METHOD AND SYSTEM FOR DISTINGUISHING POSITIONS OF TIRES IN A DUAL REAR TIRE VEHICLE

• US 20120022801A1
• Filed: 07/24/2010
• Published: 01/26/2012
• Est. Priority Date: 07/24/2010
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Ford Global Technologies, LLC (Ford Motor Company)
• Original Assignee: Ford Global Technologies, LLC (Ford Motor Company)
• Inventors: MILLER, THOMAS LEE, SWADLING, GREG
• Granted Patent: US 8,380,460 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 702/42
• CPC Class Codes: G01M 17/06 Steering behaviour; Rolling behaviour

Abstract

A method for identifying tire positions of a dual rear tire vehicle having front tires and a pair of dual rear tires. The dual rear tires include an inner rear tire and an outer rear tire. The method includes providing a set of tire monitoring modules attached to each of the tires, and a processing module operatively attached to the tire monitoring modules. Further, the method includes receiving tire information, including tire pressure signals and rotational direction, from the set of monitoring modules of each of the tires. The method then involves identifying the dual rear tires and the front tires, and the dual rear tires located on right side and left side of the vehicle based on the received tire information. The inner rear tire and the outer rear tire of each of the dual rear tires are also identified based on the received tire information.

Claims

1. A method for identifying tire positions of a dual rear tire vehicle having front tires and a pair of dual rear tires, the dual rear tires having an inner rear tire and an outer rear tire, the method comprising:

providing a set of tire monitoring modules coupled to each of the tires, and a processing module operatively coupled to the tire monitoring modules, the tire monitoring modules including a pair of front monitoring modules and a set of rear monitoring modules;

receiving tire information from the set of monitoring modules, the tire information including tire pressure signals and rotational direction data of each of the tires;

identifying the dual rear tires and the front tires based on the received tire information;

identifying the dual rear tires located on right side and left side of the vehicle based on the received tire information; and

identifying the inner rear tire and the outer rear tire of each of the dual rear tires based on the received tire information.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the step of identifying the dual rear tires and the front tires includes measuring difference in strengths of the tire pressure signals received from the rear and front monitoring modules.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein the step of identifying the dual rear tires located on the right side and left side of the vehicle includes measuring difference in strengths of the tire pressure signals received from each of the rear monitoring modules.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein the step of identifying the front tires and the dual rear tires is implemented by radio frequency detectors.

5. The method of claim 1, wherein the step of identifying the inner rear tire and the outer rear tire is implemented based on opposite rotational direction of the inner rear tire and the outer rear tire.

6. A system for identifying tire position of a dual rear tire vehicle having front tires and a pair of dual rear tires, the dual rear tires having an inner rear tire and an outer rear tire, the system comprising:

a set of monitoring modules comprising;

a pair of front monitoring modules coupled to the front tires, each of the front monitoring modules being configured to transmit tire information of the front tires, the tire information including tire pressure signals and rotational direction corresponding to the front tires; and

a set of rear monitoring modules coupled to the pair of dual rear tires, the rear monitoring modules being configured to transmit tire information of each of the dual rear tires, the tire information including tire pressure signals and rotational direction corresponding to the dual rear tires; and

a processing module operatively coupled to the set of monitoring modules, the processing module configured to;

identify the dual rear tires and the front tires based on the received tire pressure signals;

identify the dual rear tires located on right side and left side of the vehicle based on the received tire pressure signals; and

identify an inner rear tire and an outer rear tire of the each of the dual rear tires based on the received rotational direction.

7. The system of claim 6, wherein each of the set of monitoring modules includes a tire sensor and a radio frequency detector.

8. The system of claim 6, wherein the processing module is configured to identify the dual rear tires and the front tires by measuring difference in strengths of the tire pressure signals from the rear and front monitoring modules.

9. The system of claim 6, wherein the processing module is configured to identify the dual rear tires located on the right and left side of the vehicle by measuring difference in strengths of the received tire pressure signals from each of the rear monitoring modules.

10. The system of claim 6, wherein the processing module identifies the inner rear tire and the outer rear tire based on opposite rotational direction of the inner rear tire and the outer rear tire.