JP6283534B2 - Tire deterioration evaluation apparatus and system, method and program thereof - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a tire deterioration evaluation apparatus, a system thereof, a method thereof, and a program thereof for evaluating deterioration of a used second-hand tire through measurement of cracks.

In today's auto recycling industry, the shrinking market for used auto parts has been a concern, and promoting the use of used parts has been a challenge for many years. There is a strong preference for new products in Japan, and there are many ideas for disposables. In particular, tires are consumables and are in high demand, so the replacement cycle for new products is fast. The amount of waste tires that are no longer needed is said to be about 1 million tons per year, but there are many that can be used. Although there are various disposal methods, there are concerns about the effects on the environment caused by chemical substances suspected of having endocrine disrupting effects that occur during incineration.
In such a background, there is no clear evaluation standard based on quantitative measurement of used and used tires, so it can be used based on the user's discretion and ambiguous judgment standard by the inspection worker. In some cases, there are many cases of disposal.
Therefore, it is considered that the distribution cycle of used and used tires can be further extended by providing a clear quality standard and deterioration evaluation system.
So far, several patent applications have been filed for inspections regarding tire quality and evaluation of wear.

For example, Patent Document 1 discloses an apparatus that automatically performs from detection of uneven tire wear to determination of countermeasures under the name of “tire uneven wear management method”.
In this invention, the tire shape is read by a scanner, compared with the new tire shape of the same tire, a differential shape is obtained, a partial wear database is searched based on the differential shape, and the presence and type of the partial wear is determined. After investigating the uneven wear, the tire position exchanging method and other countermeasure instructions extracted by searching the countermeasure database are displayed. Therefore, it is possible to reduce labor regardless of the experience and knowledge of the worker.

  Further, in Patent Document 2, under the name of “tire wear monitoring device”, a different color rubber member for wear monitoring of a color different from that of the tread rubber layer is embedded at the bottom of the tread layer of the tire, and the tread surface is worn. By monitoring images, it is possible to monitor tire wear of a running vehicle and to easily grasp the time for tire replacement.

Furthermore, Patent Document 3 discloses a technology that can be accurately and efficiently inspected with a name of “tire inspection method and apparatus”, in which a defective portion can be easily and quickly found from a tire image without skill. Has been.
When inspecting a tire for good / bad on the basis of a black and white tone image signal obtained by imaging the tire with a laser-type nondestructive inspection machine and a CCD camera, etc., It detects, marks a defective part, and displays an image signal on a monitor.

JP 2009-102009 A JP 2006-123703 A JP 2001-13081 A

However, in the technique disclosed in Patent Document 1, although tire wear can be measured and evaluated, the appearance of used tire deterioration includes not only wear but also cracks, but such cracks cannot be measured and evaluated. There was a problem.
Further, even in the technique disclosed in Patent Document 2, since the different colored rubber member embedded in the bottom of the tread portion is exposed by the wear of the tread portion, the tire wear can be monitored even when the vehicle is running by the monitoring image of the tread surface. However, there is still a problem that it is impossible to measure and monitor the cracks that occur with the aging of the rubber material of the tire itself.
Furthermore, in the technique disclosed in Patent Document 3, when air is mixed between the top inners of the tires to be examined, when the binarization is performed, the portion becomes a white level, and the portion becomes a defective portion. Although it is easy to detect a defective part by marking as, the test tire is a new tire, and there is a problem that measurement / evaluation regarding deterioration that causes cracks with use or aging cannot be performed.

  The present invention has been made in response to such a conventional situation, and is a region where the deterioration of a used used tire is not worn by the use of the tire, i.e., a wear caused by traveling of the vehicle, not a mountain portion of the contact surface. The purpose of this invention is to provide a tire deterioration evaluation apparatus, its system, its method, and its program for accurately evaluating deterioration of a tire material by measuring a crack generated in a groove portion that is hardly affected by damage. .

In order to achieve the above object, the tire deterioration evaluation apparatus according to the first aspect of the invention measures the displacement of the ground contact surface of the tire and generates distance data that makes it possible to discriminate between the peak portion and the groove portion of the ground contact surface. A displacement measuring unit; an imaging unit that shoots the ground plane to generate ground plane image data; a distance image synthesis unit that synthesizes the distance data and the ground plane image data; and A binarization processing unit that binarizes an evaluation area extracted in order to detect a crack from the groove area of the ground plane in the image data and generates binarized ground plane image data; An area calculating unit that calculates the area of a white image data region or a black image data region in the valuated ground plane image data to generate first area data, and an output unit that outputs the first area data. It is characterized by having Those having a tire deterioration evaluating device.
In the tire deterioration evaluation device having the above-described configuration, the displacement measuring unit measures the displacement of the ground contact surface of the tire and obtains distance data, thereby having an effect of enabling discrimination between a peak portion and a groove portion on the tire ground contact surface. In addition, the image capturing unit captures the ground contact surface of the tire to obtain image data, and the distance image combining unit combines the distance data and the image data, and extracts an evaluation region from the groove region in the combined image data. The binarization process is performed in the evaluation area in the groove area, so that the area of the crack generated in the groove area is measured.
Since the groove portion does not come into contact with the road surface during normal vehicle travel, there is a high possibility that cracks will appear in that region, which will show aged deterioration that does not depend on the wear of rubber, which is the material of the tire. Therefore, in order to measure the crack in the groove portion in particular, the ground plane is photographed while measuring the displacement of the ground plane, and the distance data and the ground plane image data are synthesized. Then, an evaluation area is extracted from the groove area, and the ground plane image data is binarized within the range of the evaluation area to detect cracks. The groove is not in contact with the road surface and the color of the internal rubber is visible in the cracks that are occurring, so it is usually measured as black. Therefore, the tire deterioration evaluation apparatus according to the present invention operates so as to quantitatively perform the tire deterioration evaluation by calculating the area of the black image data area after the binarization processing and outputting it.
Although the binarization process itself is a known process and will not be described in detail, the image signal is divided into white image data and black image data according to a threshold value, so that it depends on the tire material or the threshold value of the binarization process. The crack may not necessarily be black image data. That is, the white image data may be cracked. In addition, since the binarization process may include a black and white reversal process, both the white image data and the black image data can be data relating to cracks.
Further, in the present invention, the displacement measuring unit and the imaging unit are separated. For example, when a distance image sensor as disclosed in JP 2011-179925 A is employed, the distance image sensor is a displacement measuring unit. Therefore, even if a distance image sensor is employed, it does not depart from the scope of the present invention.

A tire deterioration evaluation apparatus according to a second aspect of the present invention is the tire deterioration evaluation apparatus according to the first aspect, wherein the first area data of the white image data area or the black image data area is evaluated for deterioration. In order to do so, an evaluation unit is provided that generates first evaluation rank data by evaluating with predetermined first evaluation threshold data, and the output unit outputs the first evaluation rank data. Is.
In the tire deterioration evaluation device having the above-described configuration, in addition to the operation of the invention according to claim 1, the evaluation unit uses the first evaluation threshold data to provide the first area data of the white image data area or the black image data area. Acts to rank the

And the tire deterioration evaluation system which is invention of Claim 3 is the tire deterioration evaluation apparatus of Claim 1 or Claim 2, the tire holding part holding the tire to be evaluated, and this tire holding part A drive unit that moves the tire, and a control unit that moves the tire holding unit to a position where the tire can be measured by the displacement measurement unit of the tire deterioration evaluation device and a position where the imaging unit can photograph the tire, and a posture control unit. In the tire deterioration evaluation system having the above-described configuration, the tire deterioration evaluation device according to claim 1 or claim 2 is provided, while holding the tire to be evaluated, while making it movable, The control unit operates so as to move and control the posture so that the tire deterioration evaluation apparatus can be fixed. Moreover, in this invention, the effect | action of the tire deterioration evaluation apparatus of Claim 1 or Claim 2 follows as it is.

Furthermore, the tire deterioration evaluation system according to claim 4 is the tire deterioration evaluation system according to claim 3, in which the imaging unit of the tire deterioration evaluation device photographs the ground contact surface of the tire and A ground plane imaging unit that generates image data, and a side imaging unit that captures a side surface of the tire to generate side image data, and the binarization processing unit cracks the side image data. The evaluation region extracted for detection is binarized to generate binarized side surface image data, and the area calculation unit includes the second area data in addition to the first area data regarding the binarized ground plane image data. The second area data is generated by calculating the area of the white image data area or the black image data area in the value side image data, and the output unit is configured to output the first area data and / or the second area. Output data And it is characterized in Rukoto.
In the tire deterioration evaluation system having the above configuration, in addition to the operation of the invention according to claim 3, the imaging unit includes a ground plane imaging unit and a side imaging unit, and photographs not only the tire ground plane but also the side surface. Side image data is obtained in addition to the image data, cracks are measured and binarized in the same manner as the ground plane, and first area data on cracks in the grooves on the ground plane and / or second plane data on side cracks are obtained. Acts to output area data.

A tire deterioration evaluation system according to a fifth aspect of the invention includes a tire deterioration evaluation device according to the second aspect, a tire holding portion that holds a tire to be evaluated, and a drive portion that moves the tire holding portion. And a control unit that moves and positions the tire holding unit to a position where the tire can be measured by a displacement measurement unit of the tire degradation evaluation device and a position where the tire can be photographed by the imaging unit, and the tire degradation evaluation The imaging unit of the apparatus includes a ground plane imaging unit that captures a ground plane of the tire to generate ground plane image data, and a side imaging unit that captures a side surface of the tire to generate side image data. The binarization processing unit binarizes the evaluation area extracted for detecting cracks in the side image data to generate binarized side image data, and the area calculation unit includes the 2 Priced ground plane image data In addition to the first area data relating to, the area of the white image data area or the black image data area of the binarized side surface image data is calculated to generate second area data, and the evaluation unit includes the first area data In addition to the first evaluation rank data, the second area data is evaluated with a second evaluation threshold data set in advance for evaluating deterioration, and second evaluation rank data is generated, and the output unit Is characterized in that the first area data and / or the second area data and the first evaluation rank data and / or the second evaluation rank data are output.
In the tire deterioration evaluation system configured as described above, while having the operation of the invention described in claim 2, the imaging unit further includes a ground plane imaging unit and a side imaging unit, as in the invention described in claim 4. Then, not only the ground contact surface of the tire but also the side surface is photographed to obtain the side image data in addition to the ground contact surface image data, the crack is measured and binarized in the same manner as the ground contact surface, Acting to generate first area data and second area data relating to side cracks. Further, the evaluation unit acts to perform rank evaluation using the second evaluation rank data for the second area data on the side surface in addition to the first evaluation rank data for the first area data on the groove portion of the ground contact surface.

A tire deterioration evaluation method according to a sixth aspect of the invention includes a displacement measuring step of measuring distance of a ground contact surface of a tire to generate distance data that enables discrimination between a peak portion and a groove portion of the contact surface; An imaging step of photographing the ground to generate ground plane image data, a distance image synthesis step of synthesizing the distance data and the ground plane image data to generate composite image data, and the ground plane of the composite image data A binarization process for generating binarized ground plane image data by binarizing the evaluation area extracted for detecting cracks from the groove area, and the binarized ground plane image data Of these, the area calculation step of calculating the area of the white image data area or the black image data area to generate the first area data and the first area data of the white image data area or the black image data area are evaluated for deterioration. Shita An evaluation step for generating first evaluation rank data by evaluating with first predetermined threshold value data, and an output step for outputting the first area data and / or the first evaluation rank data , Has.
Since the tire deterioration evaluation method having the above-described configuration is based on the invention described in claim 2 as a method invention, the operation thereof is the same as that of the invention described in claim 2.

A tire deterioration evaluation method according to a seventh aspect of the invention is the tire deterioration evaluation method according to the sixth aspect, wherein a tire holding step for holding a tire to be evaluated and a displacement of a ground contact surface of the tire are determined. It has a control process of moving and posture controlling the tire to a position where it can be measured or a position where the ground contact surface can be photographed.
Since the tire deterioration evaluation method having the above-described configuration is based on the invention cited in claim 2 among the inventions described in claim 3, the operation is claimed in the invention described in claim 3. This is the same as the invention cited in item 2.

The tire deterioration evaluation program according to claim 8 is a program executed by a computer for tire deterioration evaluation. The tire deterioration evaluation program measures displacement of a tire contact surface to measure a peak portion and a groove portion of the contact surface. Displacement measuring step for generating distance data that enables discrimination, an imaging step for photographing the ground plane to generate ground plane image data, and combining the distance data and the ground plane image data to produce composite image data And a binarized ground plane image data by binarizing the evaluation area extracted in order to detect cracks from the groove area of the ground plane in the synthetic image data A binarization processing step to generate, and an area calculation step of calculating first area data by calculating an area of a white image data region or a black image data region in the binarized ground plane image data An evaluation process for generating first evaluation rank data by evaluating the first area data of the white image data area or the black image data area with a first evaluation threshold data set in advance for evaluating deterioration And an output step of outputting the first area data and / or the first evaluation rank data.
In the tire deterioration evaluation program having the above-described configuration, since the tire deterioration evaluation method described in claim 6 is an invention that is grasped as a program invention, the operation thereof is the same as that of the invention described in claim 6.

The tire deterioration evaluation program according to claim 9 is the tire deterioration evaluation program according to claim 8, and is capable of measuring the tire holding step for holding the tire to be evaluated and the displacement of the contact surface of the tire. A control process for moving and attitude controlling the tire to a proper position or a position where the ground contact surface can be photographed is executed as a pre-process.
Since the tire deterioration evaluation program having the above-described configuration is an invention that captures the tire deterioration evaluation method described in claim 7 as a program invention, the operation thereof is the same as that of the invention described in claim 7.

In the tire deterioration evaluation apparatus according to claim 1 of the present invention, since cracks generated in the groove portion of the tire contact surface can be measured, it is possible to quantitatively evaluate the aging deterioration not due to wear of the tire rubber. Is possible. In addition, while obtaining the distance data by measuring the displacement of the ground plane by the displacement measuring unit, the ground plane image data is obtained by the imaging unit and synthesized with the distance data, so that the groove portion of the ground plane can be detected. The generated crack can be measured with high accuracy.
Furthermore, since the evaluation area is determined in advance in the groove area and the area of the crack is measured, if the area of either the white image data or black image data obtained by the binarization process is calculated, It is also possible to obtain the ratio of.

  In the tire deterioration evaluation apparatus according to claim 2 of the present invention, in addition to the effect of the invention according to claim 1, evaluation rank data is generated, so that it is possible to rank evaluations for tire deterioration. Yes, it can be sorted into ranks. In this way, if classification into ranks is possible, the tires can be ranked according to the deterioration state of the tires, and an effect that the utility value becomes high as a measure of the price in the secondary tire distribution market can be expected. Furthermore, the degree of classification of the rank can be changed according to the degree of subdivision of the first evaluation threshold data for the evaluation rank, and the utility value is useful as a maintenance index such as a tire replacement guide in addition to the price in the market. There is an effect of becoming higher. Therefore, it is possible to improve the safety and economy of the tire.

In the tire deterioration evaluation system according to claim 3 of the present invention, in addition to the effect of the invention according to claim 1 or 2, a tire holding unit, a driving unit, and a control unit that hold and move and control the posture of the tire. By providing the above, deterioration evaluation of a large number of tires can be performed automatically and continuously.
In addition, since attitude control is possible, it is possible to always carry out measurement of cracks for evaluation of tire deterioration at a constant tire position, and it is possible to suppress variations in evaluation quality. It is possible to improve the accuracy of deterioration evaluation.

In the tire deterioration evaluation system according to claim 4 of the present invention, the same effect as that of the invention according to claim 3 can be exhibited.
Furthermore, since the crack area can be calculated using the side image data in addition to the tire contact surface image data, it is possible to perform a more accurate tire deterioration evaluation over the entire tire. Although the tire side does not come into contact with the tire when using the tire as well as the groove on the contact surface, the cracks often cannot be taken unless the tire's internal pressure is high, and the side surface may be damaged by curbs, etc. Although it may not necessarily be high in terms of accuracy from the viewpoint of measurement and calculation of cracks by image processing, it is possible to measure cracks at a site different from the tire contact surface, so the accuracy of the overall tire degradation assessment There is a possibility to contribute to improvement.

In the tire deterioration evaluation system according to claim 5 of the present invention, the same effects as those of the inventions of claims 3 and 4 can be exhibited.
Further, similarly to the invention according to claim 4, the side surface of the tire is also photographed to obtain side image data and second area data, and the evaluation unit uses the first area data in the groove portion of the tire contact surface. It is possible to show both the first evaluation rank data obtained in this way and the second evaluation rank data obtained using the second area data. Therefore, as in the fourth aspect, it is possible to improve the accuracy of the overall tire deterioration evaluation.

  Since the tire deterioration evaluation method according to claim 6 of the present invention is based on the invention according to claim 2 as a method invention, the effect is the same as the effect of the invention according to claim 2.

  Since the tire deterioration evaluation method described in claim 7 of the present invention is based on the invention cited in claim 2 among the inventions described in claim 3 as a method invention, the effect thereof is claimed in claim 3. This is the same as the effect of the invention cited in claim 2 among the inventions described.

  In the tire deterioration evaluation program according to the eighth aspect of the present invention, the tire deterioration evaluation method according to the sixth aspect is an invention that is grasped as a program invention. Therefore, the effect is the effect of the invention according to the sixth aspect. It is the same.

  Since the tire deterioration evaluation program according to claim 9 of the present invention is an invention that captures the tire deterioration evaluation method according to claim 7 as a program invention, the effect thereof is the same as the effect of the invention described in claim 7. It is.

1 is a block diagram of a tire deterioration evaluation apparatus according to a first embodiment of the present invention. It is a flowchart of the tire deterioration evaluation performed by the tire deterioration evaluation apparatus which concerns on the 1st Embodiment of this invention. It is a conceptual diagram for demonstrating the synthesis | combination of distance data and image data obtained by the tire deterioration evaluation apparatus which concerns on the 1st Embodiment of this invention, extraction of an evaluation area | region, and execution of binarization processing. (A) is a conceptual diagram of image data obtained by the tire deterioration evaluation apparatus according to the first embodiment of the present invention, (b) is a conceptual diagram for explaining an evaluation area in the image data, (c) ) Is a conceptual diagram of binarized image data binarized in the evaluation area. It is a block diagram of the tire degradation evaluation system concerning a 2nd embodiment of the present invention. It is a composition conceptual diagram of the tire degradation evaluation system concerning a 2nd embodiment of the present invention. It is a flowchart of the tire deterioration evaluation performed by the tire deterioration evaluation system which concerns on the 2nd Embodiment of this invention.

Hereinafter, a tire deterioration evaluation apparatus according to a first embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. 1 to 4. (In particular, it corresponds to the invention of claim 1, claim 2, claim 6, claim 8)
FIG. 1 is a block diagram of a tire deterioration evaluation apparatus according to a first embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 2 is a flowchart of tire deterioration evaluation executed by the tire deterioration evaluation apparatus according to the first embodiment of the present invention. This figure also represents the execution process for the tire deterioration evaluation method of the present invention and the program executed using the computer. The flow of data processing in the tire deterioration evaluation apparatus 1 will be described with reference to this figure. This is synonymous with the description of the tire deterioration evaluation method and the embodiment of the program. In FIG. 2, what is indicated by a broken line so as to cover the description about the process is a component of the tire deterioration evaluation apparatus 1 shown in FIG.
FIG. 3 is a conceptual diagram for explaining the synthesis of distance data and image data obtained by the tire deterioration evaluation apparatus according to the first embodiment of the present invention, the evaluation area extraction, and the execution of the binarization process. is there. 4A is a conceptual diagram of image data obtained by the tire deterioration evaluation apparatus according to the first embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 4B is a conceptual diagram for explaining an evaluation area in the image data. (C) is a conceptual diagram of the binarized image data binarized in the evaluation area.
In FIG. 1, the tire deterioration evaluation apparatus 1 includes a processing database 6 and an evaluation database 7 as a displacement measuring unit 4, an imaging unit 5, a processing unit 3, an output unit 2, and a database group. The tire deterioration evaluation device 1 can be assumed to be a portable device that can be evaluated by bringing these components together and taking it close to the surface of the ground contact surface of a used tire. Alternatively, the displacement measuring unit 4 and the imaging unit 5 may be separated as sensors and provided separately, and the apparatus may be a device that transmits data to the processing unit 3 by wire or wirelessly.

Hereinafter, description will be made with reference to FIGS.
The displacement measuring unit 4 of the tire deterioration evaluation apparatus 1 is arranged perpendicular to the ground contact surface on which a so-called tread pattern of the tire is formed, and can detect a peak portion and a groove portion of the tread pattern formed on the ground contact surface. It measures unevenness. Specifically, it is measured as distance data between the displacement measuring unit 4. Therefore, if the difference between the distance data of the peak portion and the groove portion is taken, it is possible to obtain the depth of the groove portion relative to the peak portion or the height of the peak portion relative to the groove portion. That is, a so-called remaining groove can be obtained. As the sensor used as the displacement measuring unit 4, it is possible to use a sensor that radiates electromagnetic waves such as laser light or infrared rays or ultrasonic waves and detects the reflected waves to measure the distance. Further, if the displacement measuring unit 4 is configured to scan the ground contact surface of the tire, the distance measuring unit 4 can perform distance measurement that enables discrimination between a peak portion and a groove portion of the tread pattern over the width of the tire. It is the displacement measuring step of step S1 that measures the displacement on the ground contact surface of the tire using the displacement measuring unit 4.

In this embodiment, the displacement of the tire contact surface is measured not only by quantitatively measuring the depth of the remaining groove (remaining groove), but also by the tread pattern on the tire contact surface. This is for measuring cracks and cracks in the groove. The reason why the groove portion is thus selected and measured will be described. Unlike used tires, used tires handled by the present invention are worn out by using the ground contact surface. Therefore, cracks due to deterioration over time are unlikely to occur, and on the other hand, sudden damage or chipping may occur at the peak portion of the contact surface with use. These scratches and chips are also important for tire quality, so detection is of course important, but if you try to detect cracks and cracks associated with the pure deterioration of the rubber material due to ageing itself, errors are likely to occur and It is difficult to ensure high accuracy for evaluation.
Therefore, focusing on the cracks and cracks generated in the groove portion of the ground contact surface that does not contact the ground even under normal use, it was decided to evaluate the aging deterioration by the cracks and cracks generated in the groove portion.
In order to be able to select the groove accurately, it is necessary to measure the displacement so that the crest and groove of the tread pattern can be distinguished.

The imaging unit 5 captures a tire ground contact surface including a tread pattern, and an already known CCD sensor or CMOS sensor can be used. The imaging unit 5 may also have a scanning function. However, since the imaging device can capture an image in a plane, the scanning function is often unnecessary. In this step S3, the object to be measured is imaged by photographing the ground contact surface of the tire using the imaging unit 5.
The distance measuring unit 8 of the processing unit 3 generates distance data 15 while A / D converting the analog data obtained by the displacement measuring unit 4 and stores it in the processing database 6 so that it can be read. Is the distance measurement calculation step of step S2. A specific image of the distance data 15 is shown in the uppermost layer among the five layers of data represented in FIG. The distance data 15 includes distance data that can be discriminated between the tire peak 61 and the tire groove 60 with the boundary 62 interposed therebetween. Moreover, the data regarding the depth (remaining groove) of the remaining groove | channel as a difference of the distance of the tire peak part 61 and the tire groove part 60 is also contained. The hatching in the tire peak portion 61 expresses a region higher than the tire groove portion 60 for convenience.
In the present embodiment, the displacement measuring unit 4 and the distance measuring unit 8 are provided separately, but the displacement measuring unit 4 having both functions may be integrated. In that case, step S1 and step S2 may be combined to form a displacement measurement process.
The image processing unit 9 generates image data 16 while A / D converting the analog data obtained by the imaging unit 5 and stores it in the processing database 6 so that it can be read. It is a process. Similarly, a specific image of the image data 16 is as indicated by reference numeral 16 as the second layer from the top in FIG. According to the image data 16, the tire crest 61 touches the road surface during traveling, so that a scratch 63 and a chip 65 are generated. On the other hand, a crack 64 as a result of pure aging is generated in the tire groove portion 60 that does not contact the road surface during traveling.
The actual used tire surface is as shown in FIG. Although it may be difficult to see in this photograph, there is a crack in the groove formed horizontally in the center. However, at the peak of the tire, it seems that no cracks or cracks are generated due to friction, and at the same time, fine scratches caused by contact with the road surface can be observed.
Similarly, the image processing unit 9 may be integrated with the imaging unit 5 and may be the imaging unit 5 having both functions. In that case, step S3 and step S4 may be combined to form the measurement target imaging step. Moreover, step S1,2 and step S3,4 do not need to be performed in this order, step S3,4 may be performed and step S1,2 may be performed after that.
Further, in the present embodiment, the distance data 15 and the image data 16 are obtained by using separate sensors, ie, the displacement measuring unit 4 and the imaging unit 5, but as described above, a distance image sensor having these two functions, etc. The distance data 15 and the image data 16 may be acquired from one sensor.

The distance image synthesizing unit 10 of the processing unit 3 synthesizes the distance data 15 obtained by the distance calculating unit 8 and the image data 16 obtained by the image processing unit 9 to generate synthesized image data 17 so that it can be read out. 6, the process is the distance image synthesis process of step S5. A specific image of the composite image data 17 is as indicated by reference numeral 17 in the center layer of FIG. In the composite image data 17, the information included in the distance data 15 and the information included in the image data 16 are superimposed. The combination of the distance data 15 and the image data 16 is performed by, for example, a method in which areas that are measured and photographed by the displacement measuring unit 4 and the imaging unit 5 are set in advance in an equivalent manner, or a common marker is used. Any method may be used, such as a method of positioning and synthesizing by making them coincide with each other, a method of processing both data, extracting a common portion, and synthesizing them. Also, generally known image synthesis methods may be used.
In the case of using the distance image sensor, the distance image synthesis unit 10 is not required to be provided because the function is provided in advance in the distance image sensor, and is combined as one process from step S1 to step S5. It is possible to capture.

The evaluation area extraction unit 11 selects a groove portion of the ground plane from the composite image data 17 and extracts and determines an evaluation region in the groove portion, and this process is the evaluation area extraction step of step S6. . Since the composite image data 17 includes image data 16 relating to the ground plane and distance data 15 relating to the height of the ground plane, the location of the low distance data 15 is selected as a groove on the ground plane, It is possible to extract an evaluation region in the groove.
The evaluation region 66 on the composite image data 17 in the fourth layer from the top in FIG. 3 conceptually shows a state in which the evaluation region is extracted by selecting the groove. The evaluation area 66 may be preliminarily stored as data in the evaluation area extraction unit 11 and the width of the evaluation area 66 may be determined by searching for a tire groove 60 that can be accommodated. Or you may make it change so that it may spread in the tire groove part 60 so that it may not reach the boundary part 62. FIG. In the present embodiment, the evaluation region 66 is shown as a rectangle, but the shape is not limited to a rectangle, and may be any shape such as a circle, an ellipse, or another polygon.
Further, the area in the region where the evaluation region 66 is shown in the image may be calculated using the distance data 15 or the like. By calculating the area of the evaluation area 66, when the image data 16 in the evaluation area 66 is binarized, the area of either the black image data or the white image data is calculated, and By subtracting from the area, the area of the other image data can be obtained. It is also possible to calculate the ratio to the evaluation area 66 after calculating any area.
FIG. 4B conceptually shows the evaluation area 66 although it is on the image data 16.

The binarization processing unit 12 performs binarization processing that converts the image data 16 in the evaluation area extracted in the groove portion in the composite image data 17 into two gradations of black and white according to a predetermined threshold. The image data 18 is generated and stored in the processing database 6 so that it can be read out. This step is the binarization processing step in step S7. A specific image of the binarized image data 18 is the binarized image data 18 indicated by reference numeral 18 in the lowermost layer of FIG. Only the inside of the evaluation region 66 is binarized, and the crack 64 existing inside the bin is shown as a binarized crack 67. In the present embodiment, the crack 64 existing in the tire groove portion 60 is expressed as a black state darker than the surroundings and binarized, but in the case of a black state lighter than the surroundings, the cracks are binary. It may be obtained as white image data after conversion. In this embodiment, the binarization process is performed without inversion at the image processing stage. However, the binarization process may be performed with black and white inversion at the previous stage.
FIG. 4C is a binarized image data of the evaluation area 66 extracted in FIG. 4B. In addition, this photograph has been subjected to binarization processing after black and white reversal. Accordingly, the portion that appears white (white image data region) becomes the region of the binarized crack 67.

Further, the area calculation unit 13 calculates the area of one or both of the black image data and the white image data in the binarized image data 18 to generate the area data 19 and stores it in the processing database 6 so as to be readable. This process is the area calculation process of step S8. If the area calculation unit 13 itself has the area of the evaluation area as data in advance, the area data 19 is calculated by calculating one of the black image data and the white image data, so that the difference from the area of the evaluation area is calculated. It is possible to calculate the other. The area calculation unit 13 can also calculate the area ratio of the black image data area and the white image data area to each other, the area ratio of the evaluation area 66, and the like.
The evaluation unit 14 reads the evaluation threshold data 20 stored in the evaluation database 7 in advance, evaluates the area data 19 obtained by the area calculation unit 13, generates the evaluation rank data 21, and can read the evaluation data. 7 and the process is the evaluation process of step S9. The evaluation threshold data 20 is data in which a threshold and a rank according to the size of the area data 19 are associated with each other, and the evaluation unit 14 can rank by comparing the evaluation threshold data 20 and the area data 19. Yes.
The ranking shown by the evaluation unit 14 can classify the tires into ranks according to the deterioration state of the tires, and exhibits an effect that it is easy to understand as an index. Therefore, for example, the utility value as a measure of the price in the secondary tire market and the utility value as a measure of tire replacement are increased, and the safety and economy of the used tire can be improved. Since the rank can be changed roughly or in detail by widening or narrowing the interval between the respective thresholds in the evaluation threshold data 20, ranking according to the application is possible. The rank may be any one of alphabets such as A and B, Kanji characters such as A, B, suitable and not, and numbers such as 1 and 2.

The output unit 2 outputs the result of each processing content executed by each unit included in the processing unit 3 directly as output data 22 or reads out data from each database and outputs it as output data 22 to the outside. The process is the output process of step S10. Specific examples of the output unit 2 include a display device such as a CRT, liquid crystal, plasma, or organic EL, an output device such as a printer device, and a transmitter such as a transmitter for transmission to an external device. . Of course, it may be an interface for output for transmission to an external device.
The processing database 6 is a database that stores the distance data 15, the image data 16, the composite image data 17, the binarized image data 18, and the area data 19 processed by the processing unit 3 in a readable manner.
The evaluation database 7 is a database that stores the evaluation threshold data 20 used for the tire deterioration evaluation by the evaluation unit 14 and the evaluation rank data 21 after evaluation in a readable manner.
As described above, according to the tire deterioration evaluation apparatus 1 according to the present embodiment, the ridges and the grooves on the ground contact surface of the tire are distinguished, and cracks and cracks in the grooves that are not affected by wear due to the use of the tire are detected. It is possible to measure. Therefore, it is possible to measure only cracks and cracks caused by the influence of aging deterioration, and to perform quantitative deterioration evaluation. Furthermore, as already described, rank evaluation is also possible by the evaluation unit. In the present embodiment, the invention is described as an apparatus, but the process of processing data using the apparatus can be considered as a method invention or a program invention for executing a computer. The effect is the same as that of the device invention already described. The same applies to the system invention according to the second embodiment to be described.

Next, a tire deterioration evaluation system according to a second embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. (Especially corresponding to the inventions of claims 3 to 5, 7, and 9)
The tire deterioration evaluation system 1a according to the second embodiment is an embodiment in which the tire deterioration evaluation apparatus 1 shown in the first embodiment is incorporated in a system including a robot and the like.
FIG. 5 is a block diagram of a tire deterioration evaluation system according to the second embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 6 is a conceptual diagram of the configuration of the tire deterioration evaluation system according to the second embodiment. FIG. 7 is a flowchart of tire deterioration evaluation executed by the tire deterioration evaluation system according to the second embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 7 also represents the execution process for the tire deterioration evaluation method and the computer program executed using the computer of the present invention, and the flow of data processing in the tire deterioration evaluation system 1a will be described with reference to this figure. This is synonymous with the description of the tire deterioration evaluation method and the embodiment of the program.
5 and 6, the tire 40 measured by the tire deterioration evaluation system 1 a is used for a tire gripping robot 50 including a tire holding unit 41, a drive unit 42, and a control unit 43. In the present embodiment, the tire gripping robot 50 is not included in the tire deterioration evaluation system 1a, but it goes without saying that the tire gripping robot 50 may be included.

Hereinafter, a description will be given with reference to FIG.
The tire deterioration evaluation system 1a includes an input unit 30 and inputs tire information such as tire manufacturing data 32 and tire specification data 33 to the input database 31 so as to be readable as input data 37. This is a tire information input step of S1. The tire manufacturing data 32 means data such as tire manufacturer, date of manufacture, tire product name, and the like, and refers to data relating to the manufacture and manufacturer of the tire. The tire specification data 33 means data such as tire dimensions, flatness ratio, tire type (use), and the like, and refers to data related to the tire specifications.
Specific examples of the input unit 30 include a keyboard, a mouse, a pen tablet, an optical reader, an analysis device such as a computer, a receiving device that receives data from a measuring device, etc. via a communication line, or a single device or a plurality of types of devices. A device that can be used properly according to the purpose. Further, it may be an interface for input to the tire deterioration evaluation system 1a.
Further, the tire 40 is arranged in advance on the tire rack 54, and an image of the side surface is photographed by the side surface imaging unit 5b supported by the sensor support column 57. This process is step S2.

Next, the tire holding part 41 approaches the tires 40 arranged on the tire rack 54 by the action of the drive part 42 and the control part 43 to fix the tire 40. This process is the tire of step S3. It is a fixing process. In the present embodiment, as shown in FIG. 6, the tire gripping robot 50 includes a support shaft 53 that holds the wheel 44 of the tire 40 by the tire holding portion 41 at the end, and fixes the tire 40. be able to.
Further, the displacement measuring unit supported by the ground plane imaging unit 5 a installed on the sensor column 55 and the beam 56 extending from the sensor column 55 while operating the arm 51 and the joint 52 by the drive unit 42 and the control unit 43. 4 controls the posture so that the contact surface of the tire 40 can be measured. This process is the tire movement / posture control process of step S4.
In the tire deterioration evaluation system 1a, in addition to the displacement measuring unit 4, the imaging unit is divided into the ground plane imaging unit 5a and the side imaging unit 5b, both of which are fixed to the sensor column 55 and the sensor column 57. The measurement and evaluation of cracks are performed by moving the tire 40 to be measured / evaluated and controlling the posture. The sensors constituting these are the same as the sensors of the imaging unit 5 already described.
Accordingly, in FIG. 7, the tire movement / posture control process is shown as step S4. However, there are processes similar to step S4 in the previous stages of steps S5, 6 and steps S7, 8 respectively. Yes.
Further, in steps S5 to S14 after step S4, processes and components unique to the tire degradation evaluation system 1a will be described as compared with the tire degradation evaluation apparatus 1, and the other processes and components are the same. Omitted because there is.

The displacement measurement by the displacement measuring unit 4 in step S5 may be measured not only on the ground contact surface of the tire 40 but also on the side surface (sidewall portion). That is, the distance data 15 in the processing database 6 includes both distance data for the tire ground contact surface and the tire side surface. The tread pattern is uneven on the ground surface, but the tire specifications, manufacturer name, brand name, etc. are also formed on the side surface of the tire 40 in a convex shape. The edge portion of the outermost flange of the wheel can also be discriminated. Therefore, it is possible to discriminate not only the groove on the ground surface but also the side that does not contact the road surface as well as the specifications and anything that is not a letter or a boundary with the wheel, such as cracks or cracks in that part. Can also be measured.
Further, the tire deterioration evaluation system 1a includes a sensor that photographs the ground contact surface independently of the side surface image capturing portion 5b as the ground contact surface image capturing portion 5a. Note that the image processing unit 9 performs the same processing independently not only on the ground plane imaging unit 5a but also on the image captured by the side imaging unit 5b in step S8. The content of the processing is the same as that of the image processing unit 9 in the tire deterioration evaluation apparatus 1. Accordingly, the processing database 6 includes both the tire contact surface and the image data for the tire side surface separately.
Similarly, in the distance image composition by the distance image composition unit 10 in step S9, the distance data 15 and the image data 16 on the tire contact surface and the tire side surface are independently synthesized. The content of the processing is the same as that of the distance image synthesis unit 10 in the tire deterioration evaluation apparatus 1. Therefore, the processing database 6 includes both the tire contact surface and the composite image data for the tire side surface independently.
The following evaluation region extraction step in step S10 by the evaluation region extraction unit 11, binarization processing step in step S11 by the binarization processing unit 12, area calculation step in step S12 by the area calculation unit 13, and step S13 by the evaluation unit 14 This is the same for the evaluation process of step S14 by the output unit 2. Accordingly, it is possible to output only the data and evaluation relating to the tire contact surface, it is possible to output only the data and evaluation relating to the tire side surface, and it is possible to output both.
In the present embodiment, at the time of displacement measurement by the displacement measurement unit 4 and photographing using the ground plane imaging unit 5a and the side imaging unit 5b, the tire movement in step S4 by the drive unit 42 and the control unit 43, respectively, as described above. -Since the attitude control process is executed, it is possible to set the measurement and shooting range to a specific range. Therefore, by controlling the generation of the composite image data 17 by the distance image composition unit 10 in advance, the distance data 15 and the image data 16 can be positioned for composition by hardware rather than processing by software. .
The evaluation threshold data 20 used in the evaluation process by the evaluation unit 14 uses different data so that the evaluation based on the area data 19 on the tire contact surface and the evaluation based on the area data 19 on the tire side surface can be performed independently. Also good. Further, the evaluation rank for the tire contact surface and the evaluation rank for the tire side surface are, for example, 10-stage numbers, and an average value thereof is obtained so that the evaluation of the tire contact surface and the tire side surface is combined into a comprehensive evaluation rank. Good.

Further, in the present embodiment, the displacement was measured also on the tire side surface in the same manner as the contact surface. However, since the unevenness on the tire side surface is smaller than the unevenness on the contact surface, the accuracy of distance data may not be guaranteed. . In that case, only the contact surface is measured and evaluated in the same manner as the tire deterioration evaluation apparatus 1 without using the displacement measuring unit 4 for the tire side surface. For the side surface, it is preferable to acquire only the image data by the side imaging unit 5b without measuring the displacement, extract the evaluation region 66, perform binarization processing and area calculation in the region, and evaluate the deterioration. In particular, in the measurement of cracks on the tire side surface, it is possible to emphasize the cracks by increasing the internal pressure of the tire, so it is necessary to determine the conditions for the internal pressure of the tire during measurement.
Further, as a method for extracting the evaluation area 66 for the tire side image data, the boundary data 35 is stored in advance in the evaluation database 7 from only the side image data 16 photographed by the side imaging unit 5b, and compared with this. In this case, the evaluation area 66 may be extracted from an area not included in the boundary data 35 by determining the area such as a wheel or a character. That is, there is a method in which the evaluation area extraction unit 11 extracts the evaluation area 66 while performing image processing on the side image data 16 using the boundary data 35.

Next, a modified example of evaluation in the evaluation unit 14 of the tire deterioration evaluation system 1a will be described. As already described, since tire manufacturing data 32 is input via the input unit 30 in the present embodiment, the tire deterioration evaluation system 1a is provided with the time measuring unit 34 in the processing unit 3, and the time measuring unit 34 is provided. Recognizes the time when the measurement / evaluation is being performed, the difference in the production time included in the tire production data 32 can be taken to calculate the tire usage period. Therefore, it can be generated as aged deterioration data 36 and stored in the evaluation database 7 so as to be readable, and the evaluation unit 14 can incorporate this into the evaluation as aged deterioration with time. In addition, the evaluation threshold data 20 stored in the evaluation database 7 can be ranked with respect to the aging deterioration by including a threshold for the aging deterioration with the passage of time.
In addition, in the tire deterioration evaluation system 1a, since data on the crack area on both the tire ground contact surface and the tire side surface and the period of use from the date of manufacture are obtained, these are shown independently for quantitative evaluation. For example, with respect to the area of cracks on the tire contact surface and the side surface, the evaluation unit 14 executes an average value or multiplication with a coefficient for weighting as described above. It is possible to evaluate the deterioration of the side surfaces separately and individually, and it is also possible to make a comprehensive deterioration evaluation considering both the ground contact surface and the side surfaces. Furthermore, it is good also as comprehensive evaluation, after considering the aging deterioration concerning simple time to this.
Next, an output example by the output unit 2 when actually measured is shown in Table 1, and a result of ranking evaluation is shown in Table 2.

In Table 1, the tire width, flatness ratio, and rim diameter are obtained from the tire specification data 33, the groove depth is based on the measurement of the groove portion of the ground contact surface by the displacement measuring unit 4, and the groove width is the displacement measurement. This is based on the measurement of the groove portion of the ground plane by the section 4 or the imaging section 5 (the ground plane imaging section 5a). Further, the crack measurement area, black area, and white area of the groove are obtained by the area calculation unit 13, and the groove crack area ratio is also an area calculation unit as a ratio of the black area (the area of the crack region) to the groove / crack measurement area. 13 is calculated.
Furthermore, the manufacturing year (year) is data included in the tire manufacturing data 32. The difference from the current year (year) obtained by the time measuring unit 34 is taken, and aged deterioration (due to simple time) is performed for four years. it's shown. Of course, if the year of manufacture is obtained as detailed data for this aging deterioration, it can be displayed in detail because the current time is obtained as the date.
Next, in Table 2, since the groove depth was sufficient as 5.3 mm in Table 1, “S” was displayed as the evaluation rank, and the groove / crack area ratio was sufficient as 28.5%. “A” rank, and similarly, the side portion / crack area ratio was 30.0%, which is sufficient, so it is “A” rank. Furthermore, since the aging deterioration with respect to a simple time passage is 4 years, the evaluation is slightly lowered and becomes “B” rank. “A” rank is given as a comprehensive evaluation of these. At the time of this comprehensive evaluation, a coefficient for weighting may be set for each evaluation to make a comprehensive determination, or a score is assigned to each evaluation rank, and the total score or average score is combined. A threshold value for evaluation may be set.
Since the data and evaluations shown in these tables are carried out for each tire, if it is a table for each vehicle, four rows of data and evaluations are obtained for four tires, or the average of the four data It is good also as a whole evaluation by taking.

  As described above, in the tire deterioration evaluation system 1a, a large number of tires can be automatically and continuously measured and evaluated in combination with the tire gripping robot 50. Further, by evaluating cracks and cracks not only on the tire ground contact surface but also on the groove portion (flat surface portion) on the tire side surface, it is possible to increase the possibility of improving accuracy as compared with the case of only the tire ground contact surface.

  As described above, the invention described in claims 1 to 9 of the present invention can quantitatively evaluate the deterioration of used tires, and the owner can perform tire maintenance or taxi for private cars. It can be widely used by companies and bus companies for maintenance of their own commercial vehicles, maintenance and inspection of customer cars by car dealers and private car factories, and assessment of tire value by used car dealers. .

  DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 ... Tire deterioration evaluation system 1a ... Tire deterioration evaluation system 2 ... Output part 3 ... Processing part 4 ... Displacement measurement part 5 ... Imaging part 5a ... Ground surface imaging part 5b ... Side surface imaging part 6 ... Processing database 7 ... Evaluation database 8 ... Distance calculation unit 9 ... Image processing unit 10 ... Distance image synthesis unit 11 ... Evaluation area extraction unit 12 ... Binarization processing unit 13 ... Area calculation unit 14 ... Evaluation unit 15 ... Distance data 16 ... Image data 17 ... Composite image data DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 18 ... Binary image data 19 ... Area data 20 ... Evaluation threshold value data 21 ... Evaluation rank data 22 ... Output data 30 ... Input part 31 ... Input database 32 ... Tire manufacturing data 33 ... Tire specification data 34 ... Timing part 35 ... Boundary Data 36 ... Aged deterioration data 37 ... Input data 40 ... Tire 41 ... Tire holding part 42 ... Drive part DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 43 ... Control part 44 ... Wheel 50 ... Tire gripping robot 51 ... Arm 52 ... Joint 53 ... Support shaft 54 ... Tire rack 55 ... Sensor support | pillar 56 ... Beam 57 ... Sensor support | pillar 60 ... Tire groove part 61 ... Tire peak part 62 ... Boundary part 63 ... Scratches 64 ... Cracks 65 ... Chips 66 ... Evaluation area 67 ... Binary cracks

Claims (9)

  A displacement measuring unit that measures the displacement of the ground contact surface of the tire to generate distance data that enables discrimination between the ridge and the groove of the ground contact surface, and an imaging unit that captures the ground contact surface and generates the contact surface image data And a distance image composition unit that synthesizes the distance data and the ground plane image data to generate composite image data, and is extracted to detect cracks from the groove area of the ground plane in the composite image data. A binarization processing unit that binarizes the evaluation area to generate binarized ground plane image data, and calculates the area of the white image data area or the black image data area in the binarized ground plane image data A tire deterioration evaluation apparatus, comprising: an area calculation unit that generates first area data; and an output unit that outputs the first area data. An evaluation unit that evaluates the first area data of the white image data region or the black image data region with a first evaluation threshold data set in advance for evaluating deterioration and generates first evaluation rank data; The tire deterioration evaluation device according to claim 1, wherein the output unit outputs the first evaluation rank data. The tire deterioration evaluation device according to claim 1, a tire holding portion that holds a tire to be evaluated, a drive portion that makes the tire holding portion movable, and the tire that is used as the tire deterioration evaluation device. A tire deterioration evaluation system comprising: a control unit that moves and positions the tire holding unit at a position that can be measured by a displacement measuring unit and a position that can be imaged by an imaging unit.   The imaging unit of the tire deterioration evaluation apparatus includes a ground plane imaging unit that captures a ground plane of the tire and generates ground plane image data, and a side imaging unit that captures a side surface of the tire and generates side image data. The binarization processing unit binarizes the evaluation area extracted to detect cracks in the side image data, generates binarized side image data, and calculates the area calculation. The unit calculates the area of the white image data area or the black image data area of the binarized side face image data in addition to the first area data related to the binarized ground plane image data, and generates second area data. The tire deterioration evaluation system according to claim 3, wherein the output unit outputs the first area data and / or the second area data. The tire deterioration evaluation device according to claim 2, a tire holding unit that holds a tire to be evaluated, a drive unit that makes the tire holding unit movable, and a displacement measuring unit of the tire deterioration evaluation device. A control unit that moves and attitude-controls the tire holding unit to a measurable position and a position that can be photographed by the imaging unit,
The imaging unit of the tire deterioration evaluation apparatus includes a ground plane imaging unit that captures a ground plane of the tire and generates ground plane image data, and a side imaging unit that captures a side surface of the tire and generates side image data. The binarization processing unit binarizes the evaluation area extracted to detect cracks in the side image data, generates binarized side image data, and calculates the area calculation. In addition to the first area data related to the binarized ground plane image data, the unit calculates the area of the white image data area or the black image data area of the binarized side surface image data and obtains the second area data. And the evaluation unit evaluates the second area data in addition to the first evaluation rank data by using second evaluation threshold data set in advance to evaluate the deterioration, and the second area data. Generate evaluation rank data and output , The first area data and / or the second area data and the first rating rank data and / or tire deterioration evaluation system and outputs a second evaluation rank data.   Displacement measuring step for measuring the displacement of the ground contact surface of the tire to generate distance data that enables discrimination between the crest and the groove of the ground contact surface, and an imaging step for capturing the ground contact surface and generating the contact surface image data A distance image composition step of combining the distance data and the ground contact surface image data to generate composite image data; and extracted from the composite image data to detect cracks from the groove area of the ground contact surface. A binarization processing step for binarizing the evaluation area to generate binarized ground plane image data, and calculating an area of a white image data area or a black image data area in the binarized ground plane image data Then, the area calculation step of generating the first area data and the first area data of the white image data area or the black image data area with the first evaluation threshold data set in advance for evaluating the deterioration Evaluate An evaluation step of generating a first evaluation rank data, tire deterioration evaluation method characterized by and an output step of outputting the first area data and / or the first evaluation rank data.   A tire holding step for holding the tire to be evaluated and a control step for controlling the movement and posture of the tire to a position where the displacement of the ground contact surface of the tire can be measured or a position where the ground contact surface can be photographed are included as pre-processes. The tire deterioration evaluation method according to claim 6.   A displacement measurement step, which is a program executed for tire deterioration evaluation by a computer, and that generates a distance data that enables a discrimination between a peak portion and a groove portion of the contact surface by measuring a displacement of the contact surface of the tire. An imaging step of photographing the ground plane to generate ground plane image data, a distance image synthesis step of synthesizing the distance data and the ground plane image data to generate composite image data, and the composite image data A binarization processing step of generating binarized ground plane image data by binarizing the evaluation area extracted in order to detect cracks from the groove area of the ground plane; and the binarized ground plane An area calculation step of calculating the area of a white image data area or a black image data area of image data to generate first area data, and a first surface of the white image data area or black image data area An evaluation step of evaluating data with first evaluation threshold value data predetermined for evaluating deterioration to generate first evaluation rank data; and the first area data and / or the first evaluation An output process for outputting rank data, and a tire deterioration evaluation program.   A tire holding step for holding the tire to be evaluated and a control step for controlling the movement and posture of the tire to a position where the displacement of the ground contact surface of the tire can be measured or a position where the ground contact surface can be photographed are executed as pre-processes. The tire deterioration evaluation program according to claim 8, wherein the tire deterioration evaluation program is executed.