Tire pressure monitoring systems and methods
First Claim
1. A system for determining if a tire of a vehicle is improperly inflated, the system comprising:
- a radar configured to emit a signal generally parallel to a surface the vehicle is traveling on, to detect a reflection of the signal off of an object positioned perpendicular to the vehicle, and to output an indication of a speed of the vehicle;
a wheel speed sensor configured to sense a speed of a wheel of the vehicle; and
a controller coupled to the radar and the wheel speed sensor, the controller configured to receive the indication of the speed of the vehicle from the radar, to calculate a speed of the vehicle based on the sensed speed of the wheel, and to determine that a tire of the wheel is improperly inflated when the speed of the vehicle calculated using the wheel speed sensor varies by more than a predetermined amount from the speed of the vehicle determined by the radar, the controller slowing the vehicle when the tire of the wheel is determined to be improperly inflated.
1 Assignment
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Accused Products
Abstract
A system for determining if a tire of a vehicle is improperly inflated. The system includes a radar, a wheel speed sensor, and a controller. The radar is configured to emit a signal to detect a reflection of the signal off of an object positioned perpendicular to the vehicle, and to output an indication of a speed of the vehicle. The wheel speed sensor is configured to sense a speed of a wheel of the vehicle. The controller is configured to receive the indication of the speed of the vehicle from the radar, to calculate a speed of the vehicle based on the sensed speed of the wheel, and to determine a tire of the wheel is improperly inflated when the speed of the vehicle calculated using the wheel speed sensor varies by more than a predetermined amount from the speed of the vehicle determined using the radar signal.
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Citations
19 Claims
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1. A system for determining if a tire of a vehicle is improperly inflated, the system comprising:
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a radar configured to emit a signal generally parallel to a surface the vehicle is traveling on, to detect a reflection of the signal off of an object positioned perpendicular to the vehicle, and to output an indication of a speed of the vehicle; a wheel speed sensor configured to sense a speed of a wheel of the vehicle; and a controller coupled to the radar and the wheel speed sensor, the controller configured to receive the indication of the speed of the vehicle from the radar, to calculate a speed of the vehicle based on the sensed speed of the wheel, and to determine that a tire of the wheel is improperly inflated when the speed of the vehicle calculated using the wheel speed sensor varies by more than a predetermined amount from the speed of the vehicle determined by the radar, the controller slowing the vehicle when the tire of the wheel is determined to be improperly inflated. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11)
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12. A method of detecting an improperly inflated tire on a vehicle, the method comprising:
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a controller entering a tire calibration mode based on an input from a driver; a radar emitting a signal in a forward direction generally parallel to a surface the vehicle is traveling on; the radar detecting a reflection of the signal off of an object positioned perpendicular to the vehicle; determining a speed of the vehicle based on the signal; detecting a speed of a wheel of the vehicle; the controller determining a circumference of the tire based on the determined speed of the vehicle and the detected speed of the wheel; the controller determining a calculated speed of the vehicle based on the detected speed of the wheel after exiting the calibration mode; and the controller determining a tire of the wheel is improperly inflated when the calculated speed of the vehicle varies by more than a predetermined amount from the speed of the vehicle determined based on the signal. - View Dependent Claims (13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19)
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Specification