Tire air pressure monitoring device and method for tire air pressure monitoring

• US 7,834,747 B2
• Filed: 01/31/2006
• Issued: 11/16/2010
• Est. Priority Date: 02/02/2005
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Global Dynamix AG
• Original Assignee: Global Dynamix AG
• Inventors: Achterholt, Rainer
• Primary Examiner(s): La; Anh V
• Application Number:
  US11/813,945
• Publication Number:
  US 20100039250A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,750 Days
• Field of Search: 340442-449, 340/425.5, 340/426.33, 340/10.6, 340/10.1, 731/46, 731/462, 731/463, 731/464, 731/465, 701/1, 701/2, 116/34.R
• US Class Current: 340/447
• CPC Class Codes: B60C 23/0416 allocating a corresponding wheel position on vehicle, e.g. front/left or rear/right
• CPC Class Codes: B60C 23/0442 the transmitted signal comprises further information, e.g. instruction codes, sensor characteristics or identification data

Abstract

In a tire air pressure monitoring device and/or in a method for performing tire air pressure monitoring by a device, each monitored pneumatic tire is provided with a wheel module, which generates radiotelegrams provided with air pressure data and sends them telemetrically to a control device in the vehicle. In addition, by an acceleration sensor serving as selection signal, a proportionate wheel position signal is generated in the wheel module and entered and stored in a data memory device on the wheel module. The control device generates a selecting demand signal that queries the presence or absence of the selection signal, which requires only the wheel modules that have or do not have the storage selection signal to send a radiotelegram within a stipulated time window or time frame. Thereupon, within the stipulated time window or time frame, only the radiotelegrams originating from the selected wheel module or the selected wheel modules are sent.

Claims

1. Tire air pressure monitoring device for a vehicle with several wheels, each of which is equipped with pneumatic tires, comprising (a) at least one wheel module for each monitored pneumatic tire, in which the wheel module compromises:

a pressure sensor, in order to generate an electric pressure signal corresponding to the pneumatic tire air pressure;

an acceleration sensor, in order to record the direction of rotation of a rotating wheel on the moving vehicle and to form from it a selection signal corresponding to the vehicle side;

a signal data processing device with a data storage device, in which the signal data processing device processes signals formed in the wheel module, including the pressure signal, and generates a radiotelegram, having modulations corresponding to the signals occurring in the wheel module; and

an HF transmitting/receiving device coupled to the signal data processing device for telemetric signal data communication with a control device on the vehicle; and

(b) the control device mounted stationary on the vehicle, which is equipped with a data signal generation device and a data signal processing device, each supported with a microprocessor, as well as with an HF transmitting/receiving device with at least one assigned antenna, in order to generate demand signals, and send them telemetrically to the wheel modules, and to receive and evaluate the radiotelegrams generated by the wheel modules;

wherein the selection signal generated by these acceleration signals on the corresponding wheel modules is entered and stored, directly or in the form of a signal derived from it, in its data storage device and kept ready for correlation with a demand signal of the control device;

the control device sends a selecting demand signal that queries the presence or absence of the selection signal, which requires only the wheel modules that have or do not have the stored selection signal to send a radiotelegram within a stipulated time window or time frame; and

thereupon, within the stipulated time window or time frame, only the radiotelegrams originating from the selected wheel module or the selected wheel modules are sent.

2. Tire air pressure monitoring device according to claim 1,

comprising at least four wheel modules for a vehicle with at least four wheels,

in which, depending on the direction of travel of the vehicle, at least two wheels are mounted on the left side of the vehicle and the two other wheels are mounted on the right side of the vehicle, and the acceleration sensor forms a first selection signal, which corresponds to the direction of rotation of the wheels mounted on the left side and forms a second selection signal, which corresponds to the direction of rotation of the wheels mounted on the right side;

and in which;

the first selection signal generated by these acceleration sensors on two wheel modules is stored, directly or in the form of a signal derived from it, in its data storage memory device (first wheel module); and

the second selection signal generated in the two other wheel modules is stored, directly or in the form of a signal derived from it, in its data memory device (second wheel module);

the control device sends a selecting demand signal, which requires either the first wheel module or the second wheel module to send a radiotelegram within a stipulated time window or time frame; and

thereupon, within the stipulated time window or time frame, only the radiotelegrams originating from the two selected wheel modules are sent.

3. Tire air pressure monitoring device according to the claim 1, in which the control device and/or its antenna(s) is arranged in the region of the vehicle longitudinal center plane and adjacent to a vehicle axle, as well as distant from the other vehicle axle.

4. Tire air pressure monitoring device according to claim 1, in which the HF transmitting/receiving device on the control device is a transceiver;

this receiver is provided with an internal RSSI circuit.

5. Tire air pressure monitoring device according to claim 1, in which the pressure sensor has measurement and evaluation electronics.

6. Tire air pressure monitoring device according to claim 1, in which the acceleration sensor has adjusted evaluation electronics.

7. Method for performance of tire air pressure monitoring

on a vehicle with several tires, each of which is equipped with pneumatic tires,

in which each monitored pneumatic tire is provided with (a) a wheel module, comprising:

a pressure sensor, in order to generate an electric pressure signal corresponding to the pneumatic tire air pressure;

an acceleration sensor, in order to record the direction of rotation of a rotating wheel on the moving vehicle, and to form from it a selection signal corresponding to the corresponding side of the vehicle;

a signal data processing device with a data memory device, in which the signal data processing device processes signals occurring in the wheel module, including the pressure signal, and generates a radiotelegram, having modulations corresponding to the signals formed in the wheel module; and

an HF transmitting/receiving device coupled to the signal data processing device for telemetric signal data communication with a control device on the vehicle; and

(b) the control device mounted stationary on the vehicle is present, which is equipped with a data signal generation device and a data signal processing device, each supported with a microprocessor, as well as with an HF transmitting/receiving device with at least one assigned antenna, in order to generate demand signals and transmit them telemetrically to the wheel modules, on the one hand, and to receive and evaluate the radiotelegrams generated by the wheel modules, on the other;

wherein the selection signal generated by these acceleration sensors on the corresponding wheel modules are entered and stored, directly or in the form of a signal derived from them, in its data memory device and kept ready for correlation with a demand signal of the control device;

the control device sends a selecting demand signal that queries the presence or absence of the selection signal, which requires only the wheel modules that have or do not have the stored selection signal to send a radiotelegram within a stipulated time window or time frame; and

thereupon, within the stipulated time window or time frame, only the radiotelegrams originating from the selected wheel module or the selected wheel modules are sent.

8. Method for performance of the tire air pressure monitoring according to claim 7 on a vehicle with at least four wheels, in which, depending on the direction of travel of the vehicle, at least two wheels are mounted on the left side of the vehicle and the other wheels are mounted on the right side of the vehicle, and the acceleration sensor forms a first selection signal, which corresponds to the direction of rotation of the wheels mounted on the left side, and a second selection signal, which corresponds to the direction of rotation of the wheels mounted on the right side;

and in which;

the first selection signal generated by these acceleration sensors on the two wheel modules are stored, directly or in the form of a signal derived from them, in the data memory device (first wheel module); and

the second selection signal generated by the two other wheel modules is stored, directly or in the form of a signal derived from it, in its data memory device (second wheel module);

the control device sends a selecting demand signal that requires either the first wheel module or the seconds wheel module to send a radiotelegram within a stipulated time window or time frame; and

thereupon, within the stipulated time window or time frame, only the radiotelegrams originating from the two selected wheel modules are sent.

9. Method for tire air pressure monitoring according to claim 7, in which two of the radiotelegrams originating from the two selected wheel modules arrive at the antenna coupled to the control device with different signal intensities;

and by means of their signal intensity difference, they are assigned to one selected wheel module or the other selected wheel module.

10. Method for tire air pressure monitoring according to claim 7, in which the radiotelegrams sent by the selected wheel modules, after receipt of the selecting demand signal, also have modulation corresponding to the corresponding selection signal.