Monitoring a condition of a pneumatic tire

Details Monitoring a condition of a pneumatic tire Monitoring a condition of a pneumatic tire

2002-02-01

2004-10-26

Lee, Benjamin C. (Department: 2632)

Communications: electrical

Land vehicle alarms or indicators

Internal alarm or indicator responsive to a condition of the...

C340S447000, C340S589000, C073S146400

Reexamination Certificate

active

06809637

ABSTRACT:

FIELD OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to a system for monitoring a condition of a pneumatic tire and, more particularly, for alerting a driver of a vehicle to a faulty tire condition.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
The Assignee's Ongoing Development Efforts
For a century, the Goodyear Tire & Rubber Company of Akron Ohio, assignee of the present invention, has been the uncontested industry leader in tire product technology. For example, as early as 1892, a puncture-resistant tire was patented. In 1934, a year recognized as the beginning of the run-flat era, Goodyear introduced the Lifeguard (tm) safety tube, a fabric tube within the tire, used commercially by auto makers and on trucks. In 1993, Goodyear's Eagle GS-C EMT (Extended Mobility Technology) tire won the Discover Award for Automotive Technological Innovation. In 1996, the Goodyear Eagle F1 run-flat tire was chosen as standard equipment on the 1997 Chevrolet C-5 Corvette.
Other examples of the strides Goodyear has taken in the advancement of tire and related technologies include, but are not limited to, the following patented inventions:
Commonly-owned U.S. Pat. No. 3,665,387 (Enabnit; 1972), entitled SIGNALLING SYSTEM FOR LOW TIRE CONDITION ON A VEHICLE, incorporated in its entirety by reference herein, discloses a low tire pressure warning system adaptable for any number of wheels of a vehicle and providing dashboard indications of system operation and low pressure conditions while the vehicle is in motion.
Commonly-owned U.S. Pat. No. 3,831,161 (Enabnit; 1974), entitled FAIL-SAFE MONITORING APPARATUS, incorporated in its entirety by reference herein, discloses monitoring vehicle tire pressure wherein the operator is warned of an abnormal or unsafe condition of one or more of the tires.
Commonly-owned U.S. Pat. No. 3,872,424 (Enabnit; 1975), entitled APPARATUS AND METHOD FOR TRANSMITTING AUXILIARY SIGNALS ON EXISTING VEHICLE WIRING, incorporated in its entirety by reference herein, discloses communicating with low tire pressure monitoring circuits using power pulses carried on existing vehicle wiring (e.g., the turn signal circuits).
Commonly-owned U.S. Pat. No. 4,052,696 (Enabnit; 1977), entitled TIRE CONDITION MONITOR, incorporated in its entirety by reference herein, discloses a tire condition sensing circuit that includes a ferrite element that changes from a ferromagnetic to a non-ferromagnetic state in response to a temperature increase above the material Curie point.
Commonly-owned U.S. Pat. No. 4,099,157 (Enabnit; 1978), entitled SINGLE WIRE POWER/SIGNAL SYSTEM FOR VEHICLE AUXILIARY DEVICES, incorporated in its entirety by reference herein, discloses providing both power to and receiving detection signals from a remotely located condition monitoring device using a single wire with ground return through the vehicle frame.
Commonly-owned U.S. Pat. No. 4,911,217 (Dunn, et. al.; 1990), entitled INTEGRATED CIRCUIT TRANSPONDER IN A PNEUMATIC TIRE FOR TIRE IDENTIFICATION, incorporated in its entirety by reference herein, discloses an RF transponder in a pneumatic tire.
FIG. 1
a
of this patent illustrates a prior-art identification system (“reader”) that can be used to interrogate and power the transponder within the tire. The identification system includes a portable hand-held module having within it an exciter and associated circuitry for indicating to a user the numerical identification of the tire/transponder in response to an interrogation signal.
Commonly-owned U.S. Pat. No. 5,181,975 (Pollack, et. al.; 1993), entitled INTEGRATED CIRCUIT TRANSPONDER WITH COIL ANTENNA IN A PNEUMATIC TIRE FOR USE IN TIRE IDENTIFICATION, incorporated in its entirety by reference herein, discloses a pneumatic tire having an integrated circuit (IC) transponder and pressure transducer. As described in this patent, in a tire that has already been manufactured, the transponder may be attached to an inner surface of the tire by means of a tire patch or other similar material or device.
Commonly-owned U.S. Pat. No. 5,218,861 (Brown, et al.; 1993), entitled PNEUMATIC TIRE HAVING AN INTEGRATED CIRCUIT TRANSPONDER AND PRESSURE TRANSDUCER, incorporated in its entirety by reference herein, discloses a pneumatic tire having an integrated circuit (IC) transponder and pressure transducer mounted within the pneumatic tire. Upon interrogation (polling) by an external RF signal provided by a “reader”, the transponder transmits tire identification and tire pressure data in digitally-coded form. The transponder is “passive” in that it is not self-powered, but rather obtains its operating power from the externally-provided RF signal.
The commonly-owned U.S. Patents referenced immediately hereinabove are indicative of the long-standing, far-reaching and ongoing efforts being made by the Goodyear Tire & Rubber Company in advancing tire product technology.
Tire Condition(s)
Safe, efficient and economical operation of a motor vehicle depends, to a significant degree, on maintaining the correct air pressure in all (each) of the tires of the motor vehicle. Failure to correct quickly for faulty/abnormal (typically low) air pressure may result in excessive tire wear, blow-outs, poor gasoline mileage and steering difficulties.
The need to monitor tire pressure when the tire is in use is highlighted in the context of “run-flat” (driven deflated) tires, tires which are capable of being used in a completely deflated condition. Such run-flat tires, as disclosed for example in commonly-owned U.S. Pat. No. 5,368,082, incorporated in its entirety by reference herein, may incorporate reinforced sidewalls and mechanisms for securing the tire bead to the rim to enable a driver to maintain control over the vehicle after a catastrophic pressure loss, and are evolving to the point where it is becoming less and less noticeable to the driver that the tire has become deflated. The broad purpose behind using run-flat tires is to enable a driver of a vehicle to continue driving on a deflated pneumatic tire for a limited distance (e.g., 50 miles, or 80 kilometers) prior to getting the tire repaired, rather than stopping on the side of the road to repair the deflated tire. Hence, it is generally desirable to provide a low-pressure warning system within the vehicle to alert (e.g., via a light on the dashboard, or a buzzer) the driver to the loss of air in a pneumatic tire.
Systems that measure tire pressure and convey pressure information or a related warning to the user are well known, and typically employ a transponder device and associated sensor(s) which are mounted within the tire. A “transponder” is an electronic apparatus (device) capable of monitoring a condition such as air pressure within a pneumatic tire, and then transmitting that information to an external device, such as an RF (radio frequency) reader/interrogator or, simply an RF receiver. A simple receiver can be used when the transponder is “active”, and has its own power source. A reader/interrogator would be used when the transponder is “passive” and is powered by an RF signal from the reader/interrogator. In either case, in conjunction with the external device, the transponder forms a component of an overall tire-condition monitoring/warning system. Examples of these systems can be found in the following US Patents, which are incorporated in their entirety by reference herein: U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,787,806; 4,067,235; 4,909,074; 4,911,217; 5,230,243; 5,285,189; and U.S. Pat. No. 5,731,754.
Tire Temperature
In addition to tire pressure, maintaining tire temperature within a range of temperatures also contributes to the safe, efficient and economical operation of a motor vehicle. As tires are used, they flex and heat up. An under-inflated or overloaded tire tends to run hot from excessive flexing. Ambient temperature can also contribute to a tire heating up. Braking devices may also contribute to the tire heating up. Excessive tire temperature can lead to delamination of the tire.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,281,784 (Farthing; 1966), incorporated in its entirety by reference herein, discloses devices for i

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