Device and method for measuring the tread depth of a motor vehicle tire

1. A device for measuring a tread depth of a motor vehicle tire, the device comprising:

at least one sensor element configured for acquiring data relating to a change in a deformation characteristic of the motor vehicle tire in a region of a tire contact area when said sensor element is permanently mounted to an inner side of the motor vehicle tire opposite the tread; and

a control and evaluation unit having a data connection configured for receiving the data acquired by said at least one sensor element and for further processing the acquired data, said control and evaluation unit configured to determine the tread depth of the motor vehicle tire based on a degree of bending of a tread of the motor vehicle tire, wherein the degree of bending of the tread of the motor vehicle tire is indicated by the data acquired by said at least one sensor element; and

a wheel electronic system electrically connected to said at least one sensor element and configured for transmitting tire identification data to said control and evaluation unit.

2. The device according to claim 1 , wherein said at least one sensor element is a planar piezoelement generating an electrical voltage when a planar mechanical deformation occurs.

3. The device according to claim 1 , wherein said at least one sensor element is a planar strain gauge a resistance value of which changes with a planar deformation.

4. The device according to claim 1 , wherein said at least one sensor element extends substantially along a running direction of the motor vehicle tire.

5. The device according to claim 1 , wherein said at least one sensor element extends over at least one section region of a lug and/or over at least one section region of a groove of the motor vehicle tire.

6. The device according to claim 1 , which comprises a transmission unit assigned to said at least one sensor element or to a group of sensor elements, said transmission unit passing the data measured by said at least one sensor element to said control and evaluation unit.

7. The device according to claim 6 , wherein said control and evaluation unit is mounted on the motor vehicle.

8. The device according to claim 6 , wherein transmission unit passes the data acquired by said at least one sensor element indirectly or directly to said control and evaluation unit.

9. The device according to claim 1 , wherein additional data can be transmitted by said wheel electronic system to said control and evaluation unit.

10. The device according to claim 9 , wherein the additional data is selected from the group consisting of tire pressure data, tire temperature data, vehicle speed data, wheel speed data, sensor element data, vehicle data, and wheel load data.

11. The device according to claim 1 , wherein said at least one sensor element is one of a plurality of sensor elements disposed in the motor vehicle tire and arranged on a circumferential line along a circumference of the tread of the motor vehicle tire.

12. The device according to claim 1 , wherein said at least one sensor element is one of a plurality of sensor elements disposed in the motor vehicle tire and arranged transversely with respect to the running direction of the motor vehicle tire.

13. A method of measuring a tread depth of a motor vehicle tire which comprises the following method steps:

providing at least one sensor element configured to acquire data relating to a change in a deformation characteristic of a motor vehicle tire in a tire contact region of the vehicle tire;

mounting the at least one sensor element in a stable fashion on an inner side of the motor vehicle tire opposite the tread;

acquiring data relating to a change in the deformation characteristic of the motor vehicle tire in the region of the tire contact region by way of the at least one sensor element;

transmitting the data acquired by the at least one sensor element to a control and evaluation unit provided with a data connection to the at least one sensor element;

transmitting, in addition to the data acquired by the at least one sensor element, a tire-specific identifier for associating the data with a given motor vehicle tire; and

processing the data acquired by the at least one sensor element with the control and evaluation unit to determine the tread depth of the given motor vehicle tire based on a degree of bending of the tread of the given motor vehicle tire.

14. The method according to claim 13 , which comprises detecting with the at least one sensor element at least one of the following: changes in a surface curvature in a region of the tire contact region entry or tire contact region exit, a change in running time of a run-through time of the tire contact region, a curvature gradient of the at least one sensor element, and/or a variation in vibrations of the motor vehicle tire.

15. The method according to claim 13 , which comprises continuously detecting changes in a deformation characteristic of the motor vehicle tire in a region of the tire contact region in each motor vehicle tire of a motor vehicle during a rotation of the motor vehicle tires, and determining the tread depth separately for each motor vehicle tire by way of the control and evaluation unit.

16. The method according to claim 13 , which comprises comparing the data acquired by the at least one sensor element with one another and evaluating the data together by means of the control and evaluation unit.

17. The method according to claim 16 , which comprises comparing the data for a plausibility check.

18. The method according to claim 13 , which comprises actuating a display or indicator unit by the control and evaluation unit to issue a display or indication to a motor vehicle user, if the acquired data and evaluated data reveal that a predetermined limiting value for the tread depth of the respective motor vehicle tire has been reached.

19. The method according to claim 18 , wherein the display or indicator unit is an optical, acoustic or haptic display or indicator unit.

20. The device according to claim 1 , wherein said control and evaluation unit is configured for determining the tread depth of the motor vehicle tire based on the data acquired by said at least one sensor element and on a pressure measured in the motor vehicle tire.

21. The method according to claim 13 , which comprises: when performing the step of processing the data acquired by the at least one sensor element, the control and evaluation unit determines the tread depth of the given motor vehicle tire based on the data acquired by the at least one sensor element and on a pressure measured in the given motor vehicle tire.