Patent Publication Number: US-2015075271-A1

Title: Modular tire tread analyzing station

Description:
PRIORITY CLAIM 
     Priority is claimed to U.S. provisional patent application Ser. No. 61/879,219 filed Sep. 18, 2013, which is incorporated herein in its entirety. 
    
    
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     According to its major aspects and briefly recited, the present invention is a modular, drive-through system for analyzing tire tread wear and brake testing. The system includes a modular container that has a floor-mounted tire tread depth analyzer and a flat plate brake tester inside plus other structural and electronic components to facilitate operation. The modular container meets the requirements for an intermodal cargo shipping container and can therefore be shipped anywhere but as a portable self-contained tire tread wear and brake analysis system. Doors open on opposing sides of the modular container to permit a vehicle to be driven through it and, as the vehicle passes over the floor, the vehicle&#39;s brakes are tested and it tires are scanned. The scanned output, in the form of a digitized tread profile, when analyzed, indicates remaining tread depth, tire wear patterns from chronic under- or over-inflation, and wheel misalignment. As the vehicle passes through the modular container camera linked to a controller obtains identifying information about the vehicle for association with a tire and brake report. The report is transmitted wirelessly to the appropriate, pre-designated recipient. The camera also feeds a video image of the&#39;vehicle as it enters the container to a monitor visible to the driver of the vehicle to help the driver guide the car inside. Structural components on the floor of the modular container also help to guide the vehicle into position over the tire scanner and brake tester. 
     The present modular system facilitates and encourages frequent tire tread depth analysis because is quick and can be conveniently and temporarily set up for use, for example, on the parking lot at a tire repair shop, a service station, shopping center, or near the entrance to a car rental lot. The time required for the measurement and analysis is minimal so more cars can be tested in less time than when hand scanning tires, and labor cost is reduced as the system requires no attendant. Furthermore, the information obtained from these measurements is more detailed and accurate than simple visual inspection of tires or measurement of tread depth with a simple tread depth measuring tool. 
     These and other features and their advantages will be appreciated from a careful reading the Detailed Description of Embodiments of the Invention accompanied by the following drawings. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         FIG. 1  is a right perspective view of the container showing the entrance and first end door; 
         FIG. 2  is a left perspective view of the container of  FIG. 1  showing the exit door, second end door and man-way, with the man-way opened; 
         FIG. 3  is a right perspective view of an alternative container showing the entrance; 
         FIG. 4  is a left perspective view of the alternate container of  FIG. 3  showing the exit; 
         FIG. 5  is a front perspective view of the alternate container of  FIGS. 3 and 4  in use with a vehicle inside, with the entrance and exit doors open, the left side door open; 
         FIG. 6  is a rear, elevated perspective of the container in  FIG. 5 ; 
         FIG. 7  is a front, right perspective of the container of  FIGS. 1 and 2  in use; 
         FIG. 8  is a rear view of the container of  FIG. 7 ; 
         FIG. 9  shows the tire tread analyzer and flat plate brake tester, according to an embodiment of the invention; 
         FIGS. 10A and 10B  show two alternate embodiments of correlators, according to an embodiment of the invention; and 
         FIG. 11  is a schematic showing the relationship of components and transfer of signals and information among the components of the present system. 
     
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF EMBODIMENTS OF THE INVENTION 
     The present invention is a system for analyzing treads of tires of a vehicle and, additionally, the testing the brakes of the vehicle. A system, as used herein, is a group of components that cooperate with each other to achieve a desired result whether or not they are physically attached to together. As used herein, analyzing means making measurements, comparing the measurements with appropriate standards, and drawing conclusions based on the conformity or non-conformity of those measurements to those standards. A vehicle is any wheeled vehicle with tires made of a substance that wears with use. 
     Referring now to the figures, the present system includes a container as shown in  FIGS. 1-8 . As seen in  FIGS. 1 and 2  from right front and left rear perspective, respectively, a container  10  has a roof  14 , a floor  18 , a back  22 , a front  26 , a left  30 , and a right  34  that enclose the space inside container  10 . Container  10 , as used herein, may be any closed polyhedron such as the rectangular parallelepiped depicted.  FIG. 1  is a right side perspective view of container  10  showing a let side door  38  and an entrance door  42  on front  26 .  FIG. 2  shows a left perspective view of container  10  with an exit  50 , a right side door  54 , and a man-way  58 , shown open. Doors, such as left side and right side doors  38 ,  54 , entrance door  42 , and exit door  50 , are a closure for an opening, a closure that may be removed, raised, lowered or pushed to the side to reveal the opening. A closure herein may comprise one or two doors, a roll-up door, a ramp, or a pivotable canopy panel. A roll-up door is a door made of a multiple thin interconnected panels that are mounted crosswise between two, parallel, curved tracks, with the panels&#39; ends captured inside the tracks, so that the door can be moved vertically, rolling it upward and inward along the tracks initially following the plane of the opening and then perpendicular across the inside roof  14  of modular container  10  out of the way for use of the interior. A man-way is a smaller entrance with a correspondingly sized door, dimensioned for users rather than for vehicles  78 . 
       FIGS. 3 and 4  are right side front and left side rear perspective views of an alternate modular container, modular container  46 . With respect to modular container  10 , the orientation of the unit is orthogonal to that of modular container  46 .  FIGS. 3 and 4  show a roof  62 , a floor  66 , a left side  70 , a right side  74 , a front  78 , a back  82 , an entrance door  90 , an exit door  94 , a side door  98 , and a man-way  102 , shown open. 
     Entrances  42 ,  90  and exits  50 ,  94  are dimensioned to pass a vehicle into and out of said modular containers  10 ,  46 , respectively. 
       FIGS. 5 and 6  show front and rear perspective views of modular container  46  ready for testing brakes and measuring tire tread depth. Entrance and exit  90 ,  94 , respectively, may be roll up doors. Ramps  160  may be provided with container  46  for use at entrance and exit  90 ,  94 , respectively, for a vehicle  106  to cross when entering and leaving the interior of modular container  46 . Side door  98  is shown raised to open part of left side  70  and supported from its corners by two posts  110 . Side door  98  may serve as a canopy for an exterior work station for example or just to admit light and air to the interior of container  46  and the opening serves as an alternate exit for the driver. Side door  98  should be located on the side of the modular container  10 ,  46 , corresponding to the driver&#39;s side of vehicle  106 . Side door  98  is hinged on side  70  near roof  62  of modular container  46  so that side door  98  can be pivoted about a horizontal axis and supported in its overhead position by posts  110 . 
     In modular container  10 , the entrance for vehicle  106  is through entrance door  42 ; the exit is exit  50 . Entrance door  42 ,  90 , and exit  50 ,  94 , of modular containers  10  and  46  are designated arbitrarily but, once designated, require consistent use as entrance and exit. 
       FIGS. 7 and 8  show modular container  10  in use. Vehicle  106  enters modular container  10  through entrance door  42  as camera  118  overhead reads the license plate of vehicle  106  and feeds the audio signal to a monitor  114 . A kiosk  130  positioned on the driver&#39;s side of vehicle  106  may be used when the use of present system is offered to the public for a fee, and may permit a credit card to be used for such payment, or tokens or coins. Kiosk  130  may include a reader  134  for cards that, once payment is made, activates the present system. 
     A monitor  114  is positioned for the driver of a vehicle  106  to see upon entering modular container  10 ,  46 , and which shows vehicle  106  in a video image in relation to the position of entrance door  42 ,  90 , and correlators  126  (best seen in  FIGS. 10A and 10B ), as vehicle approaches them. Video feed to monitor  114  comes from a camera  118  mounted near exit  50 ,  94 , but facing the entrance door  42 ,  90 , when the license plate is on the front of vehicle  106 , and positioned near entrance door  42 ,  90  but facing exit  50 ,  94 , when the license plate is on the back of vehicle  106 . 
     Correlator  126  shown in  FIG. 10A  and an alternative correlator shown in  FIG. 10B  help to guide the tires of vehicle  106  so that they are in line with flat plate brake tester  142  and tire tread analyzer  146 . 
     A wireless transceiver  122  may be mounted temporarily to roof  62  when modular container  10 ,  46 , is in use but stowable inside otherwise, to enable the captured license plate number to be transmitted to a remote server connected to a database  162  (see  FIG. 11 ) of license plate numbers to identify the owner of vehicle  106  or other pre-selected recipient of a report on tire and brake condition for vehicle  106 . A transceiver is a device that both transmits and receives wirelessly in full duplex or half duplex. Inside the modular container  10 ,  46 , carried by floor  14 ,  66 , is a tire tread analyzer  146  and, optionally, a flat plate brake tester  158  (see  FIG. 9 ). Flat plate brake testers are well-known. See, for example, the vehicular plate brake tester 4GPPB-30B made by G&amp;P International Machinery Co, as one example. Analyzer  146  may be a TREADSPEC analyzer sold by Tire Profiles, Inc. of Chicago, Ill. 
     Referring now to  FIG. 11 , modular container  10 ,  46 , once in position and with doors opened, and connected to a source of electrical power, is activated by electrical switches  148 . Power flows to its interior features including interior lighting  152 , heat  156 , and fans  160 . At the entrance of modular container  10 ,  46 , a sensor  138  carried by container  10 ,  46 , detects the front of vehicle  106 . Sensor  138 , also powered by the power source, may be a laser beam across entrance door  42 ,  90 , and photo-detector that detects the breaking of the laser beam. The detection of vehicle  106  by sensor  138  activates camera  118 , so the video feed flows to monitor  114 . The tripping of sensor  138  also activates flat plate brake sensor  142  and tread analyzer  146 , as shown in  FIG. 9 . The output from these devices feeds to a controller  150  as does the output from camera  118 . Controller  150  reads the license plate by accessing a remote database  166  via transceiver  158 . 
     Controller  150  generates a report for the owner of vehicle  106  or other pre-selected individual that contain such identifying information that will enable the recipient of the report to verify the vehicle analyzed is the correct one and the results of the analysis of the treads that of that vehicle  106 &#39;s tires and the condition of its brakes. That report is transmitted electronically and digitally to the designated recipient in a preselected way including by email, text message, formal report, or mailed report or as part of a report on a fleet of vehicles. 
     Transceiver  158  may be a wireless transmitter and a WI-FI “hot spot” may be established for the modular container interior using a suitable router  166  with antenna. WI-FI is a registered certification mark, No. 2525795 of the Wi-Fi Alliance for wireless local area networking products, and a hotspot is a site that offers Internet access over a wireless local area network through the use of router connected via a link to an Internet service provider. 
     Modular container  10 ,  46  may be the same dimensions as a standard cargo shipping modular container but with a raised and pitched floor so that the tread analyzer  146  can be flush-mounted with the raised floor and the floor can drain toward the ends. Removable metal mesh may be used to cover the floor for removing mud or other debris from the tires of vehicle  10  and for facilitating easy cleaning. Cargo shipping modular containers come in standardized size set forth in international standards by the International Standards Organization. A standard 20 foot modular container is a suitable modular container for use with the present system. Flush-mounted means that the roof surface of the analyzer  146  and the roof surface of the floor lie in the same plane. Ramps may be covered with expanded metal to shake the tires&#39; treads in order to remove water beads from the tread grooves, which water beads may adversely affect tread depth measurements. The entrance and exit may be on the largest or the smallest sides of the modular container. The modular container can be transported to different locations on the back of a flatbed trailer, for example, where it may be set up temporarily or permanently for use in tire tread analysis and brake testing. 
     Additional features may be included, such as a red/green stop light to signal to the driver to stop for analysis and fire suppressant capability. Lighting  152  is preferably LED). Heaters  156  are preferably heating pads positioned under the flat plat brake tester  142  and tread analyzer  146  to keep them at a functional temperature in colder weather. Leveling jacks may be used for each corner of modular container  10 ,  46  to assure container  10 ,  46  is level. 
     In use, the driver of a vehicle drives up to the entrance of the present modular container  10 ,  46 , and into entrance door  42 ,  90 , up a ramp  162 . The driver may be required to swipe a credit/debit card at a kiosk  130 , or other identification such as a loyalty or club card, for payment or otherwise to be authorized to proceed. Entering container  10 ,  46  by vehicle  106  is detected by sensor  138 , which activates camera  118 , flat plate brake tester  142  and tread analyzer  146 . Camera  118  feeds video to monitor  114  facing the driver so that he or she may guide vehicle  106  into entrance door  42 ,  90  of container  10 ,  46 . Further inside, the driver will see correlators  150  that further guide vehicle  106  into position for crossing flat plate brake tester  142  and tire tread analyzer  146 . Brake tester  142  and tread analyzer  146  may be positioned in any order. 
     Meanwhile, the license plate of vehicle  106  has been read and its number is being transmitted to a remote database of license numbers for association with information about vehicle  106  and the identity of the pre-selected recipient of the report to be generated. Tire tread analyzer  146  scans each tire, determines tread depth across the tires and associates that with information about vehicle  106  including the type of tire vehicle  106  was originally equipped with for comparison of its profile to the current tire profiles. Differences indicate tread wear, tread wear patterns, and wheel alignment and may suggest the wheels are misaligned and the tires have been underinflated when driven. The wheels of the vehicle are guided by the correlators on the floor as the vehicle enters the modular container so that the vehicle is aligned with the flush-mounted analyzer  146  and flat brake tester  142 . The monitor is positioned so as to be visible to the driver to present instructions, for example, the location of the diagnostic report that will be prepared. 
     As the vehicle is driven over tread analyzer  146  and brake tester  142 , they make their respective measurements. Meanwhile, the vehicle&#39;s license plate is being scanned and read by the reader as the vehicle passes over the tire tread analyzer  146  and brake tester  142 . The license plate number is then associated with the date, time, the license plate image, the results of the brake testing and tire tread analysis, namely, brake condition, tread wear, wheel alignment, and recommendation for corrective action, such as recommendations for wheel realignment, replacement of brakes and tires, and tire rotation and inflation to comprise a report. This report is transmitted electronically and wirelessly to a preselected recipient, which may be to the owner of the vehicle by email, letter, or text message, to a tire repair store, or to a vehicular fleet management administrator. Alternatively, the modular container may have a card printer that provides the driver with a code for use in accessing the results of the analysis and testing via a designated website. 
     The present system also includes slots  166  in ramps  162  and tabs, (not shown) on the bottom edges of the entrance doors  42 ,  90 , and exit doors  50 ,  94 . When the entrance and exit doors are closed and locked, their tabs, being in registration with slots  166 , insert into slots  166  and secure ramps  162  to modular container  10 ,  46 . 
     Those skilled in the art of vehicular maintenance and repair, especially tire maintenance and repair, will appreciate that many changes and substitutions may be made in the foregoing embodiments without departing from the spirit and scope of the present invention, which is defined by the appended claims.