Tire-pressure monitor system

• US 9,592,709 B2
• Filed: 02/18/2016
• Issued: 03/14/2017
• Est. Priority Date: 02/18/2015
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Toyota Jidosha Kabushiki Kaisha (Toyota Motor Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Toyota Jidosha Kabushiki Kaisha (Toyota Motor Corporation)
• Inventors: Taki, Yuji
• Primary Examiner(s): Timory, Kabir A
• Application Number:
  US15/046,734
• Publication Number:
  US 20160236522A1
• Time in Patent Office: 390 Days
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: B60C 23/04 mounted on the wheel or tyre
• CPC Class Codes: B60C 23/0415 Automatically identifying wheel mounted units, e.g. after replacement or exchange of wheels
• CPC Class Codes: B60C 23/0416 allocating a corresponding wheel position on vehicle, e.g. front/left or rear/right
• CPC Class Codes: G07C 5/0825 using optical means
• CPC Class Codes: G07C 5/085 using electronic data carriers

Abstract

[Objective] Unreceived malfunction should be prevented from being reported, at the time of a set replacement of tires.

[Means for Solution] About each registered sensor ID, the unreceived malfunction judging portion 56 outputs a malfunction signal to the notification controller 53, when an unreceived period exceeds first setup time Tref1. The total unreceived period calculation portion 57 outputs a self-vehicle ID discrimination initiation instruction to ID discrimination/rewriting portion, when the sum total unreceived period Ttotal which is the sum total of the unreceived period of each registered sensor ID is calculated and the sum total unreceived period Ttotal exceeds second setup time Tref2. Before an unreceived period exceeds first setup time Tref1, registered sensor ID is rewritten and it can avoid reporting unreceived malfunction to a driver by this.

Claims

1. A tire-pressure monitor system comprising:

wheel sensors, each of which comprises a pneumatic sensor to detect a tire pressure and a transmitter to repeatedly transmit wheel information that is information including tire-pressure information representing the tire pressure detected by said pneumatic sensor and a unique sensor ID, as a radio signal, and is fixed to and disposed in each of wheels of a vehicle, and

a vehicle body side device which comprises a receiver to receive the wheel information which said wheel sensors transmit respectively, an ID registration portion to register therein the unique sensor ID of each of the wheel sensors used as targets for an air pressure monitor, and a reporting portion to report to a driver of said vehicle the tire-pressure information transmitted from a wheel sensor specified by the unique sensor ID registered in said ID registration portion, and is fixed to and disposed in a vehicle body, wherein;

said vehicle body side device comprises;

a time measuring means to measure an unreceived period that is a continuous time period in which the wheel information specified by said unique sensor ID is not received under a situation where the wheel information specified by said unique sensor ID should be transmitted, for every unique sensor ID registered in said ID registration portion,

a malfunction reporting means to report a malfunction to said driver of said vehicle when said unreceived period exceeds a first set time for any of the unique sensor IDs registered in said ID registration portion,

a total time calculating means to calculate total unreceived period which is a sum total of the unreceived period for a specific number larger than 1 of said unique sensor IDs,

a rewriting means to start a discrimination processing for distinguishing the unique sensor IDs of said wheel sensors respectively disposed in the wheels of the self-vehicle among many and unspecified sensor IDs received by said receiver when said total unreceived period exceeds a second set time which is shorter than a time period obtained by multiplying said specific number by said first set time, and to rewrite the unique sensor ID registered in said ID registration portion to the unique sensor ID distinguished by said discrimination processing.

2. The tire-pressure monitor system according to claim 1, wherein:

said total time calculating means is configured to calculate a total unreceived period which is a sum total of the unreceived period for said sensor IDs of the right-and-left front-and-rear wheels of the vehicle, and

said second setup time is set to a time period which is shorter than 4 times as much as said first setup time.