Ford Motor Company has filed a patent for a tire monitoring system that may be used on future Ford vehicles, Ford Authority has learned.
The patent was filed on September 28th, 2022, published on September 17th, 2024, and assigned serial number 12094265.
The Ford Authority Take
Though we already have tire pressure monitoring systems in pretty much every modern day vehicle, Ford has filed a number of patents aimed at making its future models smarter in that regard over the past few years. That list includes ideas for a tire pressure notification system, an adaptive tire pressure system, a tire tread depth detection system, a tire pressure loss detection system, a wheel theft detection system, and a wheel impact detection system, to name just a few. Now, this newly published Ford patent keeps that trend going by introducing us to an idea for another tire monitoring system that may be used on future Ford vehicles, too.
The main purpose behind this new patent is to explore ways to monitor the condition of non-pneumatic tires, which don’t contain air pressure like traditional pneumatic rubber. Regardless, it’s still important to keep tabs on those tires as they wear over time and potentially suffer damage – in fact, non-pneumatic tires can experience issues such as a loss of rigid tire structure, deterioration of rubber spokes, imbalances, and the presence of contaminants.
To do that, this system would simply monitor non-pneumatic tires using sensors if there are contaminants in the tires, or if damage has occurred to any of them. If that is the case, the system would try to rectify the issue itself, and if it can’t – such as in the case of serious damage – it would instruct the driver to pull over. Given the fact that non-pneumatic tires have a lot of promise and seem likely to eventually reach mass production, such a system makes a lot of sense, and one could even argue that it’ll be needed.
Comments
My 2014 Fusion Hybrid only warns when a tire is losing air, but it does not tell me which tire or the pressures of each tire. My other vehicle, a 2009 Chevy, does tell me the pressure of each tire and which is losing air. Ford is behind the competition in the TPMS features.
Yeah, because a patent means just that. Something might or might not be commercialized. Let’s write something as long as we get something published.