Automatic positioning of tire monitor

Abstract

Systems and methods for tire monitor auto-positioning are disclosed. A tire pressure monitoring system generates an output signal to communicate with a tire monitor mounted on a tire of a vehicle. A time associated with the return signal in response to the output signal is used to determine a distance of the tire monitor and / or an angular displacement of the tire monitor. Using these techniques, a monitor may be positioned without requiring vehicle operation. In other examples, accelerometers and / or contact surface measurements may be used, for example, to automatically position a tire monitor while the vehicle is in operation.

Description

[0001] CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

[0002] This application claims the benefit of priority to U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 63 / 355,459, filed on June 24, 2022, entitled “Auto-Location of Tire Monitors,” the entire contents of which are incorporated herein by reference. Technical Field

[0003] The present disclosure relates to tire pressure monitoring systems and, more particularly, to automatic positioning of tire pressure sensors. Background Art

[0004] Automatic positioning of tire sensors is important for proper vehicle safety and / or functionality. For example, a tire pressure monitoring system (TPMS) can monitor the tire inflation level of all tires of a vehicle, as well as other sensed information, and provide this information to a user. In some conventional systems, sensors and / or transmitters may be mounted on each tire to periodically send signals from the sensors, which relay the information to a receiver and / or computing system, typically mounted on the vehicle. The computing system may additionally be integrated and / or connected to a display on the vehicle that can alert the user to tire-related information.

[0005] Conventionally, different automobile manufacturers have implemented different tire sensor positioning technologies. For example, the TPMS can perform a learning routine that enables the TPMS to determine the location of the tire based on the signals received from the corresponding sensors. Thus, the TPMS can determine whether the received signal is sent from a tire on a specific side of the vehicle (e.g., the left or right side) and a specific axle of the vehicle (e.g., the front axle or the rear axle). Some vehicles require a manual learning routine that must be performed at the manufacturing plant (e.g., before the vehicle is deployed) to establish the correspondence between the sensor and the location on the vehicle. In addition, the user (e.g., the owner, operator, mechanic, etc.) must perform this manual learning routine every time the tire is rotated and / or replaced.

[0006] Additional conventional positioning techniques involve the sensor / transmitter sending a unique identification code to the TPMS. For example, the sensor / transmitter may use a unique identification code that, when received by the TPMS, enables the TPMS to identify the sending tire by association. However, similar to the conventional methods described above, each time the tire is rotated and / or replaced, the TPMS must be reprogrammed to ensure proper association. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0007] In order that those skilled in the art to which the disclosed systems and techniques pertain will more readily understand how to make and use them, reference may be made to the following drawings.

[0008] Figure 1 is a schematic diagram of a vehicle including a tire pressure monitor and a tire pressure monitoring system according to aspects of the present disclosure.

[0009] Figure 2 is a flow chart illustrating an exemplary process for automatically positioning a tire monitor in a stationary vehicle according to aspects of the present disclosure.

[0010] Figure 3 is a schematic diagram of a vehicle system according to aspects of the present disclosure, illustrating automatic location of tire pressure sensors in a stationary vehicle using time of flight and / or angle of arrival and / or range measurement principles.

[0011] Figure 4 is an exemplary schematic diagram of a tire monitoring system architecture according to aspects of the present disclosure.

[0012] Figure 5 is a flow chart illustrating an exemplary process for determining a tire monitor mounting orientation according to aspects of the present disclosure.

[0013] Figure 6 is a graphical representation of a representation of the relationship between acceleration and contact patch characteristics in a moving vehicle according to aspects of the present disclosure.

[0014] Figure 7 is a graphical representation of the relationship between forces measured by a sensor between a right turn and a left turn in accordance with aspects of the present disclosure.

[0015] Figure 8 is an illustrative representation of the relationship between cornering and contact patch characteristics in a moving vehicle according to aspects of the present disclosure.

[0016] Fig. 9 is a flow chart illustrating an exemplary process for automatically positioning a tire monitor on a vehicle according to aspects of the present disclosure.

[0017] Fig.10 is a flow chart illustrating a process for determining whether to perform automatic positioning of a tire monitor according to aspects of the present disclosure. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0018] The present technology overcomes prior art problems associated with tire pressure monitors. For example, the systems and techniques described herein provide improved automatic positioning of tire monitors on a vehicle. For example, the techniques described herein provide automatic positioning of tire monitors when the vehicle is in motion and / or when the vehicle is stationary. The advantages and other features of the systems and methods disclosed herein will become more apparent to one of ordinary skill in the art through the following detailed description of certain preferred embodiments in conjunction with the accompanying drawings that illustrate representative examples of the present disclosure.

[0019] In some aspects of the present disclosure, a tire monitor is coupled to a tire of a vehicle. For example, a vehicle having four tires may have four tire monitors, one tire monitor being associated with one of the tires. As is generally understood, a conventional tire monitor may include a pressure sensor, and in at least some cases, may include a motion sensor, a temperature sensor, and / or one or more other sensors for determining properties of a corresponding tire. The sensor generates sensor data that may be sent to one or more computing systems and / or interfaces associated with the vehicle, e.g., to provide information about conditions associated with the tires to a driver, technician, owner, etc. In a simple example, a tire monitor may determine tire pressure and send the tire pressure to a dashboard display for presentation to an occupant of the vehicle.

[0020] Aspects of the present disclosure may be particularly related to determining the location of a tire monitor on a vehicle. For example, the techniques described herein may determine whether a tire monitor is associated with a front tire, a left tire, a rear tire, a right tire, etc. In some aspects of the present disclosure, the location of a tire may be determined at the tire, for example, independent of information from other monitors and / or independent of a centralized (e.g., vehicle) computing system. In other examples, a centralized computing system (e.g., a tire pressure monitoring system) may perform automatic positioning techniques.

[0021] Due to the improved automatic positioning systems and techniques disclosed herein, a driver can receive accurate tire-related data regardless of whether the tire was recently rotated, installed, etc. In at least some examples, the tire monitor can be automatically positioned without accessing a centralized computing system and / or vehicle network, such as a CAN bus, etc. In addition, the techniques described herein that allow automatic positioning of the tire monitor without requiring vehicle movement can provide critical tire information before the vehicle moves. For example, a driver may receive an alert of a flat tire or other unsafe tire condition before operating the vehicle. These and other features and benefits of the present disclosure will be discussed with reference to the accompanying drawings.

[0022] Figure 1 A vehicle 100 is shown that includes a plurality of tires 102 (four in this example). Each of the tires 102 is associated with a tire monitor 104. Specifically, each of the tire monitors 104 is coupled to each of the tires 102. As detailed herein, aspects of the present disclosure may be particularly directed to determining which tire 102 each of the monitors 104 is coupled to. For example, the systems and techniques described herein may include determining whether one of the tire monitors is associated with a driver-side front tire, a driver-side rear tire, a passenger-side front tire, or a passenger-side rear tire.

[0023] According to some aspects of the present disclosure, the association of each of monitors 104 with a tire is based on an automatic positioning principle, for example, based on data and signals sent between tire monitors 104 and a centralized system in communication with tire monitors 104. Figure 1 As shown, each of the tire monitors 104 may include, among other features, one or more sensors 106, one or more Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE) transceivers 108, one or more Ultra Wideband (UWB) transceivers 110, and one or more wake-up receivers 112. Figure 1 1, but each of the tire monitors 104 may also include one or more power sources, such as batteries and / or other conventionally known components. The BLE transceiver 108, the UWB transceiver 110, and / or the wake-up receiver 112 are provided for illustration only. As will be understood from the written description, aspects of the present disclosure may be implemented using other and / or additional components. For example, but not limited to, transmission technologies other than BLE and / or UWB may be used to perform some of the techniques described herein.

[0024] The sensor 106 is configured to generate a signal associated with one or more measured properties of the tire 102. For example, the sensor 106 may include a pressure sensor configured to generate pressure data associated with the associated tire. In another example, the sensor 106 may include a temperature sensor configured to generate temperature data associated with the tire. The sensor 106 may also or alternatively include a motion sensor. For example, the motion sensor may include one or more of an accelerometer (e.g., a 3-axis accelerometer), a gyroscope, an inertial measurement unit, a rotary transformer, a rotation sensor, a position sensor, etc. In some further examples, the sensor 106 may also or alternatively include a force sensor, a lateral force sensor, and / or other sensors or sensor combinations that can be used to determine the contact surface associated with the tire. The sensor 106 may generate updated data at a predetermined frequency, for example, according to a sampling rate. The sensor 106 may be configurable, for example, the sampling rate may be adjustable. For example, the sensor 106 may generate data at a first sampling rate when the vehicle is moving and at a second sampling rate when the vehicle is stationary.

[0025] The BLE transceiver 108 (which may also be referred to herein as the first BLE transceiver 108 and / or the tire monitor BLE transceiver) is configured to generate, receive and / or transmit signals using conventional BLE standards, etc. For example, the BLE transceiver 108 may be configured to generate and / or transmit signals associated with sensor data generated by the sensor 106. In some examples, the BLE transceiver 108 may include functionality to modulate a signal corresponding to data from the sensor 106. Any output signal from the first BLE transceiver 108 may be associated with a first protocol, for example, including a first radio frequency output. In addition, and as described above, the techniques described herein are not limited to the use of BLE technology.

[0026] The first BLE transceiver 108 may be configured to generate an output signal. The output signal may be a radio frequency (RF) signal carrying information associated with data generated by the sensor 106. For example, the output signal associated with the first BLE transceiver 108 carries information generated by the sensor 106 (e.g., tire pressure data) and may conform to a first protocol. The first BLE transceiver 108 may also be configured to receive a signal, such as a command or request signal. In the example described herein, the first BLE transceiver 108 may receive a request to send sensor data. Also as detailed herein, some exemplary techniques may use angle of arrival and / or high-precision distance measurement channel sounding (HADM / CS) to automatically locate the tire monitor 104 for signals received and / or sent from the first BLE transceiver 108. Without limitation, the BLE transceiver 108 may send and / or receive data according to different protocols, for example, these protocols may have one or more of a predetermined frequency or bandwidth (e.g., transmission frequency, transmission channel, data rate, transmission power, or other characteristics of wireless transmission). In at least some examples, the first protocol and / or the second protocol can correspond to the Bluetooth® standard, etc. Figure 1 , the first BLE transceiver 108 is shown as a single item, but in other examples, the first BLE transceiver 108 may be implemented as one or more transmitters and / or one or more receivers, and the transmitters and / or receivers may have one or more associated antennas, processing logic, etc.

[0027] The first UWB transceiver 110 is configured to receive, generate and / or transmit signals using UWB technology and / or protocols. For example, the first UWB transceiver 110 may perform some or all of the same functions as the first BLE transceiver 108, including transmitting sensor data, but using UWB radio technology instead of BLE radio technology. For example, UWB may be a low-power wireless communication technology that uses short pulsed radio waves to achieve high-bandwidth connections. In aspects of the present disclosure, UWB transmissions may be used to determine the location of a tire monitor with greater positioning accuracy (e.g., relative to BLE).

[0028] As schematically shown, vehicle 100 also includes a tire monitoring system 114 having associated therewith one or more second BLE transceivers 116 , one or more second UWB transceivers 118 , one or more near field communication (NFC) transceivers 120 , and an automatic positioning system 122 .

[0029] The tire monitoring system 114 may be implemented as a computing system on the vehicle 100. The tire monitoring system 114 includes functionality to communicate with each of the tire monitors 104, e.g., to receive information about the tires 102 at a centralized (computing-wise) location. In general, the tire monitoring system 114 may receive signals from the tire monitors 104, discern information about the tires 102 from the received signals, and / or display information about the tires 102 to a user, technician, etc. In an example, the tire monitoring system 114 includes logic to receive information from the tire monitors 104, process and / or output such information, and / or determine whether any of the associated tires 102 has an abnormal condition. Without limitation, the tire monitoring system 114 may include functionality to determine whether the tire pressure of any of the tires 102 is outside of a certain predefined operating limit. For example, the tire monitoring system 114 may determine the pressure of each of the tires 102 based on the signals received from the tire monitors 104, and identify whether the pressure of the tire is below a first threshold pressure (e.g., the tire is under-inflated) or above a second threshold pressure (e.g., the tire is over-inflated). The tire monitoring system 114 may also include logic for sending tire information (eg, tire pressure, determined alarm conditions, etc.) to an operator interface ( Figure 1 Without limitation, tire monitoring system 114 may transmit data for presentation via a wired or wireless communication connection.

[0030] The tire monitoring system 114 may be configured to communicate with the tire monitors 104 via the second BLE transceiver 116 and / or the second UWB transceiver 118. Without limitation, the second BLE transceiver 116 may be configured to communicate with the first BLE transceiver 108 associated with each of the tire monitors 104, and / or the second UWB transceiver 118 may be configured to communicate with the first UWB transceiver 110 associated with each of the tire monitors 104. Although illustrated as transceivers, it will be understood that the second BLE transceiver 116 and / or the second UWB transceiver 118 may be implemented as one or more transmitters, one or more receivers, and / or one or more antennas.

[0031] In aspects of the present disclosure, the tire monitoring system 114 may also include functionality to determine associations of respective ones of the tire monitors 104 with respective ones of the tires 102 using transmissions associated with the second BLE transceiver 116 and / or the second UWB transceiver 118. Specifically, the tire monitoring system 114 is also shown to include an automatic positioning component 122 that includes functionality to determine a position or location of the tire monitor 104 on the vehicle 100 and to determine associations of the tire monitor 104 with a particular tire 102 based at least in part on the position or location. Although not shown in detail for ease of reference and understanding, the automatic positioning component 122 may be used to determine the position or location of the tire monitor 104 on the vehicle 100. Figure 1 , but various portions of the blocks shown and / or other aspects of the tire monitoring system 114 may be implemented in an intelligent hardware device (e.g., a central processing unit (CPU), a microcontroller, an application specific integrated circuit (ASIC), or may be implemented as part of a reconfigurable device). Aspects of the tire monitoring system 114 may include random access memory (RAM) and read-only memory (ROM), which may include instructions that are configured to, when executed (or compiled and executed), cause aspects of the tire monitoring system 114 to perform various functions further described and discussed below. For example, various components of the tire monitoring system 114 may be implemented using one or more separate CPUs or ASICs, and these components may be implemented individually or collectively using one or more ASICs adapted to perform some or all applicable functions in hardware. Each of the components may be a device for performing one or more functions associated with the operation of the system.

[0032] In more detail, automatic positioning component 122 may include distance determination component 124 and / or angle determination component 126. For example, automatic positioning component 122 may estimate the distance or proximity of each of tire monitors 104 to tire monitoring system 114 via distance determination component 124 and determine the location of tire monitor 104 on vehicle 100 based at least in part on the distance / proximity. For example, and as further detailed herein, automatic positioning component 122 may determine the location of tire monitor 104 without any movement of vehicle 100 (e.g., as needed).

[0033] In more detail, the distance determination component 124 generally includes functionality to determine the distance of a remote antenna from an anchor location (e.g., an anchor transceiver or an antenna associated therewith) using radio energy and travel time and / or phase delay of radio waves. Without limitation, the distance determination component 124 may determine the travel time of radio waves traveling between the UWB transceiver 118 at the tire monitoring system 114 and the first UWB transceiver 110 at the tire monitor 104, and determine the physical distance based on the travel time. For example, the distance determination component 124 uses the travel time of radio energy between the UWB transceiver 118 associated with the tire monitoring system (e.g., an "anchor" UWB transceiver) and the first UWB transceiver 110 associated with the tire monitor 104 to determine the distance of any UWB transceiver location to within + / - 0.1 m, and tracks the locations of these UWB transceivers. By strategically positioning an anchor UWB transceiver (e.g., UWB transceiver 118 associated with tire monitoring system 114) on vehicle 100, the distances from tire monitoring system 114 to each of tire monitors 104 are sufficiently different to be discernible by distance determination component 124, thereby allowing each of tire monitors 104 to be appropriately positioned on vehicle 100. In other words, by placing UWB transceivers and / or antennas associated therewith at offset locations, the locations of tire monitors 104 may be determined by their distances from the UWB transceivers, such as via distance determination component 124. Although in the example just described, distance determination component 124 may use the travel time between UWB transceivers, in other examples, distance determination component 124 may determine the phase delay of radio waves traveling between BLE transceiver 116 and BLE transceiver 108, although BLE technology may not be as accurate as UWB technology.

[0034] In addition to or as an alternative to using the distance determined by the distance determination component, the automatic positioning component 122 can also determine the angle of arrival of the UWB and / or BLE transmissions, for example, via the angle determination component 126. Without limitation, and as further described below, the angle determination component 126 can determine the angle of arrival of a radio signal received at the second UWB transceiver 118 from the first UWB transceiver 110 associated with the tire monitor 104. For example, when the orientation of the tire monitoring system 114 (or UWB transceiver 118, BLE transceiver 116, etc.) is known, the quadrant of the vehicle (e.g., left front, right front, right rear, left rear) can be determined based on the angle of arrival of the transmission from the tire monitor 104 and / or relative to the angle of arrival of transmissions from other tire monitors 104.

[0035] In some examples, the tire monitoring system 114 can send a signal to the tire monitor 104 via the second BLE transceiver 116, which causes the tire monitor to turn on its corresponding UWB transceiver 110 to perform automatic positioning, for example using the automatic positioning component 122. In some examples, the first BLE transceiver 108 at the tire monitor 104 can be configured to wake up periodically to check for signals, such as checking for instructions to perform automatic positioning as described herein. Therefore, the vehicle 100 (using the tire monitoring system 114) can broadcast a BLE signal to the monitor 104 via the second BLE transceiver 116, commanding the monitor 104 to turn on its UWB transceiver 110.

[0036] The periodic wake-up of the BLE transceiver at the tire monitor 104 may consume a relatively large amount of energy. In order to reduce this power consumption, some implementations of the present disclosure may include reducing the frequency at which the BLE transceiver wakes up to check for instructions. However, reducing the wake-up frequency will correspondingly increase the delay in the tire monitoring system 114, resulting in a delay in locating the tire monitor 104. In order to reduce this delay and / or reduce power consumption, in some cases, the tire monitor 104 may have an associated wake-up receiver (WuRx) 112. WuRx 112 can be configured to wake up periodically to listen for commands from the vehicle 100. For example, when WuRx 112 listens for these wake-up commands, the first BLE transceiver 108 can be placed in a reduced power (e.g., sleep) mode. Since WuRx consumes much less power than the BLE transceiver 108, the frequency of listening for requests to automatically locate the tire monitor 104 can be increased, thereby reducing the delay associated with the system. In addition, WuRx 112 can enable the vehicle 100 to request automatic positioning of the tire monitor 104 and / or sensor 106 while reducing power consumption. As described above, the energy consumption requirements of a typical BLE transceiver are generally too high to keep the transceiver active at all times to listen for commands from the vehicle 100 and / or wake up the transceiver frequently enough to perform on-demand or near-on-demand tire monitor positioning.

[0037] As described above, the automatic positioning component 122 can perform automatic positioning of the tire monitor 104 in real time or near real time, regardless of whether the vehicle 100 is moving or stationary. In at least some examples, the automatic positioning component 122 can perform automatic positioning in response to one or more triggering events. For example, the proximity of the user 128 to the vehicle 100 may be a trigger to perform automatic positioning as described herein, e.g., such that the user is alerted to any tire pressure anomalies before commencing travel. Figure 1 In the exemplary scenario shown in , a user 128 may approach a vehicle 100 while carrying an electronic device 130. The electronic device 130 is shown as a mobile phone, but other electronic devices associated with the user 128 may also be used, for example, personal electronic devices, including but not limited to tablets, key cards, computers, etc. In an implementation, the electronic device 130 may be any computing device capable of sending and / or receiving signals. In the example, the user 128 may be the owner, lessee, technician, fleet manager, or any other individual associated with the vehicle 100. As will be understood, the electronic device 130 and the user 128 are shown as examples only.

[0038] exist Figure 1In the example shown in FIG. 1 , a user 128 approaches the vehicle 100, and the electronic device 130 may transmit a signal, for example, via Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE). The vehicle 100 may then use an automatic positioning component 122 (e.g., including a distance determination component 124) to estimate the distance associated with the electronic device 130. The distance determination component may estimate the proximity of the electronic device via the second BLE transceiver 116 and the BLE transceiver on the electronic device 130. For example, the distance determination component may use BLE spectrum energy to determine the distance of the device 130 within a distance of, for example, about 1.5 meters. In some cases, when the vehicle 100 detects that the electronic device 130 is closer than the example 1.5 m, it may turn on the second UWB transceiver 118 and send a BLE command via the second BLE transceiver 116 to initiate automatic positioning of the tire monitor 104, as discussed above. As will be understood, the distances provided herein are for example only. The methods and / or techniques may affect the range and / or accuracy of the distance determined by the distance determination component 124.

[0039] The automatic positioning component 122 can also send a signal to the electronic device 130 to turn on any UWB transmitters (not shown) associated with the electronic device 130. In this way, the UWB transceiver 118 on the vehicle 100 can also communicate with any UWB transmitters associated with the electronic device 130, and the distance determination component 124 can determine the distance to the device 130 within about 0.1 m of the vehicle 100, and / or track the location of the electronic device 130. For example, an anchor on the vehicle 100 is in a fixed position on the vehicle 100 relative to the electronic device 130, which can allow the anchor to determine the location of the electronic device 130 via the distance determination component 124, as discussed and mentioned above and herein. In some examples, information about the tire (e.g., as measured by the sensor 106) can also be sent to the electronic device 130, for example, for display to a user.

[0040] While an example of tire monitoring system 114 communicating with electronic device 130 has just been described, other communication approaches are also contemplated. For example, as described and referred to herein, communication with electronic device 130 may occur via near field communication (NFC) transceiver 120 .

[0041] Other triggering events are also contemplated, such as initiating automatic positioning of tire monitor 104. For example, but not limited to, sensors on vehicle 100 may indicate the proximity of a user, which causes the tire monitoring system to perform automatic positioning and other monitoring functions as detailed herein. Without limitation, the tire monitoring system may wake up tire monitor 104 for automatic positioning and monitoring in response to a door being opened, user 128 entering or being detected in vehicle 100, a key being placed in the ignition, etc.

[0042] As will be appreciated from the foregoing, some examples of the present disclosure use communication and positioning between tire monitoring system 114 and tire monitor 104 to determine the location of tire monitor 104 on vehicle 100. By associating tire monitor 104 with a specific tire location, tire pressure, etc. (e.g., tire pressure anomalies), as determined by a single tire monitor 104, can be easily associated with the tire and reported to the user even before a trip begins.

[0043] In other examples of the present disclosure, the tire monitor 104 may include functionality to perform automatic positioning, for example, independently of the tire monitoring system 114. Figure 1 As shown, tire monitor 104 is also shown to include an automatic location determination system 132. Automatic location determination system 132 can operate separately from tire monitoring system 114 and / or determine the location of the corresponding tire monitor associated with each tire 102 in the plurality of tires. For example, determining the location of tire monitor 104 can include providing sensor data to automatic location determination system 132. In this case, sensor 106 can include an accelerometer. The accelerometer used by the sensor can be a three-axis accelerometer.

[0044] like Figure 1 As shown, the automatic position determination system 132 can include an orientation determination component 134, a memory 136, a front / rear axle determination component 138, a vehicle side determination component 140, and a position determination component 142. As further detailed herein, the various components of the automatic position determination system 132 can determine various properties of the sensor that together allow the position of the tire monitor 104 on the vehicle to be determined, for example, via the position determination component 142.

[0045] The orientation determination component 134 can determine the orientation of the tire monitor 104 and / or the orientation of one of the sensors 106 (e.g., a three-axis accelerometer) associated with the tire monitor 104. For example, and as further described in detail herein, the tire monitor 104 can be mounted in one of two orientations relative to the tire 102. For example, the two orientations can differ by 180 degrees of rotation. As will be appreciated, some measurements made by the sensor 106 (e.g., acceleration in the longitudinal direction) will be different based on the orientation. Therefore, the orientation may be required to properly normalize or otherwise interpret the sensor data generated at the tire monitor 104.

[0046] In some cases, the automatic position determination system 132 may include a memory 136 that may store the position of the monitor 104 relative to the vehicle 100 / tire 102. In these examples, the position of the monitor 104 may be determined from the memory 136 stored within the automatic position determination system 132. For example, the memory 136 may be preprogrammed to contain information about the position of the computer readable medium and / or the accelerometer. In some cases, the position of the tire monitor 104 may be determined using the longitudinal force in the tire 102, as determined from the sensor 106 and transmitted to the automatic position determination system 132. Fig. 9 The process for determining the orientation of tire monitor 104 is described in further detail.

[0047] By way of example and not limitation, memory 136 (e.g., computer-readable storage media) may include volatile and nonvolatile, removable and non-removable media implemented in any method or technology. Memory 136 may include, but is not limited to, RAM, ROM, erasable programmable ROM ("EPROM"), electrically erasable programmable ROM ("EEPROM"), flash memory or other solid-state memory technology, compact disk ROM ("CD-ROM"), digital versatile disk ("DVD"), high-definition DVD ("HD-DVD"), Blu-ray or other optical storage, magnetic cassettes, magnetic tape, disk storage or other magnetic storage devices, or any other medium that can be used to store the desired information in a non-transitory manner.

[0048] The front / rear axle determination component 138 may include functionality to determine whether the tire monitor 104 is located at the front axle or the rear axle. For example, the front / rear axle determination component 138 may receive information about the contact patch (e.g., the portion of the tire 102 that is in contact with the ground) from the sensor 106. For example, the front / rear axle determination component 138 may include functionality to determine changes in the size of the contact patch during an acceleration event. The contact patch and / or contact patch quotient refers to the amount of contact of the tire 102 with the ground (e.g., a two-dimensional estimate of the angular percentage of the tire circumference that is in contact with the road), and under acceleration, due to the rotation of the vehicle 100 about the X-axis, the front axle may lift slightly, resulting in a reduction in the contact patch for the tire at the front axle. The sensor 106 may transmit information to the front / rear axle determination component 138 of the automatic positioning determination system 132, detailing this change in the contact patch, and the front / rear axle determination component 138 uses these readings to locate and / or determine the association of the sensor 106 associated with the front axle. Conversely, under acceleration, an increase in the contact patch of the tire 102 will be associated with the rear axle. In addition, the above-described pattern of contact patch increase / decrease is reversed under deceleration. Specifically, during a deceleration event, the contact patch for the tire associated with the front axle is expected to increase (e.g., lengthen and / or widen), and the contact patch for the tire associated with the rear axle is expected to decrease (e.g., shorten and / or narrow). In some cases, the pattern indicating the increase / decrease of the contact patch for the associated axle can be determined by the front / rear axle determination component 138. In some other cases, the pattern indicating the increase / decrease of the contact patch for the associated axle can be accessed by the front / rear axle determination component 138 from the memory 136.

[0049] The automatic location determination system 132 may also include a vehicle side determination component 140. The vehicle side determination component 140 includes functionality to determine whether the tire monitor is located on the left side (e.g., driver's side) or the right side (e.g., passenger side) of the vehicle 100. For example, the vehicle side determination component 140 may include functionality to analyze information about the contact surface from the sensor 106 and information about vehicle handling (e.g., information from an accelerometer on the tire monitor 104). For example, the vehicle side determination component 140 may determine the side of the vehicle 100 associated with the tire monitor 104 based on changes in the size of the contact surface during a turning maneuver (e.g., turning). As described above, the contact surface refers to the amount of contact that the tire 102 has with the ground. The contact surface may be a two-dimensional area having a width, a length, and / or other dimensions from which the contact surface may be determined. In other examples, the contact surface may be characterized by a single dimension, e.g., a length, a width. In addition, in some examples, changes in tire deformation (e.g., radial displacement of the tire at the contact area) may be used to indicate changes in load at the tire. In one example, during a right-hand turn, the vehicle 100 may rise slightly on the right side due to the rotation experienced about the Y-axis of the vehicle 100. Figure 8As can be seen in FIG. 1 , such rotation may cause the contact patch associated with the tire 102 on the right side of the vehicle 100 to decrease and the contact patch associated with the tire 102 on the left side of the vehicle 100 to increase. The sensor 106 may transmit information associated with these changes in the contact patch area to the vehicle-side determination component 140 of the automatic position determination system 132. Therefore, or in the alternative, the vehicle-side determination component 140 may retrieve information from the sensor 106. The vehicle-side determination component 140 may use these readings to locate and / or otherwise associate the monitor 104 with the appropriate side of the vehicle.

[0050] As will be appreciated, when the turning maneuver is a left turn, the vehicle-side determination component 140 associates the tire with an increased contact patch with the right side of the vehicle 100 and associates the tire with a decreased contact patch with the left side of the vehicle 100. In some cases, the pattern of increased / decreased contact patch indicative of the direction of the turn may be determined by the vehicle-side determination component 140. In some additional cases, the pattern of increased / decreased contact patch indicative of the associated direction of the turn may be accessed by the vehicle-side determination component 140 from the memory 136.

[0051] The turning maneuvers and / or acceleration events discussed above may be determined based on acceleration measured at an accelerometer of the sensor 106 including the tire monitor 104. In other examples, the turning events and / or acceleration events may be collected from other data and / or other sources. Without limitation, the front / rear axle determination component 138 and / or the vehicle side determination component 140 may receive vehicle control information from other or different sensor modalities, from one or more vehicle controllers in communication with the tire monitor 104, and the like. Furthermore, while aspects of the present disclosure contemplate determining the position of the tire monitor 104 at the tire monitor 104, in other examples, data from the sensor 106 (e.g., data used to determine contact patch attributes and / or regarding the manipulation of the tire 102) may be sent to the tire monitoring system 114 or other computing system to establish an appropriate association between the tire monitor and the position on the vehicle 100.

[0052] The automatic location determination system 132 may also include a location determination component 142. The location determination component 142 may be used by the automatic location determination system 132 to automatically locate the location of the sensor 106 to its corresponding tire 102 and / or its corresponding tire vehicle location. For example, the location determination component 142 may utilize determinations made by other components included in the automatic location determination system 132. For example, the orientation determination component 134 may determine that the first sensor is in a first orientation, the second sensor is in a first orientation, the third sensor is in a second orientation, and the fourth sensor is in a second orientation, the second orientation being rotated 180 degrees from the first orientation. In addition, the front / rear axle determination component 138 may have determined that under acceleration, the first sensor and the second sensor experience a decrease in contact surface (e.g., area, length, etc.), indicating that the first sensor and the second sensor are located on the front axle. Conversely, the front / rear axle determination component 138 may determine that under acceleration, the third sensor and the fourth sensor experience an increase in contact surface (e.g., area, length, etc.), indicating that the third sensor and the fourth sensor are located on the rear axle. Additionally, the vehicle-side determination component 140 may have determined that, beginning with the right turn, the first sensor and the third sensor experienced a decrease in contact surface (e.g., area, length, etc.), indicating that the first sensor and the third sensor were located on the right side of the vehicle 100. Conversely, during the same right turn, the vehicle-side determination component 140 may have determined that the second sensor and the fourth sensor experienced an increase in contact surface (e.g., area, length, etc.), indicating that the second sensor and the fourth sensor were located on the left side of the vehicle 100. Therefore, the position determination component 142 may determine that the first sensor is located at the front axle and on the left side of the vehicle 100 based on the components of the automatic position determination system 132. In this case, the remaining sensors 106, the second sensor, the third sensor, and the fourth sensor may similarly have their positions automatically determined by their respective position determination components 142.

[0053] Therefore or alternatively, in the case where the sensors 106 can be oriented differently, the orientation determination component 134 can determine that the first sensor and the third sensor are in a first orientation, and the second sensor and the fourth sensor are in a second orientation. In this case, the first orientation can be associated with the left side of the vehicle 100, and the second orientation can be associated with the right side of the vehicle 100. For example, when the tire monitor is mounted on a valve stem, the orientation of the tire monitor 104 can be determined because the valve stem is generally located outside the vehicle. Therefore, the orientation determination component 134 can determine the corresponding orientation by the same and / or similar methods described and referred to herein. In addition, under acceleration, the front / rear axle determination component 138 can determine that the fourth sensor and the third sensor experience an increase in contact area, indicating the rear axle. Conversely, under the same conditions, the front / rear axle determination component 138 can determine that the first sensor and the second sensor experience a decrease in contact area (e.g., area, length, etc.), indicating the front axle. Therefore, the position determination component 142 can abandon the function associated with the vehicle-side determination component 140 to determine the corresponding position of the monitor 104. For example, using the orientation determination component 134 indicating that the first sensor and the third sensor are located on the left side of the vehicle 100, and using the front / rear axle determination component 138 information that the first sensor is located on the front axle and the third sensor is located on the rear axle, the position determination component 142 can determine the location of the first sensor and the third sensor on the vehicle 100. Similarly, the position determination component 142 can determine the location of the second sensor and the fourth sensor in the same and / or similar process as described and referred to herein.

[0054] In some additional cases, the position determination component 142 can use the orientation determination 134 information and the vehicle-side determination component 140 information as described above to determine the position of the monitor 104. For example, the first sensor and the second sensor can be in a first orientation. In addition, the third sensor and the fourth sensor can be in a second orientation. The first orientation can be associated with the front axle, and the second orientation can be associated with the rear axle. Therefore, during a right turn, the vehicle-side determination component 140 can sense an increase in the contact surface (e.g., area, length, etc.) in the first sensor and the third sensor. In addition, under the same conditions, the vehicle-side determination component 140 can sense a decrease in the contact surface (e.g., area, length, etc.) in the second sensor and the fourth sensor. Therefore, the position determination component 142 can abandon the use of the front / rear axle determination component 138 to determine the corresponding position of the monitor 104. For example, using the orientation determination component 134 information indicating that the first sensor and the second sensor are located at the front axle of the vehicle 100, and using the vehicle side determination component 140 information indicating that the first sensor is located on the left side of the vehicle 100 and the second sensor is located on the right side of the vehicle 100, the position determination component 142 can determine the positions of the first sensor and the second sensor on the vehicle 100. Similarly, the position determination component 142 can determine the positions of the third sensor and the fourth sensor in the same and / or similar process as described and referred to herein.

[0055] In some examples, in the case where the front / rear axle determination component 138 and / or the vehicle-side determination component 140 information is redundant, the tire monitoring system 114 can still use the information to detect sensor failure. For example, the orientation determination component 134 can determine that the first sensor is in a first orientation associated with the front axle. In addition, under acceleration, the front / rear axle determination component 138 can determine that the first sensor experiences an increase in the contact surface (e.g., area, length, etc.) associated with the rear axle. Therefore, the difference between the orientation determination component 134 association indicating that the first sensor is located at the front axle and the front / rear axle determination component 138 association indicating that the first sensor is located at the rear axle can indicate that the orientation determination component 134 and / or the front / rear axle determination component 138 have a fault. In some other examples, for the same and / or similar reasons as described and mentioned herein, the difference between the orientation determination component 134 and the vehicle-side determination component 140 can indicate that there is a fault between the above components. It should be understood that, as can be understood and / or apparent to those skilled in the art, there may be additional and / or different indications of sensor failure.

[0056] Therefore or alternatively, the position determination component 142 can access the above-mentioned determinations of other components of the automatic position determination system 132 by accessing information from the memory 136. Therefore, the position determination component 142 can compile the information stored in the memory 136 in the same and / or similar manner as described and referred to herein to actuate the automatic positioning of the monitor 104 associated with its corresponding tire 102. In some additional cases, the position determination component 142 can store automatic positioning information and / or associations (e.g., a first position is associated with the front axle, a first position is associated with the left side of the vehicle 100, etc.) from the orientation determination component 134, the front / rear axle determination component 138, and / or the vehicle side determination component 140. For example, in the event that the vehicle 100 is repaired, the tire 102 is replaced, the position of the tire 102 is changed (e.g., "rotated"), etc., any associations made by the above-mentioned components 134, 138, and / or 140 may become meaningless. Thus, position determination component 142 may automatically locate the sensor, and memory 136 may update any associations via components 134, 138, and / or 140 of automatic position determination system 132. Additionally, updating any associations within memory 136 may provide tire monitoring system 114 with the ability to detect sensor failures during any subsequent automatic positioning performed by automatic positioning system 132, as described and referred to herein.

[0057] As will also be appreciated, the automatic positioning system 122 associated with the tire monitoring system 114 and the automatic position determination system 132 associated with the individual tire monitors 104 can each determine the location of the tire monitor 104 on the vehicle 100. In some examples, such as Figure 1 As shown, these two systems may be included. For example, the two systems may act as redundant systems. However, it will also be understood that the two systems are each configured to perform automatic positioning, and therefore, the vehicle may include only one or the other. As will also be understood, the tire monitoring system 114 and the automatic positioning determination system 132 implemented at the tire monitor 104 may be vehicle agnostic. That is, the systems and techniques detailed herein may be stand-alone systems that do not require access to the vehicle control system or obtain information from the vehicle control system. Without limitation, the systems and techniques described herein may not require access to the CAN bus of the vehicle 100 and / or the proprietary computing system and / or protocol of the vehicle 100.

[0058] Additional details of the foregoing systems and techniques will be further described with reference to the following figures. Specifically, Figures 2 to 4 for demonstrating aspects, functions, and / or features that may be associated with automatically positioning tire monitor 104 using automatic positioning system 122 of tire monitoring system 114, and Figures 5 to 9For demonstrating aspects, functions, and / or features associated with automatically positioning the tire monitor 104 using the automatic position determination system 132 .

[0059] Figure 2 is an exemplary process 200 according to aspects of the present disclosure. The process is illustrated as a logical flow diagram in which each operation represents a sequence of operations that can be implemented in software, hardware, or a combination thereof. In the context of software, an operation represents a computer-executable instruction stored on one or more computer-readable storage media that, when executed by one or more processors, performs the operation. Generally, computer-executable instructions include routines, programs, objects, components, data structures, etc. that perform specific functions or implement specific abstract data types. The order in which the operations are described is not intended to be construed as a limitation, and any number of the described operations may be combined in any order and / or in parallel to implement the process.

[0060] The various illustrative operations, components, and systems described in conjunction with the disclosure herein may be implemented or performed using a general purpose processor, a digital signal processor (DSP), an application specific integrated circuit (ASIC), a field programmable gate array (FPGA) or other programmable logic device, discrete gate or transistor logic, discrete hardware components, or any combination thereof, which are designed to perform the functions described herein. A general purpose processor may be a microprocessor, but alternatively, the processor may be any conventional processor, controller, microcontroller, or state machine. The processor may also be implemented as a combination of computing devices, for example, a combination of a DSP and a microprocessor, a plurality of microprocessors, one or more microprocessors combined with a DSP core, or any other such configuration.

[0061] In more detail, Figure 22 is a flow chart illustrating an exemplary process 200 for automatically locating a tire monitor 104 and / or a tire sensor 106. At 202, a wake-up signal may be generated. In some cases, the wake-up signal may be generated based at least in part on the proximity of an electronic device 130 or a user 128 to a vehicle 100. For example, a user 128 may approach a vehicle 100 along with an electronic device 130. The electronic device 130 may announce its presence via BLE. Alternatively or alternatively, the electronic device 130 may announce its presence via near field communication (NFC) technology using an NFC transceiver 120. Thus, using BLE, the vehicle 100 may estimate the proximity of the electronic device 130 within, for example, 1.5 meters. Additionally, upon determining the presence of a user / device, the tire monitoring system 114 may turn on the first UWB transceiver 110 and send a BLE command to the electronic device 130 to turn on its associated UWB transmitter. In this case, the vehicle anchor (e.g., first UWB transceiver 110) can locate the UWB transmitter associated with the electronic device 130 within + / - 0.1 m and track the location of the electronic device 130. In some examples, the tire monitoring system 114 can generate a wake-up signal when the electronic device 130 is within + / - 10 cm of the vehicle 100.

[0062] At 204, a wake-up signal may be sent by the tire monitoring system 114. In some examples, the wake-up signal may be sent to the sensor 106 via the second BLE transceiver 116, although the signal may be a signal type other than a Bluetooth signal. For example, the vehicle 100 may determine that the electronic device 130 is within, for example, 30 cm, e.g., + / - 10 cm, of the vehicle 100. Therefore, the second BLE transceiver 116 may send a wake-up signal to the WuRx 112 of the tire monitor 104. As discussed above, the WuRx 112 may periodically wake up to listen for commands from the vehicle 100 (e.g., the second BLE transceiver) 116. Therefore, the WuRx 112 may receive the wake-up signal and wake up the first BLE transceiver 108.

[0063] At 206, the tire monitoring system 114 may receive the positioning transmission. In some examples, operation 206 may include receiving a UWB transmission from the second UWB transceiver 118 from the respective awakened tire monitor 104. For example, after the monitor 104 is awakened, the monitor 104 may send a transmission to the tire monitoring system 114 via the second UWB transceiver 118. In other examples, the positioning transmission may be received via high accuracy range measurement channel sounding (HADM / CS).

[0064] At 208, the exemplary process 200 may determine the location of each of the respective monitors 104 based at least on the characteristics of the UWB transmission. For example, the vehicle 100 may have one or more anchors (e.g., the second UWB transceiver 118). Therefore, the tire monitoring system 114 may use high accuracy distance measurement (HADM), round trip time-time of flight (RTT-ToF), and / or similar techniques to determine the location of the respective sensors 106 and / or tire monitors 104. In this case, the second UWB transceiver 118 may send one or more signals to the first tire monitor, the second tire monitor, the third tire monitor, and the fourth tire monitor (e.g., four tire monitors 104 associated with four tires 104) requesting a response. In addition, the second UWB transceiver 118 may be located at unequal distances from the four monitors 104. In addition, the second UWB transceiver 118 may respond to the first UWB transceiver 110. For example, the first monitor, the second monitor, the third monitor, and the fourth monitor may time stamp the time of receiving the signal. In addition, the four monitors 104 can send subsequent signals back to the second UWB transceiver 118, while incorporating corresponding timestamps into the subsequent signals. Therefore, the second UWB transceiver 118 can timestamp subsequent signals received from each monitor. The analysis can be performed by the distance determination component 124 of the automatic positioning component 122. The distance determination component 124 can analyze the difference in timestamps, and a shorter time difference can indicate closer to the second UWB transceiver 118. Therefore or alternatively, the foregoing process can include BLE transmission using the first BLE transceiver 108 and the second BLE transceiver 116. It should be understood that the above-mentioned signal transmitters are merely exemplary and any suitable transmitter can be used.

[0065] Therefore or alternatively, at 208, the exemplary process 200 using HADM can also utilize angle of arrival (AoA) technology to automatically locate the sensor 106. AoA technology may be available in Bluetooth 5.1, and therefore can allow the tire monitoring system 114 to distinguish subsequent signals that the sensor 106 is located at the front axle and / or the rear axle. For example, as discussed above, an anchor on the vehicle 100 can receive subsequent signals from the corresponding monitors. In addition to determining the difference in timestamps, as described and mentioned herein, the distance determination component 124 can also determine the location of the sensor 106 based on the difference in angle estimates. For example, the distance determination component 124 can measure the corresponding angular phase shift that occurs between the antennas when receiving the subsequent signal from the monitor 104. Using the determined angle of the subsequent signal, the distance determination component 124 can be able to identify the corresponding axis associated with the sensor 106 relative to the receiver of the tire monitoring system 114.

[0066] In some cases, one or more third BLE transceivers may be associated with the front axle of the vehicle. In some examples, the third BLE transceiver may receive subsequent signals from the sensor 106 located on the front axle. In this case, the automatic positioning component 122 may accelerate the automatic positioning process via the distance determination component 124. For example, the distance determination component 124 may receive a signal from the third BLE transceiver via the second BLE transceiver 116, the signal including HADM information associated with the front axle. In addition, the second BLE transceiver 116 may receive and / or provide HADM information associated with the rear axle. In this case, the distance determination component 124 may receive a first set of information associated with the front axle and a second set of information associated with the rear axle. Therefore, the distance determination component 124 may use the HADM information from the first set of information to determine the position of the sensor 106 based on the time difference relative to the third BLE transceiver. Similarly, the distance determination component 124 may determine the position of the sensor 106 based on the time difference relative to the second BLE transceiver 116. In addition, knowing the associated axes, the distance determination component 124 can determine the positions of the first monitor, the second monitor, the third monitor, and the fourth monitor. Therefore or alternatively, the above can be implemented using a UWB transceiver. Therefore, one or more third UWB transceivers can be associated with the front axle of the vehicle. For example, the third UWB transceiver can send a signal to the distance determination component 124 via the second UWB transceiver 118, including RTT-ToF and AoA information associated with the front axle. In addition, the second UWB transceiver 118 can receive and / or provide RTT-ToF and AoA information associated with the rear axle. In this case, the distance determination component 124 can determine the positions of the first monitor, the second monitor, the third monitor, and the fourth monitor.

[0067] At 210, tire monitoring system 114 may send an exit signal to tire monitor 104. For example, once automatic positioning component 122 determines the location of each of sensor 106 and / or tire monitor 104 via distance determination component 124, tire monitoring system 114 may send a signal to stop automatically positioning sensor 106. In some cases, the signal to stop automatically positioning sensor 106 may cause first BLE transceiver 108, second UWB transceiver 118, and / or any other suitable transceiver to enter a sleep mode and / or reduce the frequency of performing automatic positioning.

[0068] Figure 3 is a schematic diagram of a vehicle system 300 showing automatic positioning of tire pressure sensors in a stationary vehicle using time-of-flight and angle-of-arrival principles according to aspects of the present disclosure. Figure 3 may be representative of aspects of process 200 just described.

[0069] like Figure 3 As shown, the vehicle 100 may include a proximity boundary 302. For example, the proximity boundary may have a diameter of, for example, 3.0 m (e.g., a radius of 1.5 m) relative to the center of the vehicle 100. In other examples, the proximity boundary may be a radius around the tire monitoring system 114 and / or the second BLE transceiver 116. In some cases, the proximity boundary 302 may correspond to a distance corresponding to a trigger event for the tire monitoring system 114. For example, the user 128 may approach the vehicle 100 with the electronic device 130. Therefore, the electronic device 130 may use BLE technology to announce its presence. In addition, when the electronic device 130 approaches the vehicle 100 and enters the proximity boundary 302, the tire monitoring system 114 may turn on the second UWB transceiver 118 and send a BLE command to the electronic device 130 via the second BLE transceiver 116 to turn on its associated UWB transceiver.

[0070] In some other cases, the anchor of the vehicle 100 (e.g., the second UWB transceiver 118) can locate the UWB transceiver associated with the electronic device within + / - 0.1 m and track its location. In one example, once the electronic device 130 is within + / - 10 cm of the vehicle, the doors associated with the vehicle 100 can be commanded to unlock. In some other cases, when the doors associated with the vehicle 100 are unlocked, the tire monitoring system 114 can broadcast a BLE command via the second BLE transceiver 161. The BLE command can instruct the monitor 104 to perform one or more functions, such as turning on the second UWB transceiver 110. In the event that the first UWB transceiver 110 and the second UWB transceiver 118 are activated, the anchor (e.g., the second UWB transceiver 118) can automatically locate the monitor 104 based on its proximity to the anchor, as discussed above. As will be understood, automatic positioning using the UWB transceiver can be performed when the vehicle 100 is stationary.

[0071] In some additional cases, the first BLE transceiver 108 may be placed in a sleep mode. For example, the first BLE transceiver 108 may be placed in a sleep mode to reduce power consumption and coupled to the WuRx 112. Thus, when the electronic device 130 encounters a proximity boundary 302, the tire monitoring system 114 may send a wake-up signal via the second BLE transceiver 116 and / or some other transmitter, which may be received by the WuRx 112. In this case, the WuRx 112 may wake up periodically and listen for the wake-up signal. In addition, in the event that the WuRx 112 receives the wake-up signal, the WuRx 112 may wake up the first BLE transceiver 108 and / or the first UWB transceiver 110 to actuate the automatic positioning of the vehicle's sensor 106 and / or the tire monitor 104 when the vehicle is stationary, as described and mentioned herein.

[0072] Figure 3 The principles of HADM and RTT-ToF and AoA are further illustrated. For example, sensor A and sensor B may be positioned along the rear axle of vehicle 100. Thus, on a locked differential rear axle, the rear tires may travel at the same speed. In some cases, automatic positioning may be more challenging. To overcome this challenge, anchor 304 (e.g., a BLE transceiver and / or UWB transceiver associated with tire monitoring system 114) may be placed at unequal distances from the rear tires, for example, at unequal distances from the monitors associated with the tires (shown as monitors A and B). Anchor 304 may communicate with monitors A and B via communication 306. For example, anchor 304 may send a first outbound signal 308 to sensor and / or tire monitor A and a second outbound signal 310 to sensor and / or tire monitor B. In some cases, anchor 304 may send a single signal to sensor A and sensor B. Sensor A and sensor B may then receive the first outbound signal 308 and the second outbound signal 310, respectively. In this case, sensor A may send a first inbound signal 312 including a first transmit timestamp to anchor 304. Similarly, sensor B may send a second inbound signal 314 including a second transmit timestamp to anchor 304. Therefore or alternatively, anchor 304 may timestamp the first outbound signal 308 and the second outbound signal 310 when transmitted. In addition, anchor 304 may receive the first inbound signal 312 and assign it a first receive timestamp. Similarly, anchor 304 may receive the second inbound signal 314 and assign it a second receive timestamp. Therefore, tire monitoring system 114 may determine the first final timestamp and the second final timestamp via distance determination component 124 associated with automatic positioning component 122. The first final timestamp may be the difference between the first transmit timestamp and the first receive timestamp. Similarly, the second final timestamp may be the difference between the second transmit timestamp and the second receive timestamp. Thus, the distance determination component 124 can automatically locate monitor A and monitor B based on the first final timestamp and the second final timestamp. For example, by placing the anchor 304 at unequal distances from monitor A and monitor B, one of the monitors A, B will be closer to the anchor 304. Therefore, relative to the unequal position of the anchor 304, one of the final timestamps from the first final timestamp and the second final timestamp will have a smaller time difference indicating closer proximity. The techniques just described for locating two monitors based on distance from an anchor can also be applied to automatically locate two monitors. Figure 3 Monitors C and D associated with the front axle.

[0073] Anchor 304 as described and referred to herein may be any suitable signal generating device, including BLE, UWB, etc. It should be understood that other signal generating devices are contemplated, suitable and / or apparent to those skilled in the art.

[0074] Figure 3 Also shown is the AoA principle that the vehicle 100 can utilize when automatically locating monitors A, B, C, and D. For example, the techniques and signals discussed above can be used to locate only monitors A and B. The third monitor C and the fourth monitor D can send a first communication 316 and a second communication 318. In this case, the tire monitoring system 114 can use the AoA principle to distinguish between the first communication 316 and the second communication 318. Therefore, the anchor 304 can receive the first communication 316 and the second communication 318. In this case, the distance determination component 124, the angle determination component 126, etc. can determine the angle "1" and the angle "2". For example, the distance determination component 124 can determine the location of sensor C and sensor D based on at least angle "1" and angle "2" in addition to determining the third final timestamp associated with sensor C and the fourth final timestamp associated with sensor D according to the techniques just discussed. For example, the distance determination component 124 can measure the corresponding angular phase shifts of angle "1" and angle "2" that occur between the antennas when receiving the first communication 316 and the second communication 318. By determining angle "1" and angle "2", the distance determination component 124 may be able to identify the corresponding quadrant or portion of the vehicle associated with the monitor relative to the tire monitoring system 114. Additionally, the distance determination component 124, knowing the corresponding axes of the monitors C, D and the location of the anchor 304 at which the first communication 316 and the second communication 318 were received, may combine the determination of the third final timestamp and the fourth final timestamp to determine which of the monitors C, D is closest to the anchor 304, thereby automatically locating their respective locations on the vehicle 100.

[0075] The specific AoA principles discussed and referred to herein are exemplary only and should not be construed as limiting. Thus, the vehicle 100 and / or the tire monitoring system 114 may utilize any suitable AoA principles and / or another automatic positioning technique. Furthermore, additional and / or different suitable automatic positioning techniques may be used as may be apparent to one skilled in the art.

[0076] Figure 4 is an exemplary architecture 400 of one of the tire monitors 104. Figure 4In the example of the tire monitor 104, the tire monitor 104 is shown as including a plurality of modules or other logically connected computing blocks. For example, various illustrated blocks and / or other aspects of the tire monitor 104 may be implemented in an intelligent hardware device (e.g., a central processing unit (CPU), a microcontroller, an application specific integrated circuit (ASIC) 402, or may be implemented as part of a reconfigurable device). Aspects of the tire monitor 104 may include random access memory (RAM) and read-only memory (ROM), which may include instructions that are configured to, when executed (or compiled and executed), cause aspects of the tire monitor 104 to perform various functions described herein (including but not limited to Figure 2 For example, various components of tire monitor 104 may be implemented using one or more separate CPUs or ASICs, and these components may be implemented individually or collectively using one or more ASICs adapted to perform some or all applicable functions in hardware. Each of the components may be a device for performing one or more functions associated with the operation of the system.

[0077] ASIC 402, accelerometer 404 and pressure sensor 406 are shown with control module 408 and first serial peripheral interface (SPI) 410. Accelerometer 404 may be a three-axis accelerometer. ASIC 402 may be configured to detect linear and / or angular acceleration as sensed by accelerometer 404.

[0078] in addition, Figure 4 The tire monitor shown in FIG. 4 includes a pressure sensor 406. The pressure sensor 406 is configured to sense the pressure within a tire (e.g., one of the tires 102) to which the tire monitor is coupled. For example, the pressure sensor 406 may be one of the sensors 106 discussed above. As will be appreciated, the pressure sensor 406 may generate data associated with the tire pressure, and the generated data may be used to determine any changes in the contact surface (e.g., area, length, etc.) under conditions including acceleration, deceleration, right turn, left turn, etc. Under certain conditions, the contact surface changes generate relationship information, which may be helpful in locating the position of the sensor 106.

[0079] Likewise Figure 4As shown, ASIC 402, accelerometer 404 and pressure sensor 406 are communicatively coupled to control module 408. Control module 408 includes SPI 410, which is capable of communicating between second SPI 412, third SPI 414 and fourth SPI 416. SPI 410, SPI 412, SPI 414 and SPI 416 can operate at the same 2 MHz frequency. However, it should be understood that other frequencies can be used to facilitate communication between SPI 410 to SPI 416 and / or any non-SPI communication method.

[0080] In more detail, the second SPI 412 can be connected to the BLE device 418. In addition, the BLE device 418 can communicate with the control module 408 to provide the ASIC state machine scheduler clock to the ASIC 402. The ASIC state machine scheduler clock can be provided by the BLE device 418 at a frequency of 125 kHz. In addition, the BLE device 418 integrated circuit (IC) can have a first crystal oscillator 420 for radio functions. Therefore, the first crystal oscillator can operate at a frequency of 16 MHz. In addition, the BLE device can use a first antenna 422 that can operate at a frequency of 2.4 GHz.

[0081] In more detail, the first antenna 422 can be used by the wake-up receiver 424. In addition, the wake-up receiver 424 can include a second crystal oscillator 426 for radio functions. Similar to the first crystal oscillator 420, the second crystal oscillator can operate at a 16 MHz frequency. As described and mentioned herein, the wake-up receiver 424 can communicate with the UWB device 428. The wake-up receiver 424 can communicate with the UWB device 428 via the third SPI 414 and the fourth SPI 416. The UWB device 428 can also include a third crystal oscillator 430 to facilitate radio communication. The third crystal oscillator 430 can operate at a 52 MHz frequency. In addition, the UWB device 428 can use a second antenna 432. The second antenna 432 can be a broadband antenna operating between 6.0 GHz to 8.5 GHz frequencies and / or any other suitable frequency as can be understood by those skilled in the art based on the present disclosure.

[0082] although Figure 4104 , but the tire monitor 104 may include a number of additional components to facilitate the functionality described herein, as will be understood by one of ordinary skill in the art. For example, the tire monitor 104 may include one or more external oscillators that may be used to provide a reference frequency used in one or more RF components within the tire monitor 104. As is conventional in the art, the tire monitor 104 may also include a motion sensor, an external low frequency (LF) circuit, and / or a power source. For example, the motion sensor may generate sensor data, and a transmission may be initiated from the tire monitor 104, such as based on a detection event from an accelerometer or other type of motion detection device. The LF circuit may be used to receive external inputs, and the power source (which may be a battery) may be used to power the various components of the tire monitor 104. In addition, the radio frequencies provided above and mentioned herein are exemplary only, and additional and / or different frequencies may be readily used and / or implemented by one of ordinary skill in the art.

[0083] Although Figures 2 to 4 has been used to demonstrate automatic positioning techniques using tire monitoring system 114, but Figures 5 to 9 Aspects of automatically positioning a tire monitor at a tire monitor are shown, for example, independent of other tire monitors and / or without requiring information from other systems on the vehicle 100. More specifically, Figure 5 A method 500 for determining the orientation of a tire monitor, such as one of tire monitors 104, will be described. For example, aspects of method 500 may be performed by orientation determination component 134 to determine the orientation of one of sensors 106 associated with one of tires 102. For example, tire monitor 104 and / or sensor 106 may be of a type that may be mounted to a tire in one of two ways. Method 500 may be used to determine which of these orientations is the actual mounted orientation.

[0084] More specifically, Figure 5 A data graph 502 is shown representing data sensed by one of the sensors 106. In the example shown, the graph 502 is a plot of lateral force versus time, for example, taken during operation of the vehicle 100. The position determination component 134 of the automatic position determination system 132 can use the information shown and the associated associations to determine the position of the sensor 106 within its corresponding tire 102. For example, each of the sensors 106 can generate its own version of the data graph 502 representing the sensed information subsequent to vehicle operation.

[0085] At operation 504 , the position determination component 134 can determine from the data graph 502 whether the longitudinal (eg, X-axis) data is first negative (eg, along the Y-axis) and then becomes positive.

[0086] A determination by the position determination component 134 that the longitudinal data as sensed and received from the sensor 106 begins as negative and continues to become positive (eg, “yes” at operation 504 ) may cause the method 500 to proceed to operation 506 .

[0087] At operation 506 , the position determination component 134 may determine that the sensor 106 is oriented in a first position.

[0088] At operation 508, the position determination component 134 may also determine that the sensor 106 is located at the front of the vehicle 100. The position determination component 134 may include an association between the determinations at operation 506 to indicate that the sensor 106 and / or the tire monitor 104 are located at the front of the vehicle 100, and / or may access the association from the memory 136 of the automatic position determination system 132. In the alternative, at operation 508, the position determination component 134 may determine that the sensor 106 is located on the left side of the vehicle 100. The position determination component 134 may access the association for at least the same and / or similar reasons described above.

[0089] A determination by the position determination component 134 that the longitudinal data as sensed and received from the sensor 106 did not start out negative and continue to become positive (eg, “NO” at operation 504 ) may cause the method 500 to proceed to operation 510 .

[0090] At operation 510 , the orientation determination component 134 may determine that the sensor 106 is oriented in a second orientation, for example, rotated 180 degrees from the first orientation.

[0091] At operation 512, the position determination component 134 may also determine that the sensor 106 under consideration is located at the rear of the vehicle 100. The position determination component 134 may include an association between the determinations at operation 510 to indicate that the sensor 106 and / or the tire monitor 104 is located at the rear of the vehicle 100, and / or may access the association from the memory 136 of the automatic position determination system 132.

[0092] In the alternative, at operation 512, the position determining component 134 may determine that the sensor 106 is located on the right side of the vehicle 100. The position determining component 134 may access this association for at least the same and / or similar reasons as described above.

[0093] As just described, Figure 5 The process 500 can be used to determine the orientation of the tire monitor 104 / sensor 106. Thus, the clockwise / counterclockwise rotation of the tire can be determined. In an implementation, the orientation of the tire monitor 104 can be used to automatically locate the sensor / tire on the vehicle, but this information does not determine the location of the sensor on the vehicle. For example, Figure 5The process may not be able to determine whether the sensor is located on the front wheel or the rear wheel. Figure 6 An exemplary graphical representation 600 is shown that illustrates the relationship between speed increase (e.g., acceleration) and contact area quotient. In some examples, data from graphical representation 600 can be used, for example, by automatic location determination system 132 and / or front / rear axle determination component 138 to determine whether a sensor is located on a front axle or a rear axle of a vehicle.

[0094] Figure 6 A graphical representation 600 showing the relationship between a velocity plot 602 and a contact surface quotient plot 604 is shown. For example, the graphical representation 600 begins at a first moment in time 606. At the first moment in time 606, the velocity plot represents an increasing velocity as measured in kilometers per hour (KPH). Additionally, at the first moment in time 606, the contact surface quotient plot 604 is represented by a value that is lower than the velocity plot 602 at the first moment in time. The relationship between the velocity plot 602 and the contact surface quotient plot 604 can be viewed as a function of time between the first moment in time 606 and a final moment in time 608. This is a relationship that arises due to the change in velocity over time (e.g., acceleration). Therefore, by comparing the velocity plot 602 and the contact surface quotient plot 604 between the first moment in time 606 and the final moment in time 608, particularly in terms of the intersection point 610, the inverse relationship can be understood.

[0095] For example, the graphical representation 600 shows that as the speed plot 602 represents a decrease in speed over time (e.g., deceleration), the contact surface quotient plot 604 results in an increase in value. In addition to the inverse relationship, as shown in the graphical representation 600 of the change between the speed plot 602 and the contact surface quotient plot 604 over time, the analysis of the quotient peak 612 further demonstrates this relationship. Therefore, the quotient peak 612 occurs at the speed plot inflection point 614. The speed plot inflection point 614 represents the maximum deceleration. In addition, the speed plot inflection point 614 represents a change from increasing deceleration to decreasing deceleration. Therefore, for the time between the speed plot inflection point 614 and the final moment 608, representing a decreasing deceleration (e.g., acceleration), the decrease in the contact surface quotient can be seen from the contact surface quotient plot 604.

[0096] In such Figure 6In the example shown, assuming the vehicle is moving forward, the deceleration on the speed plot 602 and the corresponding increase in the contact patch quotient on the contact patch quotient plot 604 may indicate the front axle. For example, when the vehicle decelerates, the vehicle 100 may experience forward momentum under the deceleration. Therefore, the tires 102 at the front of the vehicle 100 may experience a weight load associated with the forward momentum. In addition, the sensors associated with the tires 102 at the front of the vehicle 100 may sense the increase in the contact patch quotient as the tires 102 become increasingly flat to the ground due to the increase in vertical load caused by the relationship between weight and momentum. Based on the graphical representation 600 showing the relationship between speed changes over time (e.g., acceleration / deceleration) and the contact patch quotient, it can be determined that the relationship between the increase in the contact patch quotient and the accompanying deceleration suggests that the sensor is mounted on the front axle. Conversely, the displacement weight caused by momentum can indicate a decrease in the contact patch quotient caused by rotation about the X-axis (e.g., rotation about the X-axis) via the sensors 106 and / or tire monitor 104 on the tires 102 located on the rear axle. Figure 1 In addition, the aforementioned relationships are related to deceleration, and under acceleration conditions, these relationships are reversed.

[0097] Thus, the data depicted in graphical representation 600 can be used to determine whether a tire is located on the front axle or the rear axle of a vehicle. Figure 5 The orientation data determined by process 500 can determine orientation and front / rear axle placement. However, such information may not provide left / right determination.

[0098] Figure 7 An exemplary graphical representation 700 is shown illustrating the relationship between forces (measured in g-forces) between a right-hand turn and a left-hand turn as measured by sensor 106. The data represented by graphical representation 700 may be used, for example, by automatic position determination system 132 and / or vehicle-side determination component 140.

[0099] As shown in the figure, Figure 7 A first graph 702 is included that represents an exemplary plot of lateral forces detected during a right turn. The sensor 106 may include one or more accelerometers configured to sense lateral acceleration, and these readings may be plotted as shown. Thus, during a right turn, the lateral acceleration at the sensor 106 senses a positive (e.g., on the Y axis) parabolic response, demonstrating a right turn over time (e.g., on the X axis). The vehicle-side determination component 140 may determine that a right turn has been made based on the sensed information. Therefore or alternatively, the vehicle-side determination component 140 may access the memory 136 of the automatic positioning determination system 132 to determine such a correlation between a positive increase in force of the lateral acceleration indicating a right turn. Additionally, the vehicle-side determination component 140 may combine such Figure 6The position of the sensor 106 in the tire 102 is determined by the acceleration / contact area quotient relationship detailed in . For example, the vehicle side determination component 140 can determine that a right turn is made due to the positive force seen during lateral acceleration. Therefore, as shown in reference Figure 6 As explained, an increase in acceleration corresponds to an increase in contact area quotient. Thus, the vehicle side determination component 140 can determine a right turn, an increase in contact area quotient caused by the right turn, and determine that the sensor 106 experiencing the increased contact area quotient is located on the left side of the vehicle 100.

[0100] On the contrary, Figure 7 As shown, the second graph 704 illustrates an exemplary lateral force present during a left turn. The lateral force seen during a left turn is opposite (e.g., negative) to the force seen in the first graph 702. Thus, as shown in FIG. Figure 6 As explained, assuming that the vehicle is moving forward, an increase in acceleration corresponds to an increase in the contact area quotient for the rear axle. Therefore, the vehicle-side determination component 140 can determine the increase in the contact area quotient caused by the left turn during the left turn, and determine that the sensor 106 experiencing the increased contact area quotient is located on the right side of the vehicle 100. The vehicle-side determination component 140 can determine that a left turn has been made based on the sensed information. Therefore or alternatively, the vehicle-side determination component 140 can access the memory 136 of the automatic positioning determination system 132 to determine this correlation between the negative reduction in the force of the lateral acceleration indicating a left turn. As will be understood, the orientation of the monitor 104 will be required to correctly determine the direction of the lateral force, for example, to identify a turning maneuver.

[0101] Figure 8 An exemplary visual representation 800 is shown demonstrating the relationship between changes in contact area quotient as subjected to contact velocity, acceleration, and turning.

[0102] The relationship between the contact patch and the acceleration is further illustrated at "1" and "2" of the exemplary visual representation 800. At 1, there is a first front tire set 802 and a first rear tire set 804. In addition, a contact patch 806 is indicated on the first front tire set 802 and the first rear tire set. At 1, the vehicle is shown traveling in a straight direction (e.g., along the arrow) and at a constant speed. Therefore, the contact patches 806 on the first front tire set 802 and the first rear tire set 804 are substantially equal in size, for example, they have equal lengths and / or widths.

[0103] At 2, the vehicle is shown with a second front set of tires 808 and a second rear set of tires 810. (As will be appreciated, the first front set of tires 802 and the first front set of tires 808 are the same tires, and the first rear set of tires 804 and the second rear set of tires 810 are the same wheels, but the conditions experienced by the tires are different due to the different maneuvers of the vehicles in illustrative scenarios 1 and 2.) In addition, the vehicle is shown traveling in a straight direction and at an increasing speed (e.g., under acceleration). Thus, according to reference Figure 6 As shown in the depicted relationship, the contact patch 806 is smaller on the second front tire set 808 and larger on the second rear tire set 810 .

[0104] At 3, the vehicle is shown having a first left tire set 812 and a first right tire set 814. In addition, the vehicle is shown performing a right turn maneuver. Therefore, the contact patch 806 is larger on the first left tire set 812 and smaller on the first right tire set 814. The increase and decrease in contact patch are respectively Figure 6 to Figure 7 For example, Figure 1 As shown, the contact surface 806 increases during a right turn due to rotation about the Y axis, wherein the lateral acceleration is as shown in Figure 7 Increase shown.

[0105] At 4, the vehicle is shown with a second left tire set 816 and a second right tire set 818. In addition, the vehicle is shown performing a left turn. Thus, the relationship at 3 is reversed at 4. For example, Figure 7 As shown, the lateral accelerations are opposite, and therefore the increase and decrease of the contact area 806 are similarly opposite.

[0106] As will be appreciated from the foregoing, by determining the position of the tire monitor 104 on the vehicle 100 (e.g., based on Figure 5 ), using contact patch changes to associate the monitor with the front or rear axle (e.g. Figure 6 and Figure 8 , and use the contact surface change to determine the right or left position (as shown in Figure 7 and Figure 8 In some embodiments, the techniques described herein can automatically locate each of the tire monitors based on changing conditions associated with the tires as the vehicle moves through an environment, which can be accomplished without the need for CAN and / or other onboard vehicle information.

[0107] Fig. 9is an exemplary process 900 according to aspects of the present disclosure. The process is illustrated as a logical flow diagram in which each operation represents a sequence of operations that can be implemented in software, hardware, or a combination thereof. In the context of software, an operation represents a computer-executable instruction stored on one or more computer-readable storage media that, when executed by one or more processors, performs the operation. Generally, computer-executable instructions include routines, programs, objects, components, data structures, etc. that perform specific functions or implement specific abstract data types. The order in which the operations are described is not intended to be construed as a limitation, and any number of the described operations may be combined in any order and / or in parallel to implement the process.

[0108] The various illustrative operations, components, and systems described in conjunction with the disclosure herein may be implemented or performed using a general purpose processor, a digital signal processor (DSP), an application specific integrated circuit (ASIC), a field programmable gate array (FPGA) or other programmable logic device, discrete gate or transistor logic, discrete hardware components, or any combination thereof, which are designed to perform the functions described herein. A general purpose processor may be a microprocessor, but alternatively, the processor may be any conventional processor, controller, microcontroller, or state machine. The processor may also be implemented as a combination of computing devices, for example, a combination of a DSP and a microprocessor, a plurality of microprocessors, one or more microprocessors combined with a DSP core, or any other such configuration.

[0109] In more detail, Fig. 9 is a flow chart illustrating an exemplary process 900 for automatically positioning a tire monitor on a vehicle. Aspects of process 900 may be performed by automatic position determination system 132 as the vehicle travels through an environment.

[0110] At operation 902, the automatic positioning determination system 132 can determine the orientation of each of the sensors 106. The automatic positioning determination system 132 can use method 500 to determine the orientation of the sensors. For example, the sensor 106 can return graphical data that is initially negative before the oscillation is positive. Therefore, it can be determined that two of the sensors 106 are oriented in a first orientation. In addition, these sensors 106 can also be determined to be located at the front of the vehicle 100, which can be stored in the memory 136 as an association. Alternatively, these sensors 106 can be determined to be located at the left side of the vehicle 100. For the sensing data that is drawn and displayed before the oscillation is negative, it can be determined that the sensor is oriented in a second orientation. Therefore, the sensor 106 can also be determined to be located at the rear of the vehicle 100, which can be stored in the memory 136 as an association. Alternatively, these sensors 106 can be determined to be located at the right side of the vehicle 100.

[0111] At 904, the exemplary process 900 can determine, via the automatic position determination system 132, the axis on which the sensor 106 is mounted. Although at 902, the axis on which the sensor 106 is mounted can be determined via the memory 136, there may be situations where such an association is not stored in the memory 136. Therefore, due to the relationship between acceleration and contact surface quotient, the automatic position determination system 132 can determine the axis. For example, under acceleration, the sensor 106 in a first orientation may experience a decrease in contact surface quotient. Therefore, the automatic position determination system 132 can determine that the sensor in the first orientation is located on the front axle. Similarly, under acceleration, where the sensor in the second orientation experiences an increase in contact surface quotient, the automatic position determination system 132 can determine that the sensor in the second orientation is located on the rear axle.

[0112] At 906, the example process 900 can determine the rotational direction of the sensor 106. For example, Figure 7 and Figure 8 As shown, if vehicle 100 turns right, sensors 106 may provide information indicating that two of sensors 106 experience an increase in contact surface 806, while the other two sensors 106 experience a decrease in contact surface 806. Conversely, during a left turn, the aforementioned increase / decrease in contact surface 806 may be respectively reversed.

[0113] At 908 , the example process 900 may determine the position of the sensor using the sensor 106 orientation, the determination of the axis on which the sensor 106 is located, and the direction of rotation.

[0114] In one example, the first sensor and the second sensor may be determined to be in a first orientation, and the third sensor and the fourth sensor may be determined to be in a second orientation. In addition, under acceleration, the first sensor and the second sensor in the first orientation may have experienced a decrease in the contact surface indicating the position on the front axle. In addition, under the same acceleration, the third sensor and the fourth sensor in the second orientation may have experienced an increase in the contact surface indicating the position on the rear axle. In addition, during a right turn, the first sensor in the first orientation and the third sensor in the second orientation may experience an increase in the contact surface. Therefore, at 908, the exemplary process 900 may determine that the first sensor and the third sensor are located on the left side of the vehicle 100. Conversely, the exemplary process may also determine that the second sensor and the fourth sensor are located on the right side of the vehicle 100. Then, the exemplary process 900 may determine the position of the first sensor knowing that the first sensor is associated with the front axle and the left side. Therefore, the exemplary process 900 may also determine the positions of the second sensor, the third sensor, and the fourth sensor.

[0115] In another example, the automatic positioning determination system 132 may access the memory 136 to determine the associated axis with the first orientation and the second orientation. For example, the first sensor and the second sensor may be determined to be in the first orientation. Therefore, the automatic positioning determination system 132 may access the memory 136, wherein the memory 136 may indicate that the first orientation is associated with the front axle. In this case, operation 904 may be omitted. In some other cases, operation 904 may be included, and the result indicating the associated axis for the sensor 106 may be used to verify the result of the sensor 106 and / or diagnose a sensor fault. In addition, it may have been determined that during a right turn, the first sensor and the third sensor experience an increase in the contact surface. Therefore, at 906, the exemplary process 900 may determine that the first sensor and the third sensor are located on the left side of the vehicle 100. In contrast, at 906, it may have been determined that the second sensor and the fourth sensor are located on the right side of the vehicle. Then, the exemplary process 900 may determine the position of the first sensor knowing that the first sensor is associated with the front axle and the left side. Therefore, the exemplary process 900 may also determine the positions of the second sensor, the third sensor, and the fourth sensor.

[0116] In another example, the automatic positioning determination system 132 can access the memory 136 to determine the associated axis about the first orientation and the second orientation. For example, the first sensor and the third sensor can be determined to be in the first orientation. Therefore, the automatic positioning determination system 132 can access the memory 136, wherein the memory 136 can indicate that the first orientation is associated with the left side of the vehicle. In this case, operation 906 can be omitted. In some other cases, operation 906 can be included, and the result indicating the associated side for the sensor 106 can be used to verify the result of the sensor 106 and / or diagnose a sensor fault. In addition, it may have been determined that during acceleration, the first sensor and the third sensor experience a divergence of their respective contact surfaces. For example, the first sensor may experience a decrease in the contact surface, while the third sensor experiences an increase in the contact surface. Therefore, at 906, the exemplary process 900 can determine that the first sensor is located on the front axle and the third sensor is located on the left axle of the vehicle 100. Then, the exemplary process 900 can determine the position of the first sensor knowing that the first sensor is associated with the front axle and the left side. Thus, the example process 900 may also determine the locations of the second sensor, the third sensor, and the fourth sensor.

[0117] As will be understood from the foregoing, in reference to Figures 5 to 9In the described example, the automatic positioning of each tire monitor can be performed independently, for example, locally on each monitor. That is, each of the tire monitors 104 can include an instance of the automatic positioning system 132 to achieve self-automatic positioning. In yet another example, each of the tire monitors 104 can generate data associated with acceleration and / or contact patch size and transmit this information to a processing system (e.g., the tire monitoring system 114 described above) to determine the association of each of the tire monitors 104. For example, determining the location of the tire at a centralized location can reduce the amount of processing performed at each of the tire monitors 104 and / or allow for more reliable processing (e.g., to ensure that two monitors do not return to the same location on the vehicle, etc.).

[0118] As discussed above, some aspects of the present disclosure relate to automatically positioning tire monitors 104 at tire monitoring systems 114. Figures 5 to 9 The techniques and systems may require the movement of the vehicle, for example, to determine the contact area during acceleration / deceleration and cornering, but this paper combines Figures 2 to 4 The described techniques can be implemented without vehicle motion.

[0119] Fig.10 An example process 1000 is shown that may be used to determine whether automatic tire monitor positioning should be performed, for example, using the systems, techniques, and / or processes described herein.

[0120] Aspects of process 1000 may assume that if a tire / wheel has been removed, its orientation (e.g., position on the vehicle) will change from when the vehicle was initially parked. In addition, the change in orientation may be detected by a change in acceleration (e.g., a g measurement). The g measurement may correspond to a change in acceleration detected at the tire or wheel-mounted monitor in the X plane (e.g., a ground or horizontal plane, tangential to the circumference of the wheel / tire) and / or the Z plane (e.g., a plane perpendicular to the ground, such as a vertical plane, and coincident with the radius of the wheel / wheel). For example, process 1000 may generally be implemented at the wheel monitors, where each of the wheel monitors determines whether its orientation has changed, for example, when the vehicle is parked. Each sensor may then communicate its determination to a computing system associated with the vehicle. Without limitation, if process 1000 determines that the orientation of one of the tire monitors has changed when the vehicle is parked, process 1000 may determine that automatic positioning should be performed. Alternatively, if the system does not see changes to all monitors, process 1000 can determine the monitor position immediately, such as at key-on or drive-off. In most cases (e.g., 99% of drive-offs), when the tires are not repositioned, the previously determined positions of the tire monitors can be used. Therefore, process 1000 can determine the tire position almost instantly (e.g., at key-on or drive-off), for example, without having to perform a relatively long automatic positioning process. In other words, compared to conventional systems that automatically perform automatic positioning when the vehicle is started, process 1000 can efficiently and effectively determine whether automatic positioning is needed. Such automatic positioning routines may take up to ten minutes or more, although their results are known more than 90% of the time.

[0121] However, as described above, the techniques of process 1000 can be used to determine whether one of the automatic positioning techniques described herein will be used. However, process 1000 can be used to determine whether automatic positioning should be performed, for example, regardless of the automatic positioning method and / or technique. Without limitation, the techniques described herein can be incorporated into conventional RF-based PAL solutions, BLE-based solutions, etc.

[0122] In various aspects, process 1000 can include each tire monitor / sensor monitoring its orientation (relative to gravity) when the vehicle is stationary. For example, if the monitors do not sense a change in centrifugal excursion associated with vehicle driving (e.g., an excursion with a value exceeding several g), the monitors can determine that they are in stationary mode. In another example, using BLE or similar two-way communication, a vehicle-based computing system (e.g., ECU) can notify each sensor / monitor when the ignition is turned off (or a similar action indicating vehicle shutdown, such as a door being closed after the engine is turned off). Fig.10Operation 1002 in FIG. 1 shows determining a stationary mode based on an ignition off, and operation 1004 shows sending an “ignition off” or other “stationary mode” command to each tire monitor.

[0123] Based on this communication, the monitor (e.g., each of the monitors) can start stationary monitoring or enter stationary mode. In stationary mode, for example, at operation 1006, each monitor periodically monitors one or both of its X and Z plane accelerometers. Some conventional tire monitors sample the accelerometers every 10 seconds to detect whether the vehicle is in motion, thereby increasing the pressure sampling and data transmission rate when driving is detected. Operation 1006 can be sampled at this rate or at some other rate. In aspects of the present disclosure, if the tire monitor sensor detects a change in orientation (expressed as a change in acceleration due to gravity angle offset) when the vehicle is stationary, the monitor can issue an alarm to the vehicle-based ECU. Alternatively, and as described above, if the TPM system is equipped with BLE, the ECU can poll / query each sensor when the key is turned on (e.g., at operation 1010) or when indicating some other action of intending to drive the vehicle to determine whether its orientation has changed during the stationary period. For example, at operation 1012, the monitor may monitor one or both of its X and / or Z plane accelerometers and compare the measurements at operation 1014 to determine if a change has occurred.

[0124] If the ECU does not receive notification of any change in orientation from any of its wheel-based sensors and / or tire monitors during the stationary period or after the key-on interrogation (e.g., at operations 1016 and / or 1020), it can be assumed that the wheel position has not changed since the last trip and there is no need to initiate an automatic positioning routine (e.g., at operation 1024). In addition, at the time of departure, each sensor can notify (transmit) the duration of its stationary state (fixed orientation period). If the value of each sensor is consistent with the value of the vehicle, then system automatic positioning is not required, thereby achieving instantaneous sensor vehicle positioning at the time of departure. Alternatively, if it is determined at operations 1014 and / or 1020 that there is a change in position, then automatic positioning is initiated at operation 1022.

[0125] Some conventional systems may not include determining at the sensor that there is a change in orientation. Instead, some conventional systems may rely on each sensor transmitting a static acceleration value at the end of a static period, and the vehicle ECU determining whether any or each sensor has moved. This solution is flawed because the sensor cannot determine when the static period ends. Typically, ending a static period requires the sensor to detect motion, which in turn will change the sensor orientation, defeating the purpose of the present disclosure. Process 1000 provides an improvement over these conventional systems by making a movement determination at the sensor / monitor.

[0126] As is apparent from the foregoing, aspects of the present disclosure also provide for improved detection of potential sensor anomalies. For example, aspects of the present disclosure may provide sensor information not only to a user interface in a vehicle as in conventional systems, but also to a remote computing device associated with a vehicle owner, technician, passenger, or other person associated with a vehicle with a tire sensor anomaly or other sensor-related problem.

[0127] Sample Clauses

[0128] A: An exemplary tire monitor is configured to be coupled to a tire of a vehicle in at least a first orientation or a second orientation, the tire monitor comprising: an accelerometer configured to generate acceleration data; a sensor configured to generate sensor data associated with a contact area of ​​the tire with a road surface; and a computing system configured to perform operations including the following: determining, based at least in part on the acceleration data, that the tire monitor is mounted in an orientation including the first orientation or the second orientation; determining, based at least in part on the orientation and the sensor data, that the tire is coupled to a front axle of the vehicle or that the tire is coupled to a rear axle of the vehicle; and determining, based at least in part on the orientation and the sensor data, that the tire is coupled to a left side of the vehicle or that the tire is coupled to a right side of the vehicle.

[0129] B: A tire monitor according to example A, wherein determining whether the tire is coupled to the front axle or the tire is coupled to the rear axle comprises: determining an acceleration event associated with the vehicle moving in a forward direction based on acceleration data; determining a change in contact patch size during the acceleration event based on sensor data; and determining whether the tire is coupled to the front axle or the tire is coupled to the rear axle based on the change in contact patch size.

[0130] C: A tire monitor according to Example A or Example B, wherein the acceleration event includes an increase in acceleration, and determining that the tire is coupled to the front axle or the tire is coupled to the rear axle further includes: determining that the tire is coupled to the rear axle in response to determining that the size of the contact patch increases during the acceleration event; and determining that the tire is coupled to the front axle in response to determining that the size of the contact patch decreases during the acceleration event.

[0131] D: A tire monitor according to any one of Examples A to C, wherein the acceleration event includes deceleration, and determining that the tire is coupled to the front axle or the tire is coupled to the rear axle further comprises: determining that the tire is coupled to the rear axle in response to determining that a size of the contact patch decreases during the acceleration event; and determining that the tire is coupled to the front axle in response to determining that a size of the contact patch increases during the acceleration event.

[0132] E: A tire monitor according to any one of Examples A to D, wherein determining whether the tire is connected to the left side of the vehicle or the tire is connected to the right side of the vehicle comprises: determining a turning event associated with the vehicle based on acceleration data; and determining a change in contact patch size during the turning event based on sensor data; and determining whether the tire is connected to the left side of the vehicle or the tire is connected to the right side of the vehicle based on the change in contact patch size during the turning event.

[0133] F: A tire monitor according to any one of Examples A to E, wherein the turning event includes a right turn, and determining that the tire is connected to the left side of the vehicle or the tire is connected to the right side of the vehicle includes: determining that the tire is connected to the left side of the vehicle in response to determining that the size of the contact patch increases during the turning event; and determining that the tire is connected to the right side of the vehicle in response to determining that the size of the contact patch decreases during the turning event.

[0134] G: A tire monitor according to any one of Examples A to F, wherein the turning event includes a left turn, and determining that the tire is connected to the left side of the vehicle or the tire is connected to the right side of the vehicle includes: determining that the tire is connected to the left side of the vehicle in response to determining that the size of the contact patch decreases during the turning event; and determining that the tire is connected to the right side of the vehicle in response to determining that the size of the contact patch increases during the turning event.

[0135] H: A tire monitor according to any one of Examples A to G, wherein determining the orientation of the tire monitor comprises: determining the magnitude and direction of a lateral force on the tire monitor over time based at least in part on acceleration data; and determining a first orientation or a second orientation based on the magnitude and direction of the lateral force on the tire monitor over time.

[0136] I: An exemplary method for automatically locating a tire monitor on a vehicle, the tire monitor being associated with a tire on the vehicle, the method comprising: receiving acceleration data from an accelerometer associated with the tire monitor; receiving sensor data associated with a contact area of ​​the tire with a road surface from a sensor associated with the tire monitor; and determining a position of the tire on the vehicle based at least in part on the acceleration data and the sensor data.

[0137] J: A method according to Example I, wherein determining the position of the tire on the vehicle includes: determining that the tire is associated with a front axle or a rear axle; and determining that the tire is associated with a right side of the vehicle or a left side of the vehicle.

[0138] K: A method according to Example I or Example J, wherein determining that a tire is associated with a front axle or a rear axle comprises: determining an acceleration event of the vehicle moving in a forward direction based on acceleration data; and determining a change in a size of a contact patch during the acceleration event based on sensor data.

[0139] L: The method according to any one of Examples I to K also includes: determining that the acceleration event is an increase in acceleration; and determining that the tire is associated with the rear axle in response to an increase in the size of the contact patch during the acceleration event; or determining that the tire is associated with the front axle in response to a decrease in the size of the contact patch during the acceleration event.

[0140] M: The method according to any one of Examples I to L also includes: determining that the acceleration event is a deceleration of the vehicle; and determining that the tire is associated with the front axle in response to an increase in the size of the contact patch during the acceleration event; or determining that the tire is associated with the rear axle in response to a decrease in the size of the contact patch during the acceleration event.

[0141] N: A method according to any one of Examples I to M, wherein determining that a tire is associated with the right side of a vehicle or the left side of a vehicle comprises: determining a turning event based on acceleration data; and determining a change in a size of a contact patch during the turning event based on sensor data.

[0142] O: The method according to any one of Examples I to N also includes: determining that the turning event is a right turn of the vehicle; and determining that the tire is associated with the right side of the vehicle in response to a decrease in the size of the contact patch during the turning event; or determining that the tire is associated with the left side of the vehicle in response to an increase in the size of the contact patch during the turning event.

[0143] P: The method according to any one of Examples I to O also includes: determining that the turning event is a right turn of the vehicle; and determining that the tire is associated with the right side of the vehicle in response to a decrease in the size of the contact patch during the turning event; or determining that the tire is associated with the left side of the vehicle in response to an increase in the size of the contact patch during the turning event.

[0144] Q: The method according to any one of Examples I to P further includes: determining an orientation of the tire monitor relative to the vehicle based at least in part on acceleration data, the orientation comprising one of a first orientation or a second orientation rotated 180 degrees relative to the first orientation.

[0145] R: An exemplary system includes: a vehicle; a tire associated with the vehicle; a tire monitor associated with one of the tires, the tire monitor including an accelerometer and a sensor; and a computing system configured to perform operations including: receiving acceleration data from the accelerometer; receiving sensor data associated with a contact area of ​​the tire with a road surface from the sensor; and determining a position of the tire on the vehicle based at least in part on the acceleration data and the sensor data.

[0146] S: A system according to example R, wherein determining the position of the tire on the vehicle includes: determining that the tire is associated with a front axle or a rear axle; and determining that the tire is associated with a right side of the vehicle or a left side of the vehicle.

[0147] T: The system of example R or example S, wherein the computing system is located on the tire monitor.

[0148] AA: An exemplary vehicle includes: a plurality of tires; a plurality of tire monitors, each of the plurality of tire monitors being associated with each of the plurality of tires and including at least one tire monitor transceiver; and a tire pressure monitoring system spaced apart from the plurality of tires, the tire pressure monitoring system including at least one tire pressure monitoring system transceiver and a computing system configured to perform operations including: transmitting one or more first transmit signals via at least one tire pressure monitoring system transceiver; receiving a first response signal from at least one tire monitor transceiver of the plurality of tire monitors and at least in part in response to the one or more first transmit signals; determining a round trip time and an angle of arrival based at least in part on the first response signal; and determining a location of the plurality of tire monitors on the vehicle for each of the plurality of tire monitors and based at least in part on at least one of the round trip time, angle of arrival, or distance measurements.

[0149] BB: The vehicle of example AA, wherein the at least one tire monitoring transceiver comprises one or more first Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE) transceivers and the at least one tire monitoring system transceiver comprises one or more second BLE transceivers.

[0150] CC: The vehicle according to Example AA or Example BB, the operation also includes: sending a wake-up signal via the one or more second BLE transceivers to wake up the one or more first BLE transceivers from a sleep mode.

[0151] DD: The vehicle of any of Examples AA to CC, wherein: each of the plurality of tire monitors further comprises a wake-up receiver (WuRx) configured to receive a wake-up signal; and the WuRx is configured to wake up the one or more second BLE transceivers from a sleep mode.

[0152] EE: A vehicle according to any of Examples AA to DD, wherein WuRx is a low power receiver that monitors the wake-up signal with lower energy requirements than the one or more first BLE transceivers.

[0153] FF: A vehicle according to any one of Examples AA to EE, wherein: at least one tire pressure monitoring system transceiver includes one or more first ultra-wideband (UWB) transceivers; at least one tire monitor transceiver includes one or more second UWB transceivers; one or more first transmission signals are UWB frequency transmission signals; and the response signal is a UWB frequency transmission signal.

[0154] GG: According to the vehicle of any one of Examples AA to FF, the operation also includes: determining a triggering event; and sending at least one of one or more first transmission signals or wake-up signals in response to the triggering event.

[0155] HH: In a vehicle according to any one of Examples AA to GG, the operation further includes: receiving a presence signal from an electronic device outside the vehicle indicating that the electronic device is present within a proximity boundary of the vehicle; and determining a trigger event based at least in part on the presence of the electronic device.

[0156] II: A vehicle according to any of Examples AA to HH, wherein the electronic device includes at least one of a mobile device or a key fob.

[0157] JJ: A vehicle according to any one of Examples AA to II, wherein an antenna associated with at least one tire pressure monitoring system transceiver is disposed at locations that are not equidistant from respective antennas associated with at least one tire monitor transceiver of a plurality of tire monitors.

[0158] KK: An exemplary method for automatically locating tire monitors on a vehicle, the method comprising: transmitting one or more transmit signals via an antenna associated with a tire pressure monitoring system on the vehicle; receiving response signals from a plurality of tire monitors and at least partially in response to the one or more transmit signals; and determining the position of the plurality of tire monitors on the vehicle relative to the antenna based at least in part on the response signals and the position of the antenna on the vehicle.

[0159] LL: The method according to example KK, wherein one or more of the transmit signal and the response signal are one or more of ultra-wideband or Bluetooth signals.

[0160] MM: A method according to example KK or example LL, wherein determining the positions of multiple tire monitors includes: determining a first time associated with a first response signal in the response signal, the first response signal being received from a first tire monitor in the multiple tire monitors; determining a first distance from an antenna to the first tire monitor based at least in part on the first time; determining a first position of the first tire monitor based on the first distance; determining a second time associated with a second response signal in the response signal, the second response signal being received from a second tire monitor in the multiple tire monitors; determining a second distance from the antenna to the first tire monitor based at least in part on the second time; and determining a second position of the second tire monitor based on the second distance.

[0161] NN: A method according to any one of Examples KK to MM, wherein the antenna is located on the vehicle so that the first distance is different from the second distance, different from the third distance to a third tire monitor among the plurality of tire monitors, and different from the fourth distance to a fourth tire monitor among the plurality of tire monitors.

[0162] OO: A method according to any one of Examples KK to NN, wherein determining the positions of multiple tire monitors includes: determining a first angle associated with a first response signal in a response signal, the first response signal being received from a first tire monitor among the multiple tire monitors; determining a first position of the first tire monitor on the vehicle relative to an antenna of a tire pressure monitoring system based at least in part on the angle; determining a second angle associated with a second response signal in the response signal, the second response signal being received from a second tire monitor among the multiple tire monitors; and determining a second position of the second tire monitor on the vehicle relative to the antenna of the tire pressure monitoring system based on the second angle.

[0163] PP: A vehicle according to any one of Examples KK to OO, further comprising: determining a triggering event; and sending at least one of one or more transmission signals or wake-up signals in response to the triggering event.

[0164] QQ: The method according to any one of Examples KK to PP also includes: receiving a presence signal from an electronic device outside the vehicle indicating that the electronic device is present within the proximity boundary of the vehicle; and determining a trigger event based at least in part on the presence of the electronic device.

[0165] RR: An exemplary system includes: a vehicle; a plurality of tires associated with the vehicle; a plurality of tire monitors associated with the plurality of tires; and a tire pressure monitoring system spaced apart from the plurality of tires, the tire pressure monitoring system including at least one tire pressure monitoring system transceiver and a computing system configured to perform operations including: transmitting one or more transmit signals; receiving response signals from the plurality of tire monitors and at least partially in response to the one or more transmit signals; and determining a location of the plurality of tire monitors on the vehicle based at least in part on the response signals and a location of the tire pressure monitoring system on the vehicle.

[0166] SS: A system according to example RR, wherein determining the positions of multiple tire monitors includes: determining a first time associated with a first response signal in a response signal, the first response signal being received from a first tire monitor in the multiple tire monitors; determining a first distance from an antenna to the first tire monitor based at least in part on the first time; determining a first position of the first tire monitor based on the first distance; determining a second time associated with a second response signal in the response signal, the second response signal being received from a second tire monitor in the multiple tire monitors; determining a second distance from the antenna to the first tire monitor based at least in part on the second time; and determining a second position of the second tire monitor based on the second distance.

[0167] TT: A system according to example RR or example SS, wherein determining the positions of multiple tire monitors includes: determining a first angle associated with a first response signal in a response signal, the first response signal being received from a first tire monitor in the multiple tire monitors; determining a first position of the first tire monitor on the vehicle relative to an antenna of a tire pressure monitoring system based at least in part on the angle; determining a second angle associated with a second response signal in the response signal, the second response signal being received from a second tire monitor in the multiple tire monitors; and determining a second position of the second tire monitor on the vehicle relative to the antenna of the tire pressure monitoring system based on the second angle.

[0168] Although the present technology has been described with reference to preferred embodiments, it will be readily appreciated by those skilled in the art that various changes and / or modifications may be made to the present technology without departing from the spirit or scope of the present technology. For example, each claim may be dependent on any or all claims in a multiple dependency manner, even if no claim is initially proposed.

Claims

1. A tire monitor configured to be coupled to a tire of a vehicle in at least a first orientation or a second orientation, the tire monitor comprising: an accelerometer configured to generate acceleration data; a sensor configured to generate sensor data associated with a contact area of ​​the tire and a road surface; as well as A computing system configured to perform operations including: determining, based at least in part on the acceleration data, that the tire monitor is mounted in an orientation that includes the first orientation or the second orientation; determining, based at least in part on the orientation and the sensor data, that the tire is coupled to a front axle of the vehicle or that the tire is coupled to a rear axle of the vehicle; as well as Based at least in part on the orientation and the sensor data, it is determined that the tire is coupled to a left side of the vehicle or that the tire is coupled to a right side of the vehicle.

2. The tire monitor according to claim 1, wherein: Determining that the tire is coupled to the front axle or the tire is coupled to the rear axle includes: determining, based on the acceleration data, an acceleration event associated with travel of the vehicle in a forward direction; determining a change in a contact patch dimension during the acceleration event based on the sensor data; and The coupling of the tire to the front axle or the coupling of the tire to the rear axle is determined based on the change in the contact patch size.

3. The tire monitor according to claim 2, wherein: The acceleration event includes an increase in acceleration, and determining that the tire is coupled to the front axle or the tire is coupled to the rear axle further includes: In response to determining that the contact patch increases in size during the acceleration event, determining that the tire is coupled to the rear axle; and In response to determining that the contact patch decreases in size during the acceleration event, it is determined that the tire is coupled to a front axle.

4. The tire monitor according to claim 2, wherein: The acceleration event includes a deceleration, and determining that the tire is coupled to the front axle or the tire is coupled to the rear axle further includes: In response to determining that the contact patch decreases in size during the acceleration event, determining that the tire is coupled to the rear axle; and In response to determining that the contact patch increases in size during the acceleration event, it is determined that the tire is coupled to the front axle.

5. The tire monitor according to claim 4, wherein: Determining that the tire is coupled to a left side of the vehicle or that the tire is coupled to a right side of the vehicle includes: determining a turning event associated with the vehicle based on the acceleration data; determining, based on the sensor data, a change in contact patch size during the turning event; and Based on the change in the contact patch size during the turning event, it is determined that the tire is coupled to a left side of the vehicle or the tire is coupled to a right side of the vehicle.

6. The tire monitor according to claim 5, wherein: The turning event comprises a right turn, and determining that the tire is coupled to a left side of the vehicle or the tire is coupled to a right side of the vehicle comprises: In response to determining that the contact patch increases in size during the turning event, determining that the tire is coupled to a left side of the vehicle; and In response to determining that the contact patch decreases in size during the turning event, it is determined that the tire is coupled to a right side of the vehicle.

7. The tire monitor according to claim 5, wherein: The turning event comprises a left turn, and determining that the tire is coupled to a left side of the vehicle or the tire is coupled to a right side of the vehicle comprises: In response to determining that the contact patch decreases in size during the turning event, determining that the tire is coupled to a left side of the vehicle; and In response to determining that the contact patch increases in size during the turning event, it is determined that the tire is coupled to a right side of the vehicle.

8. The tire monitor according to claim 1, wherein: Determining the orientation of the tire monitor includes: determining a magnitude and direction of a lateral force on the tire monitor over time based at least in part on the acceleration data; and The first orientation or the second orientation is determined based on a magnitude and a direction of the lateral force on the tire monitor over time.

9. A method for automatically locating a tire monitor on a vehicle, the tire monitor being associated with a tire on the vehicle, the method comprising: receiving acceleration data from an accelerometer associated with the tire monitor; receiving sensor data associated with a contact area of ​​the tire and a road surface from a sensor associated with the tire monitor; as well as Based at least in part on the acceleration data and the sensor data, a position of the tire on the vehicle is determined.

10. The method according to claim 9, wherein: Determining the position of the tire on the vehicle includes: determining whether the tire is associated with a front axle or a rear axle; and A determination is made as to whether the tire is associated with the right side of the vehicle or the left side of the vehicle.

11. The method according to claim 9, wherein: Determining whether the tire is associated with the front axle or the rear axle includes: determining an acceleration event for the vehicle traveling in a forward direction based on the acceleration data; and Based on the sensor data, a change in a size of a contact surface during the acceleration event is determined.

12. The method according to claim 11, further comprising: determining that the acceleration event is an increase in acceleration; as well as determining that the tire is associated with the rear axle in response to an increase in a size of the contact patch during the acceleration event; or Responsive to a decrease in the size of the contact patch during the acceleration event, determining that the tire is associated with the front axle.

13. The method according to claim 11, further comprising: determining that the acceleration event is a deceleration of the vehicle; as well as determining that the tire is associated with the front axle in response to an increase in a size of the contact patch during the acceleration event; or Responsive to a decrease in the size of the contact patch during the acceleration event, it is determined that the tire is associated with the rear axle.

14. The method according to claim 10, wherein: Determining that the tire is associated with the right side of the vehicle or the left side of the vehicle includes: determining a turning event based on the acceleration data; and Based on the sensor data, a change in a size of a contact patch during the turning event is determined.

15. The method according to claim 14, further comprising: determining that the turning event is a right turn of the vehicle; as well as determining that the tire is associated with a right side of the vehicle in response to a decrease in the size of the contact patch during the turning event; or Responsive to an increase in the size of the contact patch during the turning event, it is determined that the tire is associated with a left side of the vehicle.

16. The method according to claim 14, further comprising: determining that the turning event is a left turn of the vehicle; as well as determining that the tire is associated with a right side of the vehicle in response to an increase in a size of the contact patch during the turning event; or In response to a decrease in the size of the contact patch during the turning event, it is determined that the tire is associated with a left side of the vehicle.

17. The method according to claim 9, further comprising: Based at least in part on the acceleration data, an orientation of the tire monitor relative to the vehicle is determined, the orientation comprising one of a first orientation or a second orientation, wherein the second orientation is rotated 180 degrees relative to the first orientation.

18. A system comprising: vehicle; a tire, associated with said vehicle; a tire monitor associated with one of the tires, the tire monitor comprising an accelerometer and a sensor; as well as A computing system configured to perform operations including: receiving acceleration data from the accelerometer; receiving sensor data associated with a contact area of ​​the tire and a road surface from the sensor; as well as Based at least in part on the acceleration data and the sensor data, a position of the tire on the vehicle is determined.

19. The system of claim 18, wherein: Determining the position of the tire on the vehicle includes: determining whether the tire is associated with a front axle or a rear axle; and A determination is made as to whether the tire is associated with the right side of the vehicle or the left side of the vehicle.

20. The system of claim 18, wherein: The computing system is located on the tire monitor.

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