Continental Aktiengesellschaft

Frank Gauterin

Thomas Dodt

Oliver Sch&uuml;rmann

Heinrich Huinink

Klaus Kleinhoff

Mehmet Sadettin Fidan

Geert Roik

Andreas Dieckmann

Thomas Schulze

Anton Steiner

Klaus Hartmann

Ivar Veit

Heiko Grunberg

A method is provided for measuring the tread or profile depth of a tire in the operating state while the tire is rolling and in contact with a surface below it. Vibrations of the tire or tire parts, which vibrations are generated by the spacing and/or geometry of profiled elements of the tire tread, are detected while the tire is rolling and in contact with the surface below it. The detected vibrations are compared in an evaluation unit with a characteristic theoretical value/threshold value that corresponds to a vibration generated by a tread of adequate depth. The evaluation unit issues a signal if the detected vibration deviates from the theoretical value/threshold value.

Method for measuring the tread depth of a tire

Motor vehicle wheel having a tire mounted on a rim and method of making the same. The wheel includes a ring made of a sound-absorbing material positioned inside the interior of the tire and encircling the rim. Threads are arranged to cover the ring to fix the ring to the rim. The threads are stretched over both sides of the ring one of towards or onto the rim. The method includes positioning the ring made of sound-absorbing material onto a circumferential area of the rim and stretching threads over the ring made of sound-absorbing material one of toward and onto the rim.

Method for fixing a ring made of a sound-absorbing material on a rim and motor vehicle wheel having a ring made of sound-absorbing material fixed on the rim

Motor vehicle wheel including a wheel rim and a tire having a tire interior enclosed by the wheel rim and the tire. The tire is mounted on the wheel rim, and the wheel also includes an insert composed of a ring-shaped sound-absorbing material that is positioned within the tire interior. The wheel further includes an acoustically transparent support element having tensile strength, at least in a circumferential direction of the tire, that is coupled to the insert.

Motor vehicle wheel with a tire placed on a rim and sound-absorbent insert as well as method of producing a sound-absorbent insert

A device for reducing certain sound ranges of tire/road surface noise of a motor vehicle includes sound absorbers in the form of resonators positioned at the inner wall of a wheel well of the vehicle in the area of sound projection of the tire/road surface noise. The device has an electronic control device for receiving a signal preferably derived from an ABS system in the form of the wheel rpm. The control device adjusts the resonators according to the number of tread blocks of the tire, the sound emission characteristics, and the wheel rpm. In another embodiment the electronic control device is supplied with signals received from a sound receiver that records the course over time of the sound pressure. The control device adjusts the resonators such that the measured sound pressure signal is minimized. In another alternative the device has a data processing unit including an electronic control device. The control device is supplied with a signal from sound receiving devices that record the course over time of the sound pressure. The data processing unit together with an adjusting device adjusts the resonators such that the measured sound pressure signal for selected frequency ranges is minimized.

Device for reducing tire/road surface noise

Growing community of inventors

Neustadt, Germany

Frank Gauterin