Method and Device for Locating the Right or Left Position of a Wheel of a Vehicle

• US 20080197837A1
• Filed: 06/23/2006
• Published: 08/21/2008
• Est. Priority Date: 07/18/2005
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Continental Automotive France (Continental AG)
• Original Assignee: Continental Automotive GmbH (Continental AG)
• Inventors: Dulac, Gilles
• Granted Patent: US 7,750,623 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 324/207.16
• CPC Class Codes: B60C 23/0416 allocating a corresponding wheel position on vehicle, e.g. front/left or rear/right
• CPC Class Codes: B60C 23/0425 Means comprising permanent magnets, e.g. Hall-effect or Reed-switches
• CPC Class Codes: G01D 5/2033 controlling the saturation of a magnetic circuit by means of a movable element, e.g. a magnet
• CPC Class Codes: H01F 21/02 continuously variable, e.g. variometers
• CPC Class Codes: H01F 21/06 by movement of core or part of core relative to the windings as a whole

Abstract

The invention relates to a method and a device for locating the right or left position of a wheel (2) of a vehicle (3). According to the invention, the wheel (2) is equipped with a magnetic measuring component (4) comprising a core made of ferromagnetic material on which are arranged, crosswise, two windings designed to present maximum sensitivity axes extending in a plane intersecting the axis of rotation of said wheel, and offset from each other, in this intersecting plane, by a predetermined angle θ, and on movements of the vehicle, a measurement is taken of a signal generated by the variation of a magnetic field at the terminals of each of the windings so as to deliver two periodic signals phase-shifted from each other by (+or −) θ, the direction of rotation of the wheel (2) is determined from this phase difference and, from this direction of rotation and from the direction of movement of the vehicle (3), the location of the right or left position of the wheel (2) is deduced.

Claims

1. A method of locating the right or left position of a wheel (2) of a vehicle (3) equipped with an electronic monitoring system unit (1), characterized in that it consists:

in incorporating in the electronic unit (1) a magnetic measuring component (4) comprising a core (5) made of ferromagnetic material on which are arranged, crosswise, two windings (8, 9) configured to present maximum sensitivity axes (S8, S9) offset from each other by a predetermined angle θ

, and in positioning said magnetic measuring component in said electronic unit so that the maximum sensitivity axes (S8, S9) of the windings (8, 9) extend in a plane intersecting the axis of rotation (R) of the wheel (2),

and, when the vehicle moves in a given direction of movement;

in measuring a signal generated by the variation of a magnetic field at the terminals of each of the windings (8, 9), so as to deliver two periodic signals phase-shifted from each other by an angular value equal to (+or −

) θ

, each representative of the variations of the values of the magnetic field detected by said windings during a wheel rotation (2),

in determining from this phase shift the direction of rotation of the wheel (2),

and in deducing, from this direction of rotation and from the direction of movement of the vehicle (3), the location of the right or left position of the wheel (2).

2. A device for locating the right or left position of a wheel (2) of a vehicle (3) equipped with an electronic monitoring system unit (1), characterized in that it comprises, incorporated in said electronic unit:

a magnetic measuring component (4) comprising a core (5) made of ferromagnetic material on which are arranged, crosswise, two windings (8, 9) formed so as to present maximum sensitivity axes (S8, S9) offset from each other by a predetermined angle θ

, said magnetic measuring component being positioned in said electronic unit so that the maximum sensitivity axes (S8, S9) of the windings (8, 9) extend in a plane intersecting the axis of rotation (R) of the wheel (2),

means (10, 11) of measuring a signal at the terminals of each of the windings (8, 9), able to deliver two periodic signals phase-shifted from each other by an angular value equal to (+or −

) θ

, each representative of the variations of the values of the magnetic field detected by said windings during a wheel rotation (2),

and a computation unit (12) programmed to determine, from the phase shift between the two periodic signals, the direction of rotation of the wheel (2), and to deduce, from this direction of rotation and from the direction of movement of the vehicle (3), the location of the right or left position of the wheel (2).

3. The locating device as claimed in claim 2, characterized in that the magnetic measuring component (4) is positioned in the magnetic unit (1) so that the maximum sensitivity axes (S8, S9) of the windings (8, 9) extend in a plane orthogonal to the axis of rotation (R) of the wheel (2).

4. The locating device as claimed in claim 3, characterized in that the magnetic measuring component (4) is provided with a core (5) having two pairs of parallel faces (5a, 5b) around each of which is wound a winding (8, 9), configured so that said pairs of parallel faces are orthogonal to each other.

5. The locating device as claimed in claim 2, characterized in that it comprises a magnet (10) mounted in a fixed manner on the vehicle (3) relative to each wheel (2) equipped with a magnetic measuring component (4), said magnet being positioned and presenting a power suitable for generating a magnetic field covering a zone passed through by the windings (8, 9) when said wheel rotates.

6. The locating device as claimed in claim 3, characterized in that it comprises a magnet (10) mounted in a fixed manner on the vehicle (3) relative to each wheel (2) equipped with a magnetic measuring component (4), said magnet being positioned and presenting a power suitable for generating a magnetic field covering a zone passed through by the windings (8, 9) when said wheel rotates.

7. The locating device as claimed in claim 4, characterized in that it comprises a magnet (10) mounted in a fixed manner on the vehicle (3) relative to each wheel (2) equipped with a magnetic measuring component (4), said magnet being positioned and presenting a power suitable for generating a magnetic field covering a zone passed through by the windings (8, 9) when said wheel rotates.