Wheel position identification device

• US 10,583,698 B2
• Filed: 05/25/2016
• Issued: 03/10/2020
• Est. Priority Date: 05/28/2015
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Pacific Industrial Company Limited
• Original Assignee: Pacific Industrial Company Limited
• Inventors: Tsujita, Yasuhisa
• Primary Examiner(s): Bythrow, Peter M
• Application Number:
  US15/576,597
• Publication Number:
  US 20180147899A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,385 Days
• CPC Class Codes: B60C 23/04 mounted on the wheel or tyre
• CPC Class Codes: B60C 23/0416 allocating a corresponding wheel position on vehicle, e.g. front/left or rear/right
• CPC Class Codes: B60C 23/0488 Movement sensor, e.g. for sensing angular speed, acceleration or centripetal force
• CPC Class Codes: G01D 5/48 using wave or particle radiation means G01D5/26 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: G01L 17/00 Devices or apparatus for measuring tyre pressure or the pressure in other inflated bodies
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 13/06 Systems determining position data of a target

Abstract

When receiving a transmission signal, a reception controller obtains a pulse count value of each of rotation sensor units. Next, the reception controller compares, with a threshold, the difference between the obtained pulse count value and a previously obtained pulse count value. The reception controller identifies, based on the result of comparison between the difference between pulse count values and the threshold, the positions of wheel assemblies, in each of which a transmitter is provided.

Claims

1. A wheel assembly position identifying apparatus, which is mounted in a vehicle having rotational position detecting sections that detect, as detection values, rotational positions of respective wheel assemblies, wherein a transmitter is provided in each of the wheel assemblies, and the apparatus identifies in which of the wheel assemblies each transmitter is provided, the apparatus comprising:

a receiver, which receives transmission signals that are each transmitted from one of the transmitters when the rotational position of the corresponding wheel assembly is a specific position;

an obtaining section, which obtains the rotational position of each wheel assembly from the corresponding rotational position detecting section each time the receiver receives the transmission signal;

a calculating section, which calculates a difference between the rotational position obtained by the obtaining section and a previously obtained rotational position; and

an identifying section, which identifies the positions of the wheel assemblies, which are provided with the transmitters, by comparing the difference with a threshold, wherein

an accumulation threshold is employed as the threshold, the accumulation threshold being used to determine whether the received transmission signal has been transmitted at the specific position, and

the identifying section

determines whether an absolute value of the difference is greater than or equal to the accumulation threshold,

accumulates the number of times the absolute value of the difference is determined to be greater than or equal to the accumulation threshold or the number of times the absolute value of the difference is determined to be less than the accumulation threshold, and

identifies the positions of the wheel assemblies, in which the transmitters are provided, from an accumulated value obtained through the accumulation.

2. A wheel assembly position identifying apparatus, which is mounted in a vehicle having rotational position detecting sections that detect, as detection values, rotational positions of respective wheel assemblies, wherein a transmitter is provided in each of the wheel assemblies, and the apparatus identifies in which of the wheel assemblies each transmitter is provided, the apparatus comprising:

a receiver, which receives transmission signals that are each transmitted from one of the transmitters when the rotational position of the corresponding wheel assembly is a specific position;

an obtaining section, which obtains the rotational position of each wheel assembly from the corresponding rotational position detecting section each time the receiver receives the transmission signal;

a calculating section, which calculates a difference between the rotational position obtained by the obtaining section and a previously obtained rotational position; and

an identifying section, which identifies the positions of the wheel assemblies, which are provided with the transmitters, by comparing the difference with a threshold, wherein

a predetermined range is employed as the threshold, and

the identifying section

determines whether the difference is within the predetermined range,

accumulates either a positive value or a negative value depending on whether the difference is greater than or smaller than the predetermined range, and

identifies the positions of the wheel assemblies, in which the transmitters are provided, from an accumulated value obtained through the accumulation.