A tire inflator having an air compressor to inflate a tire to a predetermined pressure threshold. A central OBD module plugged into in a vehicle uses a short-range radio to transmit to the inflator the predetermined pressure threshold fit for a vehicle. An OBD vehicle bus reader can obtain a VIN of an associated vehicle model. A predetermined tire pressure threshold memory contains a predetermined look-up table of tire pressure thresholds for models. A processor uses the VIN to identify the vehicle model in the look-up table to select the one of the predetermined tire pressure thresholds including a spare tire pressure threshold. A short-range radio wirelessly transmits the looked-up tire pressure threshold including a spare tire pressure threshold to each inflator. The tire inflator has an optical moisture sensor on air inlet or air outlet. The air compressor is disabled when moisture is detected.

A soil measure, such as a soil cone index, and a vehicle index indicating the amount of force the vehicle exerts on the ground as it travels over the ground, are obtained and compared to identify a soil damage score. The soil damage score can be mapped over a field and an agricultural vehicle can be controlled based upon the soil damage score. In another example, a detector detects a fill level of a material storage compartment on an agricultural vehicle. The inflation pressure of tires on the agricultural vehicle is controlled based upon the detected fill level.

Systems and methods for an energy harvester proximate to a rotatable component of a vehicle's wheel are disclosed. In some embodiments, an energy harvester system includes: a plurality of energy harvesting components configured to be coupled to a rotatable component in a ring formation along a circumference of the rotatable component, wherein each of the plurality of energy harvesting components includes: a substrate configured to be attached to a surface of the rotatable component; a piezoelectric component coupled to a surface of the substrate, wherein the piezoelectric component is configured to deform in response to a mechanical strain imparted on the piezoelectric component as the rotatable component rotates and generate an electric signal; and an interconnect coupled to the piezoelectric components and configured to conduct the electric signal from the piezoelectric components to a device coupled to the rotatable component.

This application relates generally to sensor systems and, more particularly, relates to systems and methods for management of smart wheel sensors that collect actionable sensor data from a rotatable component of a vehicle's wheel. In certain embodiments, a system includes a vehicle body; a rotatable component configured to rotate relative to the vehicle body; an energy harvesting component disposed along a circumference of the rotatable component, wherein the energy harvesting component is configured to generate electric power based on a force to the rotatable component; a sensor configured to produce sensor data by using the electric power while disposed on the rotatable component; and at least one processor disposed within the vehicle body, the at least one processor configured to perform an action within the vehicle body based on a parameter value meeting a threshold value, wherein the parameter value is based on the sensor data.

A direct tire data collection and communication device is adapted for use in a pneumatic vehicle tire. The device incorporates a tire-mounted electronics module comprising a microcontroller, and at least one tire property sensor in electronic communication with the microcontroller and capable of measuring at least one operational property of the vehicle tire. The threshold operational property value defines a positive tire safety condition and a negative tire safety condition. The electronics module calculates accumulated travel data of the vehicle tire while in the negative tire safety condition. A transmitter transmits the travel data to an electronic remote terminal.

A tire parameter monitoring apparatus, method, and system are provided. The apparatus includes a receiver, a processor, and an output circuit. The receiver may be configured to receive an excitation signal. The processor may be configured to determine an output parameter, such as a frequency, a phase, or an amplitude, of a reflected output signal based on a monitoring parameter of a tire, where resonance frequency information of the tire is related to the monitoring parameter of the tire, and the output parameter of the output signal is related to the resonance frequency information of the tire. Passive tire pressure monitoring can be performed, so that production and use costs of the tire pressure monitoring system can be reduced, and reliability can be improved.

A control device is provided for a wheel-monitoring system of a vehicle which is equipped with vehicle wheels. At least one of the vehicle wheels is equipped with an electronic wheel unit, arranged thereon, for detecting at least one wheel operating parameter of the respective vehicle wheel for transmitting wheel operating data to the control device. The control device makes available an abnormality message in the event of an abnormality which is determined on the basis of the transmitted wheel operating data. The control device also takes into account position data relating to a current position of the vehicle for the determination of the abnormality.

The present application provides a tire pressure sensing system, comprising: a cloud server, an intelligent communication terminal and several tire pressure sensing devices; wherein the tire pressure sensing device is provided with a tire pressure sensor, and is configured to send target acquisition data to the intelligent communication terminal after establishing communication with the intelligent communication terminal; the target acquisition data comprises an ID of the tire pressure sensing device; after receiving the target acquisition data, the intelligent communication terminal sends at least the ID of the tire pressure sensing device in the target acquisition data in combination with location information of the intelligent communication terminal to the cloud server for storage and/or data analysis. By the system, the tire pressure sensing devices that have been arranged are effectively utilized; the installation status of tire pressure sensing devices worldwide may be obtained according to the location information of the sensors.

A tire replacement forecasting system includes a tire supporting a vehicle. A sensor unit is mounted on the tire and includes a footprint centerline length measurement sensor and a pressure sensor. A processor is in electronic communication with the sensor unit and receives the measured centerline length and the measured pressure. An electronic vehicle network transmits selected vehicle parameters to the processor. A wear state predictor is stored on the processor and receives the measured centerline length, the measured pressure, and the selected vehicle parameters to generate an estimated wear state of the tire. A forecasting model is stored on the processor and receives multiple estimated wear states of the tire, and predicts future wear states of the tire. A forecast tire replacement date is generated by the forecasting model when the predicted future wear states of the tire are estimated to pass a predetermined wear threshold.

A tire wear amount estimation system includes a step of acquiring a strain signal output from a strain sensor provided on the inner side surface or inside of the pneumatic tire, and a step of estimating the wear state of the tread portion of the pneumatic tire based on the strain signal output at the timing of kicking out from the road surface of the ground contact area of the tread portion corresponding to the strain sensor and a reference value of the strain signal.