Tire pressure detection side receiving circuit and tire monitor system provided therewith

• US 7,320,247 B2
• Filed: 10/11/2006
• Issued: 01/22/2008
• Est. Priority Date: 04/27/2006
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Pacific Industrial Company Limited
• Original Assignee: Pacific Industrial Company Limited
• Inventors: Katou, Michiya
• Primary Examiner(s): Lefkowitz; Edward
• Assistant Examiner(s): JENKINS, JERMAINE L
• Application Number:
  US11/545,576
• Publication Number:
  US 20070251309A1
• Time in Patent Office: 468 Days
• Field of Search: 73700-756, 73146-1468, 340442-447
• US Class Current: 73/146
• CPC Class Codes: B60C 23/0408 transmitting the signals by non-mechanical means from the wheel or tyre to a vehicle body mounted receiver
• CPC Class Codes: B60C 23/0413 Wireless charging of active radio frequency circuits
• CPC Class Codes: B60C 23/0433 Radio signals
• CPC Class Codes: B60C 23/0442 the transmitted signal comprises further information, e.g. instruction codes, sensor characteristics or identification data
• CPC Class Codes: B60C 23/045 Means for detecting electromagnetic field changes being not part of the signal transmission per se, e.g. strength, direction, propagation or masking

Abstract

A tire pressure detection side receiving circuit includes an antenna resonance circuit having an antenna, a capacitor and a coil, a capacitance changing circuit for changing a capacitance of the capacitor, an oscillation circuit capable of imparting a test wave to the antenna resonance circuit, a resonance level detector capable of detecting a resonance level of the antenna resonance circuit, a memory storing preset reference frequency, a resonance frequency detector changing a frequency of the test wave to be imparted to the antenna resonance circuit while the capacitor of the antenna resonance circuit is maintained at a constant capacitance, thereby detecting, as a measured resonance frequency, a frequency in a case where an amplitude level of the test wave has reached a peak, and a tuning control controlling the capacitance changing circuit and changing the capacitor capacitance so that the measured resonance frequency is approximated to a reference frequency.

Claims

1. A tire pressure detection side receiving circuit provided in a tire pressure detector mounted on a wheel for detecting tire pressure and transmitting a result of detection to a body of a vehicle by radio, the receiving circuit receiving a radio signal from the vehicle body, the receiving circuit comprising:

an antenna resonance circuit having an antenna, a capacitor and a coil with two terminals;

a capacitance changing circuit for changing a capacitance of the capacitor of the antenna resonance circuit;

an oscillation circuit capable of imparting a test wave to the antenna resonance circuit;

a resonance level detector capable of detecting a resonance level of the antenna resonance circuit;

a memory storing data of preset reference frequency;

a resonance frequency detector changing a frequency of the test wave to be imparted to the antenna resonance circuit while the capacitor of the antenna resonance circuit is maintained at a constant capacitance, thereby detecting, as a measured resonance frequency, a frequency in a case where an amplitude level of the test wave has reached a peak; and

a tuning control controlling the capacitance changing circuit so that the measured resonance frequency is approximated to the reference frequency, thereby changing the capacitance of the capacitor of the antenna resonance circuit.

2. The receiving circuit according to claim 1, wherein the capacitance changing circuit comprises a plurality of capacitor switching circuits each of which includes a capacitor and a switch element series connected to each other and is parallel connected between both terminals of the coil.

3. The receiving circuit according to claim 2, wherein the tuning control performs an operation to obtain a compensated capacitor capacitance Cy based on an equation, Cy=Cx·

(fj/fp)², where fp is the reference frequency, fj is the measured resonance frequency and Cx is the capacitance of the capacitor at a time of detection of the measured resonance frequency, the tuning control further carrying out on-off control of the switch element of each capacitor switching circuit so that the capacitor capacitance of the antenna resonance circuit is approximated to the compensated capacitor capacitance.

4. The receiving circuit according to claim 3, further comprising a tuning determiner actuating the resonance frequency detector and the tuning control every predetermined plurality number of times the tire pressure detector performs radio transmission.

5. The receiving circuit according to claim 2, further comprising a tuning determiner actuating the resonance frequency detector and the tuning control every predetermined plurality number of times the tire pressure detector performs radio transmission.

6. The receiving circuit according to claim 1, further comprising a tuning determiner actuating the resonance frequency detector and the tuning control every predetermined plurality number of times the tire pressure detector performs radio transmission.

7. A tire monitor system including a tire pressure detector mounted on a wheel for detecting tire pressure and transmitting a result of detection to a body of a vehicle by radio and a tire monitor device mounted on the vehicle body for performing a radio communication with the tire pressure detector, the tire monitor system comprising:

a tire pressure detection side receiving circuit provided in the tire pressure detector for receiving a radio signal from the vehicle body;

an antenna resonance circuit provided in the tire pressure detection side receiving circuit and having an antenna, a capacitor and a coil with two terminals;

a capacitance changing circuit provided in the tire pressure detection side receiving circuit for changing a capacitance of the capacitor of the antenna resonance circuit;

an oscillation circuit provided in the tire pressure detection side receiving circuit and capable of imparting a test wave to the antenna resonance circuit;

a resonance level detector provided in the tire pressure detection side receiving circuit and capable of detecting a resonance level of the antenna resonance circuit;

a memory provided in the tire pressure detection side receiving circuit and storing data of preset reference frequency;

a resonance frequency detector provided in the tire pressure detection side receiving circuit for changing a frequency of the test wave to be imparted to the antenna resonance circuit while the capacitor of the antenna resonance circuit is maintained at a constant capacitance, thereby detecting, as a measured resonance frequency, a frequency in a case where an amplitude level of the test wave has reached a peak; and

a tuning control provided in the tire pressure detection side receiving circuit for controlling the capacitance changing circuit so that the measured resonance frequency is approximated to the reference frequency, thereby changing the capacitance of the capacitor of the antenna resonance circuit.

8. The tire monitor system according to claim 7, wherein the capacitance changing circuit comprises a plurality of capacitor switching circuits each of which includes a capacitor and a switch element series connected to each other and is parallel connected between both terminals of the coil.

9. The receiving circuit according to claim 8, wherein the tuning control performs an operation to obtain a compensated capacitor capacitance Cy based on an equation, Cy=Cx·

(fj/fp)², where fp is the reference frequency, fj is the measured resonance frequency and Cx is the capacitance of the capacitor at a time of detection of the measured resonance frequency, the tuning control further carrying out on-off control of the switch element of each capacitor switching circuit so that the capacitor capacitance of the antenna resonance circuit is approximated to the compensated capacitor capacitance.

10. The receiving circuit according to claim 9, further comprising a tuning determiner actuating the resonance frequency detector and the tuning control every predetermined plurality number of times the tire pressure detector performs radio transmission.

11. The receiving circuit according to claim 8, further comprising a tuning determiner actuating the resonance frequency detector and the tuning control every predetermined plurality number of times the tire pressure detector performs radio transmission.

12. The receiving circuit according to claim 7, further comprising a tuning determiner actuating the resonance frequency detector and the tuning control every predetermined plurality number of times the tire pressure detector performs radio transmission.