Wireless wheel speed sensor

• US 20070090934A1
• Filed: 10/24/2005
• Published: 04/26/2007
• Est. Priority Date: 10/24/2005
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Infineon Technologies AG
• Original Assignee: Infineon Technologies AG
• Inventors: Knittl, Peter
• Granted Patent: US 7,408,452 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 340/444
• CPC Class Codes: B60G 17/01933 Velocity, e.g. relative velocity-displacement sensors
• CPC Class Codes: B60G 2204/115 Wheel hub bearing sensors
• CPC Class Codes: B60G 2400/208 of wheel rotation
• CPC Class Codes: B60G 2401/172 Hall effect
• CPC Class Codes: B60T 8/171 Detecting parameters used in the regulation; Measuring values used in the regulation
• CPC Class Codes: B60T 8/329 Systems characterised by their speed sensor arrangements
• CPC Class Codes: G01P 3/443 mounted in bearings bearings F16C
• CPC Class Codes: G07C 5/08 Registering or indicating performance data other than driving, working, idle, or waiting time, with or without registering driving, working, idle or waiting time

Abstract

In accordance with one or more aspects of the present invention, a wireless sensing system is disclosed, where the system has particular application to sensing the speed of a vehicle wheel, for example. To sense wheel speed, a sensing unit senses changes in magnetic flux and wirelessly relays a signal indicative thereof back to a base station or control unit.

Claims

1. A sensor component configured to sense the speed of a motor vehicle wheel, comprising:

a sensor configured to provide one or more readings indicative of the speed of the wheel;

conditioning circuitry operatively coupled to the sensor and configured to condition the readings taken by the sensor into a data gram indicative of the speed of the wheel; and

a transmitter operatively coupled to the conditioning circuitry and configured to wirelessly transmit the data gram.

2. The sensor component of claim 1, wherein the conditioning circuitry further associates identification data with the data gram indicative of the particular wheel whose speed is being sensed.

3. The sensor component of claim 2, where the sensor is part of a sensing system that comprises multiple sensor components operative to measure the respective speeds of multiple wheels of the vehicle.

4. The sensor component of claim 3, where the multiple sensor components transmit respective data grams having associated identification data corresponding to the wheels being sensed.

5. The sensor component of claim 4, where the respective data grams are transmitted to a control module component.

6. The sensor component of claim 5, where the control module component utilizes the data grams to determine whether the vehicle is making a turn.

7. The sensor component of claim 6, where the control module component further utilizes the data grams to deter a roll over condition.

8. The sensor component of claim 7, where the control module component comprises:

a transceiver configured to receive wireless transmissions from the sensor component, and to transmit control signals therefrom.

9. The sensor component of claim 1, where the sensor senses the speed of the wheel by sensing changes in magnetic flux.

10. The sensor component of claim 1, where the sensor is situated on the vehicle chassis near a wheel bearing and senses changes in magnetic flux developed from a magnetic source operatively associated with the rotating wheel.

11. The sensor component of claim 1, where the signal conditioning circuitry comprises at least one of a state machine, micro controller and ASIC.

12. A sensing system for wirelessly sensing wheel speed in a motor vehicle, comprising:

a sensor component configured to sense wheel speed, the sensor component, comprising;

a sensor configured to provide one or more readings indicative of the speed of the wheel, the sensor configured to be situated on the vehicle chassis near a wheel bearing and and configured to sense wheel speed by sensing changes in magnetic flux developed from a magnetic source operatively associated with the rotating wheel;

conditioning circuitry operatively coupled to the sensor and configured to condition the readings taken by the sensor into data grams indicative of the speed of the wheel, and to associate identification data with the data grams indicative of the particular wheel whose speed is being sensed; and

a transceiver operatively coupled to the conditioning circuitry and configured to wirelessly transmit the data gram;

a control module component configured to receive and utilize wireless transmissions from the sensor component.

13. The system of claim 12, where the control module component utilizes the data grams to determine whether the vehicle is making a turn.

14. The system of claim 12, where the control module component utilizes the data grams to deter a roll over condition.

15. A method of sensing the speed of a wheel of a motor vehicle, comprising:

sensing changes in magnetic flux as the wheel rotates;

conditioning the sensed changes into a data gram; and

wirelessly transmitting the data gram to a control component.

16. The method of claim 15, where the control component causes a wheel sensor component to run a self diagnostic after the wheel has not rotated for a predefined period of time, and further causes the wheel sensor component to enter a power conservation mode if the self diagnostic reveals no defects in the operation of the sensor component.

17. The method of claim 16, further comprising:

associating identification data indicative of the wheel being sensed with the data gram.

18. The method of claim 15, further comprising:

associating identification data indicative of the wheel being sensed with the data gram.

19. The method of claim 18, where respective speeds of multiple vehicle wheels are sensed, the method further comprising:

sensing respective changes in magnetic flux as the wheels rotate;

conditioning the sensed changes into respective data grams; and

wirelessly transmitting the data grams to the control component.

20. The method of claim 19, where the control component utilizes the data grams to at least one of:

ascertain whether the vehicle is making a turn, and

deter a roll over condition.