Tire inflation pressure sensing apparatus with high reliability and power-saving capability
First Claim
1. A tire inflation pressure sensing apparatus comprising:
- a transmitter provided on a wheel of a vehicle, said transmitter including a pressure sensor that works to sense an inflation pressure of a tire mounted on the wheel and being configured to transmit a signal representative of the inflation pressure of the tire sensed by the pressure sensor; and
a receiver provided on a body of the vehicle, said receiver including an antenna and being configured to receive the signal transmitted from said transmitter through the antenna and determine the inflation pressure of the tire depending on the received signal,wherein said transmitter further includes an acceleration sensor that works to generate a signal as a function of a component of gravitational acceleration in a sensing direction of the acceleration sensor, the component of gravitational acceleration varying with rotation of the wheel, andwherein said transmitter is configured to determine a position of said transmitter relative to the antenna of said receiver depending on the signal generated by the acceleration sensor and transmit the signal representative of the inflation pressure of the tire toward the antenna of said receiver when a transmitting request is issued and the determined position of said transmitter falls in a predetermined range.
1 Assignment
0 Petitions
Accused Products
Abstract
A tire inflation pressure sensing apparatus according to the present invention includes a transmitter and a receiver. The transmitter is provided on a wheel of a vehicle and includes a pressure sensor working to sense an inflation pressure of a tire on the wheel and an acceleration sensor working to generate a signal as a function of a component of gravitational acceleration in the sensing direction thereof. The transmitter is configured to determine a position thereof depending on the signal generated by the acceleration sensor and transmit the signal representative of the inflation pressure of the tire toward the receiver when a transmitting request is issued and the determined position thereof falls in a predetermined range. The receiver is provided on the body of the vehicle and is configured to receive the signal transmitted from the transmitter and determine the inflation pressure of the tire depending on the received signal.
-
Citations
14 Claims
-
1. A tire inflation pressure sensing apparatus comprising:
-
a transmitter provided on a wheel of a vehicle, said transmitter including a pressure sensor that works to sense an inflation pressure of a tire mounted on the wheel and being configured to transmit a signal representative of the inflation pressure of the tire sensed by the pressure sensor; and a receiver provided on a body of the vehicle, said receiver including an antenna and being configured to receive the signal transmitted from said transmitter through the antenna and determine the inflation pressure of the tire depending on the received signal, wherein said transmitter further includes an acceleration sensor that works to generate a signal as a function of a component of gravitational acceleration in a sensing direction of the acceleration sensor, the component of gravitational acceleration varying with rotation of the wheel, and wherein said transmitter is configured to determine a position of said transmitter relative to the antenna of said receiver depending on the signal generated by the acceleration sensor and transmit the signal representative of the inflation pressure of the tire toward the antenna of said receiver when a transmitting request is issued and the determined position of said transmitter falls in a predetermined range. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7)
-
-
8. A tire inflation pressure sensing apparatus comprising:
-
a plurality of transmitters each of which is provided on one of a plurality of wheels of a vehicle, said transmitters each including a pressure sensor that works to sense an inflation pressure of a tire mounted on a corresponding one of the wheels and being configured to transmit a signal representative of the inflation pressure of the tire sensed by the pressure sensor; and a receiver provided on a body of the vehicle, said receiver including a single antenna and being configured to receive the signals transmitted from said transmitters through the antenna and determine inflation pressures of the tires depending on the received signals, wherein each of said transmitters further includes an acceleration sensor that works to generate a signal as a function of a component of gravitational acceleration in a sensing direction of the acceleration sensor, the component of gravitational acceleration varying with rotation of the corresponding one of the wheels, and wherein each of said transmitters is configured to determine a position thereof relative to the antenna of said receiver depending on the signal generated by the acceleration sensor and transmit the signal representative of the inflation pressure of the tire toward the antenna of said receiver when a transmitting request is issued and the determined position thereof falls in a predetermined range. - View Dependent Claims (9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14)
-
Specification