System for monitoring tire pressure and method for sensing failure thereof

Abstract

The present application relates to a system for monitoring tire pressure and a method for sensing a failure thereof. An embodiment system for monitoring tire pressure includes a wheel speed sensor mounted on each wheel of a vehicle, a set button for resetting a pressure setting, and a controller configured to determine whether tire pressure is low using the wheel speed sensor, output a low pressure warning, determine whether a user has an intent to reset the pressure setting when an operation of the set button is sensed after the output of the low pressure warning, and reset the pressure setting in response to a user's response.

Description

[0001] Cross-references to related applications

[0002] This application claims the benefit of Korean Patent Application No. 10-2020-0149544, filed on November 10, 2020, with the Korean Intellectual Property Office, which is incorporated herein by reference. Technical Field

[0003] This disclosure relates to a system for monitoring tire pressure and a method for sensing its faults. Background Technology

[0004] Tire Pressure Monitoring System (TPMS) is a safety system that senses tire pressure and warns the driver when the pressure is insufficient, thus preventing accidents caused by tire damage. TPMS tire pressure measurement methods are divided into direct methods that measure tire pressure directly using sensors and indirect methods that measure tire pressure using wheel speed sensors. In the indirect TPMS, when the driver presses the reset button without intending to adjust the tire pressure, the pressure at the time of the reset button press is considered normal. This means that even if the actual tire pressure is low, a low pressure warning may not be issued or the warning may be delayed. Summary of the Invention

[0005] The embodiments disclosed herein can solve the problems existing in the prior art, while maintaining the advantages achieved by the prior art.

[0006] One embodiment of this disclosure provides a system for monitoring tire pressure and a method for sensing its malfunction, which prevents system reset caused by user error when tire pressure is low.

[0007] The technical problems to be solved by the embodiments of the present invention are not limited to those described above, and any other technical problems not mentioned herein will be clearly understood by those skilled in the art to which this disclosure pertains from the following description.

[0008] According to embodiments of this disclosure, a system for monitoring tire pressure includes wheel speed sensors mounted on each wheel of a vehicle, a setting button for resetting pressure settings, and a controller that uses the wheel speed sensors to determine whether the tire pressure is low and outputs a low pressure warning. The controller, upon sensing an operation on the setting button after a low pressure warning, determines whether the user intends to reset the pressure settings and performs a pressure setting reset in response to the user's response.

[0009] According to another embodiment of this disclosure, a system for monitoring tire pressure includes wheel speed sensors mounted on each wheel of a vehicle, a setting button for resetting pressure settings, and a controller connected to the wheel speed sensors and the setting button. The controller uses the wheel speed sensors to check if the tire pressure is low, outputs a low pressure warning, and stores tire pressure determination information. When the vehicle stops and an operation on the setting button is sensed, a pressure setting reset prohibition mode is activated. When an erroneous operation of the setting button is sensed in the pressure setting reset prohibition mode, a low pressure warning is output.

[0010] In one implementation, tire pressure determination information may include at least one of the changes in the tire's dynamic radius and / or frequency.

[0011] In one implementation, when at least one of the changes in the dynamic radius and / or the frequency exceeds a threshold, the controller can count the number of low-voltage occurrences, and when the number of low-voltage occurrences exceeds a reference number, the controller can output a low-voltage warning.

[0012] In one implementation, when the vehicle resumes driving after stopping, the controller can use previously stored tire pressure determination information as an initial value to monitor the tire pressure status.

[0013] In one implementation, if the setting button is operated again in the pressure setting reset prohibited mode within a predetermined time from the low pressure warning output time, the reoperation of the setting button is determined as an erroneous operation of the setting button.

[0014] In one implementation, when the setting button is operated again in the pressure setting reset prohibited mode after a predetermined time has elapsed since the low pressure warning output time, the reoperation of the setting button is determined as normal operation.

[0015] In one implementation, whenever an erroneous operation of the setting button is sensed, the controller can count the number of erroneous operations, and when the number of erroneous operations exceeds a threshold, perform a pressure setting reset and simultaneously clear the low-pressure warning.

[0016] In one implementation, when the operation of the setting button in the pressure setting reset prohibited mode is normal, the controller can deactivate the low pressure warning but maintain the pressure setting reset prohibited mode.

[0017] In one implementation, when the tire pressure is detected to be normal in the pressure setting reset prohibition mode, the controller can deactivate the low pressure warning and cancel the pressure setting reset prohibition mode.

[0018] In one implementation, when an abnormal tire pressure is detected in the pressure setting reset prohibited mode, the controller can output a low pressure warning again and maintain the pressure setting reset prohibited mode.

[0019] According to another embodiment of this disclosure, a method for sensing a fault in a system for monitoring tire pressure includes: checking the state of tire pressure using a wheel speed sensor; outputting a low pressure warning when it is determined that the tire pressure is low; determining whether the driver intends to reset the pressure setting when an operation on a setting button is sensed during the low pressure warning; and performing a pressure setting reset when the driver intends to reset the pressure setting.

[0020] In one implementation, determining whether the driver intends to reset the pressure settings may include allowing the driver to default to selecting that the driver does not intend to reset the pressure settings.

[0021] According to another embodiment of this disclosure, a method for sensing a fault in a system for monitoring tire pressure includes: a first operation: sensing low tire pressure using a wheel speed sensor, outputting a low pressure warning, and storing tire pressure determination information; a second operation: when an operation of a vehicle stop and set button is sensed after the low pressure warning, activating a pressure setting reset prohibition mode, and determining whether the operation of the set button is an erroneous operation; and a third operation: when the operation of the set button is determined to be an erroneous operation, outputting a low pressure warning.

[0022] In one implementation, the first operation may include: determining whether at least one of the changes in the dynamic radius and / or frequency of the tire exceeds a threshold; counting the number of low-pressure sensing events when at least one changes exceeds the threshold; outputting a low-pressure warning when the number of low-pressure sensing events exceeds a reference number; and storing at least one change.

[0023] In one implementation, the second operation may include: determining the reoperation of the setting button as an erroneous operation when the setting button is operated again within a predetermined time period from the low-voltage warning output time point; and determining the reoperation of the setting button as a normal operation when the setting button is operated again after a predetermined time period has elapsed from the low-voltage warning output time point.

[0024] In one implementation, the third operation may include: whenever an erroneous operation on the setting button is determined, the controller may count the number of erroneous operations; and when the number of erroneous operations exceeds a threshold number, perform a pressure setting reset and simultaneously deactivate the low-pressure warning.

[0025] In one implementation, the third operation may include: when normal operation of the setting button is sensed, clearing the low pressure warning, learning the tire pressure using the wheel speed sensor, and storing the learned value. Attached Figure Description

[0026] The above and other objects, features and advantages of the embodiments of this disclosure will become more apparent from the following detailed description taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, in which:

[0027] Figure 1 A block diagram of a tire pressure monitoring system according to an embodiment of the present disclosure is shown;

[0028] Figure 2 A diagram showing the transition of operating modes of a tire pressure monitoring system according to an embodiment of the present disclosure is provided.

[0029] Figure 3 A flowchart is shown of a fault detection method for a tire pressure monitoring system according to an embodiment of the present disclosure;

[0030] Figure 4 It shows based on Figure 3 An exemplary view of the display screen for each operation of the fault sensing method shown;

[0031] Figure 5 A flowchart is shown for a fault detection method of a tire pressure monitoring system according to another embodiment of the present disclosure;

[0032] Figure 6 This is a timing diagram illustrating the process of resetting the tire pressure setting after adjusting the tire pressure under low pressure conditions, according to an embodiment of the present disclosure;

[0033] Figure 7 This is a timing diagram illustrating the process of resetting the tire pressure setting without tire pressure adjustment under low pressure conditions, according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0034] Figure 8 It is a timing diagram used to illustrate the activation status of the reset disable mode according to embodiments of the present disclosure;

[0035] Figure 9 This is a timing diagram used to illustrate a situation where a low-voltage warning is maintained in a reset-disabled mode according to an embodiment of the present disclosure;

[0036] Figure 10 This is a timing diagram illustrating the situation where a low-voltage warning is cleared after activating the reset disable mode, according to an embodiment of this disclosure; and

[0037] Figure 11 This is a timing diagram used to illustrate the transition from reset prohibition mode to learning mode according to embodiments of the present disclosure. Detailed Implementation

[0038] In the following, some embodiments of this disclosure will be described in detail with reference to the exemplary accompanying drawings. When adding reference numerals to components in each drawing, it should be noted that the same reference numerals are used to denote components that are shown as identical or equivalent components in other drawings. Furthermore, in describing embodiments of this disclosure, detailed descriptions of well-known features or functions will be omitted to avoid unnecessarily obscuring the spirit of this disclosure.

[0039] In describing components according to embodiments of this disclosure, terms such as first, second, "A", "B", (a), (b), etc., may be used. These terms are intended only to distinguish one component from another, and they do not limit the nature, order, or arrangement of the constituent components. Unless otherwise defined, all terms used herein, including technical or scientific terms, have the same meaning as commonly understood by one of ordinary skill in the art to which this disclosure pertains. Terms defined in general dictionaries should be interpreted as having the same meaning as in the context of the relevant technical field and should not be interpreted as having an ideal or overly formal meaning unless expressly defined as having such a meaning in this application.

[0040] Figure 1 A block diagram of a tire pressure monitoring system according to an embodiment of the present disclosure is shown.

[0041] Reference Figure 1 The tire pressure monitoring system 100 may include a wheel speed sensor 110, a setting button 120, an output device 130, and a controller 140.

[0042] Wheel speed sensors 110 can be mounted on the wheels to measure wheel speed during vehicle movement. For example, wheel speed sensors 111, 112, 113, and 114 can be mounted on the left front wheel, right front wheel, left rear wheel, and right rear wheel, respectively. The measurement signals output from wheel speed sensors 110 can be used to measure changes in the dynamic radius and frequency of the tires.

[0043] The setting button 120 can generate data generated by user operation. For example, when the press state is held for 3 seconds or longer, the setting button 120 can generate a setting signal (setting command). The setting button 120 can be implemented as a button, touch button, toggle switch, etc. The setting button 120 can be arranged on the steering wheel, instrument panel, center instrument panel and / or door trim.

[0044] The output device 130 can output a warning indicating low tire pressure in the form of visual and / or audible information. The output device 130 may include a warning light, a dashboard, a display, and / or a speaker.

[0045] Controller 140 can process and analyze sensor signals output from wheel speed sensor 110 to determine whether tire pressure is low. Controller 140 may include processor 141 and memory 142. Processor 141 can control the overall operation of controller 140. Processor 141 may be implemented as at least one of application-specific integrated circuit (ASIC), digital signal processor (DSP), programmable logic device (PLD), field-programmable gate array (FPGA), central processing unit (CPU), microcontroller, and / or microprocessor. Memory 142 may be a non-transitory storage medium storing instructions executed by processor 141. Memory 142 may include flash memory, hard disk, secure digital card (SD card), random access memory (RAM), static random access memory (SRAM), read-only memory (ROM), programmable read-only memory (PROM), electrically erasable and programmable ROM (EEPROM), erasable and programmable ROM (EPROM), registers, embedded multimedia card (eMMC), and / or universal flash memory (UFS).

[0046] When a setting command is entered from the setting button 120 after vehicle and tire maintenance, the processor 141 can set the tire pressure (i.e., normal pressure) to a reference pressure (i.e., a pressure reduction determination standard). In other words, when the setting button 120 is operated, the processor 141 can learn the normal tire pressure to set the pressure reduction determination standard. The processor 141 can store the reference pressure in the memory 142.

[0047] During driving, the processor 141 can sense (determine) whether the tire pressure is low (reduced) by analyzing the dynamic radius and / or frequency of the tire using the sensor signal from the wheel speed sensor 110. When low tire pressure is sensed, the processor 141 can output a low pressure warning on the output device 130. The output device 130 can turn on a low tire pressure warning light or output a warning message on a display screen. In this respect, the output device 130 can output a warning sound along with the activation of the warning light or the output of the warning message. When a low pressure warning is output, the processor 141 can store tire pressure determination information at the corresponding point in time. In this respect, tire pressure determination information is information used to determine the tire pressure state, which may include the amount of change in the dynamic radius and / or frequency of the tire.

[0048] When operation of the setting button 120 is sensed during a low-pressure warning, the processor 141 can output a selection screen on the display for users to choose whether to reset the pressure setting to determine if the operation was intended by a user (e.g., a driver). When the user selects to reset the pressure setting, the processor 141 can clear the low-pressure warning and perform the pressure setting reset. Alternatively, when the user does not select to reset the pressure setting, the processor 141 can maintain the low-pressure warning.

[0049] Processor 141 can sense low tire pressure based on tire pressure determination information obtained using wheel speed sensor 110. For example, processor 141 can determine low tire pressure when the change in the dynamic radius of the tire exceeds a reference change. Furthermore, processor 141 can determine low tire pressure when the change in the tire frequency exceeds a reference change. Whenever low tire pressure is sensed, processor 141 can count the number of low pressure sensing events (the number of times low pressure occurs). When the number of low pressure sensing events exceeds a reference count, processor 141 can store tire pressure determination information (the change in dynamic radius and / or frequency) in memory 142 and output a low pressure warning. After a low pressure warning, processor 141 can continue monitoring the change in dynamic radius and / or frequency after replacing the previously stored tire pressure determination information (i.e., the change in dynamic radius and / or frequency) in memory 142 with a default value.

[0050] When the vehicle stops after a low-pressure warning and the setting button 120 is operated, the processor 141 can determine whether the operation of the setting button 120 is an erroneous operation. When the setting button 120 is operated (pressed) within a predetermined time from the time the low-pressure warning was issued (low-pressure warning time point), the processor 141 can determine that the operation is an erroneous operation. When the setting button 120 is operated after a predetermined time has elapsed from the low-pressure warning time point, the processor 141 can determine that the operation is not an erroneous operation.

[0051] When it is determined that the operation of the setting button 120 is an erroneous operation, the processor 141 can count the number of erroneous operations. When the number of erroneous operations exceeds a threshold, the processor 141 can clear the low-pressure warning and perform a pressure setting reset. When the number of erroneous operations does not exceed the threshold, the processor 141 can maintain the low-pressure warning.

[0052] When the setting button 120 is in normal operation, the processor 141 can clear the low pressure warning and learn the changes in the dynamic radius and / or frequency of the tire. The processor 141 can store the learned changes in dynamic radius and / or frequency in the memory 142 as a pressure reduction determination standard. When the learning of the pressure reduction determination standard is complete, the processor 141 can monitor tire pressure based on the pressure reduction determination standard stored in the memory 142.

[0053] Figure 2 A diagram showing the transition of operating modes of a tire pressure monitoring system according to an embodiment of the present disclosure is provided.

[0054] The tire pressure monitoring system (hereinafter, the system) 100 can operate in four modes: normal mode, learning mode, low pressure warning mode, and reset prohibition mode. When power is applied to the vehicle and a system fault check is completed, the system 100 can activate the normal mode. When the user presses the setting button 120 in normal mode, the system 100 can switch to the learning mode to learn changes in the dynamic radius and / or frequency of the tires. When learning is complete, the system 100 can switch back to normal mode. When low tire pressure is sensed during driving in normal mode, the system 100 switches to the low pressure warning mode and can output a low pressure warning. When the setting button 120 is pressed in the low pressure warning mode, the system 100 can switch to the reset prohibition mode. In the reset prohibition mode, the system 100 can determine whether the reset is performed when the tire pressure is low or when the tire pressure is normal. When the setting button 120 is pressed when the tire pressure is low, the system 100 can switch from the reset prohibition mode to the low pressure warning mode. Conversely, when the setting button 120 is pressed when the tire pressure is normal, the system 100 can switch from the reset prohibition mode to the learning mode. The system 100 can use the reset prohibition mode to prevent the pressure setting from being reset due to user error after a low tire pressure warning.

[0055] Figure 3 A flowchart is shown of a fault detection method for a tire pressure monitoring system according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0056] When low tire pressure is detected during vehicle operation, controller 140 can output a low tire pressure warning (low pressure warning) (S110). Controller 140 can determine whether the tire pressure is low by analyzing the dynamic radius and / or frequency of the tire using sensor signals output from wheel speed sensor 110. When low tire pressure is determined, controller 140 can output a low pressure warning indicating low tire pressure.

[0057] The controller 140 may store the amount of change in the dynamic radius and / or frequency of the tire during a low-pressure warning (S120). The controller 140 may also store the amount of change in the dynamic radius and / or frequency obtained through dynamic radius and frequency analysis in the memory 142.

[0058] The controller 140 can determine whether to operate the setting button 120 after a low-pressure warning (S130). The controller 140 can receive an event signal sent from the setting button 120 after a low-pressure warning and determine whether the setting button 120 has been pressed based on the received event signal.

[0059] When the setting button 120 is activated, the controller 140 can use the sensor signal from the wheel speed sensor 110 to determine whether the vehicle has stopped (S140). When the setting button 120 is pressed, the controller 140 can use the sensor signal from the wheel speed sensor 110 to determine whether the vehicle has stopped. For example, when the sensor signal from the wheel speed sensor 110 identifies the vehicle speed as 0 kph, the controller 140 can determine that the vehicle has stopped.

[0060] When the vehicle is detected to have stopped, controller 140 can determine whether the driver intends to reset the pressure setting (S150). Controller 140 can allow a pop-up window for identifying the intention to reset the pressure setting to be output on a display (e.g., instrument panel). Controller 140 can determine whether the user intends to reset the pressure setting in response to the user's response to the guiding message for identifying the intention to reset the pressure setting.

[0061] The controller 140 can determine whether to reset the pressure setting based on the result of recognizing the driver's intention to reset the pressure setting (S160).

[0062] When the pressure setting is determined to be reset, the controller 140 can reset the tire pressure setting (S170). The controller 140 can store the amount of change in the dynamic radius and / or the amount of change in frequency of the tire as a criterion for pressure reduction determination.

[0063] The controller 140 can reset the tire pressure settings and clear the low pressure warning (S180). For example, the controller 140 can turn off the low pressure warning light.

[0064] If no operation on the setting button 120 is sensed in S130 or no pressure setting reset is confirmed in S160, the controller 140 returns to S110.

[0065] Figure 4 It shows based on Figure 3 An exemplary view of the display screen for each operation of the fault sensing method shown.

[0066] When the setting button is pressed for 3 seconds or more after a low tire pressure warning, the controller 140 can determine whether the vehicle has stopped. If the vehicle has not stopped, the controller 140 can output a guidance message such as "Please change settings after stopping" to the display screen 401.

[0067] When the vehicle has stopped, controller 140 may allow the output of a pop-up window 402 displaying a message such as "Please identify and save the pressure of all four tires" to identify the driver's intention to reset the tire pressure settings. In this regard, controller 140 may allow the output of a pop-up window 402 in which "Cancel" is selected by default. When the user selects "Cancel" in pop-up window 402, controller 140 may output a guidance message 403 such as "Tire pressure not saved" without saving the tire pressure. When the user selects "Save" in pop-up window 404, controller 140 may save the tire pressure and output a guidance message 405 such as "Tire pressure saved".

[0068] Figure 5 A flowchart of a fault detection method for a tire pressure monitoring system according to another embodiment of the present disclosure is shown.

[0069] Reference Figure 5 The controller 140 can sense low tire pressure based on tire pressure determination information obtained using the wheel speed sensor 110 during driving in the normal operating mode (S210). The controller 140 can determine low tire pressure when the amount of change in the tire's dynamic radius and / or frequency exceeds a threshold. If low tire pressure is not sensed in S210, the controller 140 can maintain the normal operating mode.

[0070] When low tire pressure is detected, the controller 140 can count the number of low pressure sensing events (S220). Each time low tire pressure is detected, the controller 140 can increment the number of low pressure sensing events by 1.

[0071] The controller 140 can determine whether the number of low-voltage sensing exceeds the previously stored reference number (S230). When the number of low-voltage sensing does not exceed the reference number, the controller 140 can maintain the operating mode in normal mode.

[0072] When the number of low-pressure sensing events exceeds a reference number, the controller 140 can output a low-pressure warning and store tire pressure determination information in the memory 142 (S240). When the number of low-pressure sensing events exceeds the reference number, the controller 140 can switch from normal mode to low-pressure warning mode and turn on the low-pressure warning light. The controller 140 can store the amount of change in the dynamic radius and / or frequency of the tire when the low-pressure warning light is turned on.

[0073] The controller 140 can determine whether the setting button 120 (S250) is operated when the vehicle stops during a low pressure warning.

[0074] When the operation of the setting button 120 is sensed, the controller 140 can switch from the low-voltage warning mode to the reset prohibition mode (S260).

[0075] In the reset disabled mode, the controller 140 can determine whether the operation of the setting button 120 is an erroneous operation (S270). When the setting button 120 is operated within a preset time from the low-pressure warning time, the controller 140 can determine that the operation of the setting button 120 is an erroneous operation. When the setting button 120 is operated after a predetermined time has elapsed from the low-pressure warning time, the controller 140 can determine that the operation of the setting button 120 is not an erroneous operation.

[0076] When it is determined that the operation of the setting button 120 is an erroneous operation, the controller 140 can count the number of erroneous operations (S280). The controller 140 can store the count of erroneous operations in the memory 142.

[0077] The controller 140 can determine whether the number of erroneous operations exceeds a threshold number (S290). The threshold number can be preset by the system designer.

[0078] When the number of erroneous operations exceeds the threshold, controller 140 can clear the low-pressure warning and perform a pressure setting reset (S300). Controller 140 can turn off the low-pressure warning light and can switch from reset disabled mode to learning mode.

[0079] If the vehicle does not stop when it is already stopped in S250 or the setting button 120 is not operated, or if the number of erroneous operations in S290 does not exceed the threshold number, the controller 140 may maintain the low-pressure warning mode (S310). For example, the controller 140 may keep the low-pressure warning light on.

[0080] When the operation of button 120 in S270 is not an erroneous operation (i.e., a normal operation), controller 140 can switch from low-pressure warning mode to learning mode (S320). Controller 140 can use wheel speed sensor 110 to learn changes in the dynamic radius and / or frequency of the tire.

[0081] The controller 140 can clear the low pressure warning and store the learned changes in the dynamic radius and / or frequency of the tire (S330). When the learning of the changes in the dynamic radius and / or frequency of the tire is complete, the controller 140 can switch from the learning mode to the normal mode (S340).

[0082] Figure 6 This is a timing diagram illustrating the process of resetting the tire pressure setting after adjusting the tire pressure under low pressure conditions, according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0083] When the driving speed is equal to or higher than the threshold speed, the controller 140 begins to use the wheel speed sensor 110 to analyze the dynamic radius and frequency (t0) of the tire.

[0084] When the change in dynamic radius exceeds a threshold change, controller 140 determines that low pressure has occurred and counts the number of low pressure sensing events (number of low pressure occurrences) (t1). When the number of low pressure sensing events exceeds the threshold, controller 140 can determine that the tire pressure is low and output a low pressure warning (e.g., turn on the warning light) (t2). Controller 140 can store the amount of change in the tire's dynamic radius during the low pressure warning period (t3). When storing the amount of change in dynamic radius, controller 140 can reset the counter used to count the number of low pressure sensing events.

[0085] When a user operates the setting button 120 for 3 seconds or longer after the vehicle has stopped, the controller 140 can sense the operation of the setting button 120 and clear the low pressure warning (t4). That is, when the setting button is pressed while the vehicle is already stopped, the controller 140 can turn off the low pressure warning light. When the operation of the setting button 120 is sensed during the low pressure warning period, the controller 140 switches from the low pressure warning mode to the reset prohibition mode and prohibits pressure setting reset.

[0086] When the vehicle resumes operation, controller 140 begins monitoring tire pressure using the previously stored change in dynamic radius as an initial value. When the driving speed is equal to or higher than a threshold speed and the change in dynamic radius exceeds the threshold change, controller 140 counts the number of low-pressure sensing events. When the counted number of low-pressure sensing events exceeds the threshold number, controller 140 can re-output a low-pressure warning indicating low tire pressure (t5). Controller 140 can also reactivate the low-pressure warning light to re-warn of low tire pressure and store the change in dynamic radius (t6).

[0087] When the user operates the setting button 120 after adjusting the tire pressure, the low pressure warning is deactivated (t7). The controller 140 can monitor the tire pressure when the vehicle starts driving again and maintain the deactivated low pressure warning state based on the monitoring results. For example, when the change in the dynamic radius of the tire returns to the normal range, the controller 140 can keep the low pressure warning light off. When it is determined that the low pressure warning should be deactivated, the controller 140 can disable the pressure setting reset prohibition mode (t8).

[0088] In the above embodiments, an example of checking whether the tire pressure is low by analyzing the dynamic radius of the tire has been described, but this disclosure is not limited thereto. Low tire pressure can be checked by analyzing tire frequency.

[0089] Figure 7 This is a timing diagram illustrating the process of resetting the tire pressure setting without tire pressure adjustment under low pressure conditions according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0090] When the driving speed is equal to or higher than a threshold speed, controller 140 begins to analyze the dynamic radius and / or frequency of the tire using wheel speed sensor 110. When the change in dynamic radius exceeds a threshold change, controller 140 determines that low pressure has occurred and counts the number of low pressure sensing events (number of low pressure occurrences). When the number of low pressure sensing events exceeds a threshold number, controller 140 may determine that the tire pressure is low and output a low pressure warning (e.g., turn on the warning light) (t11). Controller 140 may store the change in the dynamic radius (and / or the change in frequency) of the tire during the low pressure warning period (t12). When storing the change in dynamic radius, controller 140 may reset the counter used to count the number of low pressure sensing events.

[0091] When a user operates the setting button 120 for 3 seconds or longer after the vehicle has stopped, the controller 140 can sense the operation and clear the low-pressure warning (t13). That is, when the setting button is pressed while the vehicle is already stopped, the controller 140 can turn off the low-pressure warning light. When the operation of the setting button 120 is sensed during the low-pressure warning period, the controller 140 switches from the low-pressure warning mode to the reset prohibition mode and prohibits pressure setting reset.

[0092] When the controller 140 senses operation of the setting button 120 after a low pressure warning, it can determine whether the operation is erroneous. If the setting button 120 is operated within a predetermined time from the time the setting button 120 was previously pressed, the controller 140 determines that the operation is erroneous and turns on the low pressure warning light (t14). The controller 140 re-warns of low tire pressure and keeps pressure setting reset prohibited.

[0093] When operation of the setting button 120 is sensed during a low-pressure re-warning period, the controller 140 can determine whether the operation is erroneous. When the setting button 120 is operated again after a predetermined time has elapsed since the previous press, the controller 140 determines that the operation is normal and turns off the low-pressure warning light (t15). In this respect, the controller 140 maintains pressure setting reset disabled.

[0094] Subsequently, when the vehicle starts driving again, the controller 140 performs tire pressure monitoring and outputs a low pressure warning again when low tire pressure is detected (t16). The controller 140 keeps the pressure setting reset prohibited and stores the amount of change in the tire's dynamic radius (t17).

[0095] In the above embodiments, an example of checking whether the tire pressure is low by analyzing the dynamic radius of the tire has been described, but this disclosure is not limited thereto. Low tire pressure can be checked by analyzing tire frequency.

[0096] Figure 8This is a timing diagram used to illustrate the activation status of the reset disable mode according to embodiments of the present disclosure.

[0097] Reference Figure 8 When the controller 140 senses a decrease in tire pressure during driving, it activates the low-pressure warning light. Subsequently, when the driver presses the setting button 120, the controller 140 deactivates the low-pressure warning light and disables pressure setting reset. Because pressure setting reset is disabled, even when the driver operates the setting button 120 while the tire pressure is low, system 100's reset or recalibration is prevented.

[0098] The controller 140 checks the tire pressure again while the pressure setting reset is disabled. When the tire pressure is determined to be low, the controller 140 determines that it has attempted to reset the pressure setting in the low-pressure state, switches to low-pressure warning mode, and turns on the low-pressure warning light again.

[0099] Figure 9 This is a timing diagram used to illustrate a situation where a low-voltage warning is maintained in reset-disabled mode according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0100] Reference Figure 9 When a driver accidentally activates the pressure setting reset prohibition mode by pressing the driver's setting button, and then presses the setting button again, the controller 140 identifies the time difference between the time the pressure setting reset prohibition is confirmed and the time the setting button is pressed. If the identified time difference is within a predetermined time, the controller 140 determines the driver's setting button operation as an erroneous operation, does not turn off the low pressure warning light, and rechecks the tire pressure while maintaining the pressure setting reset prohibition state.

[0101] Figure 10 This is a timing diagram illustrating the situation where a low-voltage warning is cleared after activating the reset disable mode, according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0102] When a driver accidentally activates the pressure setting reset prohibition mode by pressing the setting button, and then presses the setting button again, the controller 140 identifies the time difference between the time the pressure setting reset prohibition is confirmed and the time the setting button is pressed. If the identified time difference exceeds a predetermined time, the controller 140 determines that the setting button was pressed after pressure adjustment and turns off the low pressure warning light. Furthermore, the controller 140 maintains the pressure setting reset prohibition state and rechecks the tire pressure.

[0103] Figure 11 This is a timing diagram used to illustrate the transition from reset prohibition mode to learning mode according to embodiments of the present disclosure.

[0104] Reference Figure 11When the tire pressure is checked and found to be normal by tire pressure monitoring while the pressure setting reset is prohibited, the low pressure warning light will turn off and the pressure setting reset prohibition will be canceled.

[0105] Subsequently, when the driver operates the setting button 120, the controller 140 switches to learning mode to learn the tire pressure and stores the learned tire pressure in the memory 142.

[0106] The above description is merely an illustration of the technical concept of this disclosure, and those skilled in the art can make various modifications and changes without departing from the basic characteristics of this disclosure. Therefore, the embodiments disclosed herein are not intended to limit the technical concept of this disclosure, but rather to illustrate it, and the scope of the technical concept of this disclosure is not limited by the embodiments. The scope of this disclosure should be interpreted as being covered by the scope of the appended claims, and all technical concepts falling within the scope of the claims should be interpreted as being included within the scope of this disclosure.

[0107] According to embodiments of this disclosure, system resets due to user error can be prevented when tire pressure is low.

[0108] Furthermore, according to embodiments of this disclosure, when attempting to reset the system without adjusting the pressure while the tire pressure is low, the low tire pressure condition triggers a renewed alarm, thus preventing accidents caused by low tire pressure in advance.

[0109] Although the present disclosure has been described above with reference to exemplary embodiments and accompanying drawings, the present disclosure is not limited thereto, but can be modified and altered in various ways by those skilled in the art without departing from the spirit and scope of the present disclosure as claimed in the appended claims.

Claims

1. A system for monitoring tire pressure, the system comprising: Wheel speed sensors are installed on each wheel of the vehicle; The settings button is used to reset the pressure settings; as well as The controller is configured as follows: The wheel speed sensor is used to determine whether the tire pressure is low. Output low voltage warning; When an operation on the setting button is sensed after the low pressure warning is issued, it is determined whether the user intends to reset the pressure setting; The pressure settings are reset in response to the user's response; When the vehicle stops and operation on the setting button is sensed, the pressure setting reset prohibition mode is activated; as well as When an erroneous operation of the setting button is detected in the pressure setting reset prohibited mode, the low pressure warning is output.

2. A system for monitoring tire pressure, the system comprising: Wheel speed sensors are installed on each wheel of the vehicle; The settings button is used to reset the pressure settings; as well as A controller, connected to the wheel speed sensor and the setting button, wherein the controller is configured to: Use the wheel speed sensor to check if the tire pressure is low; A low pressure warning is issued when the tire pressure is low. Store tire pressure information; When the vehicle stops and operation on the setting button is sensed, the pressure setting reset prohibition mode is activated; and When an erroneous operation of the setting button is detected in the pressure setting reset prohibited mode, the low pressure warning is output.

3. The system according to claim 2, wherein, The tire pressure determination information includes at least one of the changes in the tire's dynamic radius and frequency.

4. The system according to claim 3, wherein, The controller is configured to: When at least one of the changes in the dynamic radius and the frequency exceeds a threshold, the number of low-voltage occurrences is counted; and When the number of low-pressure occurrences exceeds the reference number, a low-pressure warning is output.

5. The system according to claim 2, wherein, The controller is configured to monitor the tire pressure status using stored tire pressure determination information as an initial value when the vehicle resumes driving after stopping.

6. The system according to claim 2, wherein, The controller is configured to determine the reoperation of the setting button as an erroneous operation of the setting button when the setting button is operated again in the pressure setting reset prohibition mode within a predetermined time period from the low pressure warning output time point.

7. The system according to claim 2, wherein, The controller is configured to recognize the reoperation of the setting button as normal operation when the setting button is operated again in the pressure setting reset prohibition mode after a predetermined time has elapsed since the low pressure warning output time point.

8. The system according to claim 2, wherein, The controller is configured to: Each time an erroneous operation on the settings button is detected, the number of erroneous operations is counted; and When the number of erroneous operations exceeds the threshold, the pressure setting is reset, and the low pressure warning is cleared.

9. The system according to claim 2, wherein, The controller is configured to deactivate the low-pressure warning but maintain the pressure setting reset prohibited mode when the operation of the setting button is normal in the pressure setting reset prohibited mode.

10. The system according to claim 2, wherein, The controller is configured to deactivate the low pressure warning and cancel the pressure setting reset prohibition mode when it is detected that the tire pressure is in a normal state during the pressure setting reset prohibition mode.

11. The system according to claim 2, wherein, The controller is configured to output the low pressure warning again and maintain the pressure setting reset prohibition mode when it detects that the tire pressure is in an abnormal state in the pressure setting reset prohibition mode.

12. A method for sensing a fault in a system for monitoring tire pressure, the method comprising: The tire pressure status is checked using wheel speed sensors; When the tire pressure is determined to be low, a low pressure warning is issued; When an operation on the setting button is sensed during the low-pressure warning, it is determined whether the driver intends to reset the pressure setting; When the driver intends to reset the pressure setting, the pressure setting reset is performed; When the vehicle stops and operation on the setting button is sensed, the pressure setting reset prohibition mode is activated; as well as When an erroneous operation of the setting button is detected in the pressure setting reset prohibited mode, the low pressure warning is output.

13. The method according to claim 12, wherein, Determining whether the driver intends to reset the pressure settings includes allowing the driver to default to selecting that the driver does not intend to reset the pressure settings.

14. A method for sensing a fault in a system for monitoring tire pressure, the method comprising: Perform the first operation: use the wheel speed sensor to sense the low tire pressure, output a low pressure warning, and store the tire pressure determination information; Perform the second operation: when the operation of the vehicle stop and set button is sensed after the low pressure warning, activate the pressure setting reset prohibition mode, and determine whether the operation of the set button is an erroneous operation; as well as Perform the third operation: When the operation of the setting button is determined to be an erroneous operation, output the low-pressure warning.

15. The method according to claim 14, wherein, The first operation includes: Determine whether at least one of the changes in the dynamic radius and frequency of the tire exceeds a threshold. When at least one of the changes exceeds the threshold, count the number of times low pressure occurs; When the number of low-pressure occurrences exceeds the reference number, a low-pressure warning is output; and Store the at least one change.

16. The method of claim 14, wherein, The second operation includes: When the setting button is operated again within a predetermined time period from the low-pressure warning output time, the reoperation of the setting button is determined as an erroneous operation of the setting button; and When the setting button is operated again after a predetermined time has elapsed since the low-pressure warning output time, the reoperation of the setting button will be determined as normal operation.

17. The method according to claim 16, wherein, The third operation includes: Each time an erroneous operation is determined to have been performed on the settings button, the number of erroneous operations is counted; and When the number of erroneous operations exceeds the threshold, the pressure setting is reset, and the low pressure warning is cleared.

18. The method according to claim 16, wherein, The third operation includes, when the normal operation of the setting button is sensed, deactivating the low pressure warning, learning the tire pressure using the wheel speed sensor, and storing the learned value.

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