Method of detecting a pressure loss of a tire, tire pressure monitoring system in a vehicle

• US 8,054,169 B2
• Filed: 04/09/2009
• Issued: 11/08/2011
• Est. Priority Date: 04/09/2008
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Continental Automotive GmbH (Continental AG)
• Original Assignee: Continental Automotive GmbH (Continental AG)
• Inventors: Bettecken, Jürgen, Fischer, Frank
• Primary Examiner(s): Nguyen; Hung T.
• Application Number:
  US12/420,841
• Publication Number:
  US 20090256694A1
• Time in Patent Office: 943 Days
• Field of Search: 340/442, 340/444, 340/445, 340/447, 340/448, 731/46, 731/462, 731/463, 731/465, 701/29, 701/30, 701/45
• US Class Current: 340/442
• CPC Class Codes: B60C 23/0408 transmitting the signals by non-mechanical means from the wheel or tyre to a vehicle body mounted receiver

Abstract

A method for detecting a pressure loss of a tire in a vehicle equipped with a tire pressure monitoring system. The method includes the following steps carried out in the parked state of the vehicle: deactivate the tire pressure monitoring system, which contains at least one electronic wheel device disposed in a vehicle wheel, activate the tire pressure monitoring system after a first defined period of time or upon a vehicle-side request, determine tire-related information of the vehicle wheels associated with the electronic wheel devices by the respective electronic wheel device and generate status signals containing the tire-related information, communicate the status signals to an evaluation device, return to the first method step at the latest after a second period of time.

Claims

1. A method of detecting a pressure loss of a tire in a vehicle equipped with a tire pressure monitoring system, which comprises performing the following steps in a parked state of the vehicle:

a) deactivating the tire pressure monitoring system having at least one electronic wheel device disposed in a vehicle wheel;

b) activating the tire pressure monitoring system after one of a first defined period of time and upon a vehicle-side request;

c) determining tire-related information of vehicle wheels associated with electronic wheel devices by means of the respective electronic wheel device and generating status signals containing the tire-related information;

d) communicating the status signals to an evaluation device; and

e) returning to the method step (a) at a latest after a second period of time.

2. The method according to claim 1, which further comprises setting the second period of time to be shorter than the first period of time.

3. The method according to claim 1, which further comprises setting the first period of time to be at least 6 hours and at most 24 hours and setting the second period of time to be at most 90 minutes.

4. The method according to claim 1, which further comprises sending out the status signals via the electronic wheel device in the parked state at intervals after a third period of time, wherein the third period of time is at least shorter than the second period of time.

5. The method according to claim 1, which further comprises lengthening the second period of time if from at least one electronic wheel device no status signal has been received at the vehicle side.

6. The method according to claim 1, which further comprises immediately deactivating the tire pressure monitoring system as soon as all of the electronic wheel devices have sent their status signals and the status signals have been received at the vehicle side.

7. The method according to claim 1, which further comprise terminating the method after a predetermined number of returns if the parked state is not interrupted during this time.

8. The method according to claim 1, wherein the electronic wheel device, which in the method step (c) was unable to determine the tire-related information and/or for which in the method step (d) it was impossible to send the status signals to the evaluation device, remains deactivated after a renewed activation in the method step (b).

9. The method according to claim 1, which further comprises performing one of:

evaluating the status signals during the parked state via the evaluation device being a vehicle side evaluation device; and

sending the status signal to a telematic device provided in the vehicle to the vehicle side evaluation device.

10. The method according to claim 1, wherein the electronic wheel devices in the parked state are initially deactivated and not activated until a wake-up signal is sent from a vehicle side.

11. The method according to claim 1, which further comprises immediately after a termination of the parked state, carrying out a determination of the tire-related information afresh at the electronic wheel devices, which during the parked state were unable to determine tire-related information and/or from which the status signals were not able to be received on the vehicle side.

12. The method according to claim 1, which further comprises forming the status signal to contain information about the tire pressure and that an error signal is output if the tire pressure falls below a defined threshold.

13. The method according to claim 1, which further comprises performing at least one of shortening the first defined period of time and increasing the second defined period of time if in a course of evaluation it emerges that the tire-related information indicates a fault of the vehicle wheel or contains at least one deviation of the respective tire-related information from a defined standard range.

14. The method according to claim 1, which further comprises setting the first period of time to be at least 12 hours and at most 24 hours and setting the second period of time to be at most 30 minutes.

21. A computer-readable storage medium having computer-executable instructions for performing the method according to claim 1.

15. A tire pressure monitoring system for a vehicle, comprising:

at least one electronic wheel device disposed in a vehicle wheel of the vehicle;

a parked monitoring device programmed, during a parked state of the vehicle to;

a) deactivate the tire pressure monitoring system having the at least one electronic wheel device disposed in the vehicle wheel;

b) activate the tire pressure monitoring system after one of a first defined period of time and upon a vehicle-side request;

c) determine tire-related information of vehicle wheels associated with electronic wheel devices by means of the respective electronic wheel device and generating status signals containing the tire-related information;

d) communicate the status signals to an evaluation device; and

e) return to the method step (a) at a latest after a second period of time.

16. The system according to claim 15, wherein said electronic wheel device has a pressure sensor for determining the tire-related information.

17. The system according to claim 15, wherein said parked monitoring device has a telematic device, by means of which the status signals may be sent as radio signals to the evaluation device being a vehicle-external evaluation device.

18. The system according to claim 15, wherein said parked monitoring device has an electronic-wheel-device memory device, in which the status signals may be stored at least for a duration of the parked state.

19. The system according to claim 15, wherein said parked monitoring device has a time generator that defines at least one of the first and second periods of time.

20. A vehicle selected from the group consisting of a tractor unit and a trailer of a heavy goods vehicle, the vehicle comprising:

a plurality of vehicle wheels each containing a wheel rim with a tire fitted thereon; and

a tire pressure monitoring system disposed on said plurality of vehicle wheels, said tire pressure monitoring system containing at least one electronic wheel device disposed in one of said vehicle wheels of the vehicle and a parked monitoring device programmed, during a parked state of the vehicle to;

a) deactivate said tire pressure monitoring system having at least one electronic wheel device disposed in a vehicle wheel;

b) activate said tire pressure monitoring system after one of a first defined period of time and upon a vehicle-side request;

c) determine tire-related information of vehicle wheels associated with electronic wheel devices by means of said respective electronic wheel device and generating status signals containing the tire-related information;

d) communicate the status signals to an evaluation device; and

e) return to the step (a) at a latest after a second period of time.