TPMS Sensor Programming via Vehicle Identification Code Matching
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Solution Overview
Problem
The current methods for programming tire pressure monitoring sensors (TPMS) are laborious and prone to user error, requiring technicians to accurately determine the vehicle make, model, and year, leading to inefficiencies and incorrect programming.
Innovation Solution
A system that uses vehicle identification codes to positively identify vehicles and automatically select compatible programming software, reducing programming steps and errors through a database-driven approach with a programming tool that reads vehicle identification codes and programs the sensors accordingly.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If technicians manually determine vehicle make, model, and year and scroll through programming tools to select the correct software, then they can program TPMS sensors, but the process is laborious, time-consuming, and prone to user error
Solution Approach 1:
The programming tool automatically reads the vehicle identification code from the vehicle and self-determines the correct programming software without requiring technician intervention for vehicle identification or software selection. The system serves itself by autonomously matching the VIN to the appropriate software profile in the database, eliminating manual lookup and selection steps that consume time and introduce errors.
Solution Approach 2:
The manual mechanical process of scrolling through programming options and selecting software is replaced by an automated electronic system that reads the vehicle identification code, queries a database, and automatically selects the correct programming software. This substitution of automated electronic identification and selection mechanisms for manual mechanical navigation resolves the contradiction between speed and accuracy.
2Ease of operation
If technicians scroll through programming tools to select vehicle make, model, and year, then they can find the correct software, but the process is laborious and increases the likelihood of incorrect selection
Solution Approach 1:
The system performs self-service by automatically reading the vehicle identification code and determining the correct software without requiring the technician to manually search or select from multiple options. This eliminates the laborious scrolling process while ensuring accurate software selection through automated VIN-based identification.
Solution Approach 2:
The vehicle identification code serves as an intermediary that bridges the vehicle and the correct programming software. Instead of requiring direct manual matching between technician knowledge and software options, the VIN acts as a mediator that automatically identifies and links to the appropriate software profile in the database, simplifying the process while ensuring accuracy.
3Reliability
If technicians incorrectly identify the vehicle or select wrong programming software, then sensors may be incorrectly programmed and rendered unusable, but manual identification processes are inherently error-prone
Solution Approach 1:
The vehicle identification code database acts as an intermediary layer between the vehicle and the programming software. This database mediates the identification process by storing and matching VINs to correct software profiles, ensuring that even if the technician makes an error in reading or interpreting the VIN, the system automatically retrieves the correct software association, thereby maintaining high reliability despite increased system complexity.
Solution Approach 2:
The system provides beforehand cushioning by pre-storing accurate vehicle identification code to software mappings in a database before the programming process begins. This preparatory measure cushions against potential errors during the programming operation, as the correct software association is already determined and verified in advance through the VIN lookup, preventing incorrect programming even if manual steps are performed imperfectly.
Data Source
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AI summary
The present invention relates to methods, systems and tools for programming tire pressure monitoring sensors based upon ascertained vehicle identification numbers. In one aspect, the present invention provides a method of programming a tire pressure monitoring sensor of a vehicle wheel unit. The method includes obtaining identification information of a vehicle with a programming tool for a tire pressure monitoring sensor. The method further includes comparing the identification information with a database of identification information to determine a program software that is compatible with the vehicle. The method further includes programming the tire pressure monitoring sensor with the program software.