Tire Pressure Monitor Tool Sensor Parts Number Database
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing tire pressure monitoring systems require users to know the vehicle's make, model, and year to communicate properly with tire sensors, which can lead to incorrect identification of malfunctioning sensors and unnecessary replacements, as they do not account for aftermarket or non-OEM sensors.
Innovation Solution
A handheld tool with a database of tire sensor parts numbers allows users to directly enter the sensor's parts number for testing, enabling communication with various tire pressure monitoring systems regardless of vehicle make, model, or year, and includes modules for storing, requesting, accessing, and transmitting communication protocols to interface with vehicle electronic control units.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If users enter vehicle make, model, and year to identify tire sensors, then the system can communicate with OEM sensors, but the system cannot properly identify aftermarket or non-OEM sensors leading to false positives
Solution Approach 1:
The patent changes the identification parameter from vehicle-based (make, model, year) to sensor-based (parts number). This allows the system to directly identify the specific sensor type regardless of whether it is OEM or aftermarket, eliminating false positives while maintaining compatibility across different sensor manufacturers and vehicle types.
Solution Approach 2:
Instead of identifying sensors indirectly through vehicle information, the patent inverts the approach by directly querying the sensor itself for its parts number. This direct identification method bypasses the limitation of vehicle-based identification and works universally across all sensor types.
2Ease of operation
If the system uses vehicle make, model, and year to determine communication protocols, then it works for OEM sensors, but it fails to accommodate aftermarket sensors with different protocols
Solution Approach 1:
The system changes the basis for selecting communication protocols from vehicle information to sensor parts number. By querying the sensor directly for its parts number and using this to determine the appropriate protocol, the system maintains operational simplicity while achieving universal compatibility across OEM and aftermarket sensors.
Solution Approach 2:
The sensor itself provides the information needed for identification and protocol selection by returning its parts number when queried. This self-service approach eliminates the need for users to manually input vehicle information or select protocols, simplifying operation while ensuring correct protocol matching for any sensor type.
3Measurement precision
If the system requires vehicle information lookup, then it can provide targeted communication, but it increases user input requirements and potential for error
Solution Approach 1:
The sensor automatically provides its identification information (parts number) when queried by the tool, eliminating the need for users to manually input vehicle make, model, year, or sensor information. This self-service mechanism ensures accurate sensor identification while completely simplifying the user interface to require no complex inputs.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent extracts the identification function from the user and places it directly on the sensor. By having the sensor return its own parts number when queried, the system removes the burden of information gathering from the user while maintaining high identification accuracy through direct sensor data.
Data Source
AI summary
A tool for use with a tire pressure monitor system includes a storing module configured to store a plurality of communication protocols used by the tire pressure monitor system to interface with a vehicle electronic control unit, the storing module further including a database having parts numbers of sensors utilized with the tire pressure monitor system, the database further includes a vehicle data associated with the tire pressure monitor system, a requesting module configured to request the vehicle data from the storing module, a receiving module configured to receive the vehicle data from the storing module, an accessing module configured to access the storing module to retrieve at least one communication protocol based on the vehicle data, a communications module to receive and transmit the at least one communication protocol to and from the electronic control unit and to and from a sensor, and a processor.