Method for locating the position of wheels of a vehicle

• US 9,205,711 B2
• Filed: 03/14/2011
• Issued: 12/08/2015
• Est. Priority Date: 03/19/2010
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Continental Automotive France (Continental AG), Continental Automotive GmbH (Continental AG)
• Original Assignee: Continental Automotive France (Continental AG), Continental Automotive GmbH (Continental AG)
• Inventors: Kessler, Sbastien, Cheikh, Mohamed
• Primary Examiner(s): Charioui, Mohamed
• Assistant Examiner(s): Kuan, John
• Application Number:
  US13/578,863
• Publication Number:
  US 20120316829A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,730 Days
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: B60C 23/0416 allocating a corresponding wheel position on vehicle, e.g. front/left or rear/right
• CPC Class Codes: B60C 23/0437 Means for detecting electromagnetic field changes not being part of the signal transmission per se, e.g. strength, direction, propagation or masking

Abstract

A method for localization the position of wheels of a vehicle includes: storing, for each wheel, an image of the intensity of the signal originating from an electronic module fitted to the wheel; controlling the emission by each electronic module of a sequence of n signals emitted with predetermined time intervals; computing for each sequence of n signals, the temporal variation of the correlation coefficients between each signal of the sequence and each of the stored images; computing the peak of correlation of the correlation coefficients of each of the n signals and the temporal position over a wheel revolution of each of the n peaks of correlation; and selecting, for each stored image, the wheel at the origin of the emission of sequences having the highest peaks of correlation associated with time intervals corresponding to the time intervals of emission of the n signals of the sequences.

Claims

1. A method for localization a position of wheels of a vehicle, said wheels being fitted with an electronic module suitable for transmitting, to a central unit mounted on the vehicle, signals representative of parameters of operation of each wheel, said localization method comprising:

a preliminary phase of storing in the central unit, for each wheel, an image, over a wheel revolution, of intensity of signal received by said central unit originating from the electronic module fitted to said wheel; and

said localization method comprising, during a use of the vehicle;

ordering emission by each electronic module mounted on a wheel of a sequence of n signals emitted with predetermined time intervals, wherein n is an integer greater than 1,

computing, for each sequence of n signals, a temporal variation of correlation coefficients between each signal of said sequence and each stored image,

computing a peak of correlation of the correlation coefficients of each of the n signals, and determining a temporal position over a wheel revolution of each peak of correlation so as to deduce therefrom time intervals separating various peaks, and

selecting, for each stored image, a wheel at an origin of the emission of sequences of n signals having the highest peaks of correlation (Max1-Max3) associated with time intervals corresponding to the time intervals of emission of the n signals of the sequences of signals.

2. The localization method as claimed in claim 1, wherein each sequence of n signals consists of a sequence of n data frames comprising an identification code of the electronic module and data representative of measured operating parameters.

3. The localization method as claimed in claim 1, wherein:

the central unit is fitted with two antennas adapted to capture signals of different intensities originating from electronic modules of different wheels of the vehicle, and/or having different electromagnetic properties, and

localization of the wheels is determined based on an analysis of the signals captured by the two antennas.

4. The localization method as claimed in claim 3, wherein a signal representative of a difference of two signals received simultaneously by the two antennas is computed and a location of the wheels is determined based on an analysis of the computed signal.

5. The localization method as claimed in claim 2, wherein:

the central unit is fitted with two antennas adapted to capture signals of different intensities originating from electronic modules of different wheels of the vehicle, and/or having different electromagnetic properties, and

the localization of the wheels is determined based on an analysis of the signals captured by the two antennas.

6. The localization method as claimed in claim 3, wherein a signal representative of a difference of two signals received simultaneously by the two antennas is computed and a location of the wheels is determined based on an analysis of the computed signal.