Tire location detecting apparatus configured with rotation direction detecting devices and triggering device
First Claim
1. A tire location detecting apparatus, which is provided on a vehicle to detect locations of four tires each of which is fitted on one of a front-right, a front-left, a rear-right, and a rear-left wheel of the vehicle, comprising:
- four rotation direction detecting devices each of which is mounted on one of the four wheels of the vehicle to detect rotation direction of the wheel and outputs a rotation direction signal representative of the detected rotation direction;
four transmitters each of which is mounted on one of the four wheels of the vehicle to have association with the tire and the rotation direction detecting device on the one of the wheels, each of the transmitters working to transmit, at a predetermined time, an identification signal specific thereto along with the rotation direction signal outputted from the associated rotation direction detecting device;
a triggering device disposed on a body of the vehicle, the triggering device working to send out a trigger signal which causes the transmitter on a first one of the four wheels of the vehicle to transmit the identification signal specific thereto in response to the trigger signal;
a receiver arranged on the body of the vehicle, the receiver working to receive all of the identification and rotation direction signals transmitted by the transmitters at the predetermined times, the receiver also working to receive the identification signal transmitted by the transmitter on the first wheel in response to the trigger signal;
a controller electrically connected with the triggering device and the receiver to control operations of the triggering device and the receiver, the controller also performing;
a first process of identifying the transmitter and the tire on the first wheel of the vehicle based on the identification signal transmitted by the transmitter on the first wheel in response to the trigger signal, anda second process of determining, for each of the transmitters, whether the transmitter and the associated tire are located on one of the right-side wheels or one of the left-side wheels of the vehicle based on the rotation direction signal transmitted from the transmitter; and
wherein the controller includes a memory and has stored in the memory reference identification signals, each of which coincides with the identification signal specific to one of the transmitters and is associated with one of the wheels, and a plurality of tire location sequences available for the tires of the vehicle, andwherein the controller further performs a third process of determining whether a tire rotation has been made for the tires of the vehicle through comparison of the identification signal specific to the transmitter that is currently on the first wheel with the reference identification signal stored in the memory in association with the first wheel.
1 Assignment
0 Petitions
Accused Products
Abstract
A tire location detecting apparatus for a vehicle with four wheels includes four rotation direction detecting devices, four transmitters, a triggering device, a receiver, and a controller. Each of the rotation direction detecting devices outputs a rotation direction signal which is then transmitted by an associated one of the transmitters. The triggering device triggers the transmitter on a first one of the four wheels to transmit an identification signal specific thereto. The receiver receives all of the signals transmitted from transmitters and provides those signals to the controller. The controller identifies the transmitter and tire on the first wheel based on the identification signal transmitted from the transmitter on the first wheel and determines, for each of the transmitters, whether the transmitter and the associated tire are located on one of the right-side wheels or one of the left-side wheels based on the rotation direction signal transmitted from the transmitter.
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Citations
17 Claims
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1. A tire location detecting apparatus, which is provided on a vehicle to detect locations of four tires each of which is fitted on one of a front-right, a front-left, a rear-right, and a rear-left wheel of the vehicle, comprising:
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four rotation direction detecting devices each of which is mounted on one of the four wheels of the vehicle to detect rotation direction of the wheel and outputs a rotation direction signal representative of the detected rotation direction; four transmitters each of which is mounted on one of the four wheels of the vehicle to have association with the tire and the rotation direction detecting device on the one of the wheels, each of the transmitters working to transmit, at a predetermined time, an identification signal specific thereto along with the rotation direction signal outputted from the associated rotation direction detecting device; a triggering device disposed on a body of the vehicle, the triggering device working to send out a trigger signal which causes the transmitter on a first one of the four wheels of the vehicle to transmit the identification signal specific thereto in response to the trigger signal; a receiver arranged on the body of the vehicle, the receiver working to receive all of the identification and rotation direction signals transmitted by the transmitters at the predetermined times, the receiver also working to receive the identification signal transmitted by the transmitter on the first wheel in response to the trigger signal; a controller electrically connected with the triggering device and the receiver to control operations of the triggering device and the receiver, the controller also performing; a first process of identifying the transmitter and the tire on the first wheel of the vehicle based on the identification signal transmitted by the transmitter on the first wheel in response to the trigger signal, and a second process of determining, for each of the transmitters, whether the transmitter and the associated tire are located on one of the right-side wheels or one of the left-side wheels of the vehicle based on the rotation direction signal transmitted from the transmitter; and wherein the controller includes a memory and has stored in the memory reference identification signals, each of which coincides with the identification signal specific to one of the transmitters and is associated with one of the wheels, and a plurality of tire location sequences available for the tires of the vehicle, and wherein the controller further performs a third process of determining whether a tire rotation has been made for the tires of the vehicle through comparison of the identification signal specific to the transmitter that is currently on the first wheel with the reference identification signal stored in the memory in association with the first wheel. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4)
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5. A tire location detecting apparatus, which is provided on a vehicle to detect locations of four tires each of which is fitted on one of a front-right, a front-left, a rear-right, and a rear-left wheel of the vehicle, comprising:
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four rotation direction detecting devices each of which is mounted on one of the four wheels of the vehicle to detect rotation direction of the wheel and outputs a rotation direction signal representative of the detected rotation direction; four transmitters each of which is mounted on one of the four wheels of the vehicle to have association with the tire and the rotation direction detecting device on the one of the wheels, each of the transmitters working to transmit, at a predetermined time, an identification signal specific thereto along with the rotation direction signal outputted from the associated rotation direction detecting device; a triggering device disposed on a body of the vehicle, the triggering device working to send out a trigger signal which causes the transmitter on a first one of the four wheels of the vehicle to transmit the identification signal specific thereto in response to the trigger signal; a receiver arranged on the body of the vehicle, the receiver working to receive all of the identification and rotation direction signals transmitted by the transmitters at the predetermined times, the receiver also working to receive the identification signal transmitted by the transmitter on the first wheel in response to the trigger signal; a controller electrically connected with the triggering device and the receiver to control operations of the triggering device and the receiver, the controller also performing; a first process of identifying the transmitter and the tire on the first wheel of the vehicle based on the identification signal transmitted by the transmitter on the first wheel in response to the trigger signal; and a second process of determining, for each of the transmitters, whether the transmitter and the associated tire are located on one of the right-side wheels or one of the left-side wheels of the vehicle based on the rotation direction signal transmitted from the transmitter; and wherein the tire location detecting apparatus further comprises a second triggering device, which is disposed on the body of the vehicle to send out a second trigger signal which causes the transmitter on a second one of the four wheels, which has a right/left location opposite to that of the first wheel, to transmit the identification signal specific thereto in response to the second trigger signal, wherein, the receiver further works to receive the identification signal transmitted by the transmitter on the second wheel in response to the second trigger signal, and the controller further performs; a third process of identifying the transmitter and the tire on the second wheel of the vehicle based on the identification signal transmitted by the transmitter on the second wheel in response to the second trigger signal, a fourth process of identifying the transmitter and the tire on a third one of the four wheels which has the same right/left location as the first wheel, and a fifth process of identifying the transmitter and the tire on a fourth one of the four wheels which has the same right/left location as the second wheel. - View Dependent Claims (6)
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7. A tire location detecting apparatus, which is provided on a vehicle to detect locations of four tires each of which is fitted on one of a front-right, a front-left, a rear-right, and a rear-left wheel of the vehicle, comprising:
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four rotation direction detecting devices each of which is mounted on one of the four wheels of the vehicle to detect rotation direction of the wheel and outputs a rotation direction signal representative of the detected rotation direction; four transmitters each of which is mounted on one of the four wheels of the vehicle to have association with the tire and the rotation direction detecting device on the one of the wheels, each of the transmitters working to transmit, at a predetermined time, an identification signal specific thereto along with the rotation direction signal outputted from the associated rotation direction detecting device; a triggering device disposed on a body of the vehicle, the triggering device working to send out a trigger signal which causes the transmitter on a first one of the four wheels of the vehicle to transmit the identification signal specific thereto in response to the trigger signal; a receiver arranged on the body of the vehicle, the receiver working to receive all of the identification and rotation direction signals transmitted by the transmitters at the predetermined times, the receiver also working to receive the identification signal transmitted by the transmitter on the first wheel in response to the trigger signal; a controller electrically connected with the triggering device and the receiver to control operations of the triggering device and the receiver, the controller also performing; a first process of identifying the transmitter and the tire on the first wheel of the vehicle based on the identification signal transmitted by the transmitter on the first wheel in response to the trigger signal, and a second process of determining, for each of the transmitters, whether the transmitter and the associated tire are located on one of the right-side wheels or one of the left-side wheels of the vehicle based on the rotation direction signal transmitted from the transmitter; and wherein, the trigger signal sent out from the triggering device further causes the transmitter on a second one of the four wheels, which has a right/left location opposite to that of the first wheel, to transmit the identification signal specific thereto in response to the trigger signal, the receiver further works to receive the identification signal transmitted by the transmitter on the second wheel in response to the trigger signal, and the controller further performs; a third process of identifying the transmitter and the tire on the second wheel of the vehicle based on the identification signal transmitted by the transmitter on the second wheel in response to the trigger signal, a fourth process of identifying the transmitter and the tire on a third one of the four wheels which has the same right/left location as the first wheel, and a fifth process of identifying the transmitter and the tire on a fourth one of the four wheels which has the same right/left location as the second wheel. - View Dependent Claims (8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13)
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14. A tire location detecting apparatus, which is provided on a vehicle to detect locations of four tires each of which is fitted on one of a front-right, a front-left, a rear-right, and a rear-left wheel of the vehicle, comprising:
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four rotation direction detecting devices each of which is mounted on one of the four wheels of the vehicle to detect rotation direction of the wheel and outputs a rotation direction signal representative of the detected rotation direction; four transmitters each of which is mounted on one of the four wheels of the vehicle to have association with the tire and the rotation direction detecting device on the one of the wheels, each of the transmitters working to transmit, at a predetermined time, an identification signal specific thereto along with the rotation direction signal outputted from the associated rotation direction detecting device; a triggering device disposed on a body of the vehicle, the triggering device working to send out a trigger signal which causes the transmitter on a first one of the four wheels of the vehicle to transmit the identification signal specific thereto in response to the trigger signal; a receiver arranged on the body of the vehicle, the receiver working to receive all of the identification and rotation direction signals transmitted by the transmitters at the predetermined times, the receiver also working to receive the identification signal transmitted by the transmitter on the first wheel in response to the trigger signal; a controller electrically connected with the triggering device and the receiver to control operations of the triggering device and the receiver, the controller also performing; a first process of identifying the transmitter and the tire on the first wheel of the vehicle based on the identification signal transmitted by the transmitter on the first wheel in response to the trigger signal, and a second process of determining, for each of the transmitters, whether the transmitter and the associated tire are located on one of the right-side wheels or one of the left-side wheels of the vehicle based on the rotation direction signal transmitted from the transmitter; and wherein each of the rotation direction detecting devices includes a first accelerometer, which works to output a first acceleration signal representative of a centrifugal acceleration of the wheel, and a second accelerometer, which works to output a second acceleration signal representative of a tangential acceleration of the wheel, and determines the rotation direction of the wheel based on the lead/lag relationship in phase between the first and second acceleration signals. - View Dependent Claims (15)
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16. A tire location detecting apparatus, which is provided on a vehicle to detect locations of four tires each of which is fitted on one of a front-right, a front-left, a rear-right, and a rear-left wheel of the vehicle, comprising:
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four rotation direction detecting devices each of which is mounted on one of the four wheels of the vehicle to detect rotation direction of the wheel and outputs a rotation direction signal representative of the detected rotation direction; four transmitters each of which is mounted on one of the four wheels of the vehicle to have association with the tire and the rotation direction detecting device on the one of the wheels, each of the transmitters working to transmit, at a predetermined time, an identification signal specific thereto along with the rotation direction signal outputted from the associated rotation direction detecting device; a triggering device disposed on a body of the vehicle, the triggering device working to send out a trigger signal which causes the transmitter on a first one of the four wheels of the vehicle to transmit the identification signal specific thereto in response to the trigger signal; a receiver arranged on the body of the vehicle, the receiver working to receive all of the identification and rotation direction signals transmitted by the transmitters at the predetermined times, the receiver also working to receive the identification signal transmitted by the transmitter on the first wheel in response to the trigger signal; a controller electrically connected with the triggering device and the receiver to control operations of the triggering device and the receiver, the controller also performing; a first process of identifying the transmitter and the tire on the first wheel of the vehicle based on the identification signal transmitted by the transmitter on the first wheel in response to the trigger signal, and a second process of determining, for each of the transmitters, whether the transmitter and the associated tire are located on one of the right-side wheels or one of the left-side wheels of the vehicle based on the rotation direction signal transmitted from the transmitter; and wherein the tire location detecting apparatus is integrated into a tire inflation pressure detecting apparatus provided on the vehicle to detect inflation pressures of the tires, and wherein, the tire inflation pressure detecting apparatus further includes four pressure sensors, each of which is mounted on one of the four wheels of the vehicle to sense inflation pressure of the tire on the wheel and output a pressure signal representative of the sensed inflation pressure, each of the transmitters works to transmit, at the predetermined time, the pressure signal outputted from an associated one of the pressure sensors along with the identification signal and the rotation direction signal, the receiver works to receive all of the pressure, identification, and rotation direction signals transmitted by the transmitters at the predetermined times, and the controller further performs a third process of determining, for each of the transmitters, the inflation pressure of the tire associated with the transmitter based on the pressure signal transmitted form the transmitter. - View Dependent Claims (17)
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Specification