Transmitter casing for a tire condition monitoring apparatus

Details Transmitter casing for a tire condition monitoring apparatus Transmitter casing for a tire condition monitoring apparatus

2002-11-27

2004-08-10

Lieu, Julie (Department: 2632)

Communications: electrical

Land vehicle alarms or indicators

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

C340S445000, C340S447000, C073S146000, C073S146400, C073S146800

Reexamination Certificate

active

06774775

ABSTRACT:

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to an apparatus that monitors the tire condition such as tire pressure. More specifically, the present invention pertains to a casing of a transmitter that is installed inside a tire for transmitting information concerning tire condition to a receiver in the vehicle.
Pursuant to 35 USC § 119, this application claims the benefit of Japan Patent Application No. 2001-362157 filed Nov. 28, 2001.
As shown in FIG.
10
(
a
), a conventional transmitter
101
disclosed in Japanese Laid-Open Patent Publication No. 2000-81358 transmits tire pressure information to a receiver (not shown) in a vehicle. The transmitter
101
includes a rectangular box-shaped casing
102
and a valve stem
103
, which is formed integrally on the casing
102
. An air hole
104
is formed on the top surface of the casing
102
. The casing
102
accommodates a pressure detector, a signal processing circuit, an electronic substrate, and a battery (not shown).
As shown in
FIG. 11
, the transmitter
101
is attached to a predetermined part of a wheel
112
such that the casing
102
is located inside a tire
9
. Air is injected into the tire
9
from the valve stem
103
through the air hole
104
.
If the electronic substrate, which is accommodated in the casing
102
, is excessively close to the wheel
112
, the electric wave characteristics deteriorate. Therefore, the electronic substrate is accommodated in the casing
102
to be furthest from the wheel
112
.
As shown in FIGS.
10
(
a
) and
10
(
b
), a flange
105
extends outward from the bottom of the casing
102
. Angular reinforcement ribs
106
are located between the flange
105
and the circumferential surface of the casing
102
. Each reinforcement rib
106
has an inclination angle &thgr;.
FIG. 7
is a perspective view of a typical tire detaching apparatus
111
. The tire detaching apparatus
111
includes a turntable
115
having fixed hooks
114
and a roller
113
, which is located above the turntable
115
. To remove the tire
9
from the wheel
112
, the roller
113
is inserted between a lower bead
9
b
of the tire
9
and the wheel
112
, and is engaged with the lower bead
9
b
. Then, the lower bead
9
b
is lifted by the roller
113
while rotating the wheel
112
.
FIGS.
8
(
a
) to
8
(
d
) show processes for removing the tire
9
from the wheel
112
.
FIG. 9
shows the relationship between the lower bead
9
b
and the transmitter
101
when removing the tire
9
from the wheel
112
. On the assumption that a line S
0
, which is perpendicular to the axis of the wheel
112
and lies along the air hole
104
, is zero degrees, the lower bead
9
b
starts to slide over the transmitter
101
at a portion that is approximately 45 to 60 degrees from the line S
0
about the air hole
104
of the transmitter
101
. The inclination angles &thgr; of two reinforcement ribs
106
at the portion of the transmitter
101
where the lower bead
9
b
slides over are set within the range of 45 to 60 degrees.
When the inclination angle &thgr; of each reinforcement rib
106
is within 45 to 60 degrees, the lower bead
9
b
smoothly slides over the transmitter
101
. However, the inclination angle &thgr; of each reinforcement rib
106
is relatively small. Thus, when the lower bead
9
b
contacts each reinforcement rib
106
, a relatively large bending moment is applied to the casing
102
in a direction to force the casing
102
downward as viewed in FIG.
10
(
b
).
However, depending on the shape of the wheel
112
, a relatively large space is formed between the bottom of the transmitter
101
and the wheel
112
. If the space is formed, the casing
102
may deform or be damaged by the bending moment that forces the casing
102
downward. Further, since the reinforcement ribs
106
and the flange
105
project from the casing
102
, the lower bead
9
b
might slip in the space and be caught by the casing
102
. Therefore, the transmitter
101
needs to be removed from the wheel
112
beforehand. To remove the transmitter
101
, an operator needs to loosen a screw, which is not shown, and drop the transmitter
101
in the inner space of the tire
9
. Thus, the operation for removing the tire
9
is troublesome.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
The objective of the present invention is to provide a transmitter casing for a tire condition monitoring apparatus that sufficiently endures pressure applied by a tire when removing the tire from a wheel, and permits a tire to be easily removed from the wheel.
To achieve the above objective, the present invention provides a casing for a transmitter. The transmitter is attached to a wheel such that the transmitter is located inside a tire. The transmitter transmits information concerning the tire condition. The casing includes an upper plate, a lower plate, a surrounding wall, and a pair of skirts. The lower plate faces the upper plate. The surrounding wall extends between the upper plate and the lower plate, and includes a front surface and a pair of side surfaces, which intersect the front surface. Each skirt is located at one of corners defined between the front surface and the side surfaces. Each skirt is curved such that the front surface and the corresponding side surface are smoothly connected. The skirts are inclined with respect to the lower plate at an angle in the range of 65 to 75 degrees.
Other aspects and advantages of the invention will become apparent from the following description, taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, illustrating by way of example the principles of the invention.


REFERENCES:
patent: 5798689 (1998-08-01), Huang
patent: 5844131 (1998-12-01), Gabelmann et al.
patent: 6101870 (2000-08-01), Kato et al.
patent: 0 985 560 (2000-03-01), None
patent: 2000-81358 (2000-03-01), None

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