Tire pressure monitoring system and method for the allocation of tire modules in a tire pressure monitoring system

• US 8,400,289 B2
• Filed: 03/23/2006
• Issued: 03/19/2013
• Est. Priority Date: 04/01/2005
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Continental Teves AG & Co. OHG (Continental AG)
• Original Assignee: Continental Teves AG & Co. OHG (Continental AG)
• Inventors: Heise, Andreas, Bachon, Jens, Kammann, Stefan, Hartmann, Ralf, Erler, Wolfgang, Neumann, Markus, Bs, Marco, Sger, Peter
• Primary Examiner(s): Wu, Daniel
• Assistant Examiner(s): Tang, Son M
• Application Number:
  US11/887,555
• Publication Number:
  US 20090021363A1
• Time in Patent Office: 2,553 Days
• Field of Search: 340442-448, 340/505, 340/13.25, 340/13.26, 340/10.3, 340/10.41, 731462-1466
• 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
• 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

Disclosed is a tire pressure monitoring system for motor vehicles, including a central unit (2, 7) with at least one trigger module (4), which is integrated into the central unit or connects through control lines (3) to the central unit, and with at least one tire module (6) arranged in a vehicle wheel (5), with the tire module being in communication with the central unit and the trigger module by means of wireless transmission technology, and with the tire pressure monitoring system including fewer trigger modules than tire modules.

Claims

1. A tire pressure monitoring system for a motor vehicle, the system comprising:

a central unit (2, 7) with at least one trigger module (4), which is integrated into the central unit or connects through control lines (3) to the central unit; and

at least one tire module (6) arranged in a vehicle wheel (5), with the tire module in wireless communication with the central unit and the trigger module, wherein the tire pressure monitoring system includes fewer trigger modules than tire modules, wherein each tire module includes at least one device for sensing and measuring a trigger field strength received from the trigger module(s) (4), and the tire module transmits data indicating a measured trigger field strength to the central unit (2, 7).

2. The system of claim 1, wherein there is one tire module (6) per vehicle wheel (5).

3. The system of claim 1, wherein the at least one tire module (6) comprises a device for sensing the direction of rotation of the tire.

4. The system of claim 1, wherein the at least one trigger module transmits data with a frequency in the range of roughly 20 to roughly 300 kilohertz, to a tire module, while the at least one tire module transmits data to the central unit with a frequency in the range of roughly 1 megahertz up to roughly 5 gigahertz.

5. The system of claim 1, wherein the at least one tire module (6) includes a writable data memory, in which characteristic tire data can be stored.

6. The system of claim 1, wherein the at least one trigger module (4) includes an oscillatory circuit, which is commutable via a switch (S), from a transmitting arrangement, composed of a capacitor (C) and a transmitting coil (L_transmit), to a non-transmitting arrangement, composed of the capacitor (C) and a non-transmitting coil (L_nt).

7. The system of claim 1, wherein the at least one tire module (6) carries a universal identification number, by means of which it can be triggered by the trigger module(s) (4) in a wheel position allocation process, and with the at least one tire module includes a data memory, in which after the allocation of the tire module to a wheel position, an individual identification number is stored, by means of which the tire module is triggered by the trigger module(s) in the future.

8. The system of claim 1, wherein the at least one trigger module (4) comprises a single trigger module (4) that is in communication with at least two tire modules (6) of the system.

9. The system of claim 1, wherein the at least one trigger module (4) comprises a single trigger module (4) that is in communication with at least three tire modules (6) of the system.

10. The system of claim 1, wherein the at least one trigger module (4) comprises a single trigger module (4) that is in communication with all tire modules (6) of the system.

11. The system of claim 10, wherein the single trigger module (4) is disposed at different distances with respect to each of the tire modules (6) of the system.

12. The system of claim 11, wherein each of the tire modules (6) of the system receives a signal from the single trigger module (4) that has a different signal strength.

13. The system of claim 1, wherein the central unit (2, 7) is integrated with the at least one trigger module (4).

14. The system of claim 13, wherein the integrated central unit (2, 7) and at least one trigger module (4) is disposed closer to a front axle of the motor vehicle than a rear axle of the motor vehicle and is further disposed closer to one side of the motor vehicle than an opposing side of the motor vehicle.

15. The system of claim 1, wherein the at least one tire module comprises two acceleration sensors, the acceleration sensors being offset with respect to one another so as to detect acceleration pulse at different times.

16. The system of claim 1, wherein the at least one trigger module (6) transmits a low field strength signal and a high field strength signal.

17. A method for allocating of tire modules in a tire pressure monitoring system in motor vehicles, with the tire pressure monitoring system including a central unit (2, 7) with at least one trigger module (4), which is integrated into the central unit or connects through control lines (3) to the central unit, and respectively one tire module (6) per vehicle wheel (5), the method comprising:

having a tire module wirelessly communicate with a central unit and a trigger module, wherein the trigger module is in communication with more than one tire module in a wireless fashion; and

allocating a tire module based on a field strength analysis of the data that indicates a trigger field strength received and measured by the tire modules.

18. The method of claim 17, wherein the tire pressure monitoring system includes a single trigger module that is in communication with all of the tire modules of the tire pressure monitoring system.

19. The method of claim 18, wherein the single trigger module (4) is disposed at different distances with respect to each of the tire modules (6).

20. The method of claim 17, wherein the central unit (2, 7) is integrated with the at least one trigger module (4), the integrated central unit (2, 7) and at least one trigger module (4) is disposed closer to a front axle of a motor vehicle than a rear axle of the motor vehicle and is further disposed closer to one side of the motor vehicle than an opposing side of the motor vehicle.