If the Tire is lacking Air it reaches for the Phone

Continental’s tire pressure monitoring system will soon be able to report to smart phones. The system also provides information about the correct pressure when tires are inflated. Enhanced driving safety and fuel efficiency are expected.

Hanover/Regensburg.

Continental is making driving safer and more economical for the future with a new application that reports the tire pressure directly to a smart phone. The vehicle electronic is connected wirelessly with the driver’s smart phone, therefore making speedy data exchange possible. The Continental Interior Division’s “Filling Assistant” specifies the exact inflation pressure of each tire. So when adding air, the optimum tire pressure can be achieved, even when inflation pumps at the filling station do not measure the pressure accurately. In addition, a brief honk and blink signal can be given to confirm when the tire has been inflated to the correct pressure level. Technical requirements for the system are a tire pressure monitoring system with the corresponding sensors in the tires and factory-integrated vehicle electronics with a wireless interface. First series production of the Filling Assistant in new vehicles is expected from 2013 onwards.

“This speedy and uncomplicated system not only adds to the user friendliness of the car but also enhances vehicle safety and efficiency,” Dr. Burkhard Wies, head of Continental’s passenger tire development, is pleased to report. “The driver is also warned of a gradual loss of inflation pressure resulting from an embedded nail or a damaged valve. At the same time, the environment also benefits, as the proper tire pressure keeps road resistance and thus fuel consumption low.”

“The Filling Assistant is an example of the ever closer networking with the outside world,” adds Andreas Wolf, head of the Body & Security business unit of the Interior division. “And it is precisely this close cooperation between the various domains in vehicle construction, which will provide many more new and above all practical functions in the future.”

From 2013, Continental expects to start mass producing the first tires that will have sensors collecting tire data directly in the tire underneath the tread, instead of sensors that are connected to the valve. This will mark the beginning of the intelligent tire era.

Contact:

Alexander Lührs
Head of Public Relations
Passenger and Light Truck Tires Division
Continental AG I Rubber Group
Continental Reifen Deutschland GmbH
Büttnerstraße 25
30165 Hanover, Germany
Tel: +49 511 9382615
Fax:+49 511 938 2455
alexander.luehrs@conti.de

Klaus Engelhart
Press Officer
Passenger and Light Truck Tires Division
Continental AG I Rubber Group
Continental Reifen Deutschland GmbH
Büttnerstraße 25
30165 Hanover, Germany
Tel: +49 511 938-2285
Fax: +49 511 938-2455
klaus.engelhart@conti.de

Enno Pflug
External Communication
Continental
Interior division
Sodener Strasse 9
65824 Schwalbach am Taunus, Germany
Tel: +49 6196 87-2515
Fax: +49 6196 8779-2515
enno.pflug@continental-corporation.com