Alarm device for informing reduction of pneumatic pressure of tire

• US 4,180,795 A
• Filed: 12/12/1977
• Issued: 12/25/1979
• Est. Priority Date: 12/14/1976
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Bridgestone Tire Company Limited (Bridgestone Corporation), Mitaka Instrument Company Limited
• Original Assignee: Bridgestone Tire Company Limited (Bridgestone Corporation), Mitaka Instrument Company Limited
• Inventors: Nishino, Hiroshi, Tanaka, Makoto, Yasuda, Shigeo, Murata, Junichi, Matsuda, Akira
• Primary Examiner(s): Waring, Alvin H.
• Application Number:
  US05/859,517
• Time in Patent Office: 743 Days
• Field of Search: 340/58, 200/61.22, 200/61.25
• US Class Current: 340/448
• CPC Class Codes: B60C 23/0428 using passive wheel mounted resonance circuits
• CPC Class Codes: C07H 15/04 attached to an oxygen atom of the saccharide radical

Abstract

An alarm device for informing reduction of pneumatic pressure of vehicle tires by sensing abnormal change of tire internal pressure of a vehicle when running by a pressure sensing switch, by converting the thus sensed abnormal change into an electric signal and by generating an alarm to an operator. This device comprises an oscillator having an oscillation coil fixed on a chassis side of the vehicle; a resonator consisting of a resonance coil and a capacitor fixed to a peripheral portion of the rotating wheel having tire adjacent the oscillation coil and for resonating with an electromagnetic wave radiated from the oscillation coil; a signal processing device containing a sensing means for sensing change in an oscillation condition generated in the oscillator due to a resonant condition of the resonator switched on and off in accordance with abnormal internal pressure of a tire and for processing a signal sensed by this sensing means; and an alarm for generating a warning by the output of this signal processing device.

Claims

1. An alarm device for informing reduction of pneumatic pressure of a tire by converting an abnormal change of the pneumatic pressure into an electric signal and generating an alarm, the device comprising:

at least one oscillator means having an oscillation coil fixed on a chassis side of a vehicle and changing its oscillation state of electromagnetic waves in accordance with an abnormal change of the pneumatic pressure;

a resonator means fixed to the peripheral portion of a wheel having a tire adjacent the oscillation coil and consisting of a resonance coil and a capacitor capable of resonating with the electromagnetic wave radiated from said oscillation coil and a pressure sensing switch for sensing an abnormal change of the pneumatic pressure;

a signal processing device provided for each oscillator and including a detector means for detecting the output of the oscillator, a comparator means for comparing the present output of the detector with a preceding output of the detector to generate an output pulse, an integrator means for integrating the output pulse of the comparator, and a logic circuit means for logically operating the output of the integrator; and

an alarm means for generating a warning signal in accordance with the output of the signal processing device.

2. An alarm device as claimed in claim 1, wherein said detector is an amplitude detector.

3. An alarm device as claimed in claim 1, wherein said detector is a frequency detector.

4. An alarm device as claimed in claim 1, wherein said oscillator has an oscillation frequency of 20 KHz-10 MHz.

5. An alarm device as claimed in claim 1, wherein said oscillator has preferably an oscillation frequency of 100 KHz-5 MHz.