Intelligent Tyre: Pirelli Accelerates

Milan , 16 May 2005 - Pirelli presents 'Technology in Revolution'. At the French Paul Ricard circuit it is possible to get to know and test the latest generation of Run Flat tyres, and the most recent and innovative technological systems developed by Pirelli in increasingly intelligent and interactive tyres. The latter a requirement that is now a 'must' on a global scale for a car world that is paying ever greater attention to the tyre.

In the case of Pirelli, always the absolute protagonist in the tyre and Ultra High Performance (UHP) technological fields, this requirement must marry in with increasingly specialised and higher performing products, so as to satisfy to a growing extent its partnership with the manufacturers of cars that are ever more demanding, faster and technologically advanced. The more extreme the demands of the car, the more Pirelli is rewarded by the vehicle makers and the market. That is confirmed by Pirelli's results in recent years and by a record 2004 for the Pirelli brand. Confirmation that enthusiasm and excitement, which has always driven the Milan-based tyre manufacturer continue to be valued in the car world.

Pirelli is proud of its traditions, but it has its focus firmly fixed on the future. A future that is already here today. So we present 'Technology in Revolution'. Not just an introduction of its vanguard new Run Flat cover, which is rapidly acquiring an increasing number and variety of homologations and sizes in its multi-product portfolio. A real shop window of technology and innovation, for the purpose of infusing its products with maximum safety and interactivity with the vehicle for the benefit of the end user.

And that is not all. National and international road regulations continue to concentrate greater attention on the active and passive safety of the car. That, obviously, obliges the manufacturers to equip their cars with monitoring and reporting systems that also involve the tyres, but with devices and regulations that are often too broad and potentially insufficient - note the recent NHTSA norms soon to be applied in the U.S.A. - also because they are managed by systems of indirect detection.

Pirelli responds to these needs by keeping the tyre at the centre of attention: confirming its faith in the Run Flat; investing in an increasingly close collaboration with the vehicle manufacturers; choosing to place its trust in the direct' control of inflation pressure for the product's optimisation. When that equilibrium changes, this will be the revolutionary reaction: the new device called K-Pressure- AcousticBlue, which sends an alarm signal not only via the traditional system, but also to the user's cellular telephone; and the SWS- system - now also available for SUVs - activates a system of automatic re-inflation in the case of both a puncture, ensuring a longer time - and, therefore, more space - to bring the situation back to a condition of safety, and a natural loss of air, guaranteeing optimum pressures for 9-12 months.

Another stride towards greater peace of mind.


Pirelli Run Flat: perfect, thanks to the robots

For some time, the car world has been directing its growing attention and investments towards a tyre capable of also ensuring performance and safety, even in the case of a loss of air pressure to the point that it literally 'runs flat'. Mechanisms and patents have alternated, involving the most important manufacturers, right up to the actual decline of solutions, which, a few years ago, seemed to be a common protocol.

The Run Flat resists. In fact, it is progressing, conquering a growing market share. Pirelli has whole-heartedly married the maximum needs and performance of the car from as far back as the Seventies, when it developed its 17-inch Scorpion BK for the extreme Lamborghini LM002 off road vehicle. Today, this technology has been optimised step after step, always with an eye to that vehicle and SUVs of high and super-high performance, which are Pirelli's natural preserve for original equipment on a world scale. The best litmus test for this Hi-Tech anti-puncture system is the MIRS™ robotised system: an absolute Pirelli exclusive, a production process, which is entrusted entirely to computers - but always under the final control of man - and the guarantee of an end result of maximum perfection and reliability. One of the tyre types produced by MIRS™, in which Pirelli is making a significant investment in Europe and the United States , is the Run Flat, which is constantly manufactured using this system.

Pirelli Run Flat tyres are of perfect structure and have a total lack of discontinuity, which the world market is now demanding in an increasing variety of sizes and characteristics, to facilitate the by now unstoppable evolution of technical requirements of vehicles of growing weight and greater speed. This situation is, therefore, ever more rife in the tyre field. It is no coincidence that demand for the Run Flat by the combined original equipment and replacement markets in Europe and North America increased by almost 7,000% between 2000 and 2004. Pirelli has responded by achieving a European market share close to 20%, but particularly with tyres born of a constant technological refinement for both the product and the production process by using new concept reinforcing materials of greater resistance. And in recent years, the increase in the number of homologations in 16-18-inch sizes has been such as to create a basis for entry into the Run Flat UHP segment with 19 and 20-inch diameters and 30% and 35% aspect ratios. Pirelli's current portfolio already includes summer, all-season and winter Run Flat tyres. At this event, the company is also presenting the first Run Flat for SUVs, fitted, ready for active testing and to be marketed in the near future.

To the motorist, the Run Flat means safety, first and foremost. In the broadest sense of the word. That ranges from a greater controllability of the car in emergency conditions with a rapid loss of air pressure, to prolonged motoring in complete safety, no matter in which area of the tyre the loss of air takes place. This means the driver no longer needs to consider a puncture as a limit of his or her mobility: so if a tyre is punctured in the pouring rain, in uncomfortable, inconvenient or unsafe conditions, the Pirelli Run Flat means a motorist does not have to stop the car so that an immediate repair can be made and can, instead, drive straight home or to premises where professional assistance can be obtained.


And for even greater safety...

As absurd as it may seem, the Run Flat could become a critical element in the drive for maximum safety. With a particularly efficient Run Flat, it could also be the case that the driver does not realise one of his tyres has suffered a puncture, with its consequent loss of pressure. In order that a Run Flat tyre can literally run flat in complete safety, certain maximum speed and distance values must be respected (max 80 km/h for 150 kilometres); but the maximum efficiency of the product in not warning the driver that a puncture has occurred could put the cover's structure at risk if the motorist continues his journey for too long or at a speed that is too high.

That is why one of more 'alarm' systems are now obligatory to the Run Flat's needs, able to immediately detect and signal a pressure anomaly. As mentioned, the NHTSA (National Highway Traffic Safety Administration) will impose its requirement for a system of this kind in the United States from September 2007, fitted as standard equipment to every newly registered car, with the progressive introduction of a norm starting with 20% as early as September 2005. But the NHTSA prescribes that the alarm signal manifests itself within 20 minutes of the start of the problem, in other words after 25% of the tyre's pressure has been lost. In Pirelli's view, those are times and effective values which are not always sufficient, especially for high performance cars. So here are the innovative interactive systems presented by Pirelli, all developed to monitor the pressure direct and with pressure and time limits that are much tighter.

As mentioned, this need comes from a global tendency aimed at a tyre that is ever more determinate and interactive in the areas of performance and safety. But it is also from the status of lead development partner' that Pirelli acts for some of the most prestigious European and American vehicle manufacturers, some of whom have already chosen to equip their vehicles either exclusively or in large part with the Pirelli Run Flat. And to optimise the level of safety offered as in the case of the uninflated tyre's properties, control devices offered by Pirelli Tyre Systems now intervene and interact directly.


K-Pressure™ AcousticBlue: now for the mobile 'phone'

Tyre pressure monitoring systems provided by the car manufacturers are of the indirect type. Usually linked to the size of the tyre: they do not evaluate directly, but relative to a comparison with the other tyres fitted to the vehicle. With the result - improbable, but technically possible - that if all four tyres should be subjected to the same anomaly at the same time, that fact would not be diagnosed. The Pirelli systems work by surveying the tyre pressure directly and are divided into various systems. The company puts its weight behind each one.

The important new development being unveiled at 'Technology in Revolution' starts with a name already known: K-Pressure™. But the substance is completely new. This latest K-Pressure™ will be available on the replacement market in September and is based on a system constituted of a sensor fitted to the tyre's valve. Inserted into the valve cap, the mechanism can be used for both conventional tyres and the Run Flat, and measures the eventual pressure anomalies in real time (different caps, dependant on the reference value) and communicates it in four different ways:

* K-Pressure™ Optic optical signal on the valve cap (white: OK - red alarm)
* K-Pressure™ Acoustic signal via the onboard electronic management system
* K-Pressure™ AcousticBlue signal via a Blue Tooth mobile 'phone
* K-Pressure™ Monitor signal on the InfoMobility system on board

Apart from the optical signal emitted by the first of the four systems, which immediately identifies the tyre that has the anomaly, all the other versions provide acoustic and visual messages, which identify the wheel fitted with the problem tyre.

These are the advantages of the four grades of the K-Pressure™ system soon to be introduced:

* Non-invasive all fitted to the outside of the rim/tyre
* Minimum weight from 3.5 to 6 grams: zero risk of imbalance
* Standard rim an ETRTO valve is sufficient
* Plug and play immediate fitment: no adjustment required
* Maximum accuracy auto-compensation for different external temperatures and pressures.
* Maximum life the battery inside the cap provides 5,000 hours of autonomy
* Economy K-Pressure™ has been developed as a family of modular products in order to optimise costs. The various versions have the objective of being decidedly competitive in their pricing compared to the systems currently on the market and even to set a new standard in terms of price/benefit to the user, as is the case with X-Pressure™ Optic.


SWS™ now also for SUVs

It is called the Safety Wheel System (SWS™) and it is not exactly new: the system, designed for motorcycles, was already a reality in 2004. What is new today is that it can be seen working on a motorbike involved in dynamic tests for the first time.

The SWS™ interacts with a possible anomaly in inflation pressure in a completely revolutionary way: due to the air contained in a custom-made tank integrated into the rim, part of air pressure lost inside a punctured tyre is replaced.

In this case, too, the activation of the mechanism is by a sensor fitted inside the rim. When the sensor registers a loss of pressure, the tank's air release system is activated via a connecting valve between the tank and the tyre cavity. The air loss is also shown on a visible warning display fitted to the motorcycle.

Now, the SWS™ system is being given its world preview on the first prototype of an SUV rim. The mechanism has the same basis as that of the motorcycle, with the obvious difference that the tank's capacity is greater. In this case, the pressure-reading sensor that registers a loss of pressure is positioned on the tyre valve. Different from the motorcycle and clearly oriented towards original equipment, the SWS™ system for SUVs is also of great significance on the replacement market, as it can be used with both conventional and Run Flat tyres.

The advantages of the SWS™ system:

• Natural deflation. The system compensates the natural loss of pressure, constantly and continuously, ensuring the tyre remains devoid of anomalies. Both on motorcycles and the SUVs , the capacity of the tank permits the maintenance of an optimum pressure for a period of 9-12 months.
• Puncture. The system enables the tyre to be re-inflated, rectifying the puncture in part and delaying a total loss of air. In that way, deflation time is lengthened, notably improving safety and providing more time and space in which to bring the vehicle back into a safe situation. The advantage is especially evident on a motorbike, reducing the possibility of falling off as a result of the longer interval of reaction ensured; the same is the case for SUVs, especially if the puncture takes place at high speed.

Cyber™ Wheel: the rim with an aerial

The innovative offer of Pirelli Tyre Systems has been enriched by the presentation of Cyber Wheel. It is the first instrumented rim, which, like Cyber Tyre, has also been developed as part of Pirelli's role of always offering greater added value to the car manufacturers and is, therefore, original equipment oriented.

Cyber Wheel makes it possible to use a rim as a sensor that registers physical sizes and communicates them to the car. In fact, passing from the deformation to which the wheel is subjected when the vehicle is moving, the system is also able to evaluate the so-called hub forces by using a special algorhythm of calculation, developed by Pirelli in collaboration with the Milan Polytechnic. It therefore offers in real time information of the greatest importance to the dynamic control systems that maintain the stability of the vehicle, information which is vital to the forces that the car and the road exchange when the vehicle is running.

The operational layout of Cyber Wheel repeats in part what takes place with Cyber Tyre . Special sensors located in the rim and energised via radio frequency by electronics and an aerial in the wheel housing, measure the deformations, transform them into power and transmit them to the vehicle.

It is important to note how all the systems developed - or those that are under development by Pirelli - have been designed to be integrated with others and are personalised in line with the needs of the client, both on the replacement and original equipment markets.


Cyber Tyre : the first tyre memory'
The latest new development from Pirelli Tyre Systems is Cyber Tyre . As a result of this system, which provides the tyre with an actual memory', the onboard computer of a car communicates a series of information relative to the operational condition of the cover to the user in real time.

Every identifying item of the tyre, from its realisation to its operation in different conditions, including eventual total deflation in the case of the Run Flat, are registered and transmitted by a transponder installed under the tread. The transmission takes place via an aerial positioned inside the tyre and another installed in the wheel housing of the car. Depending on which of the different versions is in use, Cyber Tyre has the effect of a real memory, monitoring all the activities of the cover thanks to a wide range of information:

• Basic characteristics of the tyre
• Operating temperature and pressures
• Eventual duration/distance when running deflated
• Residual distance pre-assistance
• Typology of the road's surface
• Vertical load exerted on the tyre
• Dimensions of the footprint area

The last three categories of information, together with that describing the type of tyre fitted, can become of great interest with a view to optimising the onboard electronic systems such as ESP, ABS, ASR and all the dynamic control systems of the vehicle.