A vehicle wheel service apparatus that includes: a frame; a plurality of working tools, connected to the frame and movable to perform operations for mounting and/or demounting the tyre relative to the wheel rim; a shaft driven by an actuator rotationally about a longitudinal axis and connectable to the rim; a measuring system for generating vibration signals representing vibrations of the shaft produced by wheel imbalances; a control unit, connected to the measuring system to receive the vibration signals; a support device, connected to the frame and movable between an activated position, where it encircles the shaft while still allowing it to rotate, and a deactivated position, where it is spaced from the shaft; a connector, movable between a working position, where it mechanically connects the measuring system to the frame, and a rest position, where the measuring system is mechanically disengaged from the frame.

Described herein are systems and methods for determination of rolling resistance from a sensor or sensors in a tire or tires for application in smart cars to provide feedback to interested parties, such as Departments of Transportation or tire manufacturers.

A method for testing the wear of tires running on a rolling road comprises the following steps: using the construction data of the vehicle and a dynamic equilibrium model, determining the relationship between the speed and the accelerations at the centre of gravity of the vehicle, and the angles and directional forces applied on a given axle; continuously recording the speed and the accelerations of a vehicle travelling on a predetermined route; and disposing the two tires belonging to a same axle on the rolling road and, depending on the recorded speed and acceleration values, the values of the angle of camber, load and longitudinal forces are applied, at all times, on each of the wheels of the axle. The values of the transverse forces undergone by each of the wheels are measured and the drift angle is varied so that the sum of the transverse forces resulting from the drifting of the tires is equal, at all times, to the transverse force applied to the centre of the axle and so that the difference in drift between the two wheels respects the variation in alignment imposed on the axle.

The tire sensing and analysis system may comprise a measurement device and local application software. The measurement device may make contact with a tire of a vehicle such that the measurement device is positioned at a specific distance and orientation relative to the tire. The measurement device may capture multiple images of the tire using an RGB camera and a pair of infrared cameras. The local application software may analyze the images and may construct a 3D mesh describing the 3-dimensional contours of the tread. The local application software may determine a tread depth and may display status and warning messages on a display unit that is coupled to the measurement device. The measurements may be communicated to remote application software for additional analysis. As non-limiting examples, the remote application software may detect specific tire wear patterns and may transmit a report to share results of the analysis.

A tire uniformity testing machine that includes a base, a pair of vertical spaced apart columns supporting an upper cross frame member. The base carries a load wheel carriage movable towards and away from a testing station. The vertical uprights establish a peripheral footprint plane that does not extend beyond a plane that is tangent to an outer rolling surface of the load wheel when it is redirected. The upper frame member includes clearance spaces and cutouts that enable at least a portion of an upper chuck to move into the upper frame member and a super structure mounted to a top of the cross member that mounts at least a portion of an actuator for translating the upper chuck. The configuration establishes a machine height that enables the machine to be loaded into a standard shipping container and reduces the overall footprint of the tire uniformity machine without compromising its ability to precisely sense tire uniformity parameters.

A tire testing device includes a road surface, and a carriage configured to rotatably hold a test wheel and traveling along the road surface. The carriage includes an alignment part configured to adjust wheel alignment of the test wheel. The alignment part includes a load adjusting part configured to adjust load acting on the test wheel. The load adjusting part includes a first movable frame movable up and down, a linear guide that guides the movement of the first movable frame, and a first driver that drives the first movable frame up and down. One of a rail and a traveling part of the linear guide is fixed to the first movable frame. The carriage includes a main frame having an alignment mechanism support part that accommodates the alignment part. The other of the rail and the traveling part is fixed to the alignment mechanism support part.

The invention concerns a system for evaluating the surface of a tyre (10), comprising: a region (21) for entry of the tyre into the system, a capture region, and an exit region (22), distinct from the entry region, means for moving (23) and for holding a tyre in position, means for illuminating the tyre allowing the illumination of a sidewall of the tyre and of the crown of a tyre in the capture region, means for acquiring a visual image of the tyre in the capture region, means for processing the acquired image, at least one acquisition means being installed on a shaft that is movable with respect to the tyre installed in the capture region.

A tire tester includes a plurality of tire holding units attached to a movable member or a towed member and each configured to detachably hold a tire, and one or more load measuring units for measuring a load acting on the tire. The plurality of tire holding units include a first tire holding unit configured to detachably hold a first tire, and one or more second tire holding units each configured to detachably hold a second tire. The second tire holding unit holds the second tire to generate a force opposite to a lateral component force generated by steering the first tire. The tire holding units are arranged such that at least one tire holding unit is disposed on each right and left side of the movable member or the towed member with respect to a center line passing through a lateral center thereof.

A vehicle information calculation apparatus includes a motor torque acquisition unit, an angular acceleration acquisition unit, a contact force acquisition unit, and an inertia moment calculator. The motor torque acquisition unit acquires a torque of a motor that drives a vehicle. The angular acceleration acquisition unit acquires an angular acceleration of the motor. The contact force acquisition unit acquires a contact force of a wheel of the vehicle. The inertia moment calculator calculates an inertia moment of a rotating system of the vehicle including the wheel on the basis of the torque acquired by the motor torque acquisition unit, the angular acceleration acquired by the angular acceleration acquisition unit, the contact force acquired by the contact force acquisition unit, and a coefficient of friction between the wheel of the vehicle and a contact surface.

A non-transitory computer-readable storage medium storing a program that causes a computer to execute a process, the process includes acquiring first sound data collected by a first microphone and second sound data collected by a second microphone during traveling of a vehicle in which the first microphone is provided in vicinity of a front wheel and the second microphone is provided in vicinity of a rear wheel; and detecting a cavity under a road surface where the vehicle has traveled based on a difference between the acquired first sound data and the acquired second sound data.