Measuring and testing – Tire – tread or roadway
Reexamination Certificate
2002-04-25
2004-06-08
Lefkowitz, Edward (Department: 2855)
Measuring and testing
Tire, tread or roadway
C073S146200, C701S001000, C701S069000, C340S442000, C200S061220
Reexamination Certificate
active
06745623
ABSTRACT:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
The invention concerns a method and a system for measuring and processing driving-dynamic parameters of a vehicle. In particular, the invention concerns a method and a system for identifying a tyre of a vehicle by using the tyre pressures of the tyres to be identified.
Known systems for monitoring tyre pressures of different tyres of a vehicle comprise pressure sensor elements which are normally mounted on the rims and are surrounded by the corresponding tyres, or are mounted on the insides of the tyres, or are integrated into the tyres or the valve. The pressure sensor elements are respectively connected to a transmitter by which both the signals/data indicating the measured tyre pressures and an identification (ID information) which is characteristic of the corresponding pressure sensor elements are transmitted to a receiver. The receiver evaluates both the signals/data indicating the tyre pressures and the characteristic identifications.
Since the receiver does not obtain or receive any information in respect of which characteristic identification and which tyre pressure signals belong to which tyre, it is necessary to calibrate the tyre pressure monitoring system in such a way that the receiver can assign the information obtained from the transmitters to the corresponding pressure sensor elements.
Only on the basis of these assignments can the receiver and/or a control/monitoring unit connected to it provide information on which tyre pressure is present in which tyre and assign any drop in pressure to the corresponding tyre. Even in the event of a failure or malfunction of a pressure sensor element, the defective pressure sensor element can be identified in this way.
This calibration operation (which is also termed the learn mode) must be performed both when the wheel or tyre is first fitted on a factory-new vehicle and upon each subsequent wheel, tyre or valve change, since it cannot be ensured that, following changing, the wheels or the tyres are mounted according to the previous assignment.
The calibration operation is normally performed with the use of transponders which are integrated into corresponding sensor circuits of the sensor elements. Each of the transponders is individually activated, in a defined sequence, to transmit data, so that the characteristic identifications and the transmitted pressure information can be unambiguously assigned to the corresponding pressure sensor elements. In the case of a passenger car with four wheels and one spare wheel each having one tyre, the sequence for activating the individual transponders of the tyres can be defined as follows:
left front tyre—right front tyre—left rear tyre—right rear tyre—spare wheel tyre.
This procedure for identifying individual tyres of a vehicle and for assigning to the corresponding tyres sensor information which is measured at the corresponding tyres and transmitted to a receiver has various disadvantages. The recalibration of such tyre pressure monitoring systems is time-consuming and requires additional facilities for activating the transponders assigned to the individual pressure sensor elements. These facilities for activating the transponders are generally only available to the various specialist vehicle firms. For this reason, in order to ensure faultless functioning of the tyre pressure monitoring system, a tyre change should not be performed without recourse to a specialist vehicle firm, i.e., a tyre change performed by the driver/owner themselves. If, nevertheless, a tyre change is performed without recourse to a specialist vehicle firm, i.e., if it is performed privately or if no calibration operation is performed when a tyre is changed, faultless functioning of the tyre pressure monitoring system is no longer assured. Moreover, malfunctions of the tyre pressure monitoring system can occur if, for example, the tyre pressure monitoring system can no longer be provided with the current assignment. This can occur, for example, if a memory in which the current assignment is stored is inadvertently/accidentally erased. In such cases, it is necessary to repeat the calibration operation with such tyre pressure monitoring systems, this normally requiring the vehicle to be brought into an appropriate specialist firm. In any case, the operation of the vehicle has to be interrupted, since the recalibration of the tyre pressure monitoring system cannot be performed independently/automatically by the latter and/or during the driving operation of the vehicle.
A method is known from DE 196 32 150 A1 for monitoring the air pressure in the tyres of motor vehicle wheels, in which long-wave units, which are respectively assigned to a tyre and transmit long-wave signals, are used for identifying the individual tyres. The long-wave signals are respectively received by a long-wave receiving unit of a wheel module assigned to a tyre, and are processed to generate a long-wave identification signal. Each of the wheel modules transmits the corresponding long-wave identification signal together with a data signal, which indicates the respective tyre pressure, to a receiving unit located on the vehicle. The positions of the motor vehicle wheels can be unambiguously assigned to the data signals transmitted by the wheel modules on the basis of the long-wave identification signals contained in the data signals. A disadvantage in this case is that, in addition to the components for measuring the tyre pressures, it is necessary for components to be located on the tyres or wheels and on the vehicle for the purpose of transmitting the long-wave signals, as well as generating the long-wave identification signals, embedding them in the data signals and extracting them from the data signals again following their transmission.
Proceeding from this, the invention is intended to provide a method and a system which render possible, without time-consuming and cost-intensive recalibration, unambiguous identification of tyres of a vehicle and unambiguous identification of sensor signals, relating to the corresponding tyres, measured at the tyres. Furthermore, the invention is intended to provide a solution which avoids the need to use additional devices (e.g., transponders, long-wave transmission units) for the calibration operation. In addition, malfunctions of a tyre pressure monitoring system are to be reduced, and corrected in a simple manner.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
To achieve these objects, the invention provides a method according to claim
1
and a system according to claim
12
.
In the case of the method, according to the invention, for identifying a tyre of a vehicle, a tyre pressure of a vehicle tyre is measured for at least two different driving-dynamic states of the vehicle and the measured tyre pressures are compared for the purpose of determining a tyre pressure variation on the basis of this comparison. The determined tyre pressure variation is analysed using driving state parameters which are determined by the at least two different driving-dynamic states. The vehicle tyre at which the tyre pressures were measured is identified on the basis of the analysis of the tyre pressure variation.
This procedure is based on the fact that the dynamic tyre circumferences vary in dependence on the respective prevailing driving-dynamic state of the vehicle. This variation of the dynamic tyre circumferences results in a tyre pressure variation in the corresponding tyre. If the tyre pressures of a tyre, or its variations, are determined and if information is available which permits description/definition of the driving-dynamic state of the vehicle causing the tyre pressure variations, the vehicle tyre at which the tyre pressures were measured can be unambiguously identified.
In addition, the measurement and comparison of the tyre pressures can be performed for at least one tyre of at least two different wheels of the vehicle. In this way, several, preferably all, tyres of the vehicle can be identified. Furthermore, it is possible thus to identify several tyres assigned to one wheel of the vehicle. Thi
Allen Andre
Lucas Varity GmbH
MacMillan Sobanski & Todd LLC
LandOfFree
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