Tire air pressure reduction detecting apparatus

• US 6,064,936 A
• Filed: 03/26/1998
• Issued: 05/16/2000
• Est. Priority Date: 04/14/1997
• 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: Nakajima, Yoshio
• Primary Examiner(s): NGUYEN, TAN QUANG
• Application Number:
  US09/048,229
• Time in Patent Office: 782 Days
• Field of Search: 701/70, 701/71, 701/74, 340/442, 340/444, 340/445, 73/146.2, 73/146.5, 73/146.3
• US Class Current: 701/71
• CPC Class Codes: B60C 23/061 by monitoring wheel speed measuring distance traversed on the ground by vehicles G01C22/00

Abstract

The present invention provides a tire air pressure reduction detecting apparatus arranged such that both an ABS processing and an air pressure reduction judgment processing can be executed with a single microcomputer. A vacant period of time t_n for timing waiting is prepared in each ABS cycle. Utilizing such vacant periods of time t_n, an air pressure reduction Judgment processing is dispersively executed in a time-division manner in a plurality of such vacant periods of time t_n (FIG. 4).

Claims

1. A tire air pressure reduction detecting apparatus comprising:

ABS processing means for executing, in each ABS cycle, an ABS processing for preventing each tire from being locked, the ABS cycle including (i) an ABS processing period of time during which an ABS processing is actually executed, and (ii) a vacant period of time for timing waiting;

DWS processing means for executing an air pressure reduction judgment processing for judging whether or not each tire is reduced in air pressure; and

processing control means arranged such that an air pressure reduction judgment processing to be executed by the DWS processing means is dispersively executed in vacant periods of time repeatedly generated by executing ABS processings by the ABS processing means.

2. A tire air pressure reduction detecting apparatus according to claim 1, wherein

the apparatus further comprises signal output means for supplying an interrupt signal per ABS cycle, and

the processing control means comprises:

means for recognizing the start timing of each vacant period of time;

means for executing, in response to recognition of the start timing of each vacant period of time, an air pressure reduction judgment processing in the DWS processing means; and

means arranged such that, in response to output of an interrupt signal from the signal output means, an air pressure reduction judgment processing under execution in the DWS processing means is temporarily interrupted and an ABS processing is executed in the ABS processing means.

3. A tire air pressure reduction detecting apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising:

initial check processing means for executing an initial check processing for judging whether or not the apparatus functions normally; and

means for inhibiting the execution of an air pressure reduction judgment processing by the DWS processing means, during the time which an initial check processing is being executed by the initial check processing means.

4. A tire air pressure reduction detecting apparatus according to claim 1,

further comprising memory checking means for checking (i) each memory to be used by the ABS processing means for executing an ABS processing, and (ii) each memory to be used by the DWS processing means for executing an air pressure reduction judgment processing,

memory check by the memory checking means being executed according to either an ABS processing program or an air-pressure-reduction-judgment-processing program.

5. A tire air pressure reduction detecting apparatus according to claim 4, wherein an ABS alarm lamp and/or a DWS alarm lamp is lit when it is detected that a memory to be used for an ABS processing, or a memory to be used for an air pressure reduction judgment processing, is defective.

6. A tire air pressure reduction detecting apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the ABS processing means and the DWS processing means share both the memories to be used by the ABS processing means for an ABS processing and the memories to be used by the DWS processing means for an air pressure reduction judgment processing, and are arranged to respectively execute an ABS processing and an air pressure reduction judgment processing.

7. A tire air pressure reduction detecting apparatus according to claim 1,

further comprising a plurality of pulse acquiring means each of which is arranged to acquire a wheel rotational velocity pulse corresponding to a rotational angular velocity of each tire mounted on the motor vehicle,

the ABS processing means comprising:

a plurality of means each of which is arranged to count, in each ABS cycle, the pulse number of a wheel rotational velocity pulse acquired by each pulse acquiring means;

a plurality of means each of which is arranged to obtain, for each tire, a pulse interval between pulse-number-counting starting time and pulse-number-counting ending time;

a plurality of means each of which is arranged to obtain a rotational angular velocity of each tire based on the pulse number counted in the previous ABS cycle and on the pulse interval obtained in the previous ABS cycle; and

means for executing, for the tires, an ABS processing based on the rotational angular velocities thus obtained, the DWS processing means comprising;

a plurality of means each of which is arranged to totalize, throughout each DWS cycle, (i) the pulse numbers counted, for each tire, by the ABS processing means and (ii) the pulse intervals obtained, for each tire, by the ABS processing means;

a plurality of means each of which is arranged to obtain a rotational angular velocity of each tire based on the pulse number totalized throughout the previous DWS cycle and on the pulse interval totalized throughout the previous DWS cycle; and

means for executing, for the tires, an air pressure reduction judgment processing based on the rotational angular velocities thus obtained.