TECHNICAL FIELD AND BACKGROUND OF THE DISCLOSURE

The present disclosure relates broadly and generally to a handheld mechanical gauge applicable for use in the automotive and heavy duty trucking industries. In one exemplary embodiment, the present handheld gauge is used in combination with a mobile device (e.g., smartphone) equipped with a digital camera to measure, record, and report tread depth of a vehicle tire.

SUMMARY OF EXEMPLARY EMBODIMENTS

Various exemplary embodiments of the present disclosure are described below. Use of the term “exemplary” means illustrative or by way of example only, and any reference herein to “the invention” is not intended to restrict or limit the invention to exact features or steps of any one or more of the exemplary embodiments disclosed in the present specification. References to “exemplary embodiment,” “one embodiment,” “an embodiment,” “various embodiments,” and the like, may indicate that the embodiment(s) of the invention so described may include a particular feature, structure, or characteristic, but not every embodiment necessarily includes the particular feature, structure, or characteristic. Further, repeated use of the phrase “in one embodiment,” or “in an exemplary embodiment,” do not necessarily refer to the same embodiment, although they may.

It is also noted that terms like “preferably”, “commonly”, and “typically” are not utilized herein to limit the scope of the claimed invention or to imply that certain features are critical, essential, or even important to the structure or function of the claimed invention. Rather, these terms are merely intended to highlight alternative or additional features that may or may not be utilized in a particular embodiment of the present invention.

According to one exemplary embodiment, the present disclosure comprises a handheld mechanical gauge for measuring tread depth of a vehicle tire. The mechanical gauge comprises a housing defining a display window. A fixed stock panel is attached to the housing and comprises a first measurement scale located within the window. The first measurement scale includes a first series of marks spaced apart at regular intervals within a region of interest defined by the display window. The total number of marks in the first measurement scale comprises a calibration value. A slide panel is movably arranged relative to the stock panel, and comprises a second measurement scale adapted to selectively overlie the first measurement scale within the window of the housing. The second measurement scale includes a second series of marks spaced apart at regular intervals corresponding to the first series of marks of the first measurement scale. As used herein the term “corresponding” means formed in a substantially identical size, shape, spacing, and pattern. At any overlying position of the second measurement scale relative to the first measurement scale within the region of interest, the combined number of exposed marks displayed through the window equals the calibration value. In one exemplary embodiment, a mark is considered “exposed” if greater than 50% of the mark appears uncovered within the region of interest (as defined by the display window). The term “equals”, as used herein, allows for a certain acceptable degree of variation based on an analysis of the exposed marks within the region of interest. For example, the present disclosure may allow a tolerance of 1 (+/−) such that 33 and 35 “measured” marks are both equal to a calibration value of 34. An elongated measurement probe is affixed to the slide, and adapted for selectively extending and retracting relative to the housing. Tread depth of the vehicle tire is measured by extending the probe into a groove formed in the tire tread and then recording a measurement value using data displayed through the window.

According to another exemplary embodiment, the first measurement scale comprises first and second adjacent columns of spaced marks.

According to another exemplary embodiment, in the first measurement scale, the marks in the second column are staggered relative to the marks of the first column. As used herein, the term “staggered” refers to a slight offset of the marks in the two longitudinal columns such that laterally adjacent marks are not entirely side-by-side.

According to another exemplary embodiment, the second measurement scale comprises first and second adjacent columns of spaced marks.

According to another exemplary embodiment, in the second measurement scale, the marks in the second column are staggered relative to the marks of the first column.

According to another exemplary embodiment, the first and second columns of marks in the first and second measurement scales are aligned in substantial registration. The term “aligned in substantial registration” means that the two columns of the first measurement scale would be substantially superimposed upon the two columns of the second measurement scale if one scale were laid upon the other.

According to another exemplary embodiment, a manual thumb slide is adapted for moving the slide panel to extend and retract said measurement probe.

According to another exemplary embodiment, the housing comprises cooperating front and back sections.

According to another exemplary embodiment, a magnet is located inside the housing for releasably mounting the handheld gauge to a metal surface.

According to another exemplary embodiment, one of the front and back sections of the housing comprises a machine-readable code (e.g., quick response code or “QR code”). The code may be used for storing URLs or other information for reading by the mobile computing device (e.g., smartphone) of the present disclosure.

According to another exemplary embodiment, one of the first and second housing sections further comprises a product serial number.

According to another exemplary embodiment, the front housing section comprises measurement indicia along at least one side of the display window outside of the region of interest.

According to another exemplary embodiment, measurement indicia is provided along both sides of the display window outside of the region of interest.

According to another exemplary embodiment, the measurement indicia is provided in standard units along one side of the display window and in corresponding metric units along the other side of the display window.

In another exemplary embodiment, the present disclosure comprises a handheld measurement device for measuring tread depth of a vehicle tire. The mechanical gauge comprises a stock panel with a first measurement scale. The first measurement scale includes a first series of marks spaced apart at regular intervals within a region of interest. The total number of marks within the region of interest comprises a calibration value. A slide is movably arranged relative to the stock panel, and comprises a second measurement scale adapted to selectively overlie the first measurement scale within the region of interest. The second measurement scale includes a second series of marks spaced apart at regular intervals corresponding to the first series of marks of the first measurement scale. At any overlying position of the second measurement scale relative to the first measurement scale within the region of interest, the combined number of exposed marks within the region of interest equals the calibration value. An elongated measurement probe is affixed to the slide and adapted for selectively extending into a groove formed in the tread of the vehicle tire. A measured value of tread depth is obtained using data displayed within the region of interest.

In yet another exemplary embodiment, the present disclosure comprises a method for measuring tread depth of a vehicle tire. The method includes locating a handheld mechanical gauge adjacent the tread of the vehicle tire. The mechanical gauge comprises a first measurement scale including a first series of marks spaced apart at regular intervals within a predetermined region of interest. A slidable second measurement scale is adapted to selectively overlie the first measurement scale within the region of interest. The second measurement scale comprises a second series of marks spaced apart at regular intervals corresponding to the first series of marks of the first measurement scale. An elongated measurement probe is movable in unison with the slidable second measurement scale. The method further includes determining a calibration value comprising a total number of exposed marks within the region of interest of the mechanical gauge. The elongated measurement probe of the mechanical gauge is inserted and extended into a groove formed in the tread of the vehicle tire. With the probe extended, the region of interest of the mechanical gauge is photographed using a digital camera of a mobile computing device. The number of exposed marks of the first measurement scale which are located within the region of interest is determined, and the number of exposed marks of the second measurement scale which are located within the region of interest is determined. The method confirms that the sum total of exposed marks of the first and second measurement scales equals the calibration value. The tread depth is then calculated using a ratio of exposed marks of the first and second measurement scales within the region of interest.

According to another exemplary embodiment, determining the calibration value comprises photographing the mechanical gauge at the region of interest using the digital camera of the mobile computing device, and then calculating the total number of marks appearing within the captured image.

According to another exemplary embodiment, the method comprises electronically reading a machine-readable code (e.g., QR code) applied to the mechanical gauge.

According to another exemplary embodiment, the method comprises activating an alert on the mobile computing device once a successfully captured image of the region of interest is obtained.

According to another exemplary embodiment, prior to photographing the mechanical gauge, the method comprises activating a flash function of the digital camera based on environmental lighting conditions.

Broadly, in exemplary embodiments described further herein, the present disclosure comprises an apparatus, system and method for measuring, recording, and reporting tread depth of a vehicle tire. The exemplary disclosure may be implemented via a computer program product (e.g., software application or “mobile app”) comprising program instructions tangibly stored on a computer-readable medium, and operable to cause a computing device to perform one or more steps of a method for calculating, recording and reporting tread depth of a vehicle tire. The present disclosure further comprises a computer-readable storage medium storing computer-executable instructions, executable by processing logic of a computing device, including one or more instructions, that when executed by the processing logic, cause the processing logic to perform one or more steps of a method for calculating, recording and reporting tread depth of a vehicle tire. In yet another exemplary embodiment, the present disclosure comprises an article of manufacture including a computer-readable storage medium, and executable program instructions embodied in the storage medium that when executed by processing logic of a computing device causes the processing logic to perform one or more steps of a method for calculating, recording and reporting tread depth of a vehicle tire. The computing device may incorporate or comprise any general or specific purpose machine with processing logic capable of manipulating data according to a set of program instructions. Examples of computing devices include high-end mobile phones or “smartphones”, tablet computers, laptops, personal computers, and others.

Exemplary Mobile Computing Device

In one exemplary embodiment, the present disclosure utilizes a handheld mobile computing device (referred to herein as “mobile device”). The exemplary mobile device may comprise a smartphone using an operating system such as Google's Android, Apple's iOS, Maemo, Bada, Symbian, Windows Phone, Palm, Blackberry, and others. The mobile device may include a high-resolution touchscreen display, a web browser, high-speed data access via Wi-Fi and mobile broadband, and advanced application programming interfaces (APIs) for running third-party applications. The mobile device may also be equipped with NFC, and paired with NFC tags or stickers which can be programmed by NFC apps and other mobile apps on the device. For example, BlackBerry devices support NFC using BlackBerry Tag on a number of devices running BlackBerry OS. Other handheld mobile devices without built-in NFC chips may utilize MicroSD and UICC SIM cards incorporating industry standard contactless smartcard chips with ISO14443 interface, with or without built-in antenna.

The exemplary mobile device may also include card slots for removable or non-removable flash and SIM cards, and may have greater than 32 GB of non-volatile internal memory. One or more of the flash and SIM cards and internal memory may comprise computer-readable storage media containing program instructions applicable for performing one or more steps of a method for calculating, recording and reporting tread depth of a vehicle tire.

The SIM card contains an integrated circuit that securely stores the service-subscriber key (IMSI) used to identify a subscriber on the mobile device. SIM hardware typically consists of a microprocessor, ROM, persistent (non-volatile) EEPROM or flash memory, volatile RAM, and a serial I/O interface. SIM software typically consists of an operating system, file system, and application programs. The SIM may incorporate the use of a SIM Toolkit (STK), which is an application programming interface (API) for securely loading applications (e.g., applets) or data to the SIM for storage in the SIM and execution by the mobile device. The STK allows a mobile operator (such as a wireless carrier) to create/provision services by loading them into the SIM without changing other elements of the mobile device. One convenient way for loading applications to the SIM is over-the-air (OTA) via the Short Message Service (SMS) protocol.

Additionally, to identify a user's mobile device, a unique serial number called International Mobile Equipment Identity, IMEI, may be assigned to the device. The IMEI number may be used by the network to identify valid mobile devices. IMEI identifies the device, not the user (the user is identified by an International Mobile Subscriber Identity, IMSI), by a 15-digit number and includes information about the source of the mobile device, the model, and serial number. Other features of the exemplary mobile device may include front-facing and rear-facing cameras, Dolby Digital 5.1 surround sound, video mirroring and video out support, built-in speaker and microphone, built-in rechargeable lithium-polymer battery, and sensors including three-axis gyro, accelerometer, and ambient light sensor. The exemplary mobile device may also combine aGPS and other location services including Wi-Fi Positioning System and cell-site triangulation, Mobile Phone Tracking, Mobile Positioning, GMS localization, or other hybrid positioning system.

Exemplary specifications for three commercially available mobile devices are provided in the table below.

Pixel ® 2 XLiPhone ® XGalaxy ® 9+OS - Android 8.0OS - iOS 11OS - Android 8.0Display - 6 inchesDisplay - 5.8 inchesDisplay - 6.2 inches(2880 × 1440 pixels)(2436 × 1125 pixels)(2960 × 1440 pixels)Rear Camera - 12 MPRear Camera - DualRear Camera - 12-MP(f/1.8)12-MP (wide-angle:Super Speed Dual Pixelf/1.8, telephoto:(f/1.5 - f/2.4), 12-MPf/2.4)telephoto with 2x zoom(f/2.4)Front Camera - 8 MPFront Camera - 7 MPFront Camera - 8-MP(f/2.4)(f/2.2)(f/1.7)CPU - Snapdragon 835CPU - A11 BionicCPU - Snapdragon 845RAM - 4 GBRAM - 4 GBRAM - 6 GBStorage - 64 GB,Storage - 64 GB,Storage - 64 GB128 GB256 GBSize -Size -Size -6.2 × 3 × 0.3 in5.7 × 2.8 × 0.3 in6.2 × 2.9 × 0.33 inWeight - 6.2 ouncesWeight - 6.14 ouncesWeight - 6.7 ounces

Exemplary Computing Environment

In an exemplary implementation discussed further below, the present system and method operates in an environment utilizing a client device, such as the mobile device described above, in communication with a host server (e.g., cloud server) over a computer network, such as the Internet. The host server may comprise a processor and a computer readable medium, such as random access memory (RAM). The processor is operable to execute certain programs used in the present system and method for calculating, recording and reporting tread depth of a vehicle tire, and other computer program instructions stored in memory. Such processor may comprise a microprocessor (or any other processor) and may also include, for example, a display device, internal and external data storage devices, cursor control devices, and/or any combination of these components, or any number of different components, peripherals, input and output devices, and other devices. Such processors may also communicate with other computer-readable media that store computer program instructions, such that when the stored instructions are executed by the processor, the processor performs the acts described further herein. Those skilled in the art will also recognize that the exemplary environments described herein are not intended to limit application of the present system and method, and that alternative environments may be used without departing from the scope of the invention.

Various problem-solving programs incorporated into the present system and method, and discussed further herein, may utilize as inputs, data from a data storage device or location. In one embodiment, the data storage device comprises an electronic database. In other embodiments, the data storage device may comprise an electronic file, disk, or other data storage medium. The data storage device may store features of the invention applicable for performing one or more steps of a method for calculating, recording and reporting tread depth of a vehicle tire. The data storage device may also include other items useful to carry out the functions of the present system and method. In one example, the present computer programs may further comprise algorithms designed and configured to perform one or more steps of a method for calculating, recording and reporting tread depth of a vehicle tire.

