TIRE PARAMETER SENSOR UNIT WITH REAL TIME DATA STORAGE

• US 20090145216A1
• Filed: 12/08/2007
• Published: 06/11/2009
• Est. Priority Date: 12/08/2007
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Silicon Valley Micro E Corporation
• Original Assignee: Silicon Valley Micro E Corporation
• Inventors: Huang, Su Shiong, Zhu, Shengbo
• Granted Patent: US 7,562,568 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 73/146.500
• 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 23/041 Means for supplying power to the signal- transmitting means on the wheel
• CPC Class Codes: B60C 23/0413 Wireless charging of active radio frequency circuits
• CPC Class Codes: G07C 5/085 using electronic data carriers

Abstract

A tire parameter sensor unit for monitoring one or more vehicle tire parameters such as internal tire pressure and temperature and developing a permanent log of the operational history of the tire. The sensor unit has a power system, a processor/transmitter, a radio time clock, one or more sensors, and a memory mounted on a substrate. This assembly is permanently attached to the tire in the side wall or tread wall. Initial tire identification information is stored in the memory upon tire fabrication. During the lifetime of the tire, operational information specifying the tire operating conditions (pressure, temperature, etc.) is permanently stored in the memory along with real time data. The operational information and real time data can be read out from memory to provide the history log.

Claims

1. A tire parameter sensor unit for accumulating a vehicle tire history log of operational tire information during use, said sensor unit comprising:

a substrate;

a tire parameter sensor carried by said substrate for providing monitoring signals representative of the value of a tire parameter;

a radio clock unit carried by said substrate for generating real time clock signals derived from time code signals transmitted by a time standard and received by an antenna;

a memory carried by said substrate;

a processor/transmitter unit carried by said substrate and coupled to said sensor and said radio clock unit for storing said monitoring signals in said memory along with said real time clock signals and for converting said monitoring signals to transmission signals; and

a power system carried by said substrate for supplying electrical power to said tire parameter sensor, said radio clock unit, said memory and said processor/transmitter unit.

2. The invention of claim 1 further including a receiver unit coupled to said processor/transmitter unit for enabling remote interrogation of said memory.

3. The invention of claim 2 wherein processor/transmitter unit includes means for storing tire history information received by said receiver unit in said memory.

4. The invention of claim 1 wherein said power system includes a battery.

5. The invention of claim 1 wherein said power system includes an inductive power source having a coil for generating electrical current when said coil gasses through a magnetic field.

6. The invention of claim 5 wherein said coil generates tire rotation analog pulse signals during tire motion;

and wherein said sensor unit further includes an analog-to-digital converter having an input coupled to said coil and an output coupled to said processor/transmitter unit for converting said analog pulse signals to digital equivalent signals; and

said processor/transmitter unit includes means for converting said digital equivalent signals to tire mileage information signals and means for storing said tire mileage information signals in said memory.

7. The invention of claim 1 wherein said sensor unit includes at least two tire parameter sensors carried by said substrate for providing monitoring signals representative of the value of at least two different tire parameters.

8. The invention of claim 1 further including a tire having a side wall;

and wherein said tire parameter sensor unit is mounted within said side wall of said tire.

9. The invention of claim 1 further including a tire having a tread wall;

and wherein said tire parameter sensor unit is mounted within said tread wall of said tire.

10. A method of creating a vehicle tire history log of operational tire information during use, said method comprising the steps of:

(a) attaching a tire parameter sensor unit to a tire, the sensor unit having a substrate;

a tire parameter sensor carried by the substrate;

a radio clock unit carried by the substrate for generating real time clock signals derived from time code signals transmitted by a time standard and received by an antenna;

a memory carried by the substrate;

a processor/transmitter unit carried by the substrate and coupled to the sensor and the radio clock unit for converting signals received therefrom to transmission signals; and

a power system carried by the substrate for supplying electrical power to the tire parameter sensor, the radio clock unit, the memory and the processor/transmitter unit;

(b) applying electrical power from the power system to the tire parameter sensor, the radio clock unit, the memory, and the processor/transmitter unit;

(c) operating the tire parameter sensor to generate monitoring signals representative of the value of a tire parameter;

(d) operating the radio clock unit to generate real time clock signals from the time code signals; and

(e) operating the processor/transmitter unit to store the monitoring signals in the memory along with the real time clock signals.

11. The method of claim 10 further including the step of operating the processor/transmitter unit to convert the monitoring signals to transmission signals.

12. The method of claim 10 further including the steps of providing initial tire identification information, and storing the initial tire identification information in the memory.

13. The method of claim 10 further including the steps of providing a coil for generating tire rotation analog pulse signals during tire motion;

providing an analog-to-digital converter having an input coupled to the coil and an output coupled to the processor/transmitter unit for converting the analog pulse signals to digital equivalent signals;

providing the processor/transmitter unit with means for converting the digital equivalent signals to tire mileage information signals and means for storing the tire mileage information signals in the memory;

operating the analog-to-digital converter to produce the digital equivalent signals;

operating the processor/transmitter unit to generate the tire mileage information signals; and

operating the processor/transmitter unit to store the tire mileage information signals in the memory.

14. The method of claim 10 further including the steps of providing a receiver unit coupled to the processor/transmitter unit for enabling remote interrogation of the memory;

and operating the receiver unit and the processor/transmitter unit to convert the monitoring signals and the real time clock signals stored in the memory to transmission signals.

15. The method of claim 10 further including the step of mounting the tire parameter sensor unit within the side wall of a vehicle tire.

16. The method of claim 10 further including the step of mounting the tire parameter sensor unit within the tread wall of a vehicle tire.

17. The method of claim 10 further including the steps of providing at least two tire parameter sensors carried by the substrate for providing monitoring signals representative of the value of at least two different tire parameters, and operating the at least two tire parameter sensors to generate monitoring signals representative of the value of at least two different tire parameters.