Tire information detecting system

• US 20040201466A1
• Filed: 04/05/2004
• Published: 10/14/2004
• Est. Priority Date: 04/10/2003
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Alps Alpine Co., Ltd.
• Original Assignee: ALPS Electric Company Limited (Alps Alpine Co., Ltd.)
• Inventors: Ikeda, Koji, Ota, Naobumi
• Granted Patent: US 7,068,157 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 340/442
• CPC Class Codes: B60C 23/0408 transmitting the signals by non-mechanical means from the wheel or tyre to a vehicle body mounted receiver
• CPC Class Codes: B60C 23/0462 Structure of transmission protocol

Abstract

A tire information detecting system includes a plurality of tire information output units that sense and output tire information corresponding to respective tires at predetermined intervals and a tire information detecting unit that detects tire conditions based on the tire information transmitted from the tire information output units while a vehicle is being driven. Every time the tire information detecting unit normally completes processing of one of the tire information signals, the tire information detecting unit changes priority in the tire information so as to assign the lowest priority to the processed tire information signal. When the plurality of tire information output units transmit a plurality of the tire information signals while the tire information detecting unit is ready for reception, the tire information detecting unit processes one of the tire information signals having a higher priority and discards processes of the other tire information signals.

Claims

1. A tire information detecting system comprising:

a plurality of tire information output units, each separately detecting and outputting a tire information signal corresponding to each of a plurality of tires attached to axels; and

a tire information detecting unit for detecting tire conditions of the tires based on the tire information signals transmitted from the tire information output units;

wherein, every time the tire information detecting unit completes a reception process of one of the tire information signals, the tire information detecting unit changes priority in the tire information so as to assign a lowest priority to the processed tire information signal, and, when the plurality of tire information output units transmit a plurality of the tire information signals while the tire information detecting unit is ready for reception, the tire information detecting unit processes one of the tire information signals having a highest priority and discards processes of the other tire information signals having lower priorities.

2. The tire information detecting system according to claim 1, wherein each of the tire information output units comprises a sensor for sensing the tire information and a radio transmitter for wirelessly transmitting the tire information sensed by the sensor to the tire information detecting unit, and the tire information detecting unit comprises radio receivers for receiving and reshaping the tire information signals wirelessly transmitted from the radio transmitters and a computing unit for controlling the overall tire information detecting system and for detecting conditions of the tires.

3. The tire information detecting system according to claim 2, wherein, when the plurality of tire information output units transmit a plurality of the tire information signals while the tire information detecting unit is ready for reception, the tire information detecting unit discards reception processes of the other tire information signals by inhibiting external interrupts of the other tire information signals having lower priorities to the computing unit.

4. The tire information detecting system according to claim 2, wherein, when the plurality of tire information output units transmit a plurality of the tire information signals while the tire information detecting unit is ready for reception, the tire information detecting unit discards reception processes of the other tire information signals by shutting off electric power for the radio receivers for receiving the tire information signals having lower priorities.

5. The tire information detecting system according to claim 1, wherein, when the tire information detecting unit receives a plurality of the tire information signals while the tire information detecting unit is ready for reception, the tire information detecting unit assigns a higher priority to one of the tire information signals having a longer elapsed time after the previous normal process of the tire information signal.

6. The tire information detecting system according to claim 1, wherein the information detecting unit does not assign priorities to the tire information signals at system startup time and assigns the priorities after processing one of the tire information signals normally.

7. The tire information detecting system according to claim 24, wherein the information detecting unit monitors RSSI levels output from the radio receivers and performs the reception processes of the signals output from the radio receivers as the tire information after the RSSI levels exceed a predetermined threshold value.