TPMS and RFID
SmarTire Systems Inc. has announced that Van Hool NV has selected SmarTire to supply its tyre pressure and temperature monitoring systems (TPMS) on its buses and coaches. Van Hool is Europe’s largest independent bus manufacturer. The company exports 85 per cent of its buses and coaches, 60 per cent of them to Europe and an average of 600 coaches a year to the US.
SmarTire Systems Inc announced that Optima Bus Corporation has selected SmarTire to supply tyre pressure monitoring systems (TPMS) on its buses, including those units that Optima will manufacture for the Chicago Transit Authority. Optima is a leading manufacturer of medium-size mass transit buses, including the Opus Low-floor Bus and American Heritage Streetcar.
Pirelli and Schrader have agreed to join forces to take “intelligent” tyre production a step further. The new system, based on a mini-sensor capable of generating its own power, can for the first time be located within the tyre itself and allows the tyre identification data and its temperature and pressure to be monitored in real time and transmitted to the car and driver.
Schrader took on 100 new staff at its Carrickfergus, Northern Ireland facility at the beginning of April. This move was supported by £3.5 million of funding from Invest NI and brings the total number of staff at the plant to 160.
This year again, Continental AG is taking on well over 1,000 highly qualified graduates and young professionals throughout the world, around 500 of them in Germany. “We invest in knowledge and innovation, especially the skills and talent brought by new employees, with the objective of further consolidating our position as one of the world’s leading automotive suppliers”, states Thomas Sattelberger, Human Resources Director at Continental. The company primarily recruits engineers and scientists as well as management and administrative experts. As in previous years, more than 800 workplaces are to be filled with university graduates in 2006, around 40 percent of them in Germany.
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The Office of Defect Investigations at the US National Highway Traffic Safety Administration is investigating consumer complaints that the 2004 and 2005 Toyota Sienna’s tyre pressure monitoring/regulation system can fail.
In one incident, a consumer reported that by the time he pulled his Toyota Sienna to the side of the road the tyre was smoking and had burst into flame but the warning light failed to come on, according to consumeraffairs.com.
SmarTire Systems Inc has announced that Pierce Manufacturing Inc., an Oshkosh Truck Corporation company, will include the SmarTire’s active TPMS as an option for new and existing fire-fighting vehicles. Pierce Manufacturing is North America’s leading manufacturer of fire and safety apparatus.
At the end of last year the International Quality & Productivity Center (IQPC) organised its first conference dedicated to tyre related topics. As the name of the event suggests, it mainly dealt with intelligent tyre technologies – meaning run-flat tyres and tyre pressure monitoring systems (TPMS). Participants were invited to take part in a day-long workshop immediately before the two-day conference with the first day completely focusing on new developments. The second conference day featured information about a wide range of different topics like for example tyre/road noise, chassis control and the design of alloy wheels.
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SmarTire Systems Inc has announced that it will supply Prevost buses with tyre pressure monitoring systems (TPMS) that also monitor tyre temperature. The TPMS will come as standard on Prevost’s H-series bus.
Surveying the current state of the run-flat aftermarket reveals that there is a fair amount of discontent amongst dealers when it comes to so-called “fail-safe” tyre technology. As you would expect, retailers are interested in the financial benefits, but are not so keen on the short supply and customer satisfaction issues some have faced.
One of the lingering problems in this respect, is the question of whether or not to repair run-flats. For some dealers it all comes down to a question of customer service. One business told T&A recently: “A customer got a flat run-flat on his BMW. When we told him that he had to fork out £200 to replace a two-week old tyre, he was not impressed.”
So far the growth of run-flat tyre sales has been almost exclusively through OE business. As the replacement market becomes more and more visible, Tyres & Accessories to took the opportunity to ask Goodyear Dunlop UK MD, Dick Johnson; Michelin’s Technology Centre Europe director, Bernard Delmas; and Bridgestone UK marketing manager, Andy Lane, for a deeper insight in the development of the run-flat aftermarket.
Last month Bridgestone announced that it had shipped its three-millionth run-flat tyre in total. At the same time the UK wing of the multi-national manufacturer said its run-flat sales boomed in 2005. While 3 million run-flats may sound like a lot of tyres, speaking to other manufacturers puts the Japanese company’s figures into context. Bernard Delmas, director of Michelin’s Technology Centre Europe, described the segment as a “fledgling market” which equated to 1 per cent of 300 million, in terms of the total European OE market.
Diss-based Beru F1 Systems has won an Motor Industry Association (MIA) innovation award for its DigiTyre tyre pressure monitoring system. The achievement was formally recognised at the annual Motorsport Industry Association Awards held during the Autosport International exhibition at the NEC. Beru’s MIA Business Excellence Award for Technology and Innovation was one of only seven awards presented. The company’s latest tyre pressure monitoring system (TPMS) is currently used in the Bugatti Veyron 16.4, the world’s fastest road car.
Omitec has released a “comprehensive software update” for its OmiScan hand-held diagnostic tool. This Version 10 update includes updated Citroen and Peugeot applications covering engine management, ABS, Airbag and some Climate Control systems. In addition, Omitec has developed coverage for Renault TPMS (Tyre Pressure Monitoring System) on Laguna II and login ECM and re-coding functions for VAG (Audi, Seat, Skoda and VW) control units.
(Akron/Tire Review) Siemens VDO’s Service & Special Solutions group has developed a new aftermarket program for TPMS replacement and service parts. The program helps technicians service vehicles equipped with TPMSs made by Siemens VDO, the company said.
(Akron/Tire Review) Yokohama Rubber Co. has released its Intelligent Tire Pressure Monitoring System (Intelligent TPMS), which not only measures tyre inflation pressure, but also identifies road conditions and tyre motion across the road surface.
Yokohama said that combined with “sideslip (stability control systems) prevention systems being installed on more and more vehicles, Intelligent TPMS can detect vehicle sideslips 0.2 seconds faster than existing systems – a difference of 11 meters of travel at a running speed of 100 kilometers per hour.”
Diss-based BERU F1 Systems has been chosen to supply its digital tyre pressure monitoring system DigiTyre for the world’s fastest road car, the Bugatti Veyron 16.4. This is the system’s first OE application and a rare example of direct technology transfer from F1 to road car. With temperatures reaching over 100°C and G forces exceeding 2900G, traditional OEM tyre pressure monitoring systems (TPMS) would struggle to last, thus necessitating the DigiTyre derivative.
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