System for monitoring pressure and temperature of pneumatic tires on a moving vehicle
First Claim
1. A system for monitoring a rotating pneumatic tire of a vehicle comprising:
- first means defining a reference time interval which is related to circumferential speed of the tire and which is mounted to the vehicle for rotation with the tire;
second means related to inflation of the tire defining an inflation measurement time interval which is related to circumferential speed of the tire and which is mounted to the vehicle for rotation with the tire;
sensor means mounted to a non-rotating component of the vehicle including an optoelectronic sensor, including emitter means for emitting electromagnetic radiation which is positioned in sensing relationship to the first means and the second means so that radiation emitted from said emitter means is reflected by said first and second means and is detected by said detector means; and
said sensor means further comprising means for measuring via said optoelectronic sensor said reference time interval, means for sensing via said optoelectronic sensor said inflation measurement time interval and means for correlating the sensed inflation measurement and the reference time intervals to provide inflation pressure information for the rotating pneumatic tire, said sensing means being mounted to the vehicle so that said first and second means pass said sensor means with each rotation of the tire.
0 Assignments
0 Petitions
Accused Products
Abstract
A tire pressure and temperature monitoring system for measuring tire inflation pressure and anomalous temperature of rotating tires in a moving vehicle by means of optoelectronic devices located in the stationary structure of the vehicle and an elastic diaphragm that rotates with the wheel and tire. The combined use of optoelectronic components and elastic diaphragms, provides a marked improvement in performance, reliability and cost over previously disclosed magnetic or radio frequency pressure measurement systems. The optoelectronic detector elements are also used to identify those tires whose side wall temperature is significantly higher than the side wall temperature of the other tires. In addition, the system can also be used as a measurement of individual wheel rotational speed and related wheel motion. Alternatively, fiber optic cables can be used to transmit light from a single light source to lenses mounted adjacent each tire and to transmit the reflected energy to remotely located optoelectronic devices.
-
Citations
24 Claims
-
1. A system for monitoring a rotating pneumatic tire of a vehicle comprising:
-
first means defining a reference time interval which is related to circumferential speed of the tire and which is mounted to the vehicle for rotation with the tire; second means related to inflation of the tire defining an inflation measurement time interval which is related to circumferential speed of the tire and which is mounted to the vehicle for rotation with the tire; sensor means mounted to a non-rotating component of the vehicle including an optoelectronic sensor, including emitter means for emitting electromagnetic radiation which is positioned in sensing relationship to the first means and the second means so that radiation emitted from said emitter means is reflected by said first and second means and is detected by said detector means; and said sensor means further comprising means for measuring via said optoelectronic sensor said reference time interval, means for sensing via said optoelectronic sensor said inflation measurement time interval and means for correlating the sensed inflation measurement and the reference time intervals to provide inflation pressure information for the rotating pneumatic tire, said sensing means being mounted to the vehicle so that said first and second means pass said sensor means with each rotation of the tire. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17)
-
-
18. A system for monitoring a rotating pneumatic tire comprising:
-
a first pair of radiation reflective stripes which rotate with the tire and which are circumferentially spaced apart to define a reference dimension; a second pair of radiation reflective stripes which rotate with the tire and are circumferentially spaced apart and which are circumferentially movable relative to one another in accordance with tire inflation pressure; an optoelectronic sensor adjacent said tire which does not rotate with the tire, said optoelectronic sensor including emitter means for emitting electromagnetic radiation toward said radiation reflective stripes as said stripes pass said sensor and detector means for detecting said electromagnetic radiation reflected by said radiation reflective stripes as said stripes pass said sensor; and means for measuring a time interval between the passage of the first stripe of each of said pairs of radiation reflective stripes past said sensor and the passage of the second stripe of each of said pairs of radiation reflective stripes past said sensor and means for correlating the time interval between the two radiation reflective stripes of the first pair of radiation reflective stripes and the time interval between the two radiation reflective stripes of the second pair of radiation reflective stripes to provide inflation pressure information for the tire. - View Dependent Claims (19, 20, 21)
-
-
22. A system for monitoring the rotating tires of a vehicle having multiple pneumatic tires comprising:
-
optoelectronic sensing means for each tire mounted to nonrotating structure of the vehicle in sensing relationship to said tires, said sensing means including means for measuring infrared emission from each tire; means for generating an average infrared emission value from the infrared emission values of each tire; and means for comparing the infrared emission values of each tire with said average value to determine the difference between each tire infrared emission value and said average value and noting an anomaly if the infrared emission value of any one tire exceeds said average value by more than a predetermined amount. - View Dependent Claims (23, 24)
-
Specification