Tire air pressure detecting device

• US 5,982,279 A
• Filed: 09/26/1997
• Issued: 11/09/1999
• Est. Priority Date: 09/26/1996
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: DENSO Corporation, Nippon Soken, Inc.
• Original Assignee: DENSO Corporation, Nippon Soken, Inc.
• Inventors: Inoue, Yuuichi, Fukada, Shinjiro, Tomiita, Kenji, Umeno, Takaji, Ohashi, Hideki, Tominaga, Motonori, Nishikawa, Yoshihiro
• Primary Examiner(s): Hofsass, Jeffery A.
• Assistant Examiner(s): Pope, Daryl C.
• Application Number:
  US08/939,048
• Time in Patent Office: 774 Days
• Field of Search: 340/442, 340/443, 340/671, 340/672, 701/36, 701/45, 701/47, 73/146, 73/146.2
• US Class Current: 340/444
• CPC Class Codes: B60C 23/061 by monitoring wheel speed measuring distance traversed on the ground by vehicles G01C22/00
• CPC Class Codes: B60C 23/062 Frequency spectrum analysis of wheel speed signals, e.g. using Fourier transformation

Abstract

To accurately detect a resonance frequency of tire even in high speed range by which tire air pressure state of each wheel is known, a calculation processing unit to which detection signals of wheel speed and resonance frequencies of tire are inputted calculates a timewise change amount of a wheel speed deviation that is a difference between wheel speed ratios of front and rear wheels. Then, it makes corrections to remove the influence of timewise change amounts of resonance frequencies of front wheels from timewise change amounts of wheel speed deviations based on a relationship between the resonance frequency and the wheel speed deviation when air pressure of the tire is changed. The unit then converts the corrected timewise change amount of the rotational state into the timewise change amount of the resonance frequencies of the rear wheels based on the above-described relationship and the resonance frequencies of the rear wheels and the timewise change amounts of the resonance frequencies of the rear wheels which have been accurately detected before the vehicle speed exceeds an upper limit value.

Claims

1. A tire air pressure detecting device comprising:

wheel speed detecting means for successively detecting wheel speeds of respective wheels in a running vehicle;

resonance frequency sampling means for sampling resonance frequencies of tires attached to the respective wheels from the respective wheel speeds detected by the wheel speed detecting means;

determining means for determining air pressure states of the tires based on the resonance frequencies;

wherein the determining means includes

rotational state value calculating means for calculating a rotational state value depending on a difference between a deviation in rotational states of left and right wheels in driven wheels and a deviation in rotational states of left and right wheels in drive wheels,

storing means for storing a previously-determined relationship between the resonance frequency and the rotational state value when air pressure of the tire changes,

rotational state value change amount calculating means for calculating a timewise change amount of the rotational state value,

resonance frequency change amount calculating means for calculating a timewise change amount of the resonance frequency of the driven wheel,

correcting means for converting, based on the relationship stored in the storing means, the timewise change amount of the resonance frequency of the driven wheel into the timewise change amount of the rotational state value and correcting the timewise change amount of the rotational state value by the converted timewise change amount, and

drive wheel resonance frequency estimating means for converting the timewise change amount of the rotational state which has been corrected by the correcting means into the timewise change amount of the resonance frequency of the drive wheel based on the relationship stored in the storing means when the vehicle speed is equal to or higher than a previously set upper limit value, and estimating the resonance frequency of the drive wheel from the resonance frequency of the drive wheel before the vehicle speed exceeds the upper limit value and the timewise change amount;

the determining means is for determining the air pressure state of the tire of the drive wheel based on the resonance frequency estimated by the drive wheel resonance frequency estimating means when the vehicle speed is equal to or higher than the upper limit value.

2. The tire air pressure detecting device according to claim 1, wherein the deviation is a wheel speed ratio.

3. The tire air pressure detecting device according to claim 2, wherein the determining means is for determining the air pressure state of the tire of the drive wheel based on the timewise change amount of the rotational state value which has been corrected by the correcting means when the resonance frequency of the drive wheel before the vehicle speed exceeds the upper limit value cannot be sampled.

4. The tire air pressure detecting device according to claim 3, wherein the determining means is for determining the tire air pressure state of the drive wheel based on the rotational state value calculated by the rotational state value calculating means when the timewise change amount of the rotational state value cannot be calculated.

5. The tire air pressure detecting device according to claim 2, wherein the determining means is for determining the tire air pressure state of the drive wheel based on the rotational state value calculated by the rotational state value calculating means when the timewise change amount of the rotational state value cannot be calculated.

6. The tire air pressure detecting device according to claim 1, wherein the deviation is a wheel acceleration ratio.

7. The tire air pressure detecting device according to claim 6, wherein the determining means is for determining the air pressure state of the tire of the drive wheel based on the timewise change amount of the rotational state value which has been corrected by the correcting means when the resonance frequency of the drive wheel before the vehicle speed exceeds the upper limit value cannot be sampled.

8. The tire air pressure detecting device according to claim 7, wherein the determining means is for determining the tire air pressure state of the drive wheel based on the rotational state value calculated by the rotational state value calculating means when the timewise change amount of the rotational state value cannot be calculated.

9. The tire air pressure detecting device according to claim 6, wherein the determining means is for determining the tire air pressure state of the drive wheel based on the rotational state value calculated by the rotational state value calculating means when the timewise change amount of the rotational state value cannot be calculated.

10. The tire air pressure detecting device according to claim 1, wherein the determining means is for determining the air pressure state of the tire of the drive wheel based on the timewise change amount of the rotational state value which has been corrected by the correcting means when the resonance frequency of the drive wheel before the vehicle speed exceeds the upper limit value cannot be sampled.

11. The tire air pressure detecting device according to claim 10, wherein the determining means is for determining the tire air pressure state of the drive wheel based on the rotational state value calculated by the rotational state value calculating means when the timewise change amount of the rotational state value cannot be calculated.

12. The tire air pressure detecting device according to claim 1, wherein the determining means is for determining the tire air pressure state of the drive wheel based on the rotational state value calculated by the rotational state value calculating means when the timewise change amount of the rotational state value cannot be calculated.

13. A tire air pressure detecting device comprising:

wheel speed detecting means for detecting wheel speeds of respective wheels of one of a front wheel drive vehicle and a rear wheel drive vehicle;

rotational state value calculating means for calculating a rotational state value depending on a deviation between a wheel speed deviation between left and right front wheels and a wheel speed deviation between left and right rear wheels based on the wheel speeds detected by the wheel speed detecting means;

abnormality determining means for comparing a magnitude of the rotational state value with a previously set upper limit value, determining whether the wheel speed of a right side drive wheel or a left side driven wheel is faster or the wheel speed of a left side drive wheel or a right side driven wheel is faster from a degree of positiveness or negativeness of the rotational state value when the rotational state value exceeds the upper limit value, and specifying the two wheels determined to have faster wheel speeds to be the wheels having lowered tire air pressures;

wherein the abnormality determining means includes

front to rear wheel speed deviation calculating means for calculating a wheel speed deviation between the front and the rear wheels based on the wheel speeds detected by the wheel speed detecting means, and

regression calculating means for performing a regression calculation for regressing to a first order function the rotational state value calculated by the rotational state calculating means and the wheel speed deviation between the front and the rear wheels calculated by the front to rear wheel speed deviation calculating means, and determining a slope of the first order function as a slip state value representing a slip state of the wheel; and

the abnormality determining means is for determining as the driven wheel the wheel having the lowered tire air pressure in the two wheels when the slip state value is recognized to be 0 and determining as the drive wheel the wheel having the lowered tire air pressure in the two wheels when the slip state value is not recognized to be 0.

14. The tire air pressure detecting device according to claim 13, wherein the rotational state value used in the abnormality detecting means and the slip state value are correction values in consideration of the rotational state value and the slip state value at a reference time point as offset amounts.

15. A tire air pressure detecting device comprising:

wheel speed detecting means for detecting wheel speeds of respective wheels of a front wheel drive or a rear wheel drive vehicle;

rotational state calculating means for calculating a rotational state depending on a deviation between a wheel speed deviation between left and right front wheels and a wheel speed deviation between left and right rear wheels based on the wheel speeds detected by the wheel speed detecting means;

abnormality determining means for comparing a magnitude of the rotational state value with a previously set upper limit value, determining whether the wheel speed of a right side drive wheel or a left side driven wheel is faster or the wheel speed of a left side drive wheel or a right side driven wheel is faster from a degree of positiveness or negativeness of the rotational state value when the rotational state value exceeds an upper limit value and specifying the two wheels determined to have faster wheel speeds as the wheels having lowered tire air pressures;

wherein the abnormality determining means includes

front to rear wheel speed deviation calculating means for calculating a wheel speed deviation between the front and the rear wheels based on the wheel speeds detected by the wheel speed detecting means,

regression calculating means for performing a regression calculation for regressing to a first order function the rotational state value calculated by the rotational state value calculating means and the wheel speed deviation between the front and the rear wheels calculated by the front to rear wheel speed deviation calculating means, and

rotational state value correcting means for correcting the rotational state value calculated by the rotational state value calculating means to a rotational state value at a reference value of the wheel speed deviation between the front and the rear wheels based on a result of the regression calculation by the regression calculating means; and

the rotational state value in the abnormality determining means is determined to be the rotational state value corrected by the rotational state value correcting means.

16. The tire air pressure detecting device according to claim 15, wherein:

a slope of the first order function in the regression calculation means is determined to be a slip state value representing a slip state of the wheel;

the abnormality determining means is for determining as the driven wheel the wheel having the lowered tire air pressure in the two wheels when the slip state value is recognized to be 0 and for determining as the drive wheel the wheel having the lowered tire air pressure in the two wheels when the slip state value is not recognized to be 0.