Tire monitoring system and method

• US 8,035,501 B2
• Filed: 02/11/2008
• Issued: 10/11/2011
• Est. Priority Date: 02/09/2007
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: VDO Automotive AG (Continental AG)
• Original Assignee: VDO Automotive AG (Continental AG)
• Inventors: Fink, Alexander, Fischer, Frank, Kuchler, Gregor
• Primary Examiner(s): Nguyen; Hung T.
• Application Number:
  US12/028,859
• Publication Number:
  US 20080191855A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,338 Days
• Field of Search: 340/447, 340/442, 340/444, 340/445, 340/449, 701/29, 701/30, 731/46, 731/462, 731/464, 731/465, 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 23/0444 Antenna structures, control or arrangements thereof, e.g. for directional antennas, diversity antenna, antenna multiplexing or antennas integrated in fenders

Abstract

A tire monitoring system in or for a vehicle for determining tire-specific parameters has a distributed bus architecture. At least one intelligent receiving device is configured to receive transmit signals of a wheel electronic system. The receiving device has a signal processing device that carries out an evaluation of the received transmit signals and/or an evaluation of received signals of another subscriber of the bus architecture. The invention also relates to methods for operating the intelligent receiving devices of a distributed bus architecture of the novel tire monitoring or tire pressure system.

Claims

1. A tire monitoring system in or for a vehicle for determining tire-specific parameters, the system having a distributed bus architecture and comprising:

a wheel electronic system configured to output transmit signals, said wheel electronic system assigned to only one particular wheel of the vehicle;

a plurality of subscribers of the distributed bus architecture, said subscribers including at least one intelligent receiving device configured to receive the transmit signals of said wheel electronic system, said wheel electronic system assigned only to said receiving device; and

a bus connected to said receiving device;

said receiving device having a signal processing device for evaluating the received transmit signals and/or for evaluating received signals of other said subscribers of the distributed bus architecture;

said receiving device feeding the received transmit signals to said bus only when the received transmit signals have been transmitted by said wheel electronic system assigned to said receiving device.

2. The tire monitoring system according to claim 1, wherein at least one receiving device is assigned to a wheel or wheel electronic system thereof.

3. The tire monitoring system according to claim 1, wherein at least one receiving device is positioned in close proximity to said wheel electronic system assigned thereto.

4. The tire monitoring system according to claim 1, wherein said receiving device is one of at least two receiving devices distributed about the vehicle.

5. The tire monitoring system according to claim 1, wherein another said subscriber is another receiving device or a processor unit.

6. The tire monitoring system according to claim 1, further comprising:

at least two said receiving devices interfaced to said bus, and a processing unit for controlling said receiving devices and evaluating and processing the signals received and relayed by said receiving devices.

7. The tire monitoring system according to claim 6, wherein said bus is formed with a single wire bus cable or a two-wire bus cable.

8. The tire monitoring system according to claim 6, wherein said at least two receiving devices are configured to communicate with said processing unit and/or with one another via said bus.

9. The tire monitoring system according to claim 1, wherein a first group of receiving devices is disposed in close proximity to the assigned wheel electronic system, and a second group of receiving devices is distributed about the vehicle.

10. The tire monitoring system according to claim 9, wherein said receiving devices are assigned to a first and/or a second group of a respective wheel electronic system.

11. The tire monitoring system according to claim 1, wherein said receiving device is configured to monitor the bus and/or to evaluate signals transmitted via a bus of said bus system.

12. The tire monitoring system according to claim 1 configured to monitor a wheel-specific parameter selected from the group consisting of a tire pressure, a tire temperature, a rotational speed of a wheel, a depth of a tire tread, and a mounting position of a wheel with respect to the vehicle.

13. The tire monitoring system according to claim 1, configured as a tire pressure monitoring system for determining a tire pressure.

14. A method of operating intelligent receiving devices of a distributed bus architecture, which comprises:

providing a tire monitoring system including;

a wheel electronic system configured to output transmit signals, the wheel electronic system assigned to only one particular wheel of the vehicle,

a plurality of subscribers of the distributed bus architecture, the subscribers including at least one intelligent receiving device configured to receive the transmit signals of the wheel electronic system, the wheel electronic system assigned only to the receiving device, and

a bus connected to the receiving device,

the receiving device having a signal processing device for evaluating the received transmit signals and/or for evaluating received signals of other the subscribers of the distributed bus architecture,

processing and/or evaluating the received transmit signals with the receiving device; and

feeding the received transmit signals from the receiving device to the bus only when the receiving device determines that the received transmit signals have been transmitted by the wheel electronic system assigned to the receiving device.

15. The method according to claim 14, which comprises:

when a receiving device receives a transmit signal from a wheel electronic system other than from the wheel electronic system assigned thereto, evaluating the transmit signal thus received in the receiving device and/or relaying the transmit signal to the processing unit and/or to the receiving device assigned to the specific wheel electronic system.

16. The method according to claim 14, which comprises determining with a receiving device whether transmit signals that are received from another receiving device and relayed via the bus are present on the bus, and wherein, in that case, the receiving device receives via the bus signals intended for it.

17. The method according to claim 14, which comprises relaying with a receiving device only those signals that are required by at least one other receiving device and/or by the processing unit.

18. The method according to claim 14, which comprises relaying via the bus received transmit signals, each of which contains similar or identical data, to the processing unit only by a unique receiving device.

19. The method according to claim 14, which comprises relaying via the bus received transmit signals with similar or identical data from the same wheel electronic system only by a unique receiving device.