Tire inflation pressure determining system and tire inflation pressure determining apparatus

• US 7,469,580 B2
• Filed: 03/06/2006
• Issued: 12/30/2008
• Est. Priority Date: 03/08/2005
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Semiconductor Components Industries LLC (ON Semiconductor Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Akebono Brake Industry Company Limited (Akebono Brake Corporation), Sanyo Electric Company Limited (Panasonic Holdings Corporation)
• Inventors: Kunimi, Takashi, Saito, Hiroshi, Suzuki, Hirohisa, Kuwako, Eiichiro
• Primary Examiner(s): Allen; Andre J
• Assistant Examiner(s): JENKINS, JERMAINE L
• Application Number:
  US11/885,284
• Publication Number:
  US 20080168834A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,030 Days
• Field of Search: 73146-1468, 340442-447
• US Class Current: 73/146.5
• CPC Class Codes: B60C 23/041 Means for supplying power to the signal- transmitting means on the wheel
• CPC Class Codes: B60C 23/0413 Wireless charging of active radio frequency circuits
• CPC Class Codes: B60C 23/0433 Radio signals

Abstract

A tire inflation pressure determining system is provided in which measurement results are transmitted to the exterior without providing a high precision oscillation circuit to a tire-mounted air pressure determining system.

An LC resonance circuit is composed of a coil Ls and an inflation pressure sensor in which the electric capacitance varies in accordance with tire air pressure. The fluctuations of the electromagnetic field having a frequency f0 generated by a sensor control unit are sensed in a coil L2, a clock is generated based on the sensed fluctuations, the clock is inputted to a coil Le that is transformer coupled to the coil Ls, and the LC resonance circuit is excited. The output voltage of the LC resonance circuit is converted to digital data in an A/D conversion circuit in correspondence with the intensity of the resonance, the impedance of the coil L2 is varied in accordance with the bit sequence constituting the data, and a modulation is thereby generated in the voltage of a coil L1 of the sensor control unit via the electromagnetic field.

Claims

1. A tire inflation pressure determining apparatus, comprising:

an antenna for converting variations in a supplied electromagnetic field applied from the exterior, and generating electromagnetic field fluctuations toward the exterior;

an inflation pressure sensor whose electric capacitance varies in accordance with air pressure inside a tire;

a sensor resonance circuit for producing electrical resonance in accordance with the electric capacitance;

a data generation circuit for generating transmission data that includes information of the air pressure on the basis of intensity of the electrical resonance; and

a response circuit for varying electric current that flows to the antenna in accordance with bit values of the transmission data represented by digital data, and generating the electromagnetic field fluctuations, wherein

the transmission data is transmitted to the exterior with the aid of the electromagnetic field fluctuations.

2. The tire inflation pressure determining apparatus of claim 1, wherein:

a clock generation circuit for generating a clock having a frequency that corresponds to the receiving frequency on the basis of the AC signals having a predefined receiving frequency outputted from the antenna, and

an excitation coil to which the clock is inputted, wherein

the sensor resonance circuit has a resonance coil that constitutes an LC resonance circuit together with the electric capacitance and is electromagnetically coupled to the excitation coil.

3. The tire inflation pressure determining apparatus of claim 2, wherein the antenna has a coil and a capacitor that constitute a parallel LC resonance circuit for resonating at the receiving frequency.

4. The tire inflation pressure determining apparatus of claim 1, wherein:

the apparatus is used under conditions that the supplied electromagnetic field varies at a supply frequency that is selectively switched between a first frequency and a second frequency in a time sharing fashion;

the antenna resonates at the first transmission frequency and increases the output of the drive power; and

the sensor resonance circuit has a resonance coil that constitutes an LC resonance circuit together with the electric capacitance and that is excited by the transmission electromagnetic field, and has a resonance frequency that corresponds to the second transmission frequency.

5. The tire inflation pressure determining apparatus of claim 4, wherein the antenna has a coil and a capacitor that constitute a parallel LC resonance circuit for resonating at the first frequency.

6. The tire inflation pressure determining apparatus of claim 1, wherein the response circuit is a switching circuit for switching impedance of the antenna in accordance with the bit value.

7. The tire inflation pressure determining apparatus of claim 1, wherein a power circuit for rectifying and accumulating AC drive power generated in the antenna.

8. The tire inflation pressure determining apparatus of claim 1, wherein a temperature sensor for determining temperature inside a tire, wherein the data generation circuit includes information about the temperature in the transmission data.

9. The tire inflation pressure determining apparatus of claim 1, wherein a memory in which associated information related to the tire on which the sensor unit is mounted is stored in advance, wherein the data generation circuit includes the associated information in the transmission data.

10. The tire inflation pressure determining apparatus of claim 1, wherein:

a level-sensing circuit for sensing a strong connection state in which amplitude of an AC signal outputted from the antenna in accordance with the variations in the transmission electromagnetic field is at a predefined level or higher; and

a response circuit for varying electric current that flows to the antenna in accordance with bit values of the transmission data represented by digital data, and generating the electromagnetic field fluctuations when the strong connection state has been sensed.

11. The tire inflation pressure determining apparatus of claim 10, wherein:

the data generation circuit generates the transmission data, which includes information of the strong connection state in addition to information of the air pressure; and

the rotational speed of a tire can be measured by allowing information of the strong connection state included in the transmission data to be periodically received in the exterior.

12. The tire inflation pressure determining apparatus of claim 10, wherein the antenna has a coil and a capacitor that constitute a parallel LC resonance circuit for resonating at a fluctuation frequency of the supplied electromagnetic field.

13. The tire inflation pressure determining apparatus of claim 10, wherein:

a clock generation circuit for generating, based the AC signal, a clock having a frequency that corresponds to a fluctuation frequency of the supplied electromagnetic field, and an excitation coil to which the clock is inputted; and

wherein

the sensor resonance circuit has a resonance coil that constitutes an LC resonance circuit together with the electric capacitance and is electromagnetically coupled to the excitation coil.

14. A tire inflation pressure determining apparatus, comprising:

an antenna for converting variations in a supplied electromagnetic field applied from the exterior, and generating electromagnetic field fluctuations toward the exterior;

a level-sensing circuit for sensing a strong connection state in which amplitude of an AC signal outputted from the antenna in accordance with the variations in the supplied electromagnetic field is at a predefined level or higher;

an inflation pressure sensor for determining air pressure inside a tire;

a data generation circuit for generating transmission data that includes information of the air pressure; and

a response circuit for varying electric current that flows to the antenna in accordance with bit values of the transmission data represented by digital data, and generating the electromagnetic field fluctuations when the strong connection state has been sensed, wherein the transmission data is transmitted to the exterior with the aid of the electromagnetic field fluctuations.

15. The tire inflation pressure determining apparatus of claim 14, wherein the antenna has a coil and a capacitor that constitute a parallel LC resonance circuit for resonating at a fluctuation frequency of the supplied electromagnetic field.

16. The tire inflation pressure determining apparatus of claim 14, wherein:

the inflation pressure sensor has an electric capacitance that varies in accordance with the air pressure;

the tire inflation pressure determining apparatus furthermore has a sensor resonance circuit for generating electrical resonance in accordance with the electric capacitance; and

the data generation circuit generates transmission data that includes information of the air pressure on the basis of intensity of the electrical resonance.

17. The tire inflation pressure determining apparatus of claim 16, wherein:

a clock generation circuit for generating a clock having a frequency that corresponds to a fluctuation frequency of the supplied electromagnetic field on the basis of the AC signal, and an excitation coil to which the clock is inputted; and

the sensor resonance circuit has a resonance coil that constitutes an LC resonance circuit together with the electric capacitance and is electromagnetically coupled to the excitation coil.

18. The tire inflation pressure determining apparatus of claim 14, wherein the response circuit is a switching circuit for switching impedance of the antenna in accordance with the bit value.

19. The tire inflation pressure determining apparatus of claim 14, wherein a power circuit for rectifying and accumulating AC drive power generated in the antenna.

20. A tire inflation pressure determining apparatus, comprising:

an antenna for converting variations in a supplied electromagnetic field applied from the exterior, and generating electromagnetic field fluctuations toward the exterior,

a level-sensing circuit for sensing a strong connection state in which amplitude of an AC signal outputted from the antenna in accordance with the variations in the supplied electromagnetic field is at a predefined level or higher;

an inflation pressure sensor for determining air pressure inside a tire;

a data generation circuit for generating transmission data that includes information of the air pressure and information of the strong connection state; and

a response circuit for varying electric current that flows to the antenna in accordance with bit values of the transmission data represented by digital data, and generating the electromagnetic field fluctuations when the strong connection state has been sensed; and

wherein

the transmission data is transmitted to the exterior with the aid of the electromagnetic field fluctuations, and the rotational speed of a tire can be measured by allowing information of the strong connection state to be periodically received at the exterior.