Apparatus and method for sensing a condition of a vehicle tire
First Claim
1. A tire condition sensor module for a vehicle comprising:
- a tire condition sensor operative to sense a tire condition of an associated vehicle tire and provide a tire condition signal having a characteristic indicative thereof;
a motion detector operative to detect movement of the associated vehicle tire and to provide a motion signal having a characteristic indicating movement of the associated vehicle tire;
a transmitter operative to transmit a tire transmitter signal having a characteristic based on the tire condition signal; and
a controller having one operating mode responsive to the motion signal in which said controller controls said transmitter to intermittently transmit the tire transmitter signal, said controller having another operating mode responsive to the motion signal in which said controller controls said transmitter to transmit the tire transmitter signal only after said controller determines that the tire condition signal indicates that the sensed tire condition is at least one of below and above a first predetermined tire condition threshold, said controller controlling said tire condition sensor to sense tire condition during each of said operating modes.
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0 Petitions
Accused Products
Abstract
A tire condition sensor module (14) for a vehicle (10) includes a tire condition sensor (78, 84, 88) operative to sense a condition of an associated vehicle tire (20) and provide a tire condition signal having a characteristic indicative thereof. A motion detector (32) is operative to detect movement of the associated vehicle tire (20) and provide a motion signal that indicates movement of the associated vehicle tire (20). The sensor module (14) also includes a transmitter (44) which is operative to transmit a tire transmitter signal having a characteristic based on the tire condition signal. A controller (74) has one operating mode responsive to the motion signal in which the controller (74) controls the transmitter (44) to intermittently transmit the tire transmitter signal. The controller (74) has another operating mode also responsive to the motion signal in which the controller controls the transmitter (44) to transmit the tire transmitter signal only after the controller determines that the tire condition signal indicates that the sensed tire condition is either above or below a first predetermined threshold. The controller (74) also controls the tire condition sensor (78, 84, 88) to sense the tire condition of the associated vehicle tire (20) during each of the operating modes.
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Citations
16 Claims
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1. A tire condition sensor module for a vehicle comprising:
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a tire condition sensor operative to sense a tire condition of an associated vehicle tire and provide a tire condition signal having a characteristic indicative thereof;
a motion detector operative to detect movement of the associated vehicle tire and to provide a motion signal having a characteristic indicating movement of the associated vehicle tire;
a transmitter operative to transmit a tire transmitter signal having a characteristic based on the tire condition signal; and
a controller having one operating mode responsive to the motion signal in which said controller controls said transmitter to intermittently transmit the tire transmitter signal, said controller having another operating mode responsive to the motion signal in which said controller controls said transmitter to transmit the tire transmitter signal only after said controller determines that the tire condition signal indicates that the sensed tire condition is at least one of below and above a first predetermined tire condition threshold, said controller controlling said tire condition sensor to sense tire condition during each of said operating modes. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10)
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11. A method for monitoring a condition of a vehicle tire, said method comprising the steps of:
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detecting movement of the vehicle tire;
providing a motion signal indicative of detected movement;
determining whether the motion signal indicates movement of the vehicle tire;
periodically activating a sensor to sense a condition of the vehicle tire;
providing a tire condition signal having a characteristic indicative of the sensed condition of the vehicle tire;
intermittently transmitting tire condition data based on the tire condition signal at a first rate when the motion signal indicates at least a first amount of detected movement of the vehicle tire; and
transmitting tire condition data only after determining that the tire condition signal indicates that the sensed tire condition is at least one of below and above a first predetermined threshold when the motion signal indicates less than the first amount of detected movement of the vehicle tire. - View Dependent Claims (12, 13, 14, 15, 16)
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Specification