Development of Tire Force Sensing Hub Unit
～Contributes to vehicle active safety and advanced integrated control～

JTEKT Corporation has developed a "Tire Force Sensing Hub Unit" that directly detects tire force by means of an originally developed sensor positioned in the hub unit and contributes to improved vehicle safety and performance.

In principle, vehicle behavior is determined by the transmission to the road surface via the tires of driver input intended to cause the vehicle to move, turn, and stop. In reality, however, most vehicles today have an electronic control system that controls vehicle moving, turning, and stopping based on such driver input in combination with measurements of vehicle body movement.

JTEKT has developed technology enabling the direct measurement of the three axial forces and two shaft rotational moment forces acting on the hub unit-the central component supporting the tire. This information regarding the five forces is utilized by a system that carries out integrated control of such JTEKT products as electronically controlled Electric Power Steering and Intelligent Torque Controlled Couplings, enabling the realization of extremely high-precision, excellent-response vehicle moving and turning performance and contributing significantly to improved vehicle safety. JTEKT aims for this information to be utilized in the improvement of vehicle stopping performance as well through integration with such systems as ABS and ESC (electronic stability control).

Regarding the manufacture of this new product, the tire force sensors may be attached to drive wheel and driven wheels hub units currently under mass production without any change to the hub unit specifications.

TEKT plans to display its tire-force-sensing hub unit at the upcoming 40th Tokyo Motor Show to be held October 26 (Fri) through November 11 (Sun) at the Makuhari Messe exhibition center.