Method for alarming decrease in tire air-pressure and apparatus therefor

• US 6,034,595 A
• Filed: 04/02/1999
• Issued: 03/07/2000
• Est. Priority Date: 04/02/1998
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Sumitomo Electric Industries Limited (Sumitomo Corporation), Sumitomo Rubber Industries Limited
• Original Assignee: Sumitomo Electric Industries Limited (Sumitomo Corporation), Sumitomo Rubber Industries Limited
• Inventors: Yanase, Minao
• Primary Examiner(s): Hofsass, Jeffery A.
• Assistant Examiner(s): TRIEU, VAN THANH
• Application Number:
  US09/285,257
• Time in Patent Office: 340 Days
• Field of Search: 340/442, 340/444, 340/445, 73/146.2, 73/146.3, 73/146.4, 73/146.5, 73/146, 702/96, 702/98, 702/140
• US Class Current: 340/444
• CPC Class Codes: B60C 23/061 by monitoring wheel speed measuring distance traversed on the ground by vehicles G01C22/00

Abstract

A method for alarming decrease in tire air-pressure in which the rotational speed of a tire is detected, it is determined whether air-pressure of the tire has decreased based on the detected rotational speed, and an alarm is generated when internal pressure of the tire has decreased, wherein an equation for calculating a determined value for detecting decompression of a tire through comparing a difference between two diagonal sums includes a correction term related to differences between tread widths of front and rear wheels of a vehicle. An apparatus performing the method is also disclosed. The method and apparatus improve the accuracy of determining decompression of air-pressure by incorporating a correction term related to differences in tread widths of a vehicle.

Claims

1. A method for alarming decrease in tire air-pressure in which rotational speed of a tire is detected, it is determined whether air-pressure of the tire has decreased based on the detected rotational speed, and an alarm is generated when internal pressure of the tire has decreased, wherein an equation for calculating a determined value for detecting decompression of a tire through comparing a difference between two diagonal sums includes a correction term related to differences between tread widths of front and rear wheels of a vehicle.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the vehicle is a multi-axle vehicle with at least three axles and the method is applied to a plurality of combinations of axles.

3. An apparatus for alarming decrease in tire air-pressure in which rotational speed of a tire is detected, it is determined whether air-pressure of the tire has decreased based on the detected rotational speed, and an alarm is generated when internal pressure of the tire has decreased, comprising a speed detecting means for detecting wheel speeds of each of the tires, and a determining means for calculating and processing determined values of decompression obtained by comparing differences of two diagonal sums of number of revolution of front tires and number of revolution of rear tires based on number of revolution obtained from the wheel speeds as detected by the speed detecting means, wherein the determined values of decompression of the determining means include correction terms related to differences between tread widths of front and rear wheels of a vehicle.

4. The apparatus of claim 3, wherein the vehicle is a multi-axle vehicle with at least three axles and the method is applied to a plurality of combinations of axles.