Tire state monitoring apparatus

• US 20080018449A1
• Filed: 07/20/2007
• Published: 01/24/2008
• Est. Priority Date: 07/21/2006
• Status: Abandoned Application

• Current Assignee: ALPS Electric Company Limited (Alps Alpine Co., Ltd.)
• Original Assignee: ALPS Electric Company Limited (Alps Alpine Co., Ltd.)
• Inventors: Tamagawa, Kenichi, Hayasaka, Satoshi
• Application Number:
  US11/880,366
• Publication Number:
  US 20080018449A1
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 340/447
• CPC Class Codes: B60C 23/0408 transmitting the signals by non-mechanical means from the wheel or tyre to a vehicle body mounted receiver
• CPC Class Codes: B60C 23/0462 Structure of transmission protocol
• CPC Class Codes: B60C 23/0464 to avoid signal interference
• CPC Class Codes: B60C 23/0483 Wireless routers between wheel mounted transmitters and chassis mounted receivers

Abstract

In order to appropriately monitor the tire state by reducing the cost for coaxial cables and avoiding complicatedness accompanying with the wiring work of the coaxial cable, there is provided a tire monitoring apparatus includes transponders mounted in a plurality of tires of a vehicle; a plurality of ECUs disposed in a body of the vehicle and acquiring data representing tire states from the transponders; and a master ECU connected to the plurality of ECUs through a bus. The ECU includes An RF circuit communicating with the transponder; an antenna connected to the RF circuit; and a ROM recording the waiting time, until communicating with the corresponding transponder, differing from those of other ECUs. At the time of monitoring the tire state, the ECU communicates with the corresponding transponder after the waiting time elapses, acquires the data representing the tire state, and outputs the data to the master ECU.

Claims

1. A tire state monitoring apparatus comprising:

transponders mounted in a plurality of tires of a vehicle;

a plurality of sub-controllers disposed in a body of the vehicle and acquiring data representing a tire state from the corresponding transponder; and

a main controller connected to the plurality of sub-controllers through communication lines,

the plurality of sub-controllers each including

a communication unit communicating with the corresponding transponder;

an antenna connected to the communication unit; and

a memory recording the waiting time, until communicating with the corresponding transponder, differing from those of other sub-controllers and

the plurality of sub-controllers each communicating with the corresponding transponder after the waiting time elapses, acquiring the data representing the tire state, and outputting the data to the main controller, at the time of monitoring the tire state.

2. The tire state monitoring apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the sub-controller acquires the data representing the tire state by communicating with the corresponding transponder after the waiting time elapses from a time point when receiving a synchronization signal outputted from the main controller.

3. The tire state monitoring apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the waiting time is set to be a period of time by which the communication of the sub-controller does not interfere with those of other sub-controllers.

4. The tire state monitoring apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the sub-controller communicates with the corresponding transponder plural times within one communication period and modifies intervals of the communication performed within the one communication period.

5. The tire state monitoring apparatus according to claim 4, wherein the synchronization signal is a vehicle-speed data signal and the sub-controller modifies the intervals of the communication performed within the one communication period on the basis of the vehicle-speed data of the vehicle-speed data signal transmitted from the main controller.

6. The tire state monitoring apparatus according to claim 5, wherein the sub-controller decreases the intervals of the communication performed within the one communication period when the value of the vehicle-speed data is larger than a predetermined value and increases the intervals of the communication performed within the one communication period when the value of the vehicle-speed data is smaller than the a predetermined value.