Data processing: vehicles – navigation – and relative location – Vehicle control – guidance – operation – or indication
Reexamination Certificate
2002-08-13
2004-02-17
Camby, Richard M. (Department: 3661)
Data processing: vehicles, navigation, and relative location
Vehicle control, guidance, operation, or indication
C701S036000, C701S072000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06694227
ABSTRACT:
The invention relates to an arrangement for detecting the position of wheels on a vehicle.
The wheels of a vehicle may be turned, i.e. the position of the wheels on the vehicle may be changed. Electronic sub-assemblies such as, for example, tyre pressure sensors, which may be present on the wheels, are permanently assigned to the respective wheel and are thus also turned together with the wheel. The electronic signals supplied by such sensors are centrally evaluated in the vehicle. However, after the wheels have been turned, the position of a given wheel, whose sub-assembly supplies a given signal, is no longer known. However, in the case of, for example, tyre pressure sensors, it is desirable to know the position of the vehicle wheel to which a tyre pressure sensor indicating, for example, a too low air pressure is assigned. It should be indicated in the vehicle that this sensor is situated at, for example, the front left. After the wheels have been turned, this information is, however, no longer available or may be false.
It is therefore desirable to provide an arrangement with which, also after the wheels have been turned, the position of the individual wheels on the vehicle can be detected and a given vehicle position can be assigned to the above-mentioned electronic sub-assemblies.
According to the prior art, arrangements are known in which the electronic sub-assemblies assigned to each wheel transmit their signals at different amplitudes. Due to the tolerances of the sub-assemblies and the required calibration, this method is, however, relatively laborious and not very reliable in practice due to its amplitude sensitivity.
A method of assigning the vehicle wheel position is also known from U.S. Pat. No. 6,112,587, in which angle sensors are provided on the wheels which supply their angle signals to a central evaluation unit at discrete time intervals. Furthermore, the evaluation unit determines the numbers of rotation of the individual wheels by means of HBS sensors that are fixedly provided on the vehicle wheels. These rotation signals, which are supplied by the rotation sensors, are checked in the central unit as to which rotation signal exhibits the same angular offset as the signals supplied by the angle sensors on the wheels. This method is relatively laborious and particularly requires the signals from ABS sensors which are not always available.
It is an object of the invention to provide an arrangement of the type described in the opening paragraph, which operates reliably without rotation sensors on the vehicle.
In accordance with a first embodiment of the invention, this object is achieved by the characteristic features defined in claim
1
.
An arrangement for position assignment of vehicle wheels, in which means for detecting the number of rotations and turning direction of the wheel are assigned to each wheel, and in which the vehicle is provided with an evaluation unit which, in the case of a curved trajectory of the vehicle, performs the following vehicle position assignments with reference to the number of rotations and turning directions detected for each wheel:
the wheel having the highest number of rotations is situated at the front of the vehicle, and the position at the front left or at the front right is determined from the turning direction,
the wheel having the lowest number of rotations is situated at the rear of the vehicle, and the position at the front left or at the front right is determined from the turning direction,
the position assignments of the other two wheels are determined from their turning direction.
In the arrangement according to the invention, means for determining the number of rotations and the turning direction of the wheel are assigned to each wheel. The vehicle is provided with an evaluation unit which, in the case of a curved trajectory of the vehicle, performs a position assignment of the vehicle wheels with reference to the number of rotations and turning directions detected for each wheel by the assigned means.
In such a curved trajectory, the evaluation unit detects the wheel having the highest number of rotations. It is always situated at the front of the vehicle, because the rear axle trails in the case of a curved trajectory. The position of the wheel at the front left or at the front right is determined from the turning direction; when the wheel turns right, it is situated at the front right, when it turns left, it is situated at the front left.
The evaluation unit thus detects the wheel having the lowest number of rotations, which is always at the rear of the vehicle. Here again, the position at either the rear left or at the rear right can be concluded from the turning direction.
There are still two wheels whose position on the vehicle has not yet been assigned. Since these wheels are always positioned diagonally opposite to each other, it is sufficient to detect the turning direction in this case. This detection directly reveals that one of the wheels, which turns right, is situated at the still unoccupied position at the front right or at the rear right and that the other wheel, which turns left, is situated at the still unoccupied position at the front left or rear left.
All of the four positions of the vehicle wheels are thus assigned.
In this method, rotation sensors permanently assigned to the vehicle positions can be dispensed with. Moreover, the arrangement has a high reliability and accuracy because it is independent of analog measuring values. A calibration of the rotation sensors is not required because the evaluation unit performs a central evaluation and purely digital measuring methods are applicable. The number of components is relatively small and thus economical. The rotation sensors and turning direction sensors of the wheels may be used for further tasks within the electronic system of the vehicle.
The above-mentioned object of the invention is achieved by a second embodiment defined in claim
2
.
An arrangement for position assignment of vehicle wheels, in which means for detecting the number of rotations of the wheel are assigned to each wheel, in which a steering sensor is provided which supplies a steering signal signalizing the steering direction, and in which the vehicle is provided with an evaluation unit which, in the case of a curved trajectory of the vehicle, performs the following vehicle position assignments with reference to the number of rotations and turning directions and the steering signal detected for each wheel:
in the case of a curved trajectory in a first direction
the wheel having the highest number of rotations is situated at the front of the vehicle, and the position at the front left or at the front right is determined from the steering direction,
the wheel having the lowest number of rotations is situated at the rear of the vehicle, and the position at the front left or at the front right is determined from the steering direction,
in the case of a curved trajectory in a second direction
the wheel having the highest number of rotations is situated at the front of the vehicle, and the position at the front left or at the front right is determined from the steering direction,
the wheel having the lowest number of rotations is situated at the rear of the vehicle, and the position at the rear left or at the rear right is determined from the steering direction.
In this embodiment of the invention, the means assigned to each wheel only detect the number of rotations and not the turning direction of the wheel. Instead, the vehicle is provided with a steering sensor, which supplies a steering signal signalizing the relevant steering direction and thus indicating in which direction the vehicle is steered in a curved trajectory.
In accordance with the second embodiment of the invention, the vehicle wheel positions are also assigned on the basis of this information.
The evaluation unit determines this vehicle position in accordance with the following rules.
The wheel having the highest number of rotations is first detected by means of the steering sensor in the case of a curved tr
Boeh Frank
Nowottnick Juergen
Camby Richard M.
Walker Aaron
LandOfFree
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