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A flat tire is not something conventionally coveted by a car owner, and understandably so: it’s one of the most inconvenient things to have to deal with. But Mercedes-Benz might just be incorporating this inefficiency into a system that might help in emergencies.
A patent was filed by Daimler AG, the owners of Mercedes-Benz, for a braking device that will make a car’s tires go flat in order to slow the vehicle down just in case the regular braking system fails.
Unearthed by CarBuzz, the system described in the patent comprises a central control unit and an air pressure reduction unit which are connected straight to the tires. According to the news outlet, the patent states that it was designed with an electric or hybrid vehicle in mind, but can also be extended to cars with traditional combustion engines.
There’s a risk of the tires becoming too flat, which might cause them to fall off the rim entirely. However, Daimler has endeavored to prevent this by connecting the system to all four tires. Although only one tire will have its air released at first, it could also work its way to the other three.
After the tire pressure reduction, the top speed of the car will also be slowed, and a warning system will inform the driver of what’s happening.
This comes in handy due to how electric vehicles (EVs) are designed to brake. Two systems are available to choose from in any situation—braking via the electric motor, or braking via friction—both activatable when the driver pushes down on the brake pedal.
However, that places a lot of responsibility on the drive-by-wire system, which, like most others, are susceptible to the “what if.” Thus, this tire-flattening system will act as a safety net. It would only kick in when the actuator master unit comes across a simple error, or, in the worst-case scenario, fails entirely.
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