Blank tire pressure monitoring device and its setup method

• US 8,680,980 B2
• Filed: 02/28/2011
• Issued: 03/25/2014
• Est. Priority Date: 02/28/2011
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Cub Elecparts Inc.
• Original Assignee: Cub Elecparts Inc.
• Inventors: Yu, San-Chuan, Hung, Yuan-Tung, Hu, Chao-Ching, Chiang, Chih-Ming
• Primary Examiner(s): Megistu, Amare
• Assistant Examiner(s): MATHEWS, CRYSTAL
• Application Number:
  US13/036,419
• Publication Number:
  US 20120218096A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,121 Days
• Field of Search: 340/426.33, 340/447, 340/442, 731/463, 731/465
• US Class Current: 340/442
• CPC Class Codes: B60C 23/044 Near field triggers, e.g. magnets or triggers with 125 KHz
• CPC Class Codes: B60C 23/0471 System initialisation, e.g. upload or calibration of operating parameters
• CPC Class Codes: B60C 23/0472 to manually allocate ID codes or mounting positions, e.g. by service technicians
• CPC Class Codes: B60C 23/0479 Communicating with external units being not part of the vehicle, e.g. tools for diagnostic, mobile phones, electronic keys or service stations
• CPC Class Codes: B60C 23/0488 Movement sensor, e.g. for sensing angular speed, acceleration or centripetal force
• CPC Class Codes: B60C 23/0494 Valve stem attachments positioned inside the tyre chamber

Abstract

A blank tire pressure monitoring device includes a housing having an air valve at one end and connection terminals at an opposite end, a circuit board mounted in the housing and carrying a pressure sensor, a temperature sensor, an acceleration sensor, an analog-digital converter electrically connected with the pressure sensor, the temperature sensor and the acceleration sensor, a general purpose I/O terminal unit electrically connected with the connection terminals of the housing; an embedded microcontroller module electrically connected with the general purpose I/O terminal unit and the analog-digital converter and having built therein a flash memory, a microcontroller core and a special-function register controller, a LF receiver electrically connected to the embedded microcontroller module, and a transmitter electrically connected to the embedded microcontroller module; and a method is still also disclosed for setting up a blank tire pressure monitoring device.

Claims

1. A blank tire pressure monitoring device, comprising:

a housing having located on one end thereof an air valve and located on an opposite end thereof five connection terminals;

a circuit board mounted inside said housing;

a pressure sensor installed in said circuit board;

a temperature sensor installed in said circuit board;

an acceleration sensor installed in said circuit board;

an analog-digital converter installed in said circuit board and electrically connected with said pressure sensor, said temperature sensor and said acceleration sensor;

a general purpose I/O terminal unit electrically connected with said connection terminals of said housing;

an embedded microcontroller module electrically connected with said general purpose I/O terminal unit and said analog-digital converter, said embedded microcontroller module comprising therein a flash memory, a microcontroller core and a special-function register controller;

a LF (low-frequency) receiver electrically connected to said embedded microcontroller module; and

a transmitter electrically connected to said embedded microcontroller module;

wherein said general purpose I/O terminal unit is electrically connected with said five connection terminals of said housing, and

wherein a first connection terminal of the five connection terminals is a power management terminal, a second connection terminal of the five connection terminals is a ground terminal, a third connection terminal of the five connection terminals is a data program clock terminal, a fourth connection terminal of the five connection terminals is a program data terminal, and a fifth connection terminal of the five connection terminals is a detection terminal.

2. The blank tire pressure monitoring device as claimed in claim 1, wherein said detection terminal is electrically connected with at least one of the other four terminals.

3. The blank tire pressure monitoring device as claimed in claim 2, wherein said transmitter is a 433 MHz transmitter.

4. The blank tire pressure monitoring device as claimed in claim 1, wherein said embedded microcontroller module further comprises therein a RAM (random access memory) and a ROM (read only memory).

13. The blank tire pressure monitoring device of claim 1, wherein:

the LF (low-frequency) receiver is located in the housing; and

the transmitter is located in the housing.

5. A blank tire pressure monitoring device setup method for setting up a blank tire pressure monitoring device having a general-purpose I/O terminal unit, comprising the steps of:

connecting the general purpose I/O terminal unit of said blank tire pressure monitoring device to a general-purpose I/O terminal unit of a setup tool;

selecting a communication program via the setup tool;

detecting, by the setup tool, at least one error when the selected communication program is not a communication program that is designed for the tire pressure monitoring device hardware; and

when no error is detected, transmitting, via the setup tool, the communication program to a flash memory of said blank tire pressure monitoring device for enabling the communication program to be stored in said blank tire pressure monitoring device; and

separating said setup tool from said blank tire pressure monitoring device,

wherein said blank tire pressure monitoring device has five connection terminals;

said general purpose I/O terminal unit of the blank tire pressure monitoring device is electrically connected with the five connection terminals of said blank tire pressure monitoring device;

said five connection terminals of the blank tire pressure monitoring device include a power management terminal, a ground terminal, a data program clock terminal, a program data terminal and a detection terminal for frequency differentiating and error prevention control.

6. The blank tire pressure monitoring device setup method as claimed in claim 5, wherein said communication program comprises therein a pressure sensor control program, a temperature sensor control program, an acceleration sensor control program, a power supply information control program, a car body receiver RF and LF communication protocol and a pressure and temperature abnormal pre-warning signal protocol.

7. The blank tire pressure monitoring device setup method as claimed in claim 5, wherein said blank tire pressure monitoring device comprises an embedded microcontroller module electrically connected with the general purpose I/O terminal unit of said blank tire pressure monitoring device, said embedded microcontroller module comprising therein said flash memory adapted for storing the communication program loaded by said setup tool, a microcontroller core and a special-function register controller.

8. The blank tire pressure monitoring device setup method as claimed in claim 5, wherein said setup tool comprises a circuit board, an embedded microcontroller module installed in said circuit board, said embedded microcontroller module comprising memory, a microcontroller core and a special-function register controller, and a transmitter, a 433 MHz receiver, a 315 MHz receiver, a USB port, a keyboard, a display, a buzzer and a general-purpose I/O terminal unit respectively electrically connected with said embedded microcontroller module.

9. The blank tire pressure monitoring device setup method as claimed in claim 8, wherein the general-purpose I/O terminal unit of said setup tool comprises a power management terminal, a ground terminal, a data program clock terminal, a program data terminal and

a detection terminal for frequency differentiating and error prevention control.

10. The blank tire pressure monitoring device setup method as claimed in claim 5, wherein said detection terminal of the blank tire pressure monitoring device is electrically connected with at least one of another four terminals of the blank tire pressure monitoring device.

11. The blank tire pressure monitoring device as claimed in claim 10, wherein said transmitter is a 433 MHz transmitter.

12. The blank tire pressure monitoring device setup method as claimed in claim 8, wherein said memory of the embedded microcontroller module of the setup tool comprises a RAM (random access memory) and a flash memory.

14. The method of claim 5, further comprising:

when an error is detected by the setup tool, the setup tool indicates an error by at least one of;

displaying an error warning message and making an audible buzz warning sound.

15. The method of claim 14, wherein the error is detected when the blank tire pressure monitoring device'"'"'s transmitter is a 433 MHz transmitter and the blank tire pressure monitoring communication program is designed for a blank tire pressure monitoring device with a transmitter that is a 315 MHz transmitter.

16. The method of claim 14, wherein the transmitter is a 433 MHz transmitter.