1231 results about "Tire-pressure monitoring system" patented technology

A single integrated sensing chip with multi-functions for tire pressure monitor system (TPMS) comprises: a pressure sensor, an accelerometer, a temperature sensor, and an ASIC (Applied Specific Integrated Circuit) that implements signal conditioning and digitalizes pressure output. The accelerometer incorporated for vehicle motion is used to determine centrifugal acceleration or three-axial acceleration of the rotating wheel, and used for the TPMS sensor wake-up from “power down” mode, or when the velocity of the vehicle is higher than certain speed threshold, which is more robust and lower in cost than the mechanical vibration switch and is naturally integrated with the electronic control unit. The accelerometer can be used for regular motion sensing to monitor the dynamic stability. The integrated sensor system can be packaged into one plastic package first, and then surface mounted to the printed circuit board, or the multi-function single chip can be wafer bonded on the wafer level first and diced into many individual chips, with each chip being directly attached on to the printed circuit board by wire bonding or flip-chip assembly.

A method of processing information in a tire pressure monitoring system includes the steps of: establishing a reference temperature; determining a pressure warning threshold at the reference temperature; measuring gauge pressure and gauge temperature within a tire cavity; correcting the gauge pressure to a filtered pressure value at the reference temperature using the Ideal Gas Law; and comparing the filtered pressure value against the pressure warning threshold to determine the necessity for a warning signal. In an advanced form of the invention, the method includes determining a pressure leak rate; predicting the time interval that the filtered pressure value will cross the pressure warning threshold at the leak rate and generating progressive warnings to the driver over the time interval. Fuzzy logic is used to quantify the probability of a warning state for each data point, allow for measurement error; and report the state of maximum probability to minimize the occurrence of false warning. A warning utility function is derived based upon a combination of the filtered pressure and leak rate.

A system (10) and method is provided for calibrating a tire pressure monitoring system using an EM transmitter (14). The present invention includes a first pressure sensor coupled to a wheel of an automotive vehicle (12). The EM pressure transmitter (14) is coupled to the pressure sensor (32). The transmitter (14) has a serial number associated therewith. An EM calibration device has a transmitting range. The EM transmitter device has an actuator. When the actuator is activated, a calibration signal (34) is transmitted within the transmitting range. The calibration signal causes the EM pressure transmitter (32) to transmit a serial number. A controller (16) is EM coupled to the pressure transmitter. The controller (16) receives the serial number and associates the serial number with a tire location of the vehicle.

A tire monitor for mounting to a vehicle as part of a remote tire monitoring system includes a tire condition sensor to produce a tire condition signal, a controller coupled to the tire condition sensor to control operation of the tire monitor, and a radio circuit coupled to the controller to transmit radio signals based at least in part on the tire condition signal. A shock sensor is coupled to the controller of the tire monitor to produce a motion signal indicating motion of the tire monitor.

A method and apparatus for carrying out a set of vehicle inspections including, but not limited to, wheel alignment measurement, brake testing, tire tread depth measurement, tire pressure monitoring, vehicle battery testing, and a review of vehicle diagnostic trouble codes in an efficient manner using a multi-function vehicle service system and a single vehicle service bay or inspection lane. Results of the vehicle inspections are incorporated into customized reports generated for a customer or for a technician, and which may be utilized to obtain approval from the customer to conduct necessary repairs and/or provide beneficial vehicle services.

Disclosed herein is an improved universal TPMS tool. According to one aspect of the tool, the tool can include a housing and a processor and a memory storage device positioned within the housing. The tool can optionally include a key pad positioned on the housing in communication with the processor for input of commands from a user, an electronic communication port positioned on the housing in communication with the processor, and an antenna for transmission and receipt of electronic information from the plurality of TPMS tire sensors. The tool can also include an optical scanner for reading indicia connected to the vehicle.

Provided is a tire air pressure monitoring system capable of grasping the tire positions where there are sensor units even in the case of tire rotation. In the tire air pressure monitoring system, a trigger signal is transmitted from a transmission coil antenna to only the corresponding sensor unit in a manner such that a magnetic field is used as a medium and, upon receipt of the trigger signal, the sensor unit measures a tire air pressure and others and transmits a transmission signal including the measurement values to a monitoring unit. The monitoring unit makes a decision on the tire position where there is the sensor unit on the basis of the transmission signal from the sensor unit.

A tire pressure monitoring system for a vehicle has been disclosed that can detect an excessive leakage rate of a tire. The system utilizes the starting pressure and starting temperature of a tire and the current pressure and current temperature of that tire with the time lapsed to determine the leakage rate of the tire. This leakage rate is compared to a leakage rate threshold. If the leakage rate is greater than the leakage rate threshold, an excessive leakage rate alert is generated.

An intelligent tire pressure management system capable of real-time tire pressure monitoring, vehicle load detection, and automatic tire inflation and deflation for maintaining optimal tire pressure in a commercial vehicle. Additional functions include counting tire rotations for calculating and recording distance travelled for each tire, and detecting wheel sliding due to locked-up tires. The system includes a chassis-mounted control box connecting to the vehicle air supply, a hubcap-mounted dual wheel valve apparatus integrated with a rotary union assembly that connects through the vehicle hollowed axles to the air tubes from the control box. The inflation/deflation supporting dual wheel valve apparatus has an embedded electronic unit that monitors individual tire pressure and temperature in real time, and communicates with the control box over the power line. Furthermore a load sensor integrated with the control box provides the system with the current vehicle load information. With readily available real time tire pressure data and current vehicle load information, this system can intelligently adjusts tire pressure to the desired level when necessary and, as a result, prolongs tire life, improves fuel economy, reduces the vehicle maintenance costs, and promptly alerts the driver of low, leaky or flat tire conditions for enabling the driver to take immediate corrective actions.

A method and apparatus are provided for determining pressure within a tire mounted to a vehicle, wherein the tire is coupled to a tire pressure monitoring system including a sensor coupled to a transmitter, the sensor configured to sense tire pressure and the transmitter configured to transmit the sensed tire pressure to a receiver. First, a first tire pressure is sensed. Then, a calculation is made as to whether the sensed first tire pressure is greater than a predetermined pressure threshold, equal to the predetermined pressure threshold, or less than the predetermined pressure threshold. Next, an indication is provided external to the vehicle that the sensed first tire pressure is greater than a predetermined pressure range, within the predetermined pressure range, or less than the predetermined pressure range.

A tire pressure monitoring system (TPMS) having a self-powered sensing module having a sensor unit with at least one sensor for measuring at least one of a temperature, a pressure, and an acceleration in the tire, and a power unit generating a power by being deformed mechanically according to a rotation of the tire and supplying the sensor with a power required for actuating the sensor. The self-powered sensing module and the TPMS using the same are powered by the power unit generating the power owing to the mechanical deformation, without using a separate power supply. Hence, there is no need to replace a battery of the sensing module and maintenance costs are reduced.

A sensor unit body 10 of a tire pressure sensor unit 1 is provided with external signal-importing terminals 22 for rewriting data of self-identification code stored in a ROM 21, so that a complex operation of associating the self-identification code of the sensor unit with its mounting position in the vehicle is eliminated by rewriting the self-identification code of the sensor unit 1 after the replacement to be identical to the self-identification code of the sensor unit 1 before the replacement, when a tire wheel is replaced due to a breakdown of the tire unit or a replacement between a summer tire and a winter tire.

The invention is applicable in the field of communications and provides a method and a device for tire pressure monitoring. The method comprises the following steps: tire pressure monitoring data is collected in a current state; the state model is switched according to the collected tire pressure monitoring data. According to the method and the device provided by the invention, the validity, reliability and accuracy of the tire pressure monitoring are guaranteed; simultaneously, the power dissipation is effectively reduced; the service life of a battery is prolonged.

A tire pressure monitoring device includes a memory that includes a plurality of selectable communication protocols to govern communication and operation.

The present invention provides a universal receiver (OTR) device which functions within a vehicle in the “under-the-hood” (UTH) environment such that various types of tire pressure management system (TPMS) device, located within, upon or near a vehicle's tires can transmit tire information, such as the transmitter identification number (TIN), the tire unique identifier (TUID), the vehicle identification number (VIN), tire pressure, tire temperature, tire rotation, and other tire relevant data, to the OTR for further processing regardless of frequency, data transfer speed, or data format of the TPMS device. The OTR device in sequence: identifies the TPMS device, receives the tire information from the TPMS device, and processes the tire information into date records for efficient and optimized transmission of such data records for future analysis both within and off a vehicle. The OTR also interfaces with various types of telematics devices, regardless of the type of transmission or protocol used, by identifying the type of telematics device. The OTR also stores or retrieves information related to various telematics and TPMS devices in order to identify these devices. For example, an automotive manufacturer, dealership, or tire distributor would be able to select various manufacturers' TPMS and telematics devices for installation within the vehicle and with the OTR collect previously captured TPMS data for further analysis.

Provided is a small piezoelectric power generator applied to a wireless sensor network system of a tire pressure monitoring system (TPMS) for monitoring an internal environment of a tire such as variation in air pressure in the tire. In particular, when the system, in which air pressure, temperature and acceleration sensors are mounted, installed in the tire is operated in the TPMS for an automobile, a small piezoelectric power generator for the TPMS can be used as a power source in place of a conventional battery. The piezoelectric power generator includes a substrate having an electrode for transmitting power to the exterior, a metal plate formed on the substrate, and a piezoelectric body disposed on the metal plate and transmitting the power generated by a piezoelectric material to the electrode.

A computer-based method to facilitate detecting wheel imbalance, a tire pressure problem, or excessive tread wear on tires of a moving vehicle is disclosed. The method includes collecting (e.g., from an accelerometer of a mobile personal computing device) data that represents vibration that results, at least in part, from the vehicle's motion, and determining, with a computer-based processor, whether the moving vehicle has wheel imbalance, a tire pressure problem, and/or excessive tire tread wear based at least in part on the vibration data produced by the accelerometer (and, possibly other data), where the mobile personal computing device and the accelerometer are moving with the vehicle when the data is being collected.

Provided is a parking assistance device using a tire pressure monitoring system (TPMS), which accurately calculates a moving distance of a vehicle by reflecting a tire pressure received from the TPMS and performs parking control in response to a parking command generated by using a parking route and a position of the vehicle estimated by the calculated moving distance of the vehicle, thereby improving automatic parking performance of the vehicle to a parking space. The parking assistance device calculates a moving distance of a vehicle moving to a found parking space around the vehicle according to a tire pressure of the vehicle, estimates a position of the vehicle by using the calculated moving distance, and generates a parking command. The moving distance of the vehicle is calculated by using a moving distance per revolution of a tire measured and set according to a tire pressure range to which the tire pressure of the vehicle belongs, a wheel pulse of the tire of the vehicle, and a reference wheel pulse per revolution of the tire.

A method is provided for replacing at least one tire of a vehicle on a first wheel in a first wheel position, the vehicle having a tire pressure monitoring system with a first sensor unit having a first ID code mounted to the first wheel. The first sensor unit is interrogated. Either a nominal result or a faulted result of the interrogation is detected. The at least one tire is removed from the first wheel. If the nominal result is detected during the interrogating step, then the first sensor unit is re-interrogated. Either a nominal result or a faulted result of the re-interrogation is detected. If either of the interrogation or the re-interrogation provide a faulted result then the first ID code is cloned into a replacement sensor unit and then the replacement sensor unit is swapped for the first sensor unit on the first wheel. A new tire is installed onto the first wheel. The first wheel is installed onto the vehicle in the first wheel position.

A tire pressure monitor system tool is capable of communicating with a plurality of tire pressure monitor systems. The tool includes a storing module that stores a plurality of communication protocols that are used for enabling the tool to communicate with a tire pressure monitor system. The tool enables a user to input vehicle data for identifying a vehicle having a tire pressure monitor system with which to communicate. Based on the vehicle data input, the tool determines a tire pressure monitor system installed on the vehicle using information stored by the tool. The tool determines a tire pressure monitor system installed on the vehicle. Based on the tire pressure monitor system installed on the vehicle, the tool determines a protocol used by the tire pressure monitor system to communicate with, for example, the tool and an electronic control unit of a vehicle.