Description:Complete Specification:
The following specification describes and ascertains the nature of this invention and the manner in which it is to be performed:

Field of the invention
[0001] The present disclosure relates to a system and a method to obtain a pre-defined distance between a chassis of a vehicle and a base of a wheel the vehicle.

[0002] Background of the invention

[0003] Ground clearance (or ride height) is the amount of distance between the base of an automobile tire and the lowest point of the automobile that is, the lower end of the vehicle body or the chassis. It defines the lowermost part of the vehicle in comparison to the ground. Most of the manufacturers define this dimension in unladen vehicle condition that is a vehicle without any extra load.

[0004] A high ground clearance (greater height/distance) protects the bottom of the vehicle from damage from low obstacles, however it gives the vehicle a higher center of mass which affects handling and can make the vehicle more prone to rolling during sharp turns at speed. SUVs and trucks tend to have a high ground clearance as they are designed for carrying heavy loads and offload driving.

[0005] On the other hand, although a low ground clearance gives the vehicle a lower center of mass and better handling, but it increases the risk of damage to the undercarriage and the probability of getting caught on low obstacles. The vehicles that have low ground clearance are generally sports cars or luxury cars as they are designed for speed, responsive handling, and generally level driving surfaces.

[0006] The existing technologies lack an effective system to adjust the ground clearance based on the obstacles present on the road. The present disclosure provides for a system and method to adjust the ground clearance of a vehicle with less infrastructural changes. The same can protect the vehicle from damage in cases of overloading, in cases of either all wheels stuck in potholes or one of the wheels stuck in potholes. The technique can also be used to maintain an optimum tire (wheel) pressure.

[0007] The prior art CN218806190 U relates to a body structure and a vehicle, the body structure comprising a power battery, a frame, an axle and a first drive device, the power battery being mounted on the frame, the axle being located below the frame and extending in a left-right direction, the two ends of the axle being respectively used to connect wheels, the first drive device, Mounted on the axle, the first drive is connected to the frame and is used to drive the frame to move in the up and down direction to adjust the position of the center of mass of the vehicle in the up and down direction. Through the above-mentioned technical solution, it is possible to avoid the power battery and ground scratches and damage, improve the safety of the power battery, change the ground clearance of the vehicle, avoid the bottom of the vehicle and the ground scratches or collisions, improve the passing ability of the vehicle. The power battery functions as a weight module for centroid adjustment, allowing the body structure to eliminate the individually set weight ball for centroid adjustment, effectively reducing the overall weight of the body structure and improving the vehicle's life.

[0008] Prior art US5558730 A discloses A self-inflating tire pump is integrally fixed to a wheel of a vehicle for automatically pumping air into an inflation region of a tire which is mounted on the wheel. The pump includes a piston which is movable radially outward in a cylinder by centrifugal force to draw air from the atmosphere into a compression chamber and is movable radially inward by a biasing element to compress the air in the compression chamber and pump it into the inflation region. The biasing element includes a surface of the piston which is exposed to air pressure in the inflation region, and prevents the piston from moving outward until the wheel rotates above a certain speed, thereby preventing contaminants such as water and dirt from entering the compression chamber during low speed operation of the vehicle in adverse terrain. A stopper mechanism prevents the piston from moving when the tire pressure is above a normal value, thereby reducing frictional wear of the pump.

Brief description of the accompanying drawings
An embodiment of the invention is described with reference to the following accompanying drawings:
[0009] Figure 1 depicts a system obtain a pre-defined distance between a chassis of a vehicle and a base of a wheel the of the vehicle.

[0010] Figure 2 depicts a flowchart for a method to obtain a pre-defined distance between a chassis of a vehicle and a base of a wheel the of the vehicle.

Detailed description of the drawings:
[0011] The present disclosure provides a technique to adjust a ground clearance or the distance between a chassis of a vehicle and a base of a wheel of the vehicle. Based on the ground clearance requirement, the wheel or a chamber inside the wheel can be filled by means of a wheel air filling mechanism installed in the vehicle, allowing the wheel size to be changed.
[0012] The present invention will now be described by way of example, with reference to accompanying drawings. Throughout all the figures, same or corresponding elements may generally be indicated by same reference numerals. These depicted embodiments are to be understood as illustrative of the invention and not as limiting in any way. It should also be understood that the figures are not necessarily to scale and that the embodiments are sometimes illustrated by graphic symbols, phantom lines, diagrammatic representations and fragmentary views. In predetermined instances, details which are not necessary for an understanding of the present invention, or which render other details difficult to perceive may have been omitted.
[0013] The system described has multiple embodiments possible and any exemplary embodiment provided under this disclosure should not be construed as limiting the scope of the disclosure.

[0014] Referring to Figure 1, the same depicts a system (10) to obtain a pre-defined distance between a chassis (1) of a vehicle and a base of at least one wheel (2) the of the vehicle.
[0015] The system (10) comprises a pump(3) to supply air from a cylinder(4) to the said at least one wheel(2) of the vehicle. In an example the pump may be mounted on the chassis. The pump may be assisted by a motor and a power source. In an example the cylinder may store atmospheric air.
[0016] In an embodiment, the at least one wheel (2) may have at least one chamber (2a) adapted to be inflated or deflated based on the pre-defined distance required between the chassis of the vehicle and the base of the said at least one wheel of the vehicle. This provides a separate chamber (2a) to the tire that can be filled with air based on the requirement of ground clearance.
[0017] The system further comprises at least one valve (5) to regulate the air supply to said at least one wheel (2). In an example, the at least one valve may be a pressure control valve to control the flow of air through air supply lines(6) connected to the at least one wheel (2) of the vehicle. In an example, two way valve (7) may be provided to control the supply of air in and out of the at least one wheel (2).
[0018] The system further comprises a controller (8) adapted to calculate a pre-defined pressure to be supplied to said at least one wheel to obtain the pre-defined distance.
[0019] In an example, the controller may receive the information of a condition of the road from various sensors (9) such as ultrasonic sensors, cameras, radar commonly used in a drivers assistance system (ADAS). The controller may also predict the road condition through sensors such as wheel speed sensors, accelerometer and through global positioning systems (GPS). Based on the information received, the controller may actuate the pump to supply the appropriate amount of air pressure to the wheel in order to achieve the desired ground clearance.
[0020] In an example, assuming a four-wheeled for a vehicle where only one wheel of affected by an obstacle such as a pit, the controller may be adapted to provide the appropriate air pressure to the said one wheel.
[0021] The controller, in order to supply the pre-defined pressure to the said at least one road wheel (2) actuates the pump to supply air from the cylinder to said at least one wheel of the vehicle. In an example, the controller may actuate the pump automatically on the basis of sensor information of road condition provided by the vehicle sensors as explained above.
[0022] In another example, the controller may be manually activated by the driver to actuate the pump to supply air from the cylinder to said at least one wheel of the vehicle.
[0023] In order to obtain the predefined pressure in said at least one wheel by actuating said at least one valve. In an example, this may be a two-way valve (7) to control the flow of air in and out of the wheel. Hence, by filling the wheel (or a chamber within) with air the predefined distance between the chassis and the base of said at least one wheel can be obtained.
[0024] A means to monitor the vehicle pressure such as a pressure sensor may be in communication with the controller for precise pressure measurement. The system can also be used to maintain a constant pressure across all the wheels of a vehicle.
[0025] The system(10) thus can adjust the ground clearance of all wheels of the vehicle at once or can selectively adjust the size of each wheel as per the situation and condition of the road.

[0026] Referring again to Figure 1, the same discloses a system (10) to obtain a pre-defined distance between a chassis (1) of a vehicle and a base of at least one wheel (2) of the vehicle, the system (10) comprising: a pump(3) to supply air from a cylinder (4) to the said at least one wheel (2) of the vehicle; at least one valve (5,7) to regulate the air supply to said at least one wheel. The system is characterized by a controller (8) adapted to: calculate a pre-defined pressure to be supplied to said at least one wheel (2) to obtain the pre-defined distance; actuate the pump(3) to supply air from the cylinder (4) to said at least one wheel (2) of the vehicle; obtain the predefined pressure in said at least one wheel (2) by actuating said at least one valve (7) ; and obtain the predefined distance between the chassis (1) and the base of said at least one wheel (2).

[0027] The pre-defined pressure to be supplied to said at least one wheel(2) is calculated based on an input information from at least one sensor (9) in communication with the controller. The controller (8) is further adapted to maintain the pre-defined pressure in said at least one wheel (2) by actuating said at least one valve. The at least one wheel has at least one chamber (2a) adapted to be inflated or deflated based on the pre-defined distance required between the chassis of the vehicle and the base of the said at least one wheel of the vehicle.

[0028] Referring to Figure 2, the same discloses a method (100) to obtain a pre-defined distance between a chassis of a vehicle and a base of at least one wheel of the vehicle. The method (100) may be implemented by the system (10) described in Figure 1. The method (100) comprises the steps first step (101) of calculating, by a controller, a pre-defined pressure to be supplied to said at least one wheel to obtain the pre-defined distance, followed by the step (102) of actuating, by the controller, a pump to supply air from a cylinder to said at least one wheel of the vehicle. The method (100) is characterized by the step (103) of obtaining the pre-defined pressure in the said at least one wheel, by the controller, by actuating at least one valve that regulates the air supply to said at least one wheel ; and the step (104) of obtaining the predefined distance between the chassis and the base of said at least one wheel.

[0029] The method(100) includes calculating the pre-defined pressure to be supplied to said at least one wheel based on an input information from at least one sensor in communication with the controller and maintaining the pre-defined pressure in said at least one wheel by the controller, by actuating said at least one valve.

[0030] The disclosure advantageously enables the function of ground clearance adjustment and protects the vehicle from damage in cases of overloading, low obstacles or in cases where either all wheels of the vehicle are stuck in potholes or one of the wheels stuck in potholes. The same also provides for a provision to maintain an optimum tire (wheel) pressure.

, Claims:We Claim:
1. A system(10) to obtain a pre-defined distance between a chassis (1) of a vehicle and a base of at least one wheel (2) of the vehicle, the system comprising:
-a pump (3) to supply air from a cylinder (4) to the said at least one wheel (2) of the vehicle;
-at least one valve (5, 7) to regulate the air supply to said at least one wheel;
the system characterized by:
-a controller (8) adapted to:
calculate a pre-defined pressure to be supplied to said at least one wheel (2) to obtain the pre-defined distance;
actuate the pump(3) to supply air from the cylinder (4) to said at least one wheel (2) of the vehicle;
obtain the predefined pressure in said at least one wheel (2) by actuating said at least one valve (5,7); and
obtain the predefined distance between the chassis (1)and the base of said at least one wheel (2).

2. The system(10) as claimed in Claim 1, wherein, the pre-defined pressure to be supplied to said at least one wheel (2) is calculated based on an input information from at least one sensor (9) in communication with the controller.

3. The system (10) as claimed in Claim 1, wherein, the controller (8) is further adapted to maintain the pre-defined pressure in said at least one wheel by actuating said at least one valve.

4. The system (10) as claimed in Claim 1, wherein, the at least one wheel (2) has at least one chamber (2a) adapted to be inflated or deflated based on the pre-defined distance required between the chassis (4) of the vehicle and the base of the said at least one wheel (2) of the vehicle.

5. A method (100) to obtain a pre-defined distance between a chassis of a vehicle and a base of at least one wheel of the vehicle, the method comprising the steps of:
-calculating, by a controller, a pre-defined pressure to be supplied to said at least one wheel to obtain the pre-defined distance (101);
- actuating, by the controller, a pump to supply air from a cylinder to said at least one wheel of the vehicle (102);
characterized by:
-obtaining the pre-defined pressure in the said at least one wheel, by the controller, by actuating at least one valve that regulates the air supply to said at least one wheel (103); and
-obtaining the predefined distance between the chassis and the base of said at least one wheel (104).

6. The method (100) as claimed in Claim 5, wherein, calculating the pre-defined pressure to be supplied to said at least one wheel based on an input information from at least one sensor in communication with the controller.

7. The method (100) as claimed in Claim 5, wherein, maintaining the pre-defined pressure in said at least one wheel by the controller, by actuating said at least one valve