JP2006096122A - Communication system and wheel side radio communication device - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To facilitate management of the running distance of a tire even in case the vehicle body whereto the tire is mounted differs. <P>SOLUTION: A control device 30 and body side communication modules 21-24 transmit the latest tire cumulated running distance based upon the running distance information of the vehicle body concerned, wirelessly to wheel side communication devices 11-14, which receive the cumulated running distance information and store in a wheel side memory. The wheel side communication devices 11-14 transmit the cumulated running distance information of the tire concerned wirelessly, and the control device 30 and the body side communication modules 21-24 give notification about the rotation timing of the wheel and the replacement timing on the basis of the cumulated running distance information received from the wheel side communication devices 11-14. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2006,JPO&NCIPI

Description

  The present invention relates to a communication system for communication between a vehicle and a tire or a wheel, and a wheel-side wireless communication device attached to the tire or the wheel, and is suitable for use in a tire pressure alarm system and a wheel-side transmitter thereof. It is.

  Conventionally, the user himself / herself has to manage the replacement time of the tire attached to the vehicle body and the rotation time of the tire attachment position.

  However, when purchasing a used tire, it is difficult to determine how much the tire has traveled so far, so it is difficult to manage the timing of replacement and rotation.

  The present invention has been made in view of the above points, and it is an object of the present invention to facilitate the management of the travel distance of a tire even when the mounted vehicle body changes.

  In order to achieve the above object, the invention according to claim 1 includes a vehicle body side wireless communication device disposed on a vehicle body of a vehicle, and a wheel side wireless communication disposed on a wheel of the vehicle or a tire attached to the wheel. The vehicle body side wireless communication device has vehicle body side transmission means for wirelessly transmitting travel distance information of the vehicle body to the wheel side wireless communication device, and the wheel side wireless communication device. The apparatus includes a wheel side memory, wheel side receiving means for receiving the travel distance information transmitted by the vehicle body side transmitting means, and cumulative travel distance information of the own tire based on the travel distance information received by the receiving means. Storage control means for storing in the wheel-side memory, and wheel-side transmission means for wirelessly transmitting the accumulated mileage information of the own tire stored in the wheel-side memory by the storage control means. Which is a communication system characterized.

  In this way, the vehicle body side wireless communication device wirelessly transmits the travel distance information of the vehicle body to the wheel side wireless communication device, and the wheel side wireless communication device receives the travel distance information and has received it. Based on the travel distance information, the accumulated travel distance information of the own tire is stored in the wheel side memory. Since it is in this way, the wheel side radio | wireless communication apparatus arrange | positioned at the wheel or the tire attached to the wheel comes to have the cumulative travel distance information of the said tire. And since the wheel side wireless communication device wirelessly transmits the accumulated mileage information of the own tire, even when the vehicle body to which the tire is attached changes by receiving the wireless transmission, the accumulated mileage information of the tire is received. Management becomes easy.

  The invention according to claim 2 is the communication system according to claim 1, wherein the vehicle body side wireless communication device includes vehicle body side receiving means for receiving cumulative travel distance information transmitted by the wheel side transmitting means, And a notifying means for performing processing for notifying about the rotation time or replacement time of the wheel based on the accumulated travel distance information received by the vehicle body side receiving means.

  Thus, the vehicle body side wireless communication device notifies the wheel rotation time or replacement time based on the accumulated travel distance information received from the wheel side wireless communication device, so the vehicle body to which the tire is attached Even in a case where the change occurs, it becomes easy to determine the replacement time and the low tension time of the tire.

  The invention according to claim 3 is the communication system according to claim 1, wherein the vehicle body side wireless communication device has vehicle body side receiving means for receiving the accumulated travel distance information transmitted by the wheel side transmitting means. The vehicle body side transmission means uses the cumulative travel distance information received by the vehicle body side reception means and the cumulative travel distance information of the tire based on the travel distance of the vehicle body as the travel distance information, and the wheel side wireless communication. It transmits to an apparatus, It is characterized by the above-mentioned.

  Since it is in this way, since the vehicle body side wireless communication device transmits the accumulated travel distance information as the tire travel distance information, the processing in the wheel side wireless communication device becomes simpler.

  According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, in the communication system according to the first aspect, the vehicle body side transmitter includes a vehicle body side receiving unit that receives cumulative travel distance information transmitted by the wheel side transmission unit, and Notification means for notifying the rotation time or replacement time of the wheels based on the accumulated travel distance information received by the vehicle body side reception means, and the vehicle body side transmission means is received by the vehicle body side reception means The accumulated traveling distance information of the tire based on the accumulated traveling distance information and the traveling distance of the vehicle body is transmitted to the wheel side wireless communication device as the traveling distance information.

  Thus, the vehicle body side wireless communication device notifies the wheel rotation time or replacement time based on the accumulated travel distance information received from the wheel side wireless communication device, so the vehicle body to which the tire is attached Even in a case where the change occurs, it becomes easy to determine the replacement time and the low tension time of the tire. And since the vehicle body side radio | wireless communication apparatus transmits cumulative mileage information as tire mileage information, the process in a wheel side radio | wireless communication apparatus becomes simpler.

  Further, the invention according to claim 5 is the communication system according to any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein the vehicle body side transmission means is connected to the wheel side wireless communication device based on an engine stop of the vehicle. The mileage information of the vehicle body is wirelessly transmitted.

  The engine here refers to a device that generates power for driving the vehicle. The concept includes a gasoline engine, a diesel engine, and an electric vehicle motor.

  Further, the above-mentioned feature of the present invention is a wheel-side wireless communication device arranged on a vehicle wheel or a tire attached to the wheel as in the invention described in claim 6, wherein the wheel-side memory, Based on the wheel-side receiving means for receiving the travel distance information transmitted by the vehicle body side wireless communication device that is mounted on the vehicle body and wirelessly transmits the travel distance information of the own vehicle body, and based on the travel distance information received by the receiving means. Storage control means for storing the accumulated mileage information of the tire in the wheel side memory, and wheel side transmission means for wirelessly transmitting the accumulated mileage information of the own tire stored in the wheel side memory by the storage control means, It can also be grasped as a wheel side wireless communication device characterized by having.

  Hereinafter, an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. FIG. 1 is a schematic perspective view of a vehicle showing this embodiment, and FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing a schematic configuration of a communication system of this embodiment. As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the communication system of the present embodiment includes wheel side communication devices 11 to 14, vehicle body side communication modules 21 to 24, a control device 30, a meter ECU 40, and a display device 60. .

  The wheel side communication devices 11 to 14 are respectively provided in the wheel portions of the wheels 1 to 4 including tires and wheels. FIG. 3 is a block diagram illustrating a schematic configuration of the wheel side communication devices 11 to 14 of the present embodiment. As shown in FIG. 3, the wheel side communication devices 11 to 14 include sensor units 11a to 14a, transmission antennas 11b to 14b, reception antennas 11c to 14c, built-in batteries 11d to 14d, wheel side control units 11e to 14e, and wheel sides. Memory 11f-14f is provided.

  The sensor units 11a to 14a detect tire conditions, and in the present embodiment, pressure sensors that detect tire air pressure are used. Detection signals from the sensor units 11a to 14a are output to the wheel side control units 11e to 14e. As the sensor units 11a to 14a, in addition to the pressure sensor or instead of the pressure sensor, for example, a temperature sensor that detects a tire temperature as a tire state can be used.

  The transmission antennas 11b to 14b are configured to transmit tire pressure information detected by the sensor units 11a to 14a and tire cumulative travel distance information described later to the vehicle body side communication modules 21 to 24 by radio waves. The receiving antennas 11c to 14c are configured to receive radio waves from the vehicle body side communication modules 21 to 24, respectively. The built-in batteries 11d to 14d supply power to the components of the wheel side communication devices 11 to 14.

  The wheel side control parts 11e-14e can be comprised as a known microcomputer. The wheel side memories 11f to 14f are composed of DRAM, SRAM, flash memory, and the like, and store computer programs executed by the wheel side control units 11e to 14e and various data. As various data, there is identification information (for example, a production number) for individually specifying the wheel side communication device, and cumulative travel distance information of the own tire.

  The vehicle body side communication modules 21 to 24 include a transmission antenna that transmits radio waves to the wheel side communication devices 11 to 14 and a reception antenna that receives radio waves transmitted from the wheel side communication devices 11 to 14. It attaches to the vehicle body side site | part adjacent to -4 respectively. More specifically, the vehicle body side communication modules 21 to 24 are attached one by one in each wheel house 70 on the vehicle body side. And each vehicle body side communication module 21-24 is connected with the control apparatus 30 with the signal wire | line 80, respectively. Further, when the vehicle body side communication modules 21 to 24 receive the radio waves transmitted from the transmitters 11 to 14, the vehicle body side communication modules 21 to 24 transmit voltage signals corresponding to the received radio waves to the control device 30. The transmission of signals from the vehicle body side communication modules 21 to 24 to the control device 30 is not limited to the wired type as shown in FIG.

  The control device 30 is a known microcomputer including a CPU, a ROM, an I / O, and the like, and executes a predetermined process according to a program stored in the ROM. Further, the control device 30 includes a vehicle body side memory 50 composed of a RAM, a flash memory and the like.

  The control device 30 receives tire pressure information, cumulative travel distance information, and the like transmitted from the wheel side communication devices 11 to 14 via the vehicle body side communication modules 21 to 24. The control device 30 also receives travel distance information from the meter ECU 40 that detects the travel distance of the vehicle. Further, the control device 30 can detect a press signal of each button from four tire replacement buttons attached to the periphery of the display device 60 and capable of designating each of the four tires. ing.

  The control device 30 is powered by, for example, an in-vehicle battery (not shown), and the vehicle body side communication modules 21 to 24 are powered from the control device 30.

  The meter ECU 40 receives a pulse signal corresponding to the travel distance from a vehicle speed sensor (not shown), and calculates the travel distance of the vehicle based on the pulse signal.

  The display device 60 displays a travel distance of the vehicle, and a liquid crystal panel, for example, is used. The display device 60 receives the travel distance data detected by the meter ECU 40 from the control device 30 and displays the travel distance of the vehicle based on the travel distance data. Further, when a signal for a tire replacement recommendation and a rotation recommendation, which will be described later, is received from the control device 30, a mark for a replacement recommendation and a rotation recommendation is displayed, respectively.

  Hereinafter, the operation | movement of the wheel side control parts 11e-14e and the control apparatus 30 is demonstrated in detail. FIG. 4 is a flowchart of the wheel-side transmission program 400 that the wheel-side control units 11e to 14e repeatedly (for example, regularly at intervals of one minute). FIG. 5 is a flowchart of the wheel-side reception program 500 that is always executed by the wheel-side controllers 11e to 14e. FIG. 6 is a flowchart of the vehicle body side reception program 600 that is always executed by the control device 30. FIG. 7 is a flowchart of the vehicle body side transmission program 700 that the control device 30 always executes. FIG. 8 is a flowchart of a notification program 800 that the control device 30 always executes in parallel for each of the wheels 1 to 4.

  In the execution of the wheel-side transmission program 400, the wheel-side control units 11e to 14e first detect the tire air pressure using the sensor units 11a to 14a in step 410, and then in step 420, the cumulative travel distance of the own tire. The information is read from each of the wheel side memories 11f to 14f, and in step 430, the air pressure information and the cumulative travel distance information are respectively transmitted to the transmitting antennas 11b to 11b together with the identification information of the own wheel side communication device read from the wheel side memories 11f to 14f. 14b.

  Here, the cumulative travel distance information stored in the wheel side memories 11f to 14f is updated each time the cumulative travel distance information is transmitted from the vehicle body side communication modules 21 to 24 by the execution of the wheel side reception program 500, respectively. Is done. That is, in the execution of the wheel side reception program 500, the wheel side control units 11e to 14e repeat the determination as to whether or not the reception antennas 11c to 14c have received the cumulative travel distance information in step 510 until they are received, Then, in step 520, the received cumulative travel distance is stored in each of the wheel side memories 11f to 14f. After the storage, the reception of the cumulative travel distance is awaited again in step 510.

  In addition, in the execution of the vehicle body side reception program 600, the control device 30 first repeats the determination of whether or not a pressing signal from any of the tire replacement buttons has been detected until it is detected. Among the vehicle body side communication modules 21 to 24, wait until the cumulative travel distance information is received via the vehicle body side communication module corresponding to the tire position that is the target of the button that has received the press signal. In 630, the received cumulative tire travel distance is stored in the vehicle body side memory 50, and then, in step 610, waiting for the tire replacement button to be pressed again.

  Further, by executing a program (not shown), the control device 30 repeatedly acquires the travel distance calculated by the meter ECU 40, and if there is a change in the travel distance of the acquired vehicle body, the change amount in the vehicle body side memory 50 is increased. The tire cumulative mileage value for each tire is increased. Thus, the accumulated tire travel distance in the vehicle body side memory 50 is sequentially updated to the latest value based on the change in the travel distance of the vehicle body.

  In addition, in the execution of the vehicle body side transmission program 700, the control device 30 determines in step 710 whether or not the vehicle engine is stopped, that is, whether or not the IG is turned off, based on a signal from an ignition line (not shown). This determination is repeated until there is an engine stop, and when there is an engine stop, in step 720, the cumulative travel distance of each tire is read from the vehicle body side memory 50, and then the cumulative travel distance of each tire read in step 730. The information is transmitted to the vehicle body side communication module corresponding to each tire among the vehicle body side communication modules 21 to 24, and then the engine is again stopped in step 710. Thereby, the wheel side communication devices 11 to 14 of the wheels 1 to 4 can receive and store the latest cumulative travel distance of their own tires every time the engine is stopped (the wheel side reception program of FIG. 5). 500).

  In addition, in the execution of the notification program 800 for each of the wheels 1 to 4, the control device 30 first acquires the tire cumulative travel distance of the target tire by reading it from the vehicle body side memory 50 in Step 810. Then, when the rotation time is determined by a combination of the determination of whether or not the current time is the rotation time of the tire in step 820 and the determination of whether or not the current time is the replacement time of the tire in step 830, Subsequently, step 840 is executed. If it is time to change tires, then step 850 is executed. If neither of these is the case, the execution of step 810 is repeated. Tire rotation refers to attaching a tire to another tire position on the same vehicle body. The determinations in steps 820 and 830 are made based on whether or not the cumulative travel distance of the tire acquired in step 810 exceeds a predetermined recommended rotation distance and replacement recommended distance.

  In step 840, processing for tire rotation recommendation is performed. Specifically, a mark that recommends rotation of the tire is displayed on the display device 60. In step 850, processing for tire replacement recommendation is performed. Specifically, a mark that recommends replacement of the tire is displayed on the display device 60. After steps 840 and 850, execution of notification program 800 ends.

  By executing the programs 400 to 800 by the wheel side control units 11e to 14e and the control device 30 as described above, for example, a new article attached to the wheel side communication device in which the cumulative travel distance in the wheel side memory is zero is obtained. When a wheel and a tire are attached to a vehicle body having the above-described components and a tire replacement button corresponding to the tire attachment position is pressed, the operation and control device shown in the wheel-side transmission program 400 of the wheel-side communication device By the operation shown in the vehicle body side reception program 600, the cumulative travel distance indicating zero for the tire is stored in the vehicle body side memory 50, and thereafter, the cumulative travel distance in the vehicle body side memory 50 is matched with the travel of the vehicle body. Every time the distance increases and the vehicle engine stops, the vehicle side transmission program 700 of the control device 30 The operation shown in the operation and the wheel side control unit wheel side transmission program 400 of 11E～14e, the latest tire cumulative travel distance is stored in the wheel-side memory of the wheel-side communication device for the tire.

  Then, when this tire is used as a second hand and attached to another vehicle body having the above-described components, and a tire replacement button corresponding to the tire attachment position of the vehicle body is pressed, the wheel side transmission program 400 of the wheel side communication device is used. And the operation shown in the vehicle body side reception program 600 of the control device 30, the current cumulative travel distance for the tire is stored in the vehicle body side memory 50, and this vehicle body is then adjusted in accordance with the travel of the vehicle body. Each time the cumulative travel distance in the side memory 50 increases and the vehicle engine stops, the operation shown in the vehicle body side transmission program 700 of the control device 30 and the wheel side transmission program 400 of the wheel side control units 11e to 14e. The latest tire cumulative mileage is stored in the wheel side memory of the wheel side communication device for the tire. It is 憶.

  Then, by the operation shown in the notification program 800 of the control device 30, when each tire cumulative travel distance updated in the vehicle body side memory 50 becomes a distance corresponding to either the tire rotation time or the tire replacement time, a display is made. A mark recommending tire rotation or tire replacement is displayed on the device 60.

  Thus, the control device 30 and the vehicle body side communication modules 21 to 24 wirelessly transmit the latest tire cumulative travel distance based on the travel distance information of the vehicle body to the wheel side wireless communication device, and the wheel side wireless communication device accumulates the cumulative value. The travel distance information is received and stored in the wheel side memory. Since it is in this way, the wheel side radio | wireless communication apparatus arrange | positioned at the wheel or the tire attached to the wheel comes to have the cumulative travel distance information of the said tire. And the wheel side wireless communication device wirelessly transmits the accumulated mileage information of the own tire, and the control device 30 and the vehicle body side communication modules 21 to 24 are based on the accumulated mileage information received from the wheel side wireless communication device. Since the notification about the rotation time or replacement time of the wheels is performed, even when the vehicle body to which the tire is attached changes, it is easy to determine the replacement time and the rotation time of the tire.

  In the above embodiment, the control device 30 and the vehicle body side communication modules 21 to 24 correspond to the vehicle body side communication device.

  The receiving antennas 11c to 14c correspond to wheel side receiving means, and the transmitting antennas 11b to 14b correspond to wheel side transmitting means.

  Further, the control device 30 functions as a vehicle body side transmission unit by executing step 730 of the vehicle body side transmission program 700, and also executes step 620 of the vehicle body side reception program 600 as a vehicle body side reception unit. It also functions as a notification means by executing steps 840 and 850 of the notification program 800.

  Moreover, the wheel side control parts 11e-14e function as a memory | storage control means by performing step 520 of the wheel side reception program 500. FIG.

  In addition, in said embodiment, although the wheel side communication apparatuses 11-14 are arrange | positioned at the wheel, for example, the wheel side communication apparatuses 11-14 are about the wireless IC tag which receives the supply of electric power and operates. If it is a size, it may be embedded in the tire.

  Moreover, in said embodiment, although the process is implement | achieved by execution of a program, the wheel side communication apparatuses 11-14 and the control apparatus 30 do not necessarily need to be like that, and each such process. It may have a dedicated circuit configuration for realizing the above.

  Further, in the above embodiment, the control device 30 is configured to perform processing for notifying the display device 60 that the tire replacement time or rotation time has come, but for example, instead of this, It may be configured to calculate how many kilometers the vehicle can travel until the tire replacement time or rotation time comes and display it on the display device 60.

  Moreover, in said embodiment, although the control apparatus 30 receives the tire cumulative travel distance information from the wheel side communication apparatuses 11-14, it does not necessarily need to be like this. For example, by using a portable wireless communication device that receives and displays tire cumulative travel distance information transmitted by the wheel side communication devices 11 to 14, the travel distance, rotation time, and replacement time of each tire are specified. It may be.

  Moreover, although the control apparatus 30 is transmitting the accumulated travel distance information of each tire with respect to the wheel side communication apparatuses 11-14, it does not necessarily need to be like this. For example, the control device 30 transmits the change amount of the travel distance information from the meter ECU 40 to the wheel side communication devices 11 to 14, and the wheel side communication devices 11 to 14 store the change amount in the wheel side memories 11f to 14f. The cumulative travel distance information may be sequentially updated by adding to the cumulative travel distance information. That is, the control device 30 only needs to transmit information including the travel distance of the vehicle body to the wheel side communication devices 11 to 14.

  Moreover, in step 810 of the notification program 800 executed by the wheel side control units 11e to 14e, the tire cumulative travel distance information may be acquired by receiving from the wheel side communication devices 11 to 14. In this case, the control device 30 also functions as the vehicle body side receiving means by executing step 810.

It is a schematic perspective view which shows the communication system of embodiment of this invention. It is a block diagram which shows schematic structure of the communication system in embodiment of this invention. It is a block diagram which shows schematic structure of the wheel side communication apparatuses 11-14. It is a flowchart of the wheel side transmission program 400. It is a flowchart of the wheel side reception program 500. It is a flowchart of the vehicle body side reception program 600. It is a flowchart of the vehicle body side transmission program 700. 5 is a flowchart of a notification program 800.

Explanation of symbols

1 to 4 ... wheels, 11 to 14 ... wheel side communication devices, 11a to 14a ... sensor units,
11b to 14b ... transmitting antenna, 11c to 14c ... receiving antenna,
11d-14d ... battery, 11e-14e ... wheel side control part,
11f-14f ... wheel side memory, 21-24 ... vehicle body side communication device, 30 ... control device,
40 ... meter ECU, 50 ... vehicle body side memory, 60 ... display device,
400 ... wheel side transmission program, 500 ... wheel side reception program,
600: Car body side reception program, 700: Car body side transmission program,
800 ... Notification program.

Claims (6)

A vehicle-side wireless communication device disposed on a vehicle body, and a wheel-side wireless communication device disposed on a wheel of the vehicle or a tire attached to the wheel.
The vehicle body side wireless communication device has vehicle body side transmission means for wirelessly transmitting the travel distance information of the vehicle body to the wheel side wireless communication device,
The wheel side wireless communication device includes a wheel side memory,
Wheel side receiving means for receiving the travel distance information transmitted by the vehicle body side transmitting means;
Based on the travel distance information received by the receiving means, storage control means for storing the cumulative travel distance information of the own tire in the wheel side memory;
A wheel-side transmission unit that wirelessly transmits the accumulated travel distance information of the own tire stored in the wheel-side memory by the storage control unit. The vehicle body side wireless communication device, the vehicle body side receiving means for receiving the accumulated travel distance information transmitted by the wheel side transmitting means,
2. The communication according to claim 1, further comprising notification means for performing a process for notifying about the rotation time or replacement time of the wheel based on the accumulated travel distance information received by the vehicle body side reception means. system. The vehicle body side wireless communication device has vehicle body side receiving means for receiving cumulative travel distance information transmitted by the wheel side transmitting means,
The vehicle body side transmission means uses the cumulative travel distance information received by the vehicle body side reception means and the cumulative travel distance information of the tire based on the travel distance of the vehicle body as the travel distance information to the wheel side wireless communication device. The communication system according to claim 1, wherein the transmission is performed. The vehicle body side transmitter is a vehicle body side receiving means for receiving cumulative travel distance information transmitted by the wheel side transmitting means,
Based on the accumulated travel distance information received by the vehicle body side receiving means, and a notification means for reporting the rotation time or replacement time of the wheel,
The vehicle body side transmission means uses the cumulative travel distance information received by the vehicle body side reception means and the cumulative travel distance information of the tire based on the travel distance of the vehicle body as the travel distance information to the wheel side wireless communication device. The communication system according to claim 1, wherein the transmission is performed. 5. The vehicle body side transmission means wirelessly transmits the travel distance information of the vehicle body to the wheel side wireless communication device based on the engine stop of the vehicle. Communications system. A wheel-side wireless communication device disposed on a vehicle wheel or a tire attached to the wheel,
Wheel side memory,
Wheel-side receiving means for receiving the travel distance information transmitted by the vehicle body side wireless communication device that is mounted on the vehicle body and wirelessly transmits the travel distance information of the own vehicle body;
Based on the travel distance information received by the receiving means, storage control means for storing the cumulative travel distance information of the own tire in the wheel side memory;
A wheel-side wireless communication device comprising: a wheel-side transmission unit that wirelessly transmits the accumulated travel distance information of the own tire stored in the wheel-side memory by the storage control unit.

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