Patent ID: 12188808

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

The present disclosure will be described more fully hereinafter with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which embodiments of the disclosure are shown. As those skilled in the art would realize, the described embodiments may be modified in various different ways, all without departing from the spirit or scope of the present disclosure.

In order to clearly describe the present disclosure, parts that are irrelevant to the description are omitted, and identical or similar constituent elements throughout the specification are denoted by the same reference numerals.

In addition, since the size and thickness of each configuration shown in the drawings are arbitrarily shown for convenience of description, the present disclosure is not necessarily limited to configurations illustrated in the drawings, and in order to clearly illustrate several parts and areas, enlarged thicknesses are shown.

In the specification of the present disclosure, the terms “-er”, “-or”, “unit”, “portion”, “part”, and “module” described in the specification mean units for processing at least one function and operation, and can be implemented by hardware components or software components and combinations thereof.

In the specification of the present disclosure, a controller30is composed of hardware including at least one processor, memory, communication apparatus, etc., and a program executed in combination with hardware is stored in a designated location. The hardware has a configuration and performance to implement a method of the present disclosure. The program includes instructions that implement the method of operation of the present disclosure described with reference to the drawings, and executes the present disclosure in combination with hardware such as a processor and a memory.

Hereinafter, a freight weight estimating apparatus according to an embodiment of the present disclosure will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.

FIG.1illustrates a block diagram of a freight weight estimating apparatus according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

As shown inFIG.1, a freight weight estimating apparatus according to an embodiment of the present disclosure may include a tire pressure monitoring system (TPMS)20, and a controller30that estimates weight of freight loaded in a vehicle based on a tire pressure detected by the tire pressure monitoring system20.

The tire pressure monitoring system20may include a TPMS sensor21installed in each tire and measuring a pressure of the tire, and a communication module23for transmitting the pressure of each tire measured by the TPMS sensor21to the controller30.

The controller30estimates the weight of the freight loaded in the vehicle based on the pressure of each tire measured by the TPMS sensor21.

The freight weight estimating apparatus according to the embodiment of the present disclosure may include an air pressure measuring button10that is operated by a driver to instruct to measure the tire pressure through the TPMS sensor21. When the driver presses the air pressure measuring button10, the TPMS sensor21measures a tire air pressure, and the tire air pressure measured by the TPMS sensor21is transmitted to the controller30.

When the driver presses the air pressure measuring button10before loading the freight in the vehicle, the TPMS sensor21measures a tire air pressure (a first air pressure) before loading the freight in the vehicle to transmit it to the controller30. In addition, when the driver presses the air pressure measuring button10after loading the freight in the vehicle, the TPMS sensor21measures a tire air pressure (a second air pressure) after loading the freight in the vehicle to transmit it to the controller30.

The controller30may estimate the weight of the freight loaded in the vehicle based on a tire tread area (first tread area) according to the first air pressure measured by the TPMS sensor21, and a tire tread area (second tread area) according to the second air pressure measured by the TPMS sensor21.

To this end, the controller30may be provided as at least one processor executed by a predetermined program, and the predetermined program is configured to perform respective steps of a freight weight estimating method according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

The freight weight estimating apparatus according to the embodiment of the present disclosure may further include a display device40for displaying the air pressure of the tire measured by the TPMS sensor21, and the weight of the freight estimated by the controller30. The display device40may be implemented through a center fascia or a cluster provided in the vehicle.

As necessary, the air pressure measuring button10may be implemented through the display device40, and in this case, the display device40may function as an input device as well as a display device for displaying the tire air pressure and the weight of the freight.

Hereinafter, an operation of the weight estimating apparatus of the loaded freight according to the embodiment of the present disclosure as described above will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.

FIG.2illustrates a flowchart of a freight weight estimating method according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

As shown inFIG.2, when the driver presses the air pressure measuring button10before loading the freight into the vehicle, the TPMS sensor21measures the tire air pressure (first air pressure) at S10, and the tire air pressure (first air pressure) measured by the TPMS sensor21is transmitted to the controller30. That is, the driver instructs to measure the tire air pressure (first air pressure) before loading the freight in the vehicle through the air pressure measuring button10, and the TPMS sensor21measures the tire air pressure (first air pressure) before loading the freight in the vehicle to transmit it to the controller30.

In this case, the tire air pressure (first air pressure) before loading the freight in the vehicle may be provided to the driver through the display device40.

When the driver presses the air pressure measuring button10after loading the freight into the vehicle, the TPMS sensor21measures the tire air pressure (second air pressure) at S20, and the tire air pressure (second air pressure) measured by the TPMS sensor21is transmitted to the controller30.

Meanwhile, in the controller30, a relationship between the weight of the freight loaded in the vehicle, the tire air pressure, and the tread area of the tire may be stored in advance in a tabulated map data format (refer toFIG.3).

The controller30calculates a first tread area of the tire corresponding to the first air pressure from the map table, and calculates a second tread area of the tire corresponding to the second air pressure at S30.

The controller30calculates a first weight of freight corresponding to the first tread area from the map table, and calculates a second weight of freight corresponding to the second tread area at S40.

The controller30calculates the weight of the freight loaded in the vehicle from the first weight and the second weight at S50. That is, the controller30may estimate a difference between the second weight and the first weight as the weight of the freight loaded in the vehicle.

The controller30may provide the calculated weight of the freight to the driver through the display device at S60.

A weight estimating method of freight loaded in a vehicle will be described as an example with reference toFIG.3.

InFIG.3, a vertical axis indicates tire air pressure values, and a horizontal axis indicates weight values of the freight loaded in the vehicle. In addition, tread area values (surface area of contact with ground) of the tire according to the tire air pressure values and the weight values of the freight are indicated. The map data ofFIG.3may be previously determined by an experiment, and specific data may be changed according to a specification of a tire or a vehicle.

Referring toFIG.3, for when the tire air pressure is 1 bar in a state in which no freight is loaded, a case in which freight is loaded in the vehicle will be described as an example.

When the first air pressure measured by the TPMS sensor21is 1.0243 bar, the first tread area of the tire is 20.6 cm2. In this case, when the first tread area of the tire is 20.6 cm2, it can be seen that the first weight of the freight loaded in the vehicle is 50 kg.

In addition, when the second air pressure measured by the TPMS sensor21is 1.0291 bar, the second tread area of the tire is 171.56 cm2. In this case, when the second tread area of the tire is 171.56 cm2, it can be seen that the second weight of the freight loaded in the vehicle is 500 kg.

Accordingly, it can be estimated that the weight of the freight loaded in the vehicle is 450 kg from a difference between the second weight (500 kg) and the first weight (50 kg).

According to the freight weight estimating apparatus and method according to the embodiment of the present disclosure as described above, it is possible to easily estimate the weight of the freight loaded in the vehicle by using the tire pressure monitoring system20provided in the vehicle.

In addition, by providing the weight value of the freight to the driver, it is possible to prevent overload in advance and induce compliance with laws and regulations.

The above-described embodiments can be realized through a program for realizing functions corresponding to the configuration of the embodiments or a recording medium for recording the program in addition to through the above-described device and/or method, which is easily realized by a person skilled in the art.

While this disclosure has been described in connection with what is presently considered to be practical embodiments, it is to be understood that the disclosure is not limited to the disclosed embodiments, but, on the contrary, is intended to cover various modifications and equivalent arrangements included within the spirit and scope of the appended claims.