Patent ID: 7945361

Claim:
A method for determining a load exerted on a tyre, fitted on a vehicle, during running of the vehicle on a rolling surface, the method comprising: acquiring a first signal comprising a first signal portion representative of a radial deformation; measuring an amplitude of the radial deformation in the first signal portion; estimating a rotation speed of the tyre corresponding to the radial deformation; estimating an inflation pressure of the tyre corresponding to the radial deformation; providing characteristic functions describing an expected radial-deformation amplitude versus rotation speed that correspond to predetermined conditions of load exerted on the tyre and inflation pressure; and deriving the load exerted on the tyre from the amplitude, the rotation speed, and the inflation pressure; wherein the first signal portion is representative of the radial deformation to which a first tread area portion of the tyre is subjected during passage of the first tread area portion through a contact region between the tyre and the rolling surface, wherein measuring the amplitude of the radial deformation comprises measuring a difference between: a maximum value of the first signal in the first signal portion, and a minimum value of the first signal in the first signal portion, and wherein deriving the load exerted on the tyre comprises: identifying a set of characteristic functions corresponding to the estimated inflation pressure; and determining, from the set of characteristic functions, a corresponding set of expected radial-deformation amplitudes corresponding to the estimated rotation speed.