JP2006182228A - Tire air pressure warning device for vehicle - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a tire air pressure warning device for a vehicle in which an occupant of the vehicle can early recognize an abnormality of a tire air pressure and further to provide a tire air pressure warning device for the vehicle in which the occupant can recognize the abnormality of the tire air pressure before getting on the vehicle. <P>SOLUTION: The tire air pressure warning device for the vehicle has an air pressure signal transmission means 10 provided at a tire side and transmitting an air pressure signal from an air pressure sensor 8; a receiving means 12 provided at a vehicle body side and receiving the air pressure signal; an air pressure determination means 18 whether or not the tire air pressure is in a specified range based on the air pressure signal; a warning control means 20 for operating an air pressure warning means 22 when it is determined that the tire air pressure is not in the specified range by the air pressure determination means; and an occupant determination means 30 for determining the occupant possessing a key 24 of the vehicle. The air pressure determination means determines whether or not the tire air pressure is in the specified range when the occupant possessing the key of the vehicle is determined. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2006,JPO&NCIPI

Description

  The present invention relates to a tire pressure alarm device for a vehicle, and more particularly to a tire pressure alarm device for a vehicle that issues an air pressure alarm based on an air pressure signal from an air pressure sensor provided on a tire side.

  2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, a tire air pressure alarm device that informs an occupant of an abnormality in air pressure when the air pressure is insufficient is known (see, for example, Reference 1). Also, in such an air pressure alarm device, there is known a tire air pressure alarm device in which a signal from a tire air pressure sensor and a signal from a keyless entry are received by one receiving unit (Patent Document 2). ).

JP 2003-63220 A JP 2003-252014 A

Here, since the conventional tire air pressure alarm device is activated by starting the engine, the occupant knows the abnormality of the air pressure after getting into the vehicle and turning on the ignition. In addition, there was a case where the tire pressure was insufficient after the start of running.
On the other hand, if an abnormality in the air pressure can be known at an early stage, it is possible to promptly take measures such as injecting air or repairing a damaged tire. In addition, if you can know the air pressure abnormality before getting into the vehicle, you can immediately get tired on the spot before getting in, without having to do the trouble of getting out of the car again after getting in or stopping after starting running You can check the situation. Furthermore, if the air pressure abnormality can be surely known before the start of traveling, it is possible to improve safety without traveling with insufficient tires or searching for a place to stop after the start of traveling. .

  Therefore, the present invention has been made based on the above-described viewpoint, and an object of the present invention is to provide a vehicle tire pressure alarm device that allows a vehicle occupant to know an abnormality in tire pressure at an early stage. Furthermore, an object of the present invention is to provide a vehicle tire pressure alarm device that can detect an abnormality in tire pressure before getting into the vehicle.

To achieve the above object, the present invention is based on an air pressure signal transmitting means for transmitting an air pressure signal from an air pressure sensor provided on a tire side, a receiving means for receiving an air pressure signal provided on a vehicle body side, and an air pressure signal. An air pressure determining means for determining whether the tire air pressure is within a specified range, an alarm control means for operating the air pressure alarm means when the air pressure determining means determines that the tire air pressure is not within the specified range, Occupant determination means for determining an occupant who owns the vehicle key, and the air pressure determination means determines whether or not the tire pressure is within a specified range when the occupant who owns the vehicle key is determined. It is characterized by that.
In the present invention configured as described above, the air pressure determining means determines whether or not the tire air pressure is within the specified range when the occupant who owns the vehicle key is determined, and the tire air pressure is within the specified range. If it is determined that the air pressure is not detected, the air pressure alarm is activated so that the vehicle occupant can know the tire air pressure abnormality at an early stage before traveling and quickly inject air or repair tire damage. Etc. can be dealt with. Further, since the vehicle does not travel with insufficient air pressure, tire damage can be prevented.

In the present invention, it is preferable that the occupant determination means determine the occupant who owns the vehicle key before the ignition is turned on.
In the present invention configured as described above, the occupant determination means determines the occupant who owns the vehicle key before the ignition is turned on, so that the occupant is in the passenger compartment immediately before entering the passenger compartment. Even tire pressure abnormalities can be known.

In the present invention, it is preferable that the key is a smart key that automatically locks and unlocks the door of the vehicle.
In the present invention configured as described above, since the key is a smart key that automatically locks and unlocks the door of the vehicle, the determination and warning of air pressure are performed without requiring any operation by the occupant. I can do it. In addition, when the passenger is inside or outside the vehicle, the air pressure can be determined and alarmed.

In the present invention, preferably, the receiving means receives a signal from the smart key when an occupant of the vehicle that owns the smart key is in the vicinity of the vehicle, and the occupant determining means is a signal from the smart key by the receiving means. Is received to determine the occupant who owns the vehicle key.
In the present invention configured as described above, the receiving means receives a signal from the smart key when the occupant of the vehicle that owns the smart key is in the vicinity of the vehicle, and the occupant determination means receives the signal from the smart key by the receiving means. Since the occupant who owns the vehicle key is determined by receiving this signal, the air pressure can be reliably determined and alarmed before the occupant gets into the vehicle. Therefore, the occupant can surely know the abnormality of the tire pressure before getting into the vehicle, and can immediately check the condition of the tire immediately before getting into the vehicle.

  According to the tire pressure alarm device for a vehicle of the present invention, the vehicle occupant can know the abnormality of the tire pressure at an early stage. Furthermore, it is possible to know an abnormality in tire air pressure before getting into the vehicle.

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the accompanying drawings.
First, a tire pressure alarm device for a vehicle according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIG.
FIG. 1 is a diagram showing an overall configuration of a tire air pressure alarm device applied to a vehicle according to an embodiment of the present invention.

As shown in FIG. 1, the vehicle to which this embodiment is applied includes a tire air pressure detection device 2, a first control unit 4, and a second control unit 6.
The tire air pressure detection device 2 transmits a tire air pressure sensor 8 provided on a tire wheel (not shown) of a wheel and a tire air pressure signal (air pressure signal) detected by the air pressure sensor 8 to the vehicle body side by radio waves. A TPMS (Tire Pressure Monitoring System) transmitter 10.

  The first control unit 4 includes a receiving unit 12, which receives a radio signal from the TPMS transmitter 10 via the antenna 14 and converts it into an electrical signal, and receives the signal (reception signal, air pressure). Signal) is output to the serial communication 16 connecting the first control unit 4 and the second control unit 6.

  The second control unit 6 includes an air pressure abnormality determination unit 18, and the air pressure abnormality determination unit 18 has a tire air pressure within a specified range (according to the vehicle and tire) based on the air pressure signal input via the serial communication 16. It is determined whether it is within the range of the safety air pressure specified in the above.

  The second control unit 6 also has an alarm control unit 20 that activates the air pressure alarm device 22 when the air pressure abnormality determination unit 18 determines that the tire air pressure is not within the specified range. The vehicle occupant is informed of an abnormality in the tire air pressure. This air pressure alarm 22 includes an alarm lamp in a meter unit provided on the instrument panel of the vehicle, an alarm lamp provided in the vicinity of the front side window on the driver side so as to be visible from inside and outside the vehicle, and inside and outside the vehicle. A speaker that alerts the user with an alarm.

In this embodiment, the determination by the air pressure abnormality determination unit 18 and the control by the alarm control unit 20 (alarm by the air pressure alarm device 22) are performed not only after the engine is started but also before the engine is started. Below, the main structure for performing the air pressure determination and alarm by the 2nd control unit 6 before engine starting is demonstrated.
First, the first control unit 4 also serves as a control unit of a keyless entry unit, and the receiving unit 12 receives a door lock / unlock signal from a keyless transmitter (portable device possessed by a passenger) 24 via an antenna 14. (Keyless signal) is received.

  In this embodiment, the keyless entry unit is a so-called smart keyless (passive keyless) unit. That is, the keyless transmitter 24 is a portable device (smart key) such as a card key possessed by an occupant, and the first control unit 4 automatically locks and unlocks the door by authenticating the card key. It has become.

  With this smart keyless unit, as shown by a broken line in FIG. 2, a keyless transmitter (smart key) 24 can be used as a region a near the door 26, a front seat region b in the vehicle interior, a rear seat region c, and a trunk region. The door 26 and the rear gate 28 are automatically unlocked in the areas a to e when they are in the area near the vehicle including the vehicle interior, as indicated by the area e near the d and the rear gate (trunk hatch etc.) 28. The door is automatically locked when it is not or when traveling. In this way, the door 26 and the rear gate 28 can be automatically unlocked when an occupant having a smart key approaches or is in an area near the vehicle.

  Specifically, the first control unit 4 includes an occupant determination unit 30, and when the reception unit 12 receives a signal (keyless signal) from the keyless transmitter (smart key) 24, The keyless transmitter 24 is authenticated based on the keyless signal. Then, the occupant determination unit 30 authenticates the keyless transmitter 24 to determine whether or not the vehicle is an occupant of the vehicle that owns the keyless transmitter 24 (a regular occupant of the vehicle). Further, the first control unit 4 has a keyless control unit 32 and activates the door lock mechanism 34 when a proper occupant of the vehicle is determined by the occupant determination unit 30.

  In the present embodiment, when the occupant determination unit 30 determines the occupant of the vehicle that owns the smart key, the occupant determination unit 30 causes the reception unit 12 to receive the air pressure signal from the tire air pressure detection device 2, and The air pressure abnormality determination unit 18 determines the tire air pressure as described above based on the air pressure signal received by the receiving unit 12. The alarm control unit 20 and the air pressure alarm device 22 perform tire pressure determination and alarm as described above when the air pressure abnormality determination unit 18 determines that the tire air pressure is not within the specified range.

  Here, the ON / OFF information of the ignition is input to the first control unit 4 from the ignition device 36, and the first control unit 4 can determine whether the engine is started or stopped. ing. The occupant determination by the occupant determination unit 30 and the air pressure determination and alarm by the second control unit 6 based on the occupant determination described above are performed when the ignition is OFF, that is, when the engine is stopped.

  As described above, in the present embodiment, even when the engine is stopped, tire pressure determination or the like is performed when the occupant is in the vicinity of the vehicle. Therefore, the occupant can know the abnormality of the tire pressure even before the vehicle travels. As a result, the occupant can adjust the air pressure at a gas station or a dealer at an early stage, or check for damage to the tire. I can do it. In particular, because you can know the air pressure abnormality before getting into the vehicle, it is not necessary to go out of the car and check the tire again after getting in or running as before, but the tire condition immediately on the spot before getting in Can be confirmed, so safety is further increased.

  Next, the contents of control by the vehicle tire pressure alarm device according to the present embodiment will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 3 is a flowchart showing the contents of control by the tire pressure alarm device for a vehicle according to the present embodiment. In this flowchart, S indicates each step.

  As shown in FIG. 3, the first control unit 4 determines in S1 whether or not the ignition is turned on and the engine is started. When it is determined that the ignition is turned on, the process proceeds to S2, and the air pressure abnormality determination unit 18 of the second control unit 6 determines whether the tire air pressure is within a specified range. If the air pressure is not within the specified range, the process proceeds to S3, where the alarm control unit 20 activates the air pressure alarm device 22.

If it is determined in S1 that the ignition is not turned on, the process proceeds to S4, and it is determined whether there is an occupant in the vicinity of the vehicle. That is, as described above, when the receiving unit 12 receives a keyless signal from the keyless transmitter 14, it is determined based on the keyless signal whether the vehicle is an occupant of the vehicle that owns the smart key 24 of the vehicle. To do.
In S4, if it is determined that there is an occupant in the vicinity of the vehicle, the process proceeds to S2, and the air pressure is determined as described above. When it is determined that there is no passenger in the vicinity of the vehicle, the processes of S2 and S3 are not performed.

  In the present embodiment, as shown in FIG. 1, the first control unit 4 and the second control unit 6 are separated and connected by the serial communication 16. The first control unit 4 and the second control unit 6 may be configured as an integrated unit, and the various controls described above may be performed by the integrated unit.

1 is a diagram illustrating an overall configuration of a tire pressure alarm device applied to a vehicle according to an embodiment of the present invention. It is a figure which shows the authentication area | region in the vehicle vicinity of the smart key by a smart keyless unit. It is a flowchart which shows the control content by the tire pressure alarm apparatus of the vehicle by this embodiment.

Explanation of symbols

2 tire pressure detecting device 4 first control unit 6 second control unit 12 receiving unit 16 serial communication 18 air pressure abnormality determining unit 20 alarm control unit 30 occupant determining unit 32 keyless control unit

Claims (4)

An air pressure signal transmitting means provided on the tire side for transmitting an air pressure signal from an air pressure sensor;
Receiving means provided on the vehicle body side for receiving the air pressure signal;
Air pressure determining means for determining whether the tire air pressure is within a specified range based on the air pressure signal;
When it is determined by the air pressure determination means that the tire pressure is not within the specified range, an alarm control means for operating the air pressure alarm means;
Occupant determination means for determining an occupant who owns the vehicle key,
The tire pressure alarm device for a vehicle, wherein the air pressure determination means determines whether or not the tire pressure is within a specified range when an occupant having the vehicle key is determined.   2. The vehicle tire pressure alarm device according to claim 1, wherein the occupant determination means determines an occupant who owns the vehicle key before the ignition is turned on.   The vehicle tire pressure alarm device according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the key is a smart key that automatically locks and unlocks the door of the vehicle. The receiving means receives a signal from the smart key when an occupant of the vehicle that owns the smart key is in the vicinity of the vehicle,
The vehicle tire pressure alarm device according to claim 3, wherein the occupant determination means determines an occupant who owns the vehicle key when the reception means receives a signal from the smart key.

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