patterns of treads, lugs, Voids, Sipes & groves, rim or wheel specifications, wheel alignment & balancing, camber angle, tires position or angle of attack, radars detecting objects with pre & current computing of tire pressure to assist in emergency breaking & Stability based on range, speed, angle approaching or direction and dimension of objects in and around the vehicle, sensing nature oftires present & impending road or contact area, GPS information to predict the turns, curves and bends on roads ahead for computing the control signal to TPCU thereby to enhance vehicle traction and stability.

c. To further enhance the efficiency of the system the TPOS computation of control signal to TPCU is performed by inter operating with vehicles existing stability & safety systems comprising of ABS, EBD, ESC, TCS or ASR, Roll over mitigation systems, ECU, BA, Suspension sys tem, Vertical dynamics & damping force, Sway or anti roll or stabilizer bar, pre crash systems, radar assisted auto breaking with partially & complete break to stop,

US 2015/0005982 A1 Jan. 1, 2015 14

4. The system said in claim 1, where the TPCU is located in each wheel tire, hub and axle that comprise of pneumatic valve with actuators, controller circuitry for controlling tyre pressure according to control signal from TPOS, Transceiver, antennas, sensors, power source, fluid reservoir system, inte grated pump and compressor, Active Tire Temperature Opti mising System ATTOS), heating elements.

a. The TPCU shares the real time information and param

sensing Drivers reaction with evasion evasive manoeu Vre of objects, automotive aerodynamics & airbrakes, Cruise or Adaptive Cruise Control with partial & full auto breaking; thereby instantaneous directing the TPCU to control the tire pressure to enhance vehicle safety and stability.

d. The TPOS either operates in standalone mode with sen Sor system parameters or interoperates with vehicles stability & Safety parameters or its combinations to enhancing traction and Stability in critical situation. The controlling of tire pressure is either even or uneven and continuous or discontinuous on all tires according to design, configurations and scenarios.

e. The system utilise either wireless transceiver transmit ter/receiver with antenna or wired network or its com bination for communication between TPOS and TPCU.

f. The TPOS processing unit comprise of one or combina tion of onboard computer and dedicated processing unit for the computation of control signal.

. The TPOS system utilise predetermined and tested lookup or correlation table to actively check and com pare the effects between predetermined and tested real world scenarios to the actual real world scenarios for computation and controlling of tire pressure.

. TPOS system according to design, configurations and scenarios either works with or without or combination of internal or external high pressure reservoirs and com pressor Systems for instantaneously controlling and optimising the tire pressure during and after overcoming the critical situations.

i. The TPOS in addition to monitoring the status of tyres; monitors the pressure, temperature, moisture, humidity of the fillers available on reservoirs for the computation of control signal to TPCU with the status of the sensor system being updated in user display or interface.

j. The TPOS computation and controlling of tyre tempera ture and pressure in critical situations are within the Scope range of tires upper and lower cut-off threshold values thereby to prevent over or under inflation of tyre and to Sustains vehicle stability,

. The TPOS utilise TPCU integrated with Tire Tempera ture Optimising System ITTOS to control the tire tem perature according to change in temperature of environ ments or weather and in critical situations thereby controlling tires properties, preventing tire hardening or solidification thereby to enhances tire traction, stability, reduce breaking distance, enhance vehicle cornering & handling characteristics, mitigate hydroplaning, miti gate over steering and under steering. TPOS controls the tire temperature either instantaneously in critical situa tions or continuously according to design, configuration and scenarios.

1. When the system is active and functioning the driver is alerted through user interface regarding systems opera tions and critical situations. TPOS performs the self diagnostic or test to Verify and conform with working of the components & System. Also monitor and alerts the status of the system, when the system is actively func tioning in controlling the tyre pressure. TPCU's lower power reserve and availability of fillers in reservoir according to scenarios. The self testing works either automatically or manually according to design, configu ration and scenarios.

eters—tire pressure, temperature, humidity, moisture, power source status, reservoir status with TPOS and act according to control signal from TPOS thereby to con trol the tyre pressure and temperature.

. The TPCU utilise failsafe and fail proof pneumatic valves system with actuators for controlling the tire pres sure according to control signal from TPOS. The TPCU system comprise of and utilise wheel tires integrated with single to multiple internal and external, unidirec tional and bidirectional, valves with & without actua tors, normally open & normally closed valves, basic & electro pneumatic valves, dedicated & common valves for storing, controlling, optimising and restoring the tire pressure according to design, configurations and Sce narios.

. The TPCU utilise wireless transceiver transmitter/re ceiver with antenna, wired communication and its com binations for communicating with TOPS.

. The TPCU comprise of internal power source, external power source and its combinations for its operation and are selected from TPCU's inbuilt batteries, capacitors and vehicle batteries. The power source is wired or wire less or its combinations and the charging sources for the TPCU's inbuilt battery and capacitor are sourced from vehicle battery, external charging systems, internal self changing systems with feasible alternator or generator, capacitive coupling, inductive coupling, electromag netic coupling, Regenerative breaks. The type of batter ies utilised comprise of primary batteries, rechargeable batteries and its combinations. The power Source is either external, internal fixed or replaceable and its com binations with the system Smartly managing the charg ing and backup of the power levels with updating & alerting the status of power source to TPOS, display and user interface.

. TPCU system according to design, configurations and scenarios either works with and without, internal and external, reservoir and compressor or its combinations for instantaneously controlling and optimising the tire pressure during and after overcoming the critical situa tions. In critical situations the system controls the tire pressure by either releasing the fillers to atmosphere and restore from internal and external reservoir & compres sororistore and restore the fillers from and to internal and external reservoir & compressor according to design, configurations and Scenarios.

f. TPCU with reservoir works by instantaneously control ling and optimising the tire pressure during and after overcoming the critical situations utilising the high pres sure fillers in the reservoir. The TPCU comprise of con trol system with internal pneumatic valve that connects the reservoir with tire internally for controlling the tire pressure and external valve for controlling as well as recharging the fillers. The system utilise either common or dedicated valves for controlling the tire pressure as well as restoring the fillers. The control valves are

US 2015/0005982 A1

Selected from pneumatic valves, electro pneumatic valves, mechanical valves, electro mechanical valves and its combinations.

g. TPCU with compressor works by instantaneously con trolling and optimising the tire pressure during and after overcoming the critical situations utilising the fillers from compressor unit.

h. TPCU works without reservoir or compressor through instantaneously controlling the tire pressure in critical situations by releasing the fluids or fillers air or nitro gen to atmosphere and optimises the tire pressure on all tires for further safe driving. The fillers are to be restored through external sources next gas station or air pumps,

i. The TPCU comprise of integrated Active Tire Tempera ture Optimising System ATTOS and heating elements for maintaining the temperature according to control signal from TPOS.

j. Each TPCU is represented by unique identification with which the TPOS identifies and communicate with accordingly. Tire Pressure Optimising System also accounts the replacement of tyres to precisely track the change of tires in Scenarios of puncture, wear and tear thereby to control the TPCU accordingly. The system also optimises the tyre pressure on the spare tyre to match with other tyres in case of tyre changed according to scenarios.

k. TPCU according to design, configuration and scenarios instantaneously controls the tire pressure in critical situ ations by controlling or transferring the fillers either from & to atmosphere else with inbuilt or external res toration systems or its combinations.

1. TPCU according to design, configuration and scenarios utilise feasible internal or external reservoir or its com bination for controlling the fillers thereby instanta neously controlling the tire pressure in critical situa tions.

m. TPCU according to design, configuration and scenarios utilise feasible internal or external air compressor or its combination for controlling the fillers thereby instanta neously controlling the tire pressure in critical situa tions.

n.The system also sense and prevents the over inflation of tires by releasing excess fillers thereby to maintain the set and optimum pressure according to control signal from TPOS.

o. The wheels with TPCU system are constructed with weight balanced design or with counterweight and uti lise internal and externally added weights balance to compensate the mass of the TPCU.

5. The system said in claim 1, utilise correlation or lookup tables to actively check and compare the effects caused in actual real world scenarios with predetermined and tested real world Scenarios to control and optimising the tyre pressure accordingly in critical situations.

a. The correlation tables comprise of pressure values that lies between upper and lower cut-off tire pressure values designed and developed with corresponding change in vehicles load and centre of gravity thereby the TOPS system controls the tire pressure between upper and lower cut-off tire pressure values according to scenarios to mitigate critical situations while preventing the over inflation and deflation or tire deformation ultimately to Sustain stability.

Jan. 1, 2015

b. The correlation table is designed and developed based on TPOS system designs, Scenarios, configurations and parameters comprising of sensor System, vehicle sta bility & safety systems, nature of breaking & break force, tires lower & upper cut-off threshold pressure values, sensing reservoirs and tires internal & external or environmental pressure, temperature, moisture, humidity, vehicles speed, wheel speed, acceleration & deceleration, orientations & axial rotation yaw, pitch and roll, load distribution load on each wheel tire, torque distribution, vehicles Suspension & Vertical dynamic, transverse motion & lateral acceleration, tire traction Coefficient of Friction ICOF), slip and slide angle, steering wheel position, cornering effects, change in centre of gravity, over & under Steering, aqua or hydroplaning, tire specifications & parameters compris ing of size, type, load index, speed symbol or rating, thread wear & tear, traction & temperature rating, com pound & material used, maximum load rating, maxi mum permissible inflation pressure, direction, dimen sion, patterns of treads, lugs, Voids, Sipes & groves, rim or wheel specifications, camber angle, wheel alignment & balancing, tires position or angle of attack, radars detecting objects with pre & current computing of tire pressure to assist in emergency breaking & Stability based on range, direction and dimension of objects in and around the vehicle, sensing nature oftires present & impending contact area, GPS information to predict the turns, curves and bends on roads ahead and inter oper ating with vehicles existing stability & safety systems comprising of ABS, EBD, ESC, TCS, Roll over miti gation systems, ECU, BA, Pre crash systems, Suspen sion system, Vertical dynamics & damping force, Sway or anti-roll or stabilizer bar, radar assisted auto breaking with partially & complete break to stop, Drivers reaction with evasion evasive manoeuvre of objects, automo tive aerodynamics & airbrakes, Pre crash systems, Cruise or Adaptive Cruise Control with partial & full auto breaking.

c. As various parameters and multiple critical situations are simultaneously taken into account by TOPS for compu tation, the table is designed and developed based on prioritising and balancing between one or more param eters and scenarios ultimately to achieve an optimised performance.

6. The system said in claim 1, where the TPCU system comprise of one or more particularly high pressure fluid res ervoirs tank for storing the fillers air and nitrogen are inte grated or optimally located mounted on wheels rim, spokes, hub, axle with pneumatic valves and control unit for controlling the tire pressure in critical situations and optimis ing or restoring the tire pressure after overcoming the critical situations according to the control signal from TPOS. The reservoir systems operates without any compressor or similar systems as the pressure maintained in the reservoir is higher multiple times than the optimum tire pressure for the fluids or fillers to flow from reservoir to tire thereby controlling the tire pressure according to control signal form TPOS.

a. The fillers in the reservoir tank are maintained with pressure higher multiple times higher than the upper cut-off tire pressure threshold value for the fillers to instantly flow from the reservoir to tires and the same is utilised for controlling the tire pressure according to control signal from TPOS. The fillers in the reservoir are

US 2015/0005982 A1

restorable and restored through external means simi larly restored while filling the normal tire pressure.

b. The reservoir system comprises of failsafe and fail proof pneumatic valves system with actuators and utilise single to multiple internal and external, unidirectional and bidirectional, basic and electro pneumatic valves, valves with & without actuators, normally open & nor mally closed valves, dedicated & common valves for storing, controlling, optimising and restoring the tire pressure according to design, configurations and sce narios. The reservoir comprise of control system with internal pneumatic valve that connects the reservoir with tire internally for controlling the tire pressure and exter nal valve for controlling as well as recharging the fillers. The system utilise either common or dedicated valves for controlling the tire pressure as well as restoring the fillers. The control valves are selected from pneumatic valves, electropneumatic valve, mechanical valve, elec tro mechanical valve and its combinations.

c. The reservoir system comprise of dedicated sensor sys tem for sensing the pressure, temperature, moisture and humidity of the fillers available in the reservoir with status of the sensor system being updated to TPOS for computation and user display or interface. The TPOS also accounts the quantity of fillers available in the res ervoir with sensor system parameters for the computa tions, controlling and restoring the tyre pressure.

d. The system alerts the driver regarding lack of fillers and low pressure in reservoir. In scenarios of reservoir with not sufficient fillers or pressure the system alerts the driver regarding the same and works in default mode where the system won't utilise fillers in the reservoir to control the tire pressure.

. The reservoir utilise moisture control system to remove excess moisture and maintain optimum moisture level of fillers in reservoir thereby to achieve optimum TOPS operations.

f. The reservoir system configurations comprise of dedi cated inbuilt or integrated reservoir with TPCU on all the wheel tires, utilise common reservoir, utilise common reservoir for recharging the fillers of dedicated reservoir and its combinations for controlling and optimising the tire pressure. The system comprise of air filter and mois ture control system to maintain the ideal state of fluids or fillers for achieving optimum performance.

. The reservoir system is optimally designed and inte grated according design of wheels and are either fixed or interchangeable with the wheels. The TPCU system uti lises either common ordedicated high pressure reservoir according to design and Scenarios.

h. Controlling of tire pressure with reservoir system is performed based on configurations comprising of releasing the fillers to atmosphere and controlling or restoring through fillers in the reservoir or else control ling through storing and restoring of fillers from and to reservoir according to design and scenarios.

i. The system with dynamically controlling the tyre pres Sure through high pressure reservoirs are utilised on active vehicle protection in critical situations, dynami cally increasing traction according to driving condi tions, optimising stability, saving fuel and reducing tyre noise. The TPOS system utilise the fillers in the high pressure reservoir to optimise the tire pressure in under inflation scenarios.

16 Jan. 1, 2015

7. The system said in claim 1, where the TPOS instanta neously works in critical situation to reduce high speed and emergency breaking distance by actively sensing, computing and controlling the tire pressure from optimum or existing value to right pressure on right tires in right time ultimately to increase the rolling resistance, friction and controlling con tact patch area thereby instantaneously improving traction while Sustaining stability. The system maintaining the tires upper & lower cut-off threshold pressure values to prevent over and under inflation or tire deformation.

8. The system said in claim 1, where the TPOS works in critical situations to instantaneously mitigate extreme loss of traction, skid and wheel spin on either one or multiple wheel tires by actively sensing, computing and controlling the tire pressure between or corresponding wheel tires in right time with right pressure thereby controlling the contact patch or footprint ultimately to restore and mitigate loss of traction.

9. The system said in claim 1, where the TPOS works in critical situations to instantaneously mitigate hydroplaning or aquaplaning by actively sensing, computing and controlling (increasing) tire pressure on right tires with right pressure in right time while maintaining the tires upper cut-off threshold pressure value thereby thinning the contact path Surface area of tire to avoid water deflected inwards, increasing the tires grooves & thread depth to deflect more water outward ulti mately helping in clearing water which in turn prevents the rising of tires thereby to mitigate hydroplaning.

10. The system said in claim 1, where the TPOS works in critical situations to instantaneously mitigate over and under steering by actively sensing, computing and controlling the tire pressure in right time with right pressure on right tires thereby controlling thread depth, enhancing traction, control ling contact patch or foot print area, controlling tires corner ing stiffness and controlling tire deformation rate thereby mitigating positive and negative gradient to Sustain Zero or neutral gradient.

11. The system said in claim 1, where the TPOS works in critical situations to mitigate roll over and loss of stability for the vehicle moving in highly uneven, leaning, slope Surfaces, vehicle experience extreme cornering force high speed where the vehicle tends to move beyond available stability systems limits that can leads to loss of stability by actively sensing and instantaneously controlling the tyre pressure on right tires with right pressure in right time thereby to restore stability, centre of gravity and traction.

12. The system said in claim 1, where the TPOS works in critical situations to mitigate the loss of control and Stability in puncture scenarios besides alerting the driver regarding rapid loss of pressure in puncture Scenarios by actively sens ing and instantaneously Supplying the fillers air or nitrogen from the reservoir or tank to the punctured tires thereby to Sustain the pressure preventing the rapid loss of tire pressure ultimately improving the time of drivability and stability of the vehicle.

a. In puncture scenarios the TPOS system also controls the pressure on other tires accordingly to enhance the driv ability and stability of the vehicle,

b. In puncture scenarios the TPOS system also controls reduce the pressure on other tires accordingly to increase the rolling resistance thereby reducing the breaking distance of vehicles in high speeds Scenarios. The present system actively works to control tire pres Sure ultimately to control the rolling resistance and trac

US 2015/0005982 A1

tion of the other tires in accordance with punctured tires to mitigate difference in rolling resistance and traction levels.

13. The system said in claim 1, the TPOS instantaneously works to enhance extreme and high speed—cornering hard cornering performance, torque vectoring and handling char acteristic by instantaneously sensing, computing and control ling the tire pressure in right time with right pressure on right tires thereby assist in enhancing sharp cornering characteris tic through preventing and controlling tires sidewall defor mation and contact patch area while simultaneously provid ing traction and stability.

14. The system said in claim 1 TPOS system vary, control and optimise the tire pressure according to driving modes like comfort, comfort+, standard, economic, sport, sport+ mode to enhance the comfort level, performance, improving fuel effi ciency thereby reducing effect on environment according to modes, controlling tire noise and in addition works irrespec tive of modes to instantaneously control the tire pressure accordingly to mitigate critical situations. According to design, configuration and scenarios the TPOS system either controls the tire pressure by releasing the fillers to atmosphere or utilise inbuilt reservoir or other external restoration sys tems or its combinations.

15. The system said in claim 1 TPOS system vary, control and optimise the tire pressure according to change in centre of gravity and load on each wheel tires by sensing, computing and controlling or optimising the tires accordingly to enhance vehicle stability and handling characteristic.

16. The system said in claim 1, utilise TPCU integrated with Active Tire Temperature Optimiser that works to control and maintain the tire temperature and pressure according to change in temperature of weather or environment and critical situations thereby actively controlling the tires property, Soft ening, hardening or Solidification, controlling contact patch area and sidewall deformation rate ultimately to enhance tire traction, stability, reduce breaking distance, enhance corner ing & handling characteristics, mitigate hydroplaning, miti gate over steering and under steering. The ATTOS controls the tire temperature instantaneously in critical situation or continuously according to design, configuration and sce narios. The ATTOS works in both pneumatic and non pneu matic tires. ATTPOS operate in standalone mode or interop erate the TPOS taking status of power backup in to account.

a. The system utilise Smart and adaptive closed loop algo rithm with correlation or lookup tables to actively check and compare the effects caused in actual real world scenarios with predetermined and tested real world sce narios thereby to control and optimising the tyre tem perature and pressure according to design, configuration and scenarios.

b. The system controls the tire temperature either instanta neously in critical situations or continuously according to design, configuration and scenarios.

c. The ATTOS operate in standalone mode interoperate with vehicles safety and stability systems or its combi nations according to design, configurations and sce narios to enhance traction and stability.

d. The system utilise one or more or combination of inter nal or external power source according to design, con figurations and Scenarios for controlling and maintain ing the temperature. The ATTOS operate in standalone mode with either dedicated power source or interoperate

Jan. 1, 2015

with vehicle power source or its combinations taking status power backup in to account.

e. The Tire Temperature Optimising System (TTOS works with and utilise either one or combination of direct and indirect heating techniques that comprise of thermal conduction, diffusion, convection, radiation and advec tion to generate, control and maintain the tire tempera ture. Energy transfer and heating elements are optimally integrated in wheels, tires, hub, axle, Suspension and vehicles chassis. The direct heating works utilising heat ing elements and the indirect heating generate and main tain temperature through heating fillers or fluids & prin ciple of electromagnetic induction heating that operates irrespective of vehicle in stationary or motion according to design, configurations and Scenarios. The system make use of Induction heating coil and materials that Support electromagnetic induction to generate heat are utilised in tire manufacturing that comprises one or com bination of ferromagnetic metals, ferromagnetic alloys and other suitable metals or element in tires, radial tires, plies and steel belted tires thereby to precisely transfer the heat to contact path or footprint area simultaneously saving power. Either dedicated heating element or the plies or belts with suitable material is utilised for induc tion heating.

f. The system accounts status of power Source, sensor sys tem parameters, heating element, change in tempera ture, moisture & pressure oftires and environment, driv ing modes, rim or wheel and tire specification & parameters comprising of size, type, load index, speed symbol or rating, thread wear & tear, traction & tem perature rating, tires dimension, direction, nature of compound & material used, maximum load rating, maximum permissible inflation pressure, patterns of treads, lugs, Voids, sipes & groves, vehicle safety and stability systems, change in temperature, pressure, moisture and humidity of fillers in reservoirs and com pressors for actively sensing, computing and controlling the tire temperature.

g. The user configurable system maintains temperature either automatically or manually according to design, configurations and Scenarios.

17. The system said in claim 1, where the TPOS utilise inbuilt sensor System to actively scan, sense, compute and alerts the driver irrespective of vehicles in motion or station ary regarding structural damage on wheels or rims compris ing of bends & cracks and potentially hazardous foreign objects. E.g. Stones stuck in tires based on its nature, dimen sion & depth of penetration, tires wear & tear, tire cuts, bulges, Sidewall damages, slow puncture with corresponding tires location & position.

a. The system utilise Smart and adaptive closed loop pro cessing algorithm with correlation or lookup tables to actively check and compare the effects caused in actual real world scenarios with predetermined and tested real world Scenarios for precisely sensing, comparing, com puting and alerting the driver in advance regarding the potentially hazardous critical situations. The system works based on online and preloaded wheel or rim speci fications, balancing beads, tire specifications & param eters comprising of size, type, load index, speed sym bol or rating, thread wear & tear, traction & temperature rating, compound & material used, maximum load rat

US 2015/0005982 A1

ing, maximum permissible inflation pressure, patterns of treads, lugs, Voids, sipes & groves.

b. The system utilise one or more optimally located internal and external sensors or sensor arrays on wheel tires and vehicle for scanning comprising of distance or range sensors, visual cameras, IR sensors & cameras, acoustic or ultrasonic sensor, electromagnetic sensors, electro static sensors, inductive sensors, capacitive sensors, echo sensors, thermal sensors for scanning & detecting wheels, balancing beads and tire parameters comprising of specifications, change in properties nature, patterns, direction, dimension, positions, multilayers and range.

c. The system works by sensing wheel specifications and nature or property of tyres and foreign objects comprise of permittivity-6, permeability-L, conductivity-O, Sus ceptibility, dielectric, capacitive sensing, capacitive dis placement sensing, inductive sensing.

18. The system said in claim 1, where the TPOS system works with all types of pneumatic tyres comprising of tube less tires, non tubeless or tires with tubes, non pneumatic tires, Run Flat Tyres RFT, wet tyres, Dry tyres, Soft & hard compound tyres, slick tires, intermediate tires, Summer and winter tyres with various patterns off treads, lugs, Voids, grooves, sipes, beads, sidewalls, shoulders, plies.

19. The system said in claim 1, the Tyre Pressure Optimis ing System works with all type of vehicles with single to multiple pneumatic tyres utilising air, nitrogen or other Suit able fillers Motor cycles, cars, Vans, SUVs, cross over, Buss, Truck's or Lomes, aircraft's etc.

20. The system said in claim 1, works in critical situation with following configurations comprising of one or combi nation of with reservoir, without reservoir and appropriate compressor Systems.

a. TPOS that works in critical situations with reservoir by utilising the high pressure fillers in the reservoir to con trol the tire pressure. The fillers in the reservoir have to be restored from external sources.

b. TPOS that works in critical situations without reservoir or compressor by just releasing the fillers in the tires to atmosphere and the tire pressure have to be restored through external sources.

c. TPOS that works in critical situations with appropriate compressor Systems available with vehicles existing inflation systems in critical situations.

21. The system said in claim 1, where the TPOS instanta neously works in extreme worst case scenarios—malfunc tion, partial or complete failure of vehicle safety and stability system comprising of failure of breaks, Traction Control Sys tem, rollover mitigation system; the onboard system auto matically sense the failure to trigger TPOS or the TPOS system is manually triggered to instantaneously control the tire pressure in right tires with right pressure in right time for increasing the friction, traction, rolling resistance and com pensating or mitigating the difference in rolling resistances ultimately to reduce the stopping distance while simulta neously sustaining the vehicle stability, drivability and steer ability. The system utilise sensor System and radar system to automatically sense control the tire pressure according to scenarios. The system assists in break—failure or malfunc tion that comprising of partial or complete break failure and either one or multiple break failure; while maintaining the tires upper & lower cut-off threshold pressure values to pre vent over and under inflation or tire deformation.

18 Jan. 1, 2015

22. The system said in claim 1, comprises of TPCU inte grated with appropriate compressor or pump powered by kinetic break energy—in combination with high pressure fluid reservoir to recharge reservoir fluid and in turn the reservoir restores the tyre pressure or without high pressure reservoir system for directly recharging tire pressure or its combinations thereby autonomously works to restore and optimise the tyre pressure ultimately to provide maintenance free operation of tires. The system interoperates with TPOS where the compressor and or pump system works based on either one or combination of following according to design, configurations and Scenarios

a. Pump or & Compressor system works with high pres Sure reservoir System to recharges, restore and optimise reservoir pressure, in turn the reservoir recharges, restore and optimise the tire pressure.

. Pump or & Compressor System works without high pressure reservoir system by directly recharging, restor ing and optimising the tire pressure.

c. The system utilise Kinetic break energy generated dur ing breaking which is either converted into electrical energy or converted into mechanical energy or its com binations according to design, configurations and Sce narios and are utilised to run the pump or compressor ultimately for recharging, restoring and optimising the tyre pressure and the reservoir pressure.

. The whole system Smartly monitors, senses, computes and operates in optimal or right energy band and condi tions to utilise the kinetic break energy based on sensor system parameters, thereby efficiently handling lower and higher or excessively generated kinetic break energy. The computation is performed based on inten sity or level or magnitude of kinetic break energy, res ervoirs and tyre's—internal and external pressure, tem perature and moisture, engine and vehicle's running conditions thereby accordingly computes, runs and con trols the pump or compressor DEL pneumatic valves ultimately to recharge, restore and optimise the reservoir pressure and tire pressure.

e. The fail safe and fail proof pneumatic and or electro pneumatic valves with pump & or compressor are uti lised to ensure safe operations in the event of failure by operating in failsafe mode and default mode. Over Pres sure release valve or electro pneumatic valve works to release over pressure in reservoir and tires. Either dedi cated over pressure protection valve or electro pneu matic valve or its combination is also used.

23. The system said in claim 1, comprises of TPCU utilis ing kinetic break energy to run the pneumatic valves thereby to control or transfer the fluid air, nitrogen etc flow from & to or between atmosphere, pump, compressor, reservoirs and tires or its combinations according design, configuration, requirement and Scenarios ultimately to restore and optimise the tyre and reservoir pressure. The system monitors and computes the kinetic or break energy that is sufficient to run or operate the pneumatic valves. The TPOS and TPCU controls the operation of pneumatic valves based on either one or combination of following according to design, configurations and scenarios

a. The system utilise Kinetic break energy generated dur ing breaking which is either converted into electrical energy or converted into mechanical energy or its com

US 2015/0005982 A1

binations according to design, configurations and sce narios and are utilised to run and control the pneumatic valves

b. The whole system Smartly monitors, senses, computes and operates in optimal or right energy band and condi tions to utilise the kinetic break energy based on sensor system parameters, thereby efficiently handling lower and higher or excessively generated kinetic break energy. The computation is performed based on inten sity or level or magnitude of kinetic break energy, res ervoirs and tyre's—internal and external pressure, tem perature and moisture, engine and vehicle's running conditions thereby accordingly computes, runs and con trols the pneumatic valves.

c. The system utilise fail safe and fail proof Electro-Me chanical Pneumatic Valves that acts in default operation or valve mode with basic valve functionality to ensure safe operation in case of failure.

24. The system said in claim 1, comprise of one or more or combination of internal and external, fixed or replaceable power source for TPOS and TPCU's operation are selected from TPCU’s inbuilt batteries, primary or rechargeable bat teries, capacitors and vehicle batteries according to design, configurations and Scenarios.

19 Jan. 1, 2015

. The power source is wired or wireless or its combina tions and the charging sources for the TPCU’s inbuilt battery and capacitor are sourced from vehicle battery, external charging systems, internal self charging sys tems with feasible alternator or generator, piezoelectric effect, capacitive coupling, inductive coupling, electro magnetic coupling, kinetic break energy.

. The system Smartly manages the charging and backup E.g. under & over charging protection of the power levels with updating & alerting the status of power source to TPOS, display and user interface.

. The system taps the required power for its operation according to vehicle's running conditions and engine parameters E.g. like vehicle running down the slope or declined roads with excess speeds where the cruise con trol system control the excess speed to maintain preset speed.

. The system utilise Kinetic break energy generated dur ing breaking which is either converted into electrical energy or converted into mechanical energy or its com binations according to design, configurations and Sce narios and are utilised to run the pump, compressor and pneumatic valves ultimately to recharge, restore and optimise the tyre pressure and the reservoir pressure.

k k k k k

US 2015.0005982A1 (19) United States (12) Patent ... · steering by controlling tires cornering ......

Documents

Transcript of US 2015.0005982A1 (19) United States (12) Patent ... · steering by controlling tires cornering ......