Apparatus and method for activating a localization process for a tire pressure monitor

• US 9,024,743 B2
• Filed: 08/09/2011
• Issued: 05/05/2015
• Est. Priority Date: 08/09/2011
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Continental Automotive Systems, Inc. (Continental AG)
• Original Assignee: Continental Automotive Systems US Incorporated (Continental AG)
• Inventors: Deniau, Jean-Christophe, Farrell, Brian J.
• Primary Examiner(s): Obiniyi, Paul
• Application Number:
  US13/206,336
• Publication Number:
  US 20130038442A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,365 Days
• Field of Search: 340/442, 340/443, 340/447, 731/46, 731/462, 731/463, 731/465
• US Class Current: 340/447
• CPC Class Codes: B60C 23/044 Near field triggers, e.g. magnets or triggers with 125 KHz
• CPC Class Codes: B60C 23/0442 the transmitted signal comprises further information, e.g. instruction codes, sensor characteristics or identification data
• CPC Class Codes: B60C 23/0455 Transmission control of wireless signals
• CPC Class Codes: B60C 23/0461 externally triggered, e.g. by wireless request signal, magnet or manual switch
• CPC Class Codes: B60C 23/0462 Structure of transmission protocol
• CPC Class Codes: B60C 23/0472 to manually allocate ID codes or mounting positions, e.g. by service technicians
• CPC Class Codes: B60C 23/0479 Communicating with external units being not part of the vehicle, e.g. tools for diagnostic, mobile phones, electronic keys or service stations

Abstract

A receiver device is tuned to monitor for first transmissions at a first time according to a first criterion and to monitor for second transmissions at a second time according to a second criterion. When the receiver device initially recognizes one of the first transmissions being transmitted according to the first criterion or the second transmissions being transmitted according to the second criterion, the recognized transmission is verified as being valid. When the transmission is recognized as valid, a transmission apparatus is activated to transmit an indication to a receiver so that a localization process can be executed.

Claims

1. A method of initializing a tire pressure monitor, the method comprising:

tuning a receiver device at a wheel unit to monitor for first transmissions from an initiation source during a first predetermined time period, the first transmissions being made according to a first criterion;

tuning the receiver device at the wheel unit to monitor for second transmissions from the initiation source during a second predetermined time period according to a second criterion and not according to the first criterion, the second criterion being different than the first criterion;

when the receiver device at the wheel unit initially recognizes one of the first transmissions being transmitted according to the first criterion or the second transmissions being transmitted according to the second criterion, at the receiver device at the wheel unit verifying that the recognized transmission is valid by comparing the recognized transmission to an expected information pattern;

in response to verifying at the receiver device the recognized transmission is valid, sending an indication from the receiver device to a central receiver unit in the vehicle so that a localization procedure can be executed.

2. The method of claim 1 wherein the first criterion describes a low frequency (LF) sinusoidal waveform.

3. The method of claim 2 wherein the second criterion describes a low frequency (LF) transmission of a predetermined data pattern.

4. The method of claim 1 wherein the verifying comprises verifying that the recognized transmission is received for a predetermined time period.

5. The method of claim 1 further comprising transmitting the tire pressure information.

6. The method of claim 5 wherein the transmitting comprises executing a control program to transmit the tire pressure information according to each of a plurality of communications formats incorporated into the control program and not according to a manufacturers′

code.

7. The method of claim 1 further comprising transmitting one of the first transmissions or the second transmissions from a portable tool.

8. The method of claim 1 further comprising transmitting one of the first transmissions or the second transmissions from an antenna at a vehicle.

9. The method of claim 1 further comprising dynamically adjusting the sensitivity of the receiver device.

10. The method of claim 9 wherein the sensitivity is lowered when the vehicle is at rest and is increased when the vehicle is moving.

11. An apparatus for initializing a tire pressure monitor, the apparatus being disposed at a wheel unit, the apparatus comprising:

a receiver device, the receiver device configured to receive first transmission and second transmissions;

a transmission apparatus;

a controller coupled to the transmitter apparatus and the receiver device, the controller configured to tune the receiver device to monitor for first transmissions from an initiation source during a first predetermined time period according to a first criterion and configured to tune the receiver device to monitor for second transmissions from the initiation source during a second predetermined time period according to a second criterion and not according to the first criterion, the second criterion being different than the first criterion, the controller further configured to when the receiver device initially recognizes one of the first transmissions being transmitted according to the first criterion or the second transmissions being transmitted according to the second criterion, to verify that the recognized transmission is valid by comparing the recognized transmission to an expected information pattern, the controller further configured to when the transmission is recognized as valid, transmit an indicator to a receiver in a vehicle so that a localization process can be executed to determine a location of the apparatus.

12. The apparatus of claim 11 wherein the first criterion describes a low frequency (LF) sinusoidal waveform.

13. The apparatus of claim 11 wherein the second criterion describes a low frequency(LF) transmission of a predetermined data pattern.

14. The apparatus of claim 11 wherein the controller is configured to verify that the recognized transmission is received for a predetermined time period.

15. The apparatus of claim 11 further comprising transmission apparatus is configured to transmit the tire pressure information.

16. The apparatus of claim 15 wherein the controller is configured to execute a control program to transmit the tire pressure information according to each of a plurality of communications formats incorporated into the control program and not according to a manufacturers′

code.

17. The apparatus of claim 11 wherein the first transmissions or the second transmissions are received from a portable tool.

18. The apparatus of claim 11 wherein the first transmissions or the second transmissions are received from an antenna at a vehicle.

19. A computer usable non-transitory medium having a computer readable program code embodied therein, said computer readable program code adapted to be executed to implement a method of initializing a tire pressure monitor information, the method comprising:

tuning a receiver device at a wheel unit to monitor for first transmissions from an initiation source during a first predetermined time period according to a first criterion;

tuning the receiver device at the wheel unit to monitor for second transmissions from the initiation source during a second predetermined time period according to a second criterion and not according to the first criterion, the second criterion being different than the first criterion;

when the receiver device at the wheel unit initially recognizes one of the first transmissions being transmitted according to the first criterion or the second transmissions being transmitted according to the second criterion, verifying that the recognized transmission is valid by comparing the recognized transmission to an expected information pattern;

in response to verifying at the receiver device the recognized transmission is valid, sending an indication from the receiver device to a receiver in a vehicle so that a localization procedure can be executed.

20. A computer usable non-transitory medium having a computer readable program code embodied therein, said computer readable program code adapted to form the following means when executed on a computer:

means for tuning a receiver device at a wheel unit to monitor for first transmissions from an initiation source during a first predetermined time period according to a first criterion and to monitor for second transmissions from the initiation source during a second predetermined time period according to a second criterion and not according to the first criterion, the second criterion different than the first criterion;

means for verifying that the recognized transmission is valid, when the receiver device at the wheel unit initially recognizes one of the first transmissions being transmitted according to the first criterion or the second transmissions being transmitted according to the second criterion;

means for sending an indication to a receiver so that a localization procedure can be executed, when the transmission is recognized as valid by comparing the recognized transmission to an expected information pattern.