Method and device for locating each of the wheels of a pair of twin wheels mounted on a vehicle

• US 8,362,920 B2
• Filed: 03/27/2008
• Issued: 01/29/2013
• Est. Priority Date: 03/29/2007
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Continental Automotive France (Continental AG)
• Original Assignee: Continental Automotive France (Continental AG)
• Inventors: Gerardiere, Olivier
• Primary Examiner(s): JEAN PIERRE, PEGUY
• Application Number:
  US12/593,139
• Publication Number:
  US 20100085212A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,769 Days
• Field of Search: 340/426.31, 340/426.33, 340/870.01, 340/870.28, 340/870, 340/18, 702/138
• US Class Current: 340/870.28
• CPC Class Codes: B60C 23/007 having multiple wheels arranged side by side
• CPC Class Codes: B60C 23/008 having wheels on more than two axles
• CPC Class Codes: B60C 23/0416 allocating a corresponding wheel position on vehicle, e.g. front/left or rear/right
• CPC Class Codes: B60C 23/044 Near field triggers, e.g. magnets or triggers with 125 KHz
• 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
• 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 method and device for locating each of the wheels of a pair of twinned wheels mounted on a vehicle. Each twinned wheel is equipped with an electromagnetic receiving antenna, and these two twinned wheels are provided with elements of relative blocking rotation-wise designed to make it possible to obtain an offset by a predetermined angle (α), such that (α) is different from 0° and 180°, between the receiving antennas with which the two twinned wheels are equipped. The vehicle is equipped with a fixed source of emission of an electromagnetic signal suitable for covering an area passed through by the receiving antennas, and the electromagnetic field received by each of the receiving antennas is measured, so as to deduce, from the analysis of the time offset between the variations of the two measured electromagnetic fields, the location of each of the twinned wheels.

Claims

1. A method of locating each of the wheels of a pair of twinned wheels mounted on one end of an axle of a vehicle of rotation axis, said method consisting of:

equipping each twinned wheel with an electromagnetic receiving antenna and a microprocessor-based computation unit linked to said receiving antenna for measuring the electromagnetic field received by said receiving antenna;

equipping the vehicle with a source of emission of an electromagnetic signal that is fixed relative to the two twinned wheels, said source being arranged and having a power that is suitable for generating the electromagnetic field covering an area that is passed through by the receiving antennas with which each of the twinned wheels is equipped when said wheels rotate;

providing relative blocking rotation-wise of the two twinned wheels to allow for angularly offsetting of the receiving antennas with which each of said two twinned wheels are equipped for obtaining, after said wheels have been mounted on the axle, and in a plane orthogonal to the rotation axis, an offset by a predetermined angle, such that the angle is different from 0° and

180°

, between the receiving antennas with which each of said two twinned wheels are equipped; and

measuring the electromagnetic field received by each of the receiving antennas when the source of emission of the electromagnetic signal is activated, so as to deduce, from analysis of time offset between variations of the two measured electromagnetic fields, the location of each of the twinned wheels.

2. A device for locating each of the wheels of a pair of twinned wheels mounted on one of the ends of an axle of a vehicle of rotation axis, comprising:

adapted to equip each twinned wheel, an electromagnetic receiving antenna and means of measuring the electromagnetic field received by said receiving antenna;

adapted to be fixedly mounted on the vehicle relative to the two twinned wheels, a source of emission of an electromagnetic signal arranged and having a power suitable for generating an electromagnetic field covering an area passed through by the receiving antennas with which each of the twinned wheels is equipped when said wheels rotate;

means of angularly offsetting the receiving antennas with which said two twinned wheels are equipped for obtaining, after said wheels have been mounted on the axle, and in a plane orthogonal to the rotation axis, an offset by a predetermined angle, such that the angle is different from 0° and

180°

, between the receiving antennas with which said two twinned wheels are equipped; and

means of analyzing the electromagnetic field measured at the terminals of each of the receiving antennas for determining from time offset between variations of the two measured electromagnetic fields, the location of each of the twinned wheels.

3. The locating device as claimed in claim 2, wherein the source of emission of the electromagnetic signal and the receiving antennas respectively consist of a sending antenna and of receiving antennas of the low frequency LF antenna type.

4. The locating device as claimed in claim 3, wherein the means of angularly offsetting the two twinned wheels are designed to define an offset by an angle of between 45°

and 90°

between the receiving antennas with which said twinned wheels are equipped.

5. The device as claimed in claim 3, wherein, for locating twinned wheels comprising identical rims provided with a hub with a planar assembly face designed to allow said twinned wheels to be mounted in a reversed position in which their planar assembly faces are in contact with one another, the means of angularly offsetting the two twinned wheels comprise, provided on each planar assembly face of the hub, and at one and the same distance from the rotation axis:

at least one boss projecting relative to said assembly face, and

for each boss, a void with a shape designed to house said boss, offset by an angle relative to the position of this boss.

6. The locating device as claimed in claim 2, wherein the means of angularly offsetting the two twinned wheels are designed to define an offset by an angle of between 45°

and 90°

between the receiving antennas with which said twinned wheels are equipped.

7. The device as claimed in claim 6, wherein, for locating twinned wheels comprising identical rims provided with a hub with a planar assembly face designed to allow said twinned wheels to be mounted in a reversed position in which their planar assembly faces are in contact with one another, the means of angularly offsetting the two twinned wheels comprise, provided on each planar assembly face of the hub, and at one and the same distance from the rotation axis:

at least one boss projecting relative to said assembly face, and

for each boss, a void with a shape designed to house said boss, offset by an angle relative to the position of this boss.

8. The locating device as claimed in claim 2, wherein, for locating twinned wheels comprising identical rims provided with a hub with a planar assembly face designed to allow said twinned wheels to be mounted in a reversed position in which their planar assembly faces are in contact with one another, the means of angularly offsetting the two twinned wheels comprise, provided on each planar assembly face of the hub, and at one and the same distance from the rotation axis:

at least one boss projecting relative to said assembly face, and

for each boss, a void with a shape designed to house said boss, offset by an angle relative to the position of this boss.

9. The device as claimed in claim 2, wherein, for locating twinned wheels, comprising identical rims provided with a hub with a planar assembly face designed to allow said twinned wheels to be mounted in a reversed position in which their planar assembly faces are in contact with one another, the means of angularly offsetting the two twinned wheels comprise, provided on each planar assembly face of the hub, and at one and the same distance from the rotation axis:

at least one boss projecting relative to said assembly face, and

for each boss, a void with a shape designed to house said boss, offset by an angle relative to the position of this boss.