JP2008126701A - Tire internal information transmitter - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a tire internal information transmitter capable of receiving signals including tire internal information without interference in a receiver. <P>SOLUTION: A sensor module body 15 is mounted to a tire of a vehicle, and provided with a pressure sensor 24 for acquiring tire internal pressure, a temperature sensor 25 for acquiring a tire internal temperature, and a ROM 26 for storing tire mounting positional information set so that tire internal information transmitters (sensor modules) may have tire mounting positions (addresses) different from each other and information on different delay time at each tire mounting position. When a return request is received from an external receiver, the signal including the tire internal information on the tire internal pressure and the tire internal temperature is transmitted to the external receiver after the lapse of the stored delay time. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2008,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a tire internal information transmitting apparatus that acquires tire internal information such as tire internal pressure and tire internal temperature and transmits the tire internal information to a receiver installed outside the tire or outside the vehicle.

  In recent years, as a method of checking whether or not the pressure (internal pressure) of automobile tires is normal, a tire internal information transmission device (sensor module) that measures tire internal pressure and tire temperature is installed inside each tire of a vehicle. The tire internal information transmitting device transmits a signal including the tire internal information transmitted by wireless communication by the receiver on the vehicle body side outside the tire, and displays the received data on the on-board display of the cab. It has been proposed that a configured tire pressure monitoring system (Tire Pressure Monitoring System, hereinafter referred to as TPMS) is mounted on a vehicle (see, for example, Patent Document 1).

In addition, as a method of receiving the tire internal information from the running vehicle and checking whether the air pressure (internal pressure) is normal, the tire internal pressure and the tire internal temperature are measured inside each tire of the vehicle. An information transmission device is attached, and a signal including tire internal information transmitted from the tire internal information transmission device by wireless communication is received by a receiver installed outside the vehicle, and whether the received tire internal pressure is within a reference range. A method of determining whether or not by a central control device has been proposed (see, for example, Patent Document 2).
JP 2003-165313 A JP-A-10-302187

  However, when the tire internal information transmitting device for measuring the tire internal pressure and the tire internal temperature described above is installed inside a tire of a vehicle such as a bus or a truck whose rear wheels are multi-wheels, a frequency channel for transmission Is the same, there is a problem that the wireless signal transmitted from the tire internal information transmitting device installed in the inner and outer tires of the two wheels causes interference, and the receiver cannot acquire the tire internal information. .

  Further, in a system in which a receiver is provided outside the vehicle as disclosed in Patent Document 2, signals are sent all at once from the tire internal information transmitting device in response to a reply request from the receiver. Therefore, there is a problem that the signal causes interference and the tire internal information cannot be acquired by the receiver.

  The present invention has been made in view of such problems, and an object of the present invention is to be able to receive a signal including tire internal information without interference in a receiver installed outside the tire or outside the vehicle. The object is to provide a tire internal information transmitting device.

  In order to achieve the above object, a first invention is a tire internal information transmitting device that is attached to a tire of a vehicle and transmits tire internal information to an external receiver using a radio signal, and a sensor unit that acquires tire internal information And a storage unit that stores address information set to be different addresses between the tire internal information transmitting devices and information on different delay times for each address, and receives a reply request from the external receiver In this case, a signal including the tire internal information is transmitted after the stored delay time.

  A second invention is a tire internal information transmitting device that is attached to a tire of a vehicle and transmits tire internal information to an external receiver by a radio signal, a sensor unit that acquires tire internal information, and a tire internal information transmitting device A storage unit that stores address information set to be different addresses between each other, and information on different reply frequencies for each address, and when the reply request from the external receiver is received, the stored information A signal including the tire internal information is transmitted at a response frequency.

  The third invention is characterized in that in the first invention or the second invention, the address information can be rewritten by an external rewrite signal, and the fourth invention is the first invention to the first invention. Any one of the third invention is characterized in that it is attached to a tire of a vehicle having a double wheel, and a fifth invention is the antenna according to any one of the first to fourth inventions. While within the directivity range, the reply request from the external receiver is continuously received at the same cycle as the cycle of transmitting the signal including the tire internal information.

In the first aspect of the invention, when the reply request from the external receiver is received, the signal including the tire internal information is transmitted after a different delay time. Therefore, the receiver receives the signal including the tire internal information without interference. it can.
In the second aspect of the invention, when the reply request from the external receiver is received, the tire internal information is transmitted at a different reply frequency. Therefore, the receiver can receive a signal including the tire internal information without interference.
In the third aspect of the invention, the tire mounting position information (address information) can be rewritten by rewriting work from the outside. Therefore, even after the tire is replaced or the tire is rotated, Can be received without interference.
According to the fourth aspect of the invention, even when the rear wheel of the vehicle is a double wheel, the receiver can receive a signal including tire internal information without interference.
Since the fifth aspect of the invention continuously receives the reply request from the receiver at the same period as the signal containing the tire internal information while it is within the directivity range of the antenna of the receiver, Reception failure can be prevented.

  Embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is a schematic layout diagram showing an example of a configuration of a tire internal information management system in which a tire internal information transmitting device (hereinafter referred to as a sensor module) of the present invention is used. In FIG. 1, the tire internal information management system is attached to each tire 4 of the vehicle 6, acquires tire internal pressure and / or tire internal temperature, etc., and acquires tire internal information such as acquired tire internal pressure and / or tire internal temperature. The sensor modules 3 (SM1 to SM6) for transmitting signals including a constant delay time, respectively, and both sides of a path through which the vehicle 6 having a substantially constant vehicle width passes are provided at substantially constant intervals from the vehicle 6. The receiver 1 (RM1, RM2) that receives the signal including the tire internal information sent from the sensor module 3 (SM1 to SM6) with a certain delay time and acquires the tire internal information, and the approach of the vehicle 6 Is detected, the receiver 1 (RM1, RM2) is instructed to acquire data from the sensor module 3, and the receiver 1 (RM1, RM2) acquires the data. Central control device 5 that collects data on the inner information of the ear and determines whether the pressure and temperature of the tire are within the reference range, and is installed obliquely in front of the vehicle 6 and displays the determination result in the central control device 5 And a tire management device 8 that manages the acquired pressure and temperature data for each vehicle number. The receiver 1 (RM1, RM2) and the central control device 5 constitute a tire internal information reading device (gate reader) 9.

  The receiver 1 (RM1, RM2) includes an antenna 1a that receives a radio signal including tire internal information such as tire internal pressure and / or tire internal temperature transmitted from the sensor module 3 (SM1 to SM6). In addition, a vehicle detection sensor (not shown) that detects the approach of the vehicle 6 is provided inside the receiver 1 (RM1, RM2).

  FIG. 2 is a diagram showing a state when the tire internal information reading device (gate reader) actually reads the tire internal information from the tire. A vehicle 6 having a substantially constant vehicle width such as a bus or a truck simply passes between the receiver 1 (RM1) and the receiver 1 (RM2) of the tire internal information reader (gate reader) 9 at a low speed. Tire internal information can be acquired.

  When the central control device 5 provided in the tire internal information reading device 9 receives a signal notifying the approach of the vehicle 6 from a vehicle detection sensor provided in the receiver 1 (RM1, RM2), the central control device 5 receives the receiver 1 (RM1, RM2). Via a command to send a response request (reception request) of tire internal information to all sensor modules 3 (SM1 to SM6), and cause each sensor module 3 to transmit a signal including tire internal information such as tire internal pressure and tire internal temperature. The tire internal information transmitted from each sensor module 3 is acquired via the receiver 1 (RM1, RM2). Further, the central control device 5 determines whether or not the acquired tire internal pressure and tire internal temperature are within a reference range, and displays the tire state as a signal on a display 7 installed diagonally forward of the driver. Moreover, the measured pressure is transmitted to the tire management apparatus 8 which is a computer, and is automatically managed for each vehicle number.

  The sensor module 3 (SM1, SM2) is attached to the inside of the front tire, and the sensor module 3 (SM3 to SM6) is attached to the inside of the tire of the vehicle whose rear wheels are multi-wheels. The sensor module 3 (SM1 to SM6) is attached to a wheel rim 13 integrally with a cylindrical tire valve 12 for injecting air into the tire 4, as shown in the sectional view of the tire in FIG. . The sensor module 3 may be mounted by being baked on the inner surface of the tire so as not to be isolated or broken from the tire even if the running tire is deformed under load. It can also be held in the tire inner space by a separate means.

  FIG. 4 is a view showing the outer shape of the sensor module. The sensor module 3 includes a sensor module body 15 having a data writing terminal 14 for writing tire mounting position information (address information) data and delay time information data from the outside, a rim mounting portion 16, an antenna 17, and the like. And is attached to the wheel rim 13 integrally with the tire valve 12.

  The sensor module main body 15 shown in FIG. 4 incorporates an electric circuit device shown in a schematic block diagram in FIG. This electric circuit device includes a pressure sensor 24 that detects tire internal pressure, a temperature sensor 25 that detects tire internal temperature, a controller 21, and a transmitter 22 that converts an output signal from the controller 21 into a transmission signal from an antenna 17. The controller 21 includes a rewritable ROM (for example, EPROM) ROM (storage unit) 26 and a control unit 27. In the rewritable ROM 26, there are data of tire mounting position information set so as to be different tire mounting positions (addresses) among the sensor modules between the multiple wheels, and data of delay time information different for each tire mounting position information. It is remembered.

  The control unit 27 provided in the controller 21 takes in the tire internal information of the tire internal pressure and the tire internal temperature detected by the pressure sensor 24 and the temperature sensor 25, and stores the tire mounting position information stored in advance in the ROM 26 in the tire interior. Together with the information, the data is output to the transmitter 22 at a predetermined delay time stored in advance in the ROM 26 and at a timing of the period T. The temperature sensor 26 is provided in order to check the state of the tire inner space in more detail, and although it is preferable, it is not always essential.

  The sensor module main body 15 includes a data writing terminal 14 for inputting a signal from the outside, and a control unit 27 provided in the controller 21 is input from a dedicated writing device 28 connected to the data writing terminal 14. The tire mounting position information data and the delay time information data can be written in the rewritable ROM 26 in advance.

  The tire mounting position information (address information) is represented by a tire number as follows, for example. The tire on the right outer side of the rear wheel is designated tire number 1, the tire on the right inner side of the rear wheel is designated tire number 2, the tire on the left inner side of the rear wheel is designated tire number 3, and the tire on the left outer side of the rear wheel is designated tire number 4. In the present invention, it is assumed that the rear wheels have two axes (inner and outer tires are provided on each axis), and when the rear wheels have three axes, it may be divided into six.

  FIG. 6 is a diagram illustrating the timing of signals including tire internal information transmitted from the sensor module 3 (SM3 to SM6). The sensor module 1 is a sensor module 3 (SM3) attached to the tire of the tire number 1 on the right outer side of the rear wheel. When a response request (reception request) for tire internal information is received, a response request (reception for tire internal information) is received. The signal including the tire internal information is transmitted a plurality of times (five times in FIG. 6) at a transmission time (10 ms) and a period T (100 ms) almost in synchronization with the request. The sensor module 2 is the sensor module 3 (SM4) attached to the tire of the tire number 2 on the right inner side of the rear wheel. When a response request (reception request) for tire internal information is received, the delay time Δt is greater than that of the sensor module 1. After (25 ms), a signal including tire internal information is transmitted a plurality of times (five times in FIG. 6) at a transmission time (10 ms) and a period T (100 ms). The sensor module 3 is the sensor module 3 (SM5) attached to the tire of the tire number 3 on the left inner side of the rear wheel. When a response request (reception request) for tire internal information is received, the delay time Δt is greater than that of the sensor module 2. After (25 ms), a signal including tire internal information is transmitted a plurality of times (five times in FIG. 6) at a transmission time (10 ms) and a period T (100 ms). The sensor module 4 is the sensor module 3 (SM6) attached to the tire of the tire number 4 on the left outer side of the rear wheel. When a response request (reception request) for tire internal information is received, the delay time Δt is greater than that of the sensor module 3. After (25 ms), a signal including tire internal information is transmitted a plurality of times (five times in FIG. 6) at a transmission time (10 ms) and a period T (100 ms).

  The delay time Δt is preferably 20 to 25 ms when the cycle T of the signal including the tire internal information is 100 ms. The tire internal information return request (reception request) is prepared in response to the sensor module 3 (SM3 to SM6) failing to receive the tire internal information return request from the central controller 5. ˜SM6) are preferably commanded from the central controller 5 to the sensor modules 3 (SM3 to SM6) continuously at intervals of the period T while passing through the range of directivity of the antenna 1a of the receiver 1.

  As described above, the sensor modules 3 (SM3 to SM6) store different delay times in the ROM 26 and transmit signals including tire internal information with different delay times. A signal containing internal information can be received without interference.

  In the above-described embodiment, data of delay time information different for each tire mounting position information is stored in the ROM 26, and a signal including tire internal information is transmitted with a different delay time. Alternatively, data of different reply frequency information may be stored and a signal including tire internal information may be transmitted at a different reply frequency. When a response request (reception request) for tire internal information is received, the sensor module 3 (SM3 to SM6) may transmit a signal including tire internal information at a different response frequency stored in the ROM 26, respectively. The external receiver 1 can receive a signal including tire internal information without interference.

  Further, in the above-described embodiment, when a reply request is made, the tire internal information detected immediately before may be returned, or immediately after the reply request is made, the latest tire internal information is sent. It may be obtained and sent back after a delay time. Also, when there is a reply request, the sensor module measures the latest data after the delay time and returns the signal without delay after the measurement is completed, which is the same as transmitting the tire internal information after the delay time of the present invention. It is a concept.

  Moreover, even if there are twelve tires such as a 12-wheel truck (a truck with two front axles and two rear axles), the timing does not have to be changed at all positions. It suffices if signals do not collide between tires that fall within the range in which a data transmission request signal arrives from an external receiver (the power is adjusted to about 2 m). As a best example, in a 12-wheel truck in Japan, there are two front axles (four tires), two rear right axles (four tires), and two rear left axles (four tires). It is divided into three blocks so that timing does not collide within each block.

  In the above-described embodiment, the receiver 1 (RM1) and the receiver 1 (RM2) are arranged on both sides of the passage through which the vehicle 6 passes. However, the receiver 1 (RM2) Since the signal including the tire internal information from the sensor module 3 (SM3 to SM6) can be received only by the receiver 1 (RM1), the receiver 1 (RM2) May be omitted.

  Further, in the above-described embodiment, the case where the tire internal information transmitting device (sensor module) of the present invention is used in a tire internal information management system that is received by a receiver installed outside the vehicle has been described. The tire internal information transmitting device (sensor module) can also be used in a vehicle-mounted tire pressure monitoring system (TPMS) that receives tire internal information with a receiver on the vehicle body side outside the tire.

  Further, the tire internal information transmitting device (sensor module) of the present invention provides a signal including the tire internal information from the tire internal information transmitting device (sensor module) in the external receiver even when it is mounted inside the front wheel tire. It can be received without interference. That is, the tire internal information transmitting device (sensor module) of the present invention is used not only in a tire pressure monitoring system (TPMS) mounted on a bus or truck vehicle having a rear wheel that is a double wheel, but also in the rear wheel. Can be used for a tire pressure monitoring system (TPMS) or the like mounted on a normal passenger car that is not a double wheel.

1 is a schematic layout diagram illustrating an example of a configuration of a tire internal information management system in which a tire internal information transmission device (sensor module) of the present invention is used. It is a figure which shows the state when actually reading the tire internal information from a tire with a tire internal information reading apparatus (gate reader). It is sectional drawing which shows the state which attached the sensor module to the tire. It is a figure which shows the external shape of a sensor module. It is a schematic block diagram of a sensor module main body. It is a figure which shows the timing of the signal containing the tire internal information transmitted from a sensor module.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Receiver 1a, 17 Antenna 3 Sensor module 4 Tire 5 Central control apparatus 6 Vehicle 7 Indicator 8 Tire management apparatus (computer)
DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 9 Tire internal information reading device 12 Tire valve 13 Wheel rim 14 Data writing terminal 15 Sensor module main body 16 Rim attachment part 21 Controller 22 Transmitter 24 Pressure sensor 25 Temperature sensor 26 ROM
27 Control unit 28 Dedicated writing device

Claims (5)

A tire internal information transmitting device that is attached to a tire of a vehicle and transmits tire internal information to an external receiver by radio signal,
A sensor unit for acquiring tire internal information;
A storage unit for storing address information set to be different addresses between the tire internal information transmission devices, and information of different delay times for each address,
When the reply request from the external receiver is received, the tire internal information transmitting apparatus transmits a signal including the tire internal information after the stored delay time. A tire internal information transmitting device that is attached to a tire of a vehicle and transmits tire internal information to an external receiver by radio signal,
A sensor unit for acquiring tire internal information;
A storage unit for storing address information set to be different addresses between the tire internal information transmission devices, and information on different reply frequencies for each address,
When the reply request from the external receiver is received, the tire internal information transmitting apparatus transmits a signal including the tire internal information at the stored reply frequency.   The tire internal information transmitting device according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the address information can be rewritten by an external rewrite signal.   The tire internal information transmitting device according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the tire internal information transmitting device is attached to a tire of a vehicle having multiple wheels.   The reply request from the external receiver is continuously received in the same cycle as the cycle of transmitting the signal including the tire internal information while the antenna is within the directivity range of the antenna of the external receiver. Item 5. The tire internal information transmitting device according to any one of Items 1 to 4.

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