Patent Description:
In the manufacture of a pneumatic tire, the tire is typically built on the drum of a tire-building machine, which is known in the art as a tire building drum. Numerous tire components are wrapped about and/or applied to the drum in sequence, forming a cylindrical-shaped tire carcass. The tire carcass is then expanded into a toroidal shape for receipt of the remaining components of the tire, such as a belt package and a rubber tread. The completed toroidally-shaped unvulcanized tire carcass, which is known in the art at that stage as a green tire, is then inserted into a mold or press for forming of the tread pattern and curing or vulcanization.

Some tires include a sensor for a tire pressure monitoring system (TPMS), which enables the pressure inside the tire to be monitored. A TPMS sensor typically includes an antenna for wirelessly transmitted measured data to a receiver unit for processing and/or storage. In the prior art, TPMS sensors have been directly mounted to an innerliner of the tire through direct attachment using an adhesive. However, such direct attachment made replacement of the TPMS sensor difficult. As a result, some TPMS sensors have been mounted to the innerliner using a flexible housing or container, which enables replacement of the TPMS sensor, while withstanding the dynamic environment of the tire.

To ensure optimum operation of the TPMS sensor, correct placement and orientation of the sensor on the innerliner is important. Due to the dynamic nature and harsh operating environment of the tire, many replaceable prior art TPMS sensors were subject to rotation with respect to the innerliner. Such rotation disturbed the orientation of the TPMS sensor, and in some cases, reduced the useful life of the sensor.

In addition, it is sometimes desirable to employ further sensors, such as tread wear sensors, temperature sensors, accelerometers, load sensors, and the like, in the tire. When these additional sensors are employed, the use of one source of data transmission from the tire is efficient, which may be the antenna of the TPMS sensor. As a result, an electrical connection between other sensors and the TPMS sensor needs to be established and maintained. As mentioned above, the nature of the operating environment of the tire may cause a replaceable TPMS sensor to rotate with respect to the innerliner, which may undesirably disturb the electrical connection between the TPMS sensor and other sensors.

As a result, there is a need for a tire sensor container system that reduces rotation of a replaceable TPMS sensor with respect to the tire innerliner and maintains a consistent orientation of the sensor to improve the functionality and longevity of the sensor.

<CIT> describes a tire sensor container system in accordance with the preamble of claim <NUM>.

<CIT> discloses a tire tread wear determination system that is incorporated into a tire tread.

The invention relates to a system in accordance with claim <NUM>.

According to an aspect of an exemplary embodiment of the invention, a tire sensor container system is provided. The tire includes a carcass toroidally extending from a first bead area to a second bead area, and an innerliner being formed on an inner surface of the carcass. The tire sensor container system includes a tire pressure monitoring system sensor that includes a rigid housing formed with an oval shape. A flexible container is mounted to the innerliner. The container includes a base and a wall extending radially outwardly from the base, and the wall terminates in a lip. The container wall is formed with an oval shape that cooperates with the shape of the tire pressure monitoring sensor housing. A cavity is defined by the base, the wall, and the lip, and the cavity receives and secures the tire pressure monitoring system sensor.

"Axial" and "axially" mean lines or directions that are parallel to the axis of rotation of the tire.

"Carcass" means the tire structure apart from the belt structure, tread, undertread, and sidewall rubber over the plies, but including the beads.

"Radial" and "radially" mean lines or directions that are perpendicular to the axis of rotation of the tire.

"Radially inward" and "radially inwardly" refer to a radial direction that is toward the central axis of rotation of the tire.

"Radially outward" and "radially outwardly" refer to a radial direction that is away from the central axis of rotation of the tire.

"TPMS" means a tire pressure monitoring system, which is an electronic system that measures the internal pressure of a tire and is capable of communicating the pressure to a processor that is mounted on the vehicle and/or is in electronic communication with electronic systems of the vehicle.

An exemplary embodiment of the tire sensor container system <NUM> of the present invention is presented in <FIG>. With particular reference to <FIG>, one or more tires <NUM> supports a vehicle <NUM>. While the vehicle <NUM> is depicted as a commercial truck, the invention is not to be so restricted. The principles of the invention find application in other vehicle categories, such as passenger vehicles, off-the-road vehicles and the like, in which vehicles may be supported by more or fewer tires than shown in <FIG>.

Turning to <FIG>, the tire <NUM> includes a pair of bead areas <NUM>, each one of which is formed with a bead core <NUM> that is embedded in the respective bead areas. Each one of a pair of sidewalls <NUM> extends radially outwardly from a respective bead area <NUM> to a ground-contacting tread <NUM>. The tire <NUM> is reinforced by a carcass <NUM> that toroidally extends from one bead area <NUM> to the other bead area, as known to those skilled in the art. An innerliner <NUM> is formed on the inner or inside surface of the carcass <NUM>. The tire <NUM> is mounted on the flange of a wheel or rim <NUM> (<FIG>) as known in the art, forming an internal cavity <NUM>.

A sensor unit <NUM> is mounted to the tire <NUM>. The sensor unit <NUM> is suitable to detect certain real-time parameters of the tire <NUM>, and preferably includes a pressure sensor to sense the inflation pressure within a cavity <NUM> of the tire, and a temperature sensor to sense the temperature of the tire and/or the temperature in the cavity. The sensor unit <NUM> preferably is a commercially available tire pressure monitoring system (TPMS) module or sensing unit and shall be referred to herein for the purpose of convenience as a TPMS sensor.

The TPMS sensor <NUM> preferably also includes a processor and memory to store tire identification (ID) information for each specific tire <NUM>. For example, the tire ID may include manufacturing information for the tire <NUM>, including: the tire model; size information, such as rim size, width, and outer diameter; manufacturing location; manufacturing date; a treadcap code that includes or correlates to a compound identification; and a mold code that includes or correlates to a tread structure identification. The tire ID may also include a service history or other information to identify specific features and parameters of each tire <NUM>.

With additional reference to <FIG>, the TPMS sensor <NUM> preferably further includes an antenna for wirelessly transmitting <NUM> measured parameters and tire ID data to a receiver or remote processor for analysis, such as a processor integrated into a vehicle electronic control unit and/or CAN bus. The TPMS sensor <NUM> includes a relatively rigid housing <NUM> formed with a base <NUM>. A pair of electrical contacts <NUM> are preferably mounted on the base <NUM> and extend through the housing <NUM>. The electrical contacts <NUM> enable the TPMS sensor <NUM> to electrically connect with other sensors <NUM> (<FIG>), such as tread wear sensors, temperature sensors, accelerometers, load sensors, and the like.

The housing <NUM> of the TPMS sensor <NUM> is preferably formed with an oval shape to prevent rotation of the sensor relative to the tire innerliner <NUM>, as will be described in greater detail below. Thus, the housing <NUM> includes a pair of elongated sides <NUM> extending parallel to one another, and a pair of ends <NUM> that extend parallel to one another, and which are shorter than the sides <NUM>. The housing <NUM> also includes a top <NUM> opposite the base <NUM>, and a protrusion <NUM> extending radially from the top away from the housing. The protrusion <NUM> preferably is formed with a rectangular cross section, which enables the TPMS sensor <NUM> to be easily inserted into a container <NUM> (<FIG>), removed from the container, and manually rotated in the container to a desired orientation with respect to the innerliner <NUM>.

As shown in <FIG> and <FIG>, the TPMS sensor <NUM> is mounted to the tire <NUM> using a container <NUM>, which enables the TPMS sensor to easily be removed and replaced when needed. With additional reference to <FIG>, the container <NUM> is flexible and preferably is formed of an elastomer or polymer. The container <NUM> includes a base <NUM> with a circular shape or an oval shape, and a wall <NUM> extending radially outwardly from the base. The wall <NUM> terminates in a lip <NUM>, which defines an opening <NUM>. The wall <NUM> is formed with an oval shape and includes a pair of elongated sides <NUM> extending parallel to one another, and a pair of ends <NUM> extending parallel to one another and are shorter than the sides <NUM>. In this manner, the shape of the container wall <NUM> corresponds to and cooperates with the shape of the TPMS sensor housing <NUM>.

The base <NUM>, wall <NUM> and lip <NUM> cooperate to define a first cavity <NUM>, which receives and secures the TPMS sensor <NUM>. The TPMS sensor <NUM> is inserted into the first cavity <NUM> of the container <NUM> through the opening <NUM>. Because the container <NUM> is formed of a flexible material, the wall <NUM> and lip <NUM> flex to allow insertion of the TPMS sensor <NUM> through the opening <NUM>, and then secure the TPMS sensor in the first cavity <NUM>. As mentioned above, the oval shape of the container wall <NUM> cooperates with the oval shape of the TPMS sensor housing <NUM>. Because the oval-shaped sensor housing <NUM> securely seats in the first cavity <NUM>, which is defined by the oval-shaped sensor wall <NUM>, the orientation of the TPMS sensor <NUM> is secured and maintained, thereby minimizing rotation of the TPMS sensor relative to the innerliner <NUM> during vehicle operation.

With particular reference to <FIG>, the wall <NUM> and base <NUM> of the container <NUM> preferably also form a second cavity <NUM>, which is adjacent the first cavity <NUM>. The second cavity <NUM> retains another sensor <NUM>, such as such as a tread wear sensor, temperature sensor, accelerometer, load sensor, and the like. The flexible elastomer or polymer material of the container <NUM> ensures that the container retains both the TPMS sensor <NUM> and the additional sensor <NUM> and maintains electrical contact between the TPMS sensor and the additional sensor. The protrusion <NUM> on the TPMS sensor <NUM> enables the TPMS sensor to be manually adjusted or rotated in the first cavity <NUM> to ensure alignment of the electrical contacts <NUM> with the additional sensor <NUM>.

Referring to <FIG> and <FIG>, the base <NUM> of the container <NUM> is formed with a bottom surface <NUM>, which contacts and is secured to the innerliner <NUM>. Preferably, the bottom surface <NUM> of the base <NUM> is attached to the innerliner <NUM> by an adhesive. In addition, the bottom surface <NUM> of the base <NUM> is formed with a double curvature <NUM> to improve contact with tire innerliner <NUM> and to maintain a compressive holding force on the TPMS sensor <NUM>.

In this manner, the container <NUM> and the TPMS sensor <NUM> of the tire sensor container system <NUM> of the present invention are formed with complementary oval shapes, which cooperate to secure the position of the TPMS sensor, while enabling easy replacement of the TPMS sensor. The tire sensor container system <NUM> reduces rotation of the TPMS sensor <NUM> with respect to the tire innerliner <NUM>, thereby maintaining a consistent orientation of the sensor to improve the functionality and longevity of the sensor. In addition, the tire sensor container system <NUM> maintains electrical contact between the TPMS sensor <NUM> and any additional sensors <NUM>.

Claim 1:
A tire sensor container system comprising a tire (<NUM>), the tire (<NUM>) including a carcass (<NUM>) toroidally extending from a first bead area (<NUM>) to a second bead area (<NUM>) and an innerliner (<NUM>) being formed on an inner surface of the carcass (<NUM>), the tire sensor container system (<NUM>) further including:
a tire pressure monitoring system sensor unit (<NUM>), the tire pressure monitoring system sensor unit (<NUM>) including a relatively rigid housing (<NUM>);
a flexible container (<NUM>) being mounted to the innerliner (<NUM>), the container (<NUM>) including a base (<NUM>) and a wall (<NUM>) extending radially outwardly from the base (<NUM>), wherein the wall (<NUM>) terminates in a lip (<NUM>);
a cavity (<NUM>) defined by the base (<NUM>), the wall (<NUM>), and the lip (<NUM>), the cavity being configured to receiving and securing the tire pressure monitoring system sensor unit (<NUM>); characterized in that
the housing (<NUM>) is formed with an oval shape and in that the wall (<NUM>) is formed with an oval shape that cooperates with the shape of the tire pressure monitoring sensor housing (<NUM>).