Automatic positioning of tire monitor

Abstract

The invention discloses automatic positioning of a tire monitor. 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] This application is a divisional application, the application number of the parent application is 202380047874.X, the application date is January 11, 2023, and the name of the invention is “Automatic positioning of tire monitor”.

[0002] CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

[0003] 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

[0004] The present disclosure relates to tire pressure monitoring systems and, more particularly, to automatic positioning of tire pressure sensors. Background Art

[0005] 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 levels and other sensory information for all of a vehicle's tires and provide this information to the user. In some conventional systems, sensors and / or transmitters may be mounted on each tire to periodically transmit signals from the sensors, which relay the information to a receiver and / or computing system, typically mounted on the vehicle. The computing system may also be integrated with and / or connected to a display on the vehicle that can alert the user to tire-related information.

[0006] Conventionally, different automakers have implemented different tire sensor positioning technologies. For example, the TPMS can perform a learning routine, enabling it to determine the tire's location based on signals received from corresponding sensors. Thus, the TPMS can determine whether a received signal is transmitted from a tire on a specific side of the vehicle (e.g., left or right) and a specific axle (e.g., front or rear). Some vehicles require a manual learning routine at the manufacturing plant (e.g., before the vehicle is deployed) to establish the correspondence between the sensors and their locations on the vehicle. Furthermore, users (e.g., vehicle owners, operators, mechanics, etc.) must perform this manual learning routine each time a tire is rotated and / or replaced.

[0007] Another conventional positioning technique involves the sensor / transmitter transmitting 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 transmitting tire through association. However, similar to the conventional method described above, the TPMS must be reprogrammed each time the tire is rotated and / or replaced to ensure proper association. Summary of the Invention

[0008] A vehicle is provided, comprising: a plurality of tires; a plurality of tire monitors, each tire monitor of the plurality of tire monitors being associated with a respective tire of the plurality of tires and comprising at least one tire monitor transceiver; and a tire pressure monitoring system spaced apart from the plurality of tires, the tire pressure monitoring system comprising at least one tire pressure monitoring system receiver and a computing system configured to perform operations, the operations comprising: receiving a first signal from at least one tire monitor transceiver of the plurality of tire monitors; determining at least one of an angle of arrival or a distance measurement based at least in part on the first signal; and determining, for each tire monitor of the plurality of tire monitors and based at least in part on the at least one of the angle of arrival or the distance measurement, a location of the plurality of tire monitors on the vehicle. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0009] To enable those skilled in the art to more readily understand how to make and use the disclosed systems and techniques, reference is made to the following drawings.

[0010] 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.

[0011] 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.

[0012] Figure 3 is a schematic diagram of a vehicle system according to aspects of the present disclosure, illustrating automatic positioning of tire pressure sensors in a stationary vehicle using time-of-flight and / or angle-of-arrival and / or range measurement principles.

[0013] Figure 4 is an exemplary schematic diagram of a tire monitoring system architecture according to aspects of the present disclosure.

[0014] Figure 5 is a flow chart illustrating an exemplary process for determining a tire monitor mounting orientation according to aspects of the present disclosure.

[0015] 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.

[0016] 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.

[0017] Figure 8is an illustrative representation of the relationship between cornering and contact patch characteristics in a moving vehicle according to aspects of the present disclosure.

[0018] Figure 9 is a flow chart illustrating an exemplary process for automatically positioning tire monitors on a vehicle according to aspects of the present disclosure.

[0019] Figure 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

[0020] The present technology overcomes prior art problems associated with tire pressure monitors. For example, the systems and techniques described herein provide for improved automatic positioning of tire monitors on a vehicle. For example, the techniques described herein provide for automatic positioning of tire monitors while the vehicle is in motion and / or while the vehicle is stationary. Advantages and other features of the systems and methods disclosed herein will become more readily apparent to those skilled in the art from the following detailed description of certain preferred embodiments, taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings that illustrate representative examples of the disclosure.

[0021] 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 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 the 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 tire to a driver, technician, vehicle 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 a passenger of the vehicle.

[0022] Aspects of the present disclosure may particularly relate to determining the location of tire monitors on a vehicle. For example, the techniques described herein can determine whether a tire monitor is associated with a front tire, a left tire, a rear tire, a right tire, and so on. In some aspects of the present disclosure, the location of a tire can be determined at the tire itself, for example, independently of information from other monitors and / or independently of a centralized (e.g., vehicle) computing system. In other examples, a centralized computing system (e.g., a tire pressure monitoring system) can perform automatic location techniques.

[0023] Due to the improved automatic positioning systems and techniques disclosed herein, drivers can receive accurate tire-related data regardless of whether the tires were recently rotated, installed, etc. In at least some examples, tire monitors can be automatically positioned without requiring access to a centralized computing system and / or vehicle network, such as a CAN bus, etc. Furthermore, the techniques described herein, which allow for automatic positioning of tire monitors without requiring vehicle movement, can provide critical tire information before the vehicle is moved. For example, a driver can be alerted to 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.

[0024] Figure 1 A vehicle 100 is shown that includes a plurality of tires 102 (four in this example). Each of tires 102 is associated with a tire monitor 104. Specifically, each of tire monitors 104 is coupled to each of tires 102. As detailed herein, aspects of the present disclosure may be particularly directed to determining to which tire 102 each of monitors 104 is coupled. 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.

[0025] According to some aspects of the present disclosure, the association of each of the monitors 104 with a tire is based on an automatic positioning principle, for example, based on data and signals sent between the tire monitors 104 and a centralized system in communication with the 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 Although not shown, each of tire monitors 104 may also include one or more power sources, such as batteries and / or other conventionally known components. BLE transceiver 108, UWB transceiver 110, and / or wake-up receiver 112 are provided for illustration purposes only. As will be appreciated from the written description, aspects of the present disclosure may be implemented using other and / or additional components. For example, but not limitation, transmission technologies other than BLE and / or UWB may be used to implement some of the techniques described herein.

[0026] Sensor 106 is configured to generate signals associated with one or more measured properties of tire 102. For example, sensor 106 may include a pressure sensor configured to generate pressure data associated with the associated tire. In another example, sensor 106 may include a temperature sensor configured to generate temperature data associated with the tire. 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 three-axis accelerometer), a gyroscope, an inertial measurement unit, a resolver, a rotation sensor, a position sensor, and the like. In some further examples, sensor 106 may also or alternatively include a force sensor, a lateral force sensor, and / or other sensors or combinations of sensors that can be used to determine the contact patch associated with the tire. Sensor 106 may generate updated data at a predetermined frequency, for example, based on a sampling rate. Sensor 106 may be configurable; for example, the sampling rate may be adjustable. For example, sensor 106 may generate data at a first sampling rate when the vehicle is in motion and at a second sampling rate when the vehicle is stationary.

[0027] 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, among others. 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 signals corresponding to the data from the sensor 106. Any output signals from the first BLE transceiver 108 may be associated with the first protocol, for example, including a first radio frequency output. Furthermore, and as noted above, the techniques described herein are not limited to use with BLE technology.

[0028] The first BLE transceiver 108 can be configured to generate an output signal. The output signal can be a radio frequency (RF) signal that carries 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 can conform to a first protocol. The first BLE transceiver 108 can also be configured to receive signals, such as command or request signals. In the examples described herein, the first BLE transceiver 108 can receive a request to transmit sensor data. As also detailed herein, some example techniques can use angle of arrival and / or high-accuracy range measurement channel sounding (HADM / CS) to automatically locate the tire monitor 104 for signals received at and / or transmitted from the first BLE transceiver 108. Without limitation, the BLE transceiver 108 can transmit and / or receive data according to various protocols, for example, protocols that can 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.

[0029] 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 can 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 can be a low-power wireless communication technology that uses short bursts of radio waves to achieve high-bandwidth connections. In aspects of the present disclosure, UWB transmissions can be used to determine the position of the tire monitor with greater positioning accuracy (e.g., relative to BLE).

[0030] 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 .

[0031] Tire monitoring system 114 may be implemented as a computing system on vehicle 100. Tire monitoring system 114 includes functionality to communicate with each of tire monitors 104, e.g., to receive information about tires 102 at a centralized (computing) location. Generally, tire monitoring system 114 may receive signals from tire monitors 104, discern information about tires 102 from the received signals, and / or display information about tires 102 to a user, technician, etc. In an example, tire monitoring system 114 includes logic to receive information from 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, tire monitoring system 114 may include functionality to determine whether the tire pressure of any of tires 102 is outside certain predefined operating limits. For example, tire monitoring system 114 may determine the pressure of each of tires 102 based on the signals received from tire monitors 104 and indicate whether the tire pressure is below a first threshold pressure (e.g., underinflated) or above a second threshold pressure (e.g., overinflated). The tire monitoring system 114 may also include logic for sending tire information (eg, tire pressure, determined alarm status, 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.

[0032] Tire monitoring system 114 may be configured to communicate with tire monitors 104 via second BLE transceiver 116 and / or second UWB transceiver 118. Without limitation, second BLE transceiver 116 may be configured to communicate with first BLE transceiver 108 associated with each of tire monitors 104, and / or second UWB transceiver 118 may be configured to communicate with first UWB transceiver 110 associated with each of tire monitors 104. Although illustrated as transceivers, it will be understood that second BLE transceiver 116 and / or second UWB transceiver 118 may be implemented as one or more transmitters, one or more receivers, and / or one or more antennas.

[0033] In aspects of the present disclosure, tire monitoring system 114 may also include functionality to determine an association of each of tire monitors 104 with each of tires 102 using transmissions associated with second BLE transceiver 116 and / or second UWB transceiver 118. Specifically, tire monitoring system 114 is further shown to include an automatic positioning component 122 that includes functionality to determine a position or location of tire monitor 104 on vehicle 100 and to determine an association of tire monitor 104 with a particular tire 102 based at least in part on the position or location. Although not shown for ease of reference and understanding, Figure 1 Although illustrated in FIG. 1 , various portions of the illustrated blocks and / or other aspects of 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 tire monitoring system 114 may include random access memory (RAM) and read-only memory (ROM), which may include instructions that, when executed (or compiled and executed), cause aspects of tire monitoring system 114 to perform various functions described and discussed further below. For example, various components of 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 these components may be a means for performing one or more functions associated with the operation of the system.

[0034] 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 described in further detail herein, automatic positioning component 122 may determine the location of tire monitor 104 without any movement of vehicle 100 (e.g., as needed).

[0035] More specifically, distance determination component 124 generally includes functionality for determining the distance of a remote antenna from an anchor location (e.g., an anchor transceiver or an antenna associated therewith) using radio energy and the travel time and / or phase delay of radio waves. Without limitation, distance determination component 124 can determine the travel time of radio waves traveling between UWB transceiver 118 at tire monitoring system 114 and first UWB transceiver 110 at tire monitor 104 and determine the physical distance based on the travel time. For example, distance determination component 124 can use the travel time of radio energy between UWB transceiver 118 associated with the tire monitoring system (e.g., an "anchor" UWB transceiver) and first UWB transceiver 110 associated with tire monitor 104 to determine the distance to within + / - 0.1 m of any UWB transceiver location and track 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 distance from tire monitoring system 114 to each of tire monitors 104 is sufficiently different to be discerned 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 location of tire monitors 104 can be determined by their distance from the UWB transceiver, for example, 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.

[0036] In addition to or as an alternative to using the distance determined by the distance-determining 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-determining component 126. Without limitation, and as further described below, the angle-determining 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., front left, front right, rear right, rear left) 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.

[0037] 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 instructions to perform automatic positioning as described herein. Thus, the vehicle 100 (using the tire monitoring system 114) can broadcast a BLE signal to the monitor 104 via the second BLE transceiver 116, instructing the monitor 104 to turn on its UWB transceiver 110.

[0038] The periodic wakeup of the BLE transceiver at tire monitor 104 can consume a relatively large amount of energy. To reduce this power consumption, some implementations of the present disclosure may include reducing the frequency with which the BLE transceiver wakes up to check for commands. However, reducing the wakeup frequency will correspondingly increase latency in tire monitoring system 114, resulting in delays in locating tire monitor 104. To reduce this latency and / or reduce power consumption, in some cases, tire monitor 104 may have an associated wakeup receiver (WuRx) 112. WuRx 112 can be configured to periodically wake up to listen for commands from vehicle 100. For example, while WuRx 112 is listening for these wakeup commands, first BLE transceiver 108 can be placed in a reduced power (e.g., sleep) mode. Because WuRx consumes significantly less power than BLE transceiver 108, the frequency of listening for requests to automatically locate tire monitor 104 can be increased, thereby reducing latency associated with the system. Furthermore, 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 discussed above, the energy requirements of a typical BLE transceiver are generally too high to keep the transceiver constantly active to listen for commands from the vehicle 100 and / or to wake the transceiver frequently enough to perform on-demand or near-on-demand tire monitor positioning.

[0039] 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 can be a trigger for performing automatic positioning as described herein, e.g., such that the user is alerted to any tire pressure anomalies before commencing travel. Figure 1In the exemplary scenario shown in FIG, 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, such as personal electronic devices including but not limited to tablets, key fobs, 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.

[0040] exist Figure 1 In the illustrated example, user 128 approaches vehicle 100, and electronic device 130 may announce its presence by transmitting a signal, for example, using Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE). Vehicle 100 may then use automatic positioning component 122 (e.g., including distance determination component 124) to estimate the distance associated with electronic device 130. Distance determination component may estimate the proximity of the electronic device via second BLE transceiver 116 and the BLE transceiver on electronic device 130. For example, distance determination component may use BLE spectrum energy to determine the distance of device 130 within, for example, approximately 1.5 meters. In some cases, when vehicle 100 detects electronic device 130 closer than the example 1.5 meters, it may turn on second UWB transceiver 118 and send a BLE command via second BLE transceiver 116 to initiate automatic positioning of tire monitor 104, as discussed above. As will be appreciated, the distances provided herein are for example purposes only. Methods and / or techniques may affect the range and / or accuracy of the distance determined by distance determination component 124.

[0041] Automatic positioning component 122 may also send a signal to electronic device 130 to turn on any UWB transmitters (not shown) associated with electronic device 130. In this manner, UWB transceiver 118 on vehicle 100 may also communicate with any UWB transmitters associated with electronic device 130, and distance determination component 124 may determine the distance to device 130 within approximately 0.1 m of vehicle 100 and / or track the location of electronic device 130. For example, an anchor on vehicle 100 may be in a fixed position relative to electronic device 130 on vehicle 100, which may allow the anchor to determine the location of electronic device 130 via distance determination component 124, as discussed and referenced above and herein. In some examples, information about the tires (e.g., as measured by sensor 106) may also be sent to electronic device 130, for example, for display to a user.

[0042] While the 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 referenced herein, communication with electronic device 130 may occur via near field communication (NFC) transceiver 120 .

[0043] 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 may cause the tire monitoring system to perform automatic positioning and other monitoring functions as described in detail herein. Without limitation, the tire monitoring system may awaken 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, and the like.

[0044] As will be appreciated from the foregoing, some examples of the present disclosure use communication and positioning between tire monitoring system 114 and tire monitors 104 to determine the location of tire monitors 104 on vehicle 100. By associating tire monitors 104 with specific tire locations, tire pressures, 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.

[0045] 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. For example, Figure 1 As shown, tire monitor 104 is also shown as including an automatic location determination system 132. Automatic location determination system 132 may 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 may include providing sensor data to automatic location determination system 132. In this case, sensor 106 may include an accelerometer. The accelerometer used by the sensor may be a three-axis accelerometer.

[0046] like Figure 1 As shown, 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 automatic position determination system 132 can determine various properties of the sensor that together allow, for example, determination of the position of tire monitor 104 on the vehicle via position determination component 142.

[0047] Orientation determination component 134 can determine the orientation of tire monitor 104 and / or the orientation of one of sensors 106 (e.g., a three-axis accelerometer) associated with tire monitor 104. For example, and as further described herein, tire monitor 104 can be mounted in one of two orientations relative to tire 102. For example, the two orientations can differ by 180 degrees of rotation. As will be appreciated, some measurements made by sensor 106 (e.g., acceleration in the longitudinal direction) will differ based on orientation. Therefore, orientation may be required to correctly normalize or otherwise interpret sensor data generated at tire monitor 104.

[0048] 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 a computer-readable medium and / or an 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. Figure 9 The process for determining the orientation of tire monitor 104 is described in further detail.

[0049] By way of example and not limitation, memory 136 (e.g., computer-readable storage media) may include volatile and non-volatile, 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 disc ROM ("CD-ROM"), digital versatile disc ("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.

[0050] Front / rear axle determination component 138 may include functionality to determine whether tire monitor 104 is located on the front or rear axle. For example, front / rear axle determination component 138 may receive information from sensor 106 regarding the contact patch (e.g., the portion of tire 102 in contact with the ground). For example, front / rear axle determination component 138 may include functionality to determine changes in the size of the contact patch during an acceleration event. Contact patch and / or contact patch quotient refers to the amount of contact between tire 102 and the ground (e.g., a two-dimensional estimate of the angular percentage of the tire's circumference that is in contact with the road). Under acceleration, due to rotation of vehicle 100 about the X-axis, the front axle may lift slightly, resulting in a decrease in the contact patch for the tire at the front axle. Sensor 106 may transmit information detailing this change in contact patch to front / rear axle determination component 138 of automatic location determination system 132, and front / rear axle determination component 138 may use these readings to locate and / or associate sensor 106 with the front axle. Conversely, under acceleration, an increase in the tire 102's contact patch would be associated with the rear axle. Additionally, the aforementioned pattern of contact patch increase / decrease is reversed during 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), while 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 in contact patch for the associated axles may be determined by the front / rear axle determination component 138. In some other cases, the pattern indicating the increase / decrease in contact patch for the associated axles may be accessed by the front / rear axle determination component 138 from the memory 136.

[0051] Automatic location determination system 132 may also include a vehicle-side determination component 140. Vehicle-side determination component 140 includes functionality for determining whether the tire monitor is located on the left side (e.g., driver's side) or the right side (e.g., passenger side) of vehicle 100. For example, vehicle-side determination component 140 may include functionality for analyzing information regarding the contact patch from sensor 106 and information regarding vehicle handling (e.g., information from an accelerometer on tire monitor 104). For example, vehicle-side determination component 140 may determine the side of vehicle 100 associated with tire monitor 104 based on changes in contact patch dimensions during a turning maneuver (e.g., cornering). As described above, the contact patch refers to the amount of contact between tire 102 and the ground. The contact patch may be a two-dimensional area having a width, length, and / or other dimensions from which the contact patch may be determined. In other examples, the contact patch may be characterized by a single dimension, such as length or width. Furthermore, in some examples, changes in tire deformation (e.g., radial displacement of the tire at the contact patch) may be used to indicate changes in tire load. 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, 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. Alternatively or in addition, 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.

[0052] 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 other 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.

[0053] The turning maneuvers and / or acceleration events discussed above can be determined based on accelerations measured at accelerometers of sensors 106, including tire monitors 104. In other examples, turning events and / or acceleration events can be collected from other data and / or other sources. Without limitation, front / rear axle determination component 138 and / or vehicle-side determination component 140 can receive vehicle control information from other or different sensor modalities, from one or more vehicle controllers in communication with tire monitors 104, and the like. Furthermore, while aspects of the present disclosure contemplate determining the position of tire monitors 104 at tire monitors 104, in other examples, data from sensors 106 (e.g., data used to determine contact patch attributes and / or regarding the maneuvering of tires 102) can be sent to tire monitoring system 114 or other computing system to establish an appropriate association between the tire monitors and locations on vehicle 100.

[0054] Automatic location determination system 132 may also include a location determination component 142. Location determination component 142 may be used by automatic location determination system 132 to automatically locate the position of sensor 106 to its corresponding tire 102 and / or its corresponding tire-vehicle location. For example, location determination component 142 may leverage determinations made by other components included within automatic location determination system 132. For example, orientation determination component 134 may determine that a first sensor is in a first orientation, a second sensor is in a first orientation, a third sensor is in a second orientation, and a fourth sensor is in a second orientation that is rotated 180 degrees from the first orientation. Furthermore, front / rear axle determination component 138 may have determined that under acceleration, the first and second sensors experience a decrease in contact area (e.g., area, length, etc.), indicating that the first and second sensors are located on the front axle. Conversely, front / rear axle determination component 138 may determine that under acceleration, the third and fourth sensors experience an increase in contact area (e.g., area, length, etc.), indicating that the third and fourth sensors are located on the rear axle. Additionally, vehicle-side determination component 140 may have determined that, upon initiating a right turn, the first and third sensors experienced a decrease in contact surface (e.g., area, length, etc.), indicating that the first and third sensors were located on the right side of vehicle 100. Conversely, during the same right turn, vehicle-side determination component 140 may have determined that the second and fourth sensors experienced an increase in contact surface (e.g., area, length, etc.), indicating that the second and fourth sensors were located on the left side of vehicle 100. Therefore, position determination component 142 may determine, based on components of automatic position determination system 132, that the first sensor was located on the front axle and on the left side of vehicle 100. In this case, the remaining sensors 106, the second, third, and fourth sensors, may similarly have their positions automatically determined by their respective position determination components 142.

[0055] Therefore, or alternatively, in situations where sensors 106 may be oriented differently, position determination component 134 may determine that the first and third sensors are in a first orientation, and the second and fourth sensors are in a second orientation. In this case, the first orientation may be associated with the left side of vehicle 100, and the second orientation may be associated with the right side of vehicle 100. For example, when a tire monitor is mounted on a valve stem, the orientation of tire monitor 104 may be determined because the valve stem is typically located on the exterior of the vehicle. Therefore, position determination component 134 may determine the corresponding orientation using the same and / or similar methods described and referenced herein. Additionally, under acceleration, front / rear axle determination component 138 may determine that the fourth and third sensors experience an increase in contact area, indicating the rear axle. Conversely, under the same conditions, front / rear axle determination component 138 may determine that the first and second sensors experience a decrease in contact area (e.g., area, length, etc.), indicating the front axle. Consequently, position determination component 142 may forgo functionality associated with vehicle-side determination component 140 to determine the corresponding position of 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 positions of the first sensor and the third sensor on the vehicle 100. Similarly, the position determination component 142 can determine the positions of the second sensor and the fourth sensor in the same and / or similar processes as described and referenced herein.

[0056] In some alternative situations, the position determination component 142 may use the orientation determination 134 information and the vehicle-side determination component 140 information described above to determine the position of the monitor 104. For example, the first and second sensors may be in a first orientation. Additionally, the third and fourth sensors may be in a second orientation. The first orientation may be associated with the front axle, and the second orientation may be associated with the rear axle. Thus, during a right turn, the vehicle-side determination component 140 may sense an increase in the contact surface (e.g., area, length, etc.) of the first and third sensors. Additionally, under the same conditions, the vehicle-side determination component 140 may sense a decrease in the contact surface (e.g., area, length, etc.) of the second and fourth sensors. Consequently, the position determination component 142 may forgo using the front / rear axle determination component 138 to determine the corresponding position of the monitor 104. For example, using information from the orientation determining component 134 indicating that the first sensor and the second sensor are located at the front axle of the vehicle 100, and using information from the vehicle side determining component 140 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 determining component 142 can determine the positions of the first sensor and the second sensor on the vehicle 100. Similarly, the position determining component 142 can determine the positions of the third sensor and the fourth sensor in the same and / or similar processes as described and referenced herein.

[0057] In some examples, even when information from the front / rear axle determination component 138 and / or the vehicle-side determination component 140 is redundant, the tire monitoring system 114 may still use this information to detect a sensor failure. For example, the position determination component 134 may determine that the first sensor is in a first position associated with the front axle. Furthermore, under acceleration, the front / rear axle determination component 138 may determine that the first sensor experiences an increase in the contact patch (e.g., area, length, etc.) associated with the rear axle. Therefore, a difference between the position 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 may indicate a failure in the position determination component 134 and / or the front / rear axle determination component 138. In some other examples, a difference between the position determination component 134 and the vehicle-side determination component 140 may indicate a failure in either component for the same and / or similar reasons as described and referenced herein. It should be understood that additional and / or different indications of a sensor failure may exist, as would be understood and / or apparent to one skilled in the art.

[0058] Therefore, or alternatively, the position determination component 142 can access the aforementioned determinations of the other components of the automatic position determination system 132 by accessing information from the memory 136. Thus, the position determination component 142 can compile the information stored in the memory 136 in the same and / or similar manner as described and referenced herein to activate 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 associated with the front axle, a first position 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, any associations made by the aforementioned components 134, 138, and / or 140 may become meaningless if the vehicle 100 is serviced, the tire 102 is replaced, the position of the tire 102 is changed (e.g., "rotated"), etc. Thus, position determination component 142 can automatically locate the sensor, and memory 136 can update any associations via components 134, 138, and / or 140 of automatic position determination system 132. Furthermore, updating any associations within memory 136 can 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 referenced herein.

[0059] 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 position of the tire monitor 104 on the vehicle 100. In some examples, such as Figure 1 As shown, both systems may be included. For example, the two systems may act as redundant systems. However, it will also be understood that each of the two systems is configured to perform automatic positioning, and therefore, a 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 standalone 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.

[0060] Additional details of the aforementioned 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 purposes of demonstrating aspects, functionality, and / or features associated with automatically positioning the tire monitor 104 using the automatic position determination system 132 .

[0061] Figure 2 is an exemplary process 200 according to aspects of the present disclosure. The process is illustrated as a logical flow diagram, where 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 computer-executable instructions stored on one or more computer-readable storage media that, when executed by one or more processors, performs the described 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 the process may be implemented by combining any number of the described operations in any order and / or in parallel.

[0062] 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, 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. A 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.

[0063] In more detail, Figure 22 is a flow chart illustrating an exemplary process 200 for automatically locating tire monitors 104 and / or tire sensors 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 electronic device 130 or user 128 to vehicle 100. For example, user 128 may approach vehicle 100 with electronic device 130. Electronic device 130 may advertise its presence via Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE). Alternatively, or alternatively, electronic device 130 may advertise its presence via near-field communication (NFC) technology using NFC transceiver 120. Thus, using BLE, vehicle 100 may estimate the proximity of electronic device 130 to within, for example, 1.5 meters. Additionally, upon determining the presence of a user / device, tire monitoring system 114 may turn on first UWB transceiver 110 and send a BLE command to 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 position 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.

[0064] 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. Consequently, 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. Consequently, the WuRx 112 may receive the wake-up signal and wake up the first BLE transceiver 108.

[0065] 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 corresponding 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 distance measurement channel sounding (HADM / CS).

[0066] At 208 , the example 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 ). Accordingly, the tire monitoring system 114 may use high-accuracy distance measurement (HADM), round-trip 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, second, third, and fourth tire monitors (e.g., the four tire monitors 104 associated with the four tires 104 ) requesting a response. Furthermore, the second UWB transceiver 118 may be located at unequal distances from the four monitors 104 . Furthermore, the second UWB transceiver 118 may respond to the first UWB transceiver 110 . For example, the first, second, third, and fourth monitors may timestamp the time of receipt of 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. Thus, the second UWB transceiver 118 can timestamp the 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 proximity to the second UWB transceiver 118. Therefore, or alternatively, the aforementioned 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.

[0067] Therefore, or alternatively, at 208, the exemplary process 200 using HADM may also utilize angle of arrival (AoA) technology to automatically locate the sensor 106. AoA technology may be available in Bluetooth 5.1 and, therefore, may allow the tire monitoring system 114 to distinguish between subsequent signals where the sensor 106 is located on the front and / or rear axles. For example, as discussed above, an anchor on the vehicle 100 may receive subsequent signals from the respective monitors. In addition to determining the difference in timestamps, as described and referred to herein, the distance determination component 124 may also determine the location of the sensor 106 based on the difference in angle estimates. For example, the distance determination component 124 may measure the corresponding angular phase shift that occurs between the antennas when receiving the subsequent signals from the monitors 104. Using the determined angles of the subsequent signals, the distance determination component 124 may be able to identify the corresponding axis associated with the sensor 106 relative to the receiver of the tire monitoring system 114.

[0068] 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, which includes 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. Additionally, 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 UWB transceivers. Thus, one or more third UWB transceivers can be associated with the front axles 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. Additionally, 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.

[0069] 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 with which automatic positioning is performed.

[0070] Figure 3 is a schematic diagram of a vehicle system 300 illustrating 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.

[0071] like Figure 3 As shown, 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 vehicle 100. In other examples, the proximity boundary may be a radius around tire monitoring system 114 and / or second BLE transceiver 116. In some cases, proximity boundary 302 may correspond to a distance corresponding to a triggering event for tire monitoring system 114. For example, user 128 may approach vehicle 100 with electronic device 130. Accordingly, electronic device 130 may use BLE technology to advertise its presence. Additionally, when electronic device 130 approaches vehicle 100 and enters within proximity boundary 302, tire monitoring system 114 may turn on second UWB transceiver 118 and send a BLE command to electronic device 130 via second BLE transceiver 116 to turn on its associated UWB transceiver.

[0072] In some other cases, the anchor of vehicle 100 (e.g., 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 electronic device 130 is within + / - 10 cm of the vehicle, the doors associated with vehicle 100 can be commanded to unlock. In some further cases, when the doors associated with vehicle 100 are unlocked, tire monitoring system 114 can broadcast a BLE command via second BLE transceiver 161. The BLE command can instruct monitor 104 to perform one or more functions, such as turning on second UWB transceiver 110. With first UWB transceiver 110 and second UWB transceiver 118 activated, the anchor (e.g., second UWB transceiver 118) can automatically locate monitor 104 based on its proximity to the anchor, as discussed above. As will be appreciated, automatic positioning using the UWB transceivers can be performed when vehicle 100 is stationary.

[0073] In some additional cases, the first BLE transceiver 108 can be placed in a sleep mode. For example, the first BLE transceiver 108 can 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 can transmit a wake-up signal via the second BLE transceiver 116 and / or some other transmitter, which can be received by the WuRx 112. In this case, the WuRx 112 can wake up periodically and listen for the wake-up signal. Furthermore, in the event that the WuRx 112 receives the wake-up signal, the WuRx 112 can wake up the first BLE transceiver 108 and / or the first UWB transceiver 110 to activate automatic positioning of the vehicle's sensors 106 and / or tire monitor 104 when the vehicle is stationary, as described and referred to herein.

[0074] 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 first outbound signal 308 and second outbound signal 310, respectively. In this case, sensor A may transmit first inbound signal 312 to anchor 304, including a first transmit timestamp. Similarly, sensor B may transmit second inbound signal 314 to anchor 304, including a second transmit timestamp. Consequently, or alternatively, anchor 304 may timestamp first outbound signal 308 and second outbound signal 310 upon transmission. Additionally, anchor 304 may receive first inbound signal 312 and assign it a first receive timestamp. Similarly, anchor 304 may receive second inbound signal 314 and assign it a second receive timestamp. Consequently, tire monitoring system 114 may determine a first final timestamp and a 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 monitors A and B will be closer to the anchor 304. Thus, 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 their distance from the anchor can also be applied to automatically locate two monitors. Figure 3 Monitors C and D associated with the front axle.

[0075] 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 as being suitable and / or apparent to those skilled in the art.

[0076] Figure 3 Also shown is the AoA principle that 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. A third monitor C and a fourth monitor D can transmit a first communication 316 and a second communication 318. In this case, tire monitoring system 114 can utilize the AoA principle to distinguish between first communication 316 and second communication 318. Consequently, anchor 304 can receive first communication 316 and second communication 318. In this case, distance determination component 124, angle determination component 126, and the like can determine angle "1" and angle "2." For example, 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, distance determination component 124 can also determine the positions of sensor C and sensor D based on at least angle "1" and angle "2." For example, distance determination component 124 can measure the respective angular phase shifts of angle "1" and angle "2" that occur between the antennas when receiving first communication 316 and second communication 318. By determining angle "1" and angle "2," distance determination component 124 can be able to identify the corresponding quadrant or portion of the vehicle associated with the monitors relative to tire monitoring system 114. Additionally, distance determination component 124, knowing the corresponding axes of monitors C, D and the location of anchor 304 from which first and second communications 316, 318 were received, can combine the determination of the third and fourth final timestamps to determine which of monitors C, D is closest to anchor 304, thereby automatically locating their respective locations on vehicle 100.

[0077] The specific AoA principles discussed and mentioned herein are exemplary only and should not be construed as limiting. Thus, the vehicle 100 and / or tire monitoring system 114 may utilize any suitable AoA principle 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.

[0078] Figure 4 is an exemplary architecture 400 of one of the tire monitors 104. Figure 4In the example of FIG, 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, when executed (or compiled and executed), cause aspects of the tire monitor 104 to perform various functions described herein (including but not limited to the following: Figure 2 For example, various components of the 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 means for performing one or more functions associated with the operation of the system.

[0079] ASIC 402, accelerometer 404, and pressure sensor 406 are shown with a control module 408 and a 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.

[0080] in addition, Figure 4 The tire monitor shown in FIG4 includes a pressure sensor 406. Pressure sensor 406 is configured to sense pressure within a tire (e.g., one of tires 102) to which the tire monitor is coupled. For example, pressure sensor 406 may be one of sensors 106 discussed above. As will be appreciated, pressure sensor 406 may generate data associated with tire pressure, and the generated data may be used to determine any changes in the contact patch (e.g., area, length, etc.) under conditions including acceleration, deceleration, right turns, left turns, etc. Under certain conditions, changes in the contact patch may generate relationship information that may be helpful in locating the position of sensor 106.

[0081] 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 a second SPI 412, a third SPI 414, and a 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 and SPI 416 and / or any non-SPI communication method.

[0082] In more detail, the second SPI 412 can be connected to a BLE device 418. Furthermore, 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. Furthermore, the BLE device 418 integrated circuit (IC) can include a first crystal oscillator 420 for radio functionality. Thus, the first crystal oscillator can operate at a frequency of 16 MHz. Furthermore, the BLE device can utilize a first antenna 422 that can operate at a frequency of 2.4 GHz.

[0083] 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 frequency of 16 MHz. 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 frequency of 52 MHz. 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 and 8.5 GHz and / or any other suitable frequency as would be understood by a person skilled in the art based on this disclosure.

[0084] although Figure 4Although not shown, tire monitor 104 may include a number of additional components to facilitate the functionality described herein, as will be understood by those skilled in the art. For example, tire monitor 104 may include one or more external oscillators, which may be used to provide a reference frequency for use in one or more RF components within tire monitor 104. As is conventional in the art, tire monitor 104 may also include a motion sensor, external low-frequency (LF) circuitry, and / or a power source. For example, based on a detection event from an accelerometer or other type of motion detection device, the motion sensor may generate sensor data and initiate a transmission from tire monitor 104. The LF circuitry may be used to receive external inputs, and a power source (which may be a battery) may be used to power the various components of tire monitor 104. Furthermore, the radio frequencies provided above and referred to herein are merely exemplary, and those skilled in the art may readily use and / or implement additional and / or different frequencies.

[0085] Although Figures 2 to 4 has been used to demonstrate automatic positioning techniques using tire monitoring systems 114, but Figures 5 to 9 Aspects of automatically locating 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 now 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 can 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.

[0086] More specifically, Figure 5 A data graph 502 representing data sensed by one of the sensors 106 is shown. In the example shown, the graph 502 is a plot of lateral force versus time, for example, captured 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 correlations 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 following vehicle operation.

[0087] 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.

[0088] A determination by the position determination component 134 that the longitudinal data as sensed and received from the sensor 106 is initially negative and continues to become positive (eg, “yes” at operation 504 ) may cause the method 500 to proceed to operation 506 .

[0089] At operation 506 , the position determination component 134 may determine that the sensor 106 is oriented in a first position.

[0090] 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. Alternatively, 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.

[0091] 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 .

[0092] 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.

[0093] 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 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.

[0094] 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.

[0095] 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 or rear wheel. Figure 6 An exemplary graphical representation 600 is shown illustrating the relationship between velocity 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 the front or rear axle of the vehicle.

[0096] Figure 6 A graphical representation 600 is shown illustrating the relationship between a velocity plot 602 and a contact surface quotient plot 604. For example, graphical representation 600 begins at a first moment in time 606. At first moment in time 606, the velocity plot represents an increasing velocity, as measured in kilometers per hour (kph). Furthermore, at first moment in time 606, the contact surface quotient plot 604 represents a velocity plot value lower than that of velocity plot 602 at the first moment in time. The relationship between velocity plot 602 and contact surface quotient plot 604 can be viewed as a function of time between first moment in time 606 and a final moment in time 608. This relationship arises due to changes in velocity (e.g., acceleration) over time. Therefore, by comparing velocity plot 602 and contact surface quotient plot 604 between first moment in time 606 and final moment in time 608, particularly based on intersection point 610, the inverse relationship can be understood.

[0097] For example, graphical representation 600 shows that, as velocity plot 602 represents a decrease in velocity over time (e.g., deceleration), contact patch quotient plot 604 results in an increase in value. In addition to the inverse relationship, analysis of quotient peak 612 further demonstrates this relationship, as shown in graphical representation 600 of the change between velocity plot 602 and contact patch quotient plot 604 over time. Thus, quotient peak 612 occurs at velocity plot inflection point 614. Velocity plot inflection point 614 represents the maximum deceleration. Furthermore, velocity plot inflection point 614 represents a change from increasing deceleration to decreasing deceleration. Therefore, for the time between velocity plot inflection point 614 and final moment 608, representing a decreasing deceleration (e.g., acceleration), a decrease in contact patch quotient can be seen from contact patch quotient plot 604.

[0098] 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 can indicate the front axle. For example, when the vehicle decelerates, the vehicle 100 may experience forward momentum under the deceleration. As a result, the tires 102 at the front of the vehicle 100 may experience a weight load associated with the forward momentum. Furthermore, the sensors associated with the tires 102 at the front of the vehicle 100 can 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 located on the tires 102 on the rear axle. Figure 1 In addition, the aforementioned relationships are related to deceleration, and under acceleration conditions, these relationships are reversed.

[0099] Thus, the data depicted in graphical representation 600 can be used to determine whether a tire is located on the front or 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.

[0100] Figure 7 An exemplary graphical representation 700 is shown illustrating the relationship between forces (measured in g-forces) between right-hand turns and left-hand turns 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.

[0101] 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 position determination system 132 to determine such a correlation between a positive increase in force of lateral acceleration indicative of a right turn. Additionally, the vehicle-side determination component 140 may combine such Figure 6The acceleration / contact area quotient relationship detailed in

[0045] is used to determine the position of the sensor 106 in the tire 102. For example, the vehicle side determination component 140 may determine that a right turn was made due to the positive force seen during lateral acceleration. Thus, 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 that the sensor 106 experiencing the increased contact area quotient is located on the left side of the vehicle 100.

[0102] On the contrary, Figure 7 As shown, the second graph 704 illustrates exemplary lateral forces present during a left turn. The lateral forces seen during a left turn are opposite (e.g., negative) to the forces seen in the first graph 702. Figure 6 As explained, assuming 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 position determination system 132 to determine this correlation between the negative decrease in 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.

[0103] Figure 8 An exemplary visual representation 800 is shown illustrating the relationship between changes in contact area quotient as subjected to contact velocity, acceleration, and cornering.

[0104] The relationship between contact patch and acceleration is further illustrated at "1" and "2" of exemplary visual representation 800. At "1," there is a first front tire set 802 and a first rear tire set 804. Additionally, contact patch 806 is depicted on first front tire set 802 and first rear tire set 804. At "1," the vehicle is shown traveling in a straight line (e.g., along the arrow) and at a constant speed. Therefore, contact patches 806 on first front tire set 802 and first rear tire set 804 are substantially equal in size, e.g., they have equal lengths and / or widths.

[0105] At 2, the vehicle is shown with a second set of front tires 808 and a second set of rear tires 810. (As will be appreciated, the first set of front tires 802 and the first set of front tires 808 are the same tires, and the first set of rear tires 804 and the second set of rear 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.) Additionally, the vehicle is shown traveling in a straight direction and at increasingly faster speeds (e.g., under acceleration). Thus, according to reference Figure 6 As shown in the depicted relationship, contact patch 806 is smaller on second front tire set 808 and larger on second rear tire set 810 .

[0106] At 3, the vehicle is shown with 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 Figures 6 and 7 For example, Figure 1 As shown, the contact area 806 increases during a right turn due to rotation about the Y axis, where the lateral acceleration is as shown in FIG. Figure 7 Increase shown.

[0107] 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. Therefore, the relationship at 3 is reversed at 4. For example, Figure 7 As shown, the lateral accelerations are opposite, and therefore the increases and decreases in contact area 806 are similarly opposite.

[0108] As will be appreciated from the foregoing, by determining the orientation 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 ), the techniques described herein can automatically locate, which can be accomplished without the need for CAN and / or other onboard vehicle information, each of the tire monitors based on changing conditions associated with the tires, for example, as the vehicle moves through the environment.

[0109] Figure 9is an exemplary process 900 according to aspects of the present disclosure. The process is illustrated as a logical flow diagram, where 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 computer-executable instructions stored on one or more computer-readable storage media that, when executed by one or more processors, performs the described 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 the process may be implemented by combining any number of the described operations in any order and / or in parallel.

[0110] 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, 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. A 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.

[0111] In more detail, Figure 9 is a flow chart illustrating an exemplary process 900 for automatically locating tire monitors on a vehicle. Aspects of process 900 may be performed by automatic location determination system 132 as the vehicle travels through an environment.

[0112] At operation 902, the automatic position determination system 132 may determine the orientation of each of the sensors 106. The automatic position determination system 132 may use method 500 to determine the orientation of the sensors. For example, the sensors 106 may return graphical data that initially appears negative before oscillating to a positive state. Thus, it may be determined that two of the sensors 106 are oriented in a first orientation. Additionally, these sensors 106 may also be determined to be located at the front of the vehicle 100, which may be stored as an association in the memory 136. Alternatively, these sensors 106 may be determined to be located on the left side of the vehicle 100. For sensor data that begins positive before oscillating to a negative state, it may be determined that the sensors are oriented in a second orientation. Thus, the sensors 106 may also be determined to be located at the rear of the vehicle 100, which may be stored as an association in the memory 136. Alternatively, these sensors 106 may be determined to be located on the right side of the vehicle 100.

[0113] At 904, the example process 900 may determine, via the automatic position determination system 132, the axis on which the sensor 106 is mounted. While the axis on which the sensor 106 is mounted may be determined via the memory 136 at 902, there may be instances where such a relationship is not stored in the memory 136. Therefore, the automatic position determination system 132 may determine the axis due to the relationship between acceleration and the contact surface quotient. For example, under acceleration, the sensor 106 in a first orientation may experience a decrease in the contact surface quotient. Therefore, the automatic position determination system 132 may determine that the sensor in the first orientation is located on the front axle. Similarly, under acceleration, if the sensor in a second orientation experiences an increase in the contact surface quotient, the automatic position determination system 132 may determine that the sensor in the second orientation is located on the rear axle.

[0114] 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 area 806, while the other two sensors 106 experience a decrease in contact area 806. Conversely, during a left turn, the aforementioned increases / decreases in contact area 806 may be reversed, respectively.

[0115] At 908 , the example process 900 may determine the position of the sensor 106 using the orientation of the sensor 106 , the determination of the axis on which the sensor 106 is located, and the direction of rotation.

[0116] In one example, the first and second sensors may be determined to be in a first orientation, and the third and fourth sensors may be determined to be in a second orientation. Furthermore, under acceleration, the first and second sensors in the first orientation may have experienced a decrease in contact area, indicating a position on the front axle. Furthermore, under the same acceleration, the third and fourth sensors in the second orientation may have experienced an increase in contact area, indicating a position on the rear axle. Furthermore, during a right turn, the first sensor in the first orientation and the third sensor in the second orientation may have experienced an increase in contact area. Therefore, at 908, the example process 900 may determine that the first and third sensors are located on the left side of the vehicle 100. Conversely, the example process may also determine that the second and fourth sensors are located on the right side of the vehicle 100. The example process 900 may then 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 positions of the second, third, and fourth sensors.

[0117] In another example, the automatic position determination system 132 may access memory 136 to determine associated axes having a first orientation and a second orientation. For example, the first sensor and the second sensor may be determined to be in the first orientation. Therefore, the automatic position determination system 132 may access memory 136, where 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 sensor 106 may be used to validate the sensor 106 results and / or diagnose a sensor fault. Additionally, it may be determined that during a right turn, the first and third sensors experience an increase in contact area. Therefore, at 906, the example process 900 may determine that the first and third sensors are located on the left side of the vehicle 100. Conversely, at 906, it may be determined that the second and fourth sensors are located on the right side of the vehicle. The example process 900 may then determine the position of the first sensor, knowing that the first sensor is associated with the front axle and the left side. Therefore, the example process 900 may also determine the positions of the second, third, and fourth sensors.

[0118] In another example, the automatic position determination system 132 may access memory 136 to determine associated axes with respect to the first and second orientations. For example, the first and third sensors may be determined to be in the first orientation. Therefore, the automatic position determination system 132 may access memory 136, where memory 136 may indicate that the first orientation is associated with the left side of the vehicle. In this case, operation 906 may be omitted. In some other cases, operation 906 may be included, and the result indicating the associated side for sensor 106 may be used to validate the sensor 106 results and / or diagnose a sensor fault. Additionally, it may be determined that during acceleration, the first and third sensors experience divergence in their respective contact areas. For example, the first sensor may experience a decrease in contact area, while the third sensor experiences an increase in contact area. Therefore, at 906, the example process 900 may 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. The example process 900 may then 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.

[0119] As will be understood from the foregoing, in reference to Figures 5 to 9In the described example, automatic positioning of each tire monitor can be performed independently, for example, locally on each monitor. That is, each of tire monitors 104 can include an instance of automatic positioning system 132 to enable self-automatic positioning. In yet another example, each of tire monitors 104 can generate data associated with acceleration and / or contact patch size and transmit this information to a processing system (e.g., tire monitoring system 114 described above) to determine the association of each of tire monitors 104. For example, determining the location of the tires at a centralized location can reduce the amount of processing performed at each of 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.).

[0120] 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.

[0121] Figure 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.

[0122] Aspects of process 1000 may assume that if a tire / wheel has been removed, its orientation (e.g., position on the vehicle) will have changed from when the vehicle was initially parked. Furthermore, the change in orientation may be detected via 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 coinciding with the radius of the wheel / tire). 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, while 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 while the vehicle is parked, process 1000 may determine that automatic positioning should be performed. Alternatively, if the system does not see a change for 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. Thus, process 1000 can determine tire position almost instantly (e.g., at key-on or drive-off), for example, without having to perform a relatively lengthy auto-positioning process. In other words, compared to conventional systems that automatically perform auto-positioning when the vehicle is started, process 1000 can efficiently and effectively determine whether auto-positioning is needed. Such auto-positioning routines can take up to ten minutes or more, even though their results are known more than 90% of the time.

[0123] 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.

[0124] In various aspects, process 1000 may include each tire monitor / sensor monitoring its orientation (relative to gravity) when the vehicle is stationary. For example, if the monitor does not sense a change in centrifugal deflection associated with vehicle driving (e.g., deflection exceeding a certain g value), the monitor may determine that it is in stationary mode. In another example, using BLE or similar two-way communication, a vehicle-based computing system (e.g., an ECU) may notify each sensor / monitor when the ignition is turned off (or a similar action indicating vehicle shutdown, e.g., a door is closed after the engine is turned off). Figure 10Operation 1002 in FIG. 1 shows determining a rest mode based on ignition off, and operation 1004 shows sending an “ignition off” or other “rest mode” command to each tire monitor.

[0125] Based on this communication, the monitor (e.g., each of the monitors) can initiate stationary monitoring or enter stationary mode. In stationary mode, each monitor periodically monitors one or both of its X and Z plane accelerometers, for example at operation 1006. Some conventional tire monitors sample the accelerometers every 10 seconds to detect vehicle motion, thereby increasing the pressure sampling and data transmission rate when motion is detected. Operation 1006 can sample at this rate or at some other rate. In aspects of the present disclosure, if the tire monitor sensors detect a change in orientation (indicated by a change in acceleration due to the angular shift due to gravity) while the vehicle is stationary, the monitor can alert the vehicle-based ECU. Alternatively, and as described above, if the TPM system is equipped with BLE, the ECU can poll / interrogate each sensor at key-on (e.g., at operation 1010) or upon some other action indicating an intent 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.

[0126] If the ECU does not receive notification of any position change from any of its wheel-based sensors and / or tire monitors during the stationary period or after the key-on query (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 auto-localization routine (e.g., at operation 1024). Additionally, upon departure, each sensor can notify (transmit) the duration of its stationary period (fixed position period). If each sensor's value is consistent with the vehicle's, then system auto-localization is not required, thereby achieving instantaneous sensor vehicle localization upon departure. Alternatively, if a position change is determined at operations 1014 and / or 1020, auto-localization is initiated at operation 1022.

[0127] Some conventional systems may not include determining the presence of a change in orientation at the sensor. 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 has ended. Typically, ending the static period requires the sensor to detect motion, which in turn would change the sensor's orientation, defeating the purpose of the present disclosure. Process 1000 provides an improvement over these conventional systems by performing movement determination at the sensor / monitor.

[0128] 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 the vehicle, as in conventional systems, but also to a remote computing device associated with a vehicle owner, technician, passenger, or other person associated with the vehicle regarding a tire sensor anomaly or other sensor-related issue.

[0129] Sample Clauses

[0130] A: An exemplary tire monitor is configured for coupling 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: 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.

[0131] 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 traveling 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.

[0132] 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 comprises: 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.

[0133] 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 the 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 the size of the contact patch increases during the acceleration event.

[0134] E: A tire monitor according to any one of Examples A to D, wherein determining whether the tire is coupled to the left side of the vehicle or the tire is coupled 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 coupled to the left side of the vehicle or the tire is coupled to the right side of the vehicle based on the change in contact patch size during the turning event.

[0135] 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 coupled to the left side of the vehicle or the tire is coupled to the right side of the vehicle includes: determining that the tire is coupled 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 coupled to the right side of the vehicle in response to determining that the size of the contact patch decreases during the turning event.

[0136] 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 coupled to the left side of the vehicle or the tire is coupled to the right side of the vehicle includes: determining that the tire is coupled 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 coupled to the right side of the vehicle in response to determining that the size of the contact patch increases during the turning event.

[0137] H: A tire monitor according to any one of Examples A to G, wherein determining the orientation of the tire monitor includes: determining the magnitude and direction of the lateral force on the tire monitor over time based at least in part on acceleration data; and determining the first orientation or the second orientation based on the magnitude and direction of the lateral force on the tire monitor over time.

[0138] 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.

[0139] J: The method of example I, wherein determining the position of the tire on the vehicle comprises: 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.

[0140] 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 includes: determining an acceleration event of the vehicle traveling in a forward direction based on acceleration data; and determining a change in a size of the contact patch during the acceleration event based on sensor data.

[0141] L: The method of any one of Examples I to K further 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.

[0142] M: The method of any one of Examples I to L further 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.

[0143] N: A method according to any one of Examples I to M, wherein determining whether a tire is associated with the right side of the vehicle or the left side of the vehicle includes: determining a turning event based on acceleration data; and determining a change in the size of the contact patch during the turning event based on sensor data.

[0144] O: The method according to any one of Examples I to N further 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.

[0145] 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.

[0146] Q: The method of 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.

[0147] 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 a sensor; and determining a position of the tire on the vehicle based at least in part on the acceleration data and the sensor data.

[0148] S: The system of example R, wherein determining the position of the tire on the vehicle comprises: 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.

[0149] T: The system of example R or example S, wherein the computing system is located on the tire monitor.

[0150] AA: An exemplary vehicle includes: a plurality of tires; a plurality of tire monitors, each of the plurality of tire monitors being associated with a respective one 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 the 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.

[0151] 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.

[0152] CC: The vehicle of example AA or example BB, the operations further comprising: 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.

[0153] 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.

[0154] EE: The vehicle of any of Examples AA to DD, wherein the WuRx is a low power receiver that monitors the wake-up signal with lower energy requirements than the one or more first BLE transceivers.

[0155] 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; the one or more first transmission signals are UWB frequency transmission signals; and the response signal is a UWB frequency transmission signal.

[0156] GG: The vehicle of any of Examples AA to FF, the operations further comprising: determining a triggering event; and transmitting at least one of the one or more first transmission signals or the wake-up signal in response to the triggering event.

[0157] HH: A vehicle according to any one of Examples AA to GG, wherein 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 triggering event based at least in part on the presence of the electronic device.

[0158] II: The vehicle of any of Examples AA to HH, wherein the electronic device includes at least one of a mobile device or a key fob.

[0159] JJ: A vehicle according to any of Examples AA to II, wherein the antenna associated with at least one tire pressure monitoring system transceiver is disposed at a position that is not equidistant from respective antennas associated with at least one tire monitor transceiver of the plurality of tire monitors.

[0160] 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 a 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.

[0161] LL: The method according to example KK, wherein the one or more transmit signals and the response signal are one or more of ultra-wideband or Bluetooth signals.

[0162] MM: The method of example KK or example LL, wherein determining the positions of the plurality of tire monitors comprises: determining a first time associated with a first response signal in the response signals, the first response signal being received from a first tire monitor in the plurality of 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 signals, the second response signal being received from a second tire monitor in the plurality of 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.

[0163] NN: The method of any of Examples KK to MM, wherein the antenna is located on the vehicle such that the first distance is different from the second distance, different from a third distance to a third tire monitor in the plurality of tire monitors, and different from a fourth distance to a fourth tire monitor in the plurality of tire monitors.

[0164] 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.

[0165] PP: The vehicle of any one of Examples KK to OO, further comprising: determining a triggering event; and sending at least one of one or more transmit signals or wake-up signals in response to the triggering event.

[0166] QQ: The method of any one of Examples KK to PP 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 triggering event based at least in part on the presence of the electronic device.

[0167] 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.

[0168] SS: A system according to example RR, wherein determining the positions of the plurality of tire monitors comprises: determining a first time associated with a first response signal in the response signals, the first response signal being received from a first tire monitor in the plurality of 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 signals, the second response signal being received from a second tire monitor in the plurality of 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.

[0169] TT: A system according to example RR or example SS, wherein determining the positions of the plurality of tire monitors comprises: determining a first angle associated with a first response signal in a response signal received from a first tire monitor in the plurality of 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 received from a second tire monitor in the plurality of 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.

[0170] Although the present technology has been described with reference to preferred embodiments, those skilled in the art will readily appreciate 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 of the claims in a multiple dependency manner, even if not initially set forth.

Claims

1. A vehicle comprising: multiple tires; a plurality of tire monitors, each tire monitor of the plurality of tire monitors being associated with a respective tire of the plurality of tires and comprising at least one tire monitor transceiver; as well as a tire pressure monitoring system spaced apart from the plurality of tires, the tire pressure monitoring system comprising at least one tire pressure monitoring system receiver and a computing system configured to perform operations comprising: receiving a first signal from at least one tire monitor transceiver of the plurality of tire monitors; determining at least one of an angle of arrival or a range measurement based at least in part on the first signal; and For each tire monitor of the plurality of tire monitors and based at least in part on the at least one of the angle of arrival or the range measurement, a location of the plurality of tire monitors on the vehicle is determined.

2. The vehicle according to claim 1, wherein The at least one tire monitor transceiver includes one or more first Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE) transceivers, and the at least one tire monitoring system receiver includes one or more second BLE transceivers.

3. The vehicle of claim 2, said operations further comprising: A wake-up signal is sent via the one or more second BLE transceivers to wake up the one or more first BLE transceivers from the sleep mode.

4. The vehicle of claim 3, wherein: Each of the plurality of tire monitors further includes a wake-up receiver WuRx configured to receive the wake-up signal; and The WuRx is configured to wake up the one or more second BLE transceivers from a sleep mode.

5. The vehicle according to claim 4, wherein The WuRx is a low power receiver that monitors the wake-up signal with lower energy requirements than one or more first BLE transceivers.

6. The vehicle of claim 1 , wherein: The at least one tire pressure monitoring system receiver includes one or more first ultra-wideband (UWB) receivers; The at least one tire monitor transceiver comprises one or more UWB transmitters; and The signal is a UWB frequency transmission signal.

7. The vehicle according to claim 1, wherein: The at least one pressure monitoring system receiver comprises at least one pressure monitoring system transceiver, the operations further comprising: Identify triggering events; and At least one of one or more first transmission signals or a wake-up signal is transmitted by at least one pressure monitoring system transceiver in response to the triggering event.

8. The vehicle of claim 7, said operations further comprising: receiving a presence signal from an electronic device external to the vehicle indicating that the electronic device is present within a proximity boundary of the vehicle; as well as The triggering event is determined based at least in part on the presence of the electronic device.

9. The vehicle according to claim 1, wherein: The at least one pressure monitoring system receiver comprises at least one pressure monitoring system transceiver, the operations further comprising: sending one or more first transmission signals via the at least one tire pressure monitoring system transceiver, Wherein, receiving the first signal is at least partially based on receiving the one or more first transmission signals.

10. The vehicle of claim 9, the operations further comprising: determining a round trip time based at least in part on the one or more first transmission signals and the first response signal, Wherein determining the locations of the plurality of tire monitors is further based at least in part on the round trip time.

11. The vehicle according to claim 1, wherein The antenna associated with the at least one tire pressure monitoring system receiver is disposed at a location that is unequally spaced from the respective antennas associated with the at least one tire monitor transceiver in the plurality of tire monitors.

12. A method for automatically positioning a tire monitor on a vehicle, the method comprising: receiving signals from a plurality of tire monitors; as well as Based at least in part on the signal and the location of the antenna on the vehicle, the locations of the plurality of tire monitors on the vehicle relative to the antenna are determined.

13. The method according to claim 12, wherein: The signal is one or more of an ultra-wideband signal or a Bluetooth signal.

14. The method according to claim 13, wherein: Determining the positions of the plurality of tire monitors includes: determining a first time associated with a first signal of the signals, the first signal being received from a first tire monitor of the plurality of tire monitors; determining a first distance from the 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 of the signals, the second signal being received from a second tire monitor of the plurality of tire monitors; determining a second distance from the antenna to the first tire monitor based at least in part on the second time; and A second position of the second tire monitor is determined based on the second distance.

15. The method according to claim 14, wherein The antenna is positioned on the vehicle such that the first distance is different from the second distance, the first distance is different from a third distance to a third tire monitor of the plurality of tire monitors, and the first distance is different from a fourth distance to a fourth tire monitor of the plurality of tire monitors.

16. The method according to claim 12, wherein: Determining the positions of the plurality of tire monitors includes: determining a first angle associated with a first signal of the signals, the first signal being received from a first tire monitor of the plurality of tire monitors; determining a first position of the first tire monitor on the vehicle relative to an antenna of the tire pressure monitoring system based at least in part on the angle; determining a second angle associated with a second signal of the signals, the second signal being received from a second tire monitor of the plurality of tire monitors; and A second position of the second tire monitor on the vehicle relative to an antenna of a tire pressure monitoring system is determined based on the second angle.

17. The method according to claim 12, further comprising: Identify triggering events; as well as transmitting at least one of one or more transmission signals or wake-up signals in response to the triggering event, Wherein, the signal is received based at least in part on the one or more transmission signals or the wake-up signal.

18. A system comprising: vehicle; a plurality of tires associated with the vehicle; a plurality of tire monitors associated with the plurality of tires; as well as a tire pressure monitoring system spaced apart from the plurality of tires, the tire pressure monitoring system comprising at least one tire pressure monitoring system transceiver and a computing system configured to perform operations comprising: receiving signals from the plurality of tire monitors; as well as The locations of the plurality of tire monitors on the vehicle are determined based at least in part on the signal and the location of the tire pressure monitoring system on the vehicle.

19. The system according to claim 18, wherein: Determining the positions of the plurality of tire monitors includes: determining a first time associated with a first signal of the signals, the first signal being received from a first tire monitor of the plurality of 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 signal of the signals, the second signal being received from a second tire monitor of the plurality of tire monitors; determining a second distance from the antenna to the first tire monitor based at least in part on the second time; and A second position of the second tire monitor is determined based on the second distance.

20. The system of claim 18, wherein: Determining the positions of the plurality of tire monitors includes: determining a first angle associated with a first signal of the signals, the first signal received from a first tire monitor of the plurality of tire monitors; determining a first position of the first tire monitor on the vehicle relative to an antenna of the tire pressure monitoring system based at least in part on the angle; determining a second angle associated with a second signal of the signals, the second signal being received from a second tire monitor of the plurality of tire monitors; and A second position of the second tire monitor on the vehicle relative to the antenna of the tire pressure monitoring system is determined based on the second angle.

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