The leading tyre maker, Continental Tyres, has declared that it has begun series production of a novel feature – ‘Filling Assistant’ – pertaining to its TPMS system. This new feature will ensure that tyres run only on correct pressure always, even if non-calibrated equipment is used to inflate them. Conti adds that an Asian auto major has started to offer its customers the same feature’s sub-function.
Conti’s Steps Forward with TPMS
Continental stated that it is in the process of developing a variety of functions related to tyre pressure sensors, for instance load detection. Conti anticipates this breakthrough technology to facilitate drivers and fleets to get information directly on axle loads. This info will be automatically gathered from the tyre pressure sensors of their vehicles.
The Body and Security Business division chief at Continental, Andreas Wolf, explains that in the past, drivers were left with no choice but to guess whether their car had reached the maximum allowed payload limit or not. But in future, he adds that the advanced TPMS function will not require the drivers to estimate whether maximum permissible payload limit has been reached.
The vehicle will automatically notify the driver about the same only after a short distance of travel, and on whether there’s a need to adjust the tyre pressure accordingly. In this manner, Wolf states, that Conti’s tyre pressure sensors will offer dynamic assistance with vehicle safety, while saving fuel.
Technology Supporting Load Detection
The tyre engineers at Continental conducted exhaustive research to develop the said automatic system for load detection. The Conti engineers made the most out of the physical characteristics of vehicle tyres. They explain that a tyre’s contact area with the road increases in proportion to the weight straining the tyre.
With the advanced next-gen sensors fitted directly beneath tyre tread, Conti’s tyre pressure monitoring system will be able to detect the contact patch size with utmost accuracy. The revolutionary sensor will register a particular tyre’s rolling characteristics while driving on the road.
The system has been engineered to notify the driver only after an initial few hundred metres about the tyre pressure being optimal or otherwise for the existing payload. The advanced system will work with the current tyre pressure and info on tyre features as the basic information.
Continental further shares that load detection will serve as a foundation for some more automobile enhancements. The commonly employed modern day assistance systems pertaining to vehicular dynamics are designed to offer the car occupants with greatest level of safety and comfort, irrespective of load conditions. Today, assistance systems work with a common maximum payload assumption.
Conti expresses that systems such as Emergency Steer Assist, ESC and Autonomous Emergency Braking Assistant need to enhance their response mechanism. That can be achieved by including in their responses the info on actual vehicle weight. Such an improvement will facilitate provision of higher efficiency in offering support and comfort to motorists.
Continental continuously strives to offer the tyre industry and its patrons with higher levels of road safety and driving comfort.
Source: Tyre Blog
Published: 28 Jan 2014