KR20130081095A - Tire pressure monitoring system and method thereof - Google Patents

Abstract

In this invention, an ultrasonic sensor is provided and this ultrasonic sensor is attached to the tire shaft which carries out fixed support of a tire instead of a tire. Using this ultrasonic sensor, distance data from the position where the ultrasonic sensor is mounted to the ground is calculated. In the present invention, the tire height pressure state is monitored using the calculated height data, the presence of an abnormality is detected, and the driver is notified of this.

Description

Tire Pressure Monitoring System and Method Thereof

The present invention relates to a tire air pressure monitoring system and a method thereof, and more particularly to a tire air pressure monitoring system and method for monitoring the tire pressure state by monitoring the tire pressure state.

In general, the vehicle is equipped with a device for improving the tire durability and braking force by maintaining the proper air pressure and temperature of the tire through an automatic detection sensor attached to the tire. Such a device is commonly referred to as a Tire Pressure Monitoring System (TPMS).

1 is a configuration diagram showing a schematic overall configuration of a conventional TPMS.

Referring to FIG. 1, a conventional tire inflation pressure monitoring system (TPMS) measures the inflation pressure of the tire 10 and transmits the measured inflation data as an RF signal to the control system 20 in the vehicle. Is mounted on. In the conventional tire pressure monitoring system (TPMS), since the sensor 15 is mounted on the tire 10, the tire balance affects the wheel balance, thereby degrading the vehicle running performance.

In addition, the sensor 15 requires a power source (battery) to transmit the RF signal. Therefore, periodic replacement (or charging) of the battery is required, which is inconvenient.

Accordingly, it is an object of the present invention to provide a tire air pressure monitoring system that does not affect the wheel balance and does not require periodic replacement of the battery.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a method for monitoring tire air pressure.

Tire pressure monitoring system of the present invention for achieving the above object, the sensor unit is installed on the wheel axle of the vehicle, the sensor unit for measuring the distance value from the installed position to the ground, and the measured distance value to a predetermined number of sampling Collecting and calculating an average value of the collected distance values, comparing the calculated average value with a preset reference value, and outputting the electronic control unit for determining whether the tire is in an abnormal state and providing the driver with the information for determining the abnormality. It includes an information output unit.

According to another aspect of the present invention, there is provided a method for monitoring tire air pressure, the method comprising: measuring a distance value from a position at which the sensor is installed to the ground through a sensor installed at a wheel shaft of a vehicle; Sampling the distance value from the sensor by a predetermined number, calculating an average value of the distance values sampled by the predetermined number, comparing the calculated average value with a reference value, and determining whether an abnormality is obtained according to a comparison result. And receiving, by the cluster, information determining the abnormality and outputting the determined information to the driver.

According to the present invention, unlike the conventional case in which the sensor component for measuring the air pressure of the tire is mounted in the tire, in the present invention, the wheel balance performance can be improved by mounting the wheel axle for supporting and fixing the tire, resulting in traveling. Stability can be improved.

In addition, unlike the related art, in which the design of the battery is necessary to transmit tire air pressure measured data in an RF signal manner, the present invention does not require replacement of the battery, thereby improving work convenience of the monitoring operator.

1 is a configuration diagram showing a schematic overall configuration of a conventional TPMS.
2 is a block diagram showing the overall configuration of a TPMS according to an embodiment of the present invention.
3 is a flow chart illustrating a method of monitoring the air pressure of a tire using the system shown in FIG. 2.

The present invention provides a method for reducing the performance of the wheel balance and solving the conventional problem that the replacement of the battery is frequently required.

To this end, in the present invention, an ultrasonic sensor is provided, and the ultrasonic sensor is mounted on a tire shaft not fixed to the tire but fixed to the tire shaft. Using this ultrasonic sensor, distance data from the position where the ultrasonic sensor is mounted to the ground is calculated. In the present invention, the tire height pressure state is monitored using the calculated height data, the presence of an abnormality is detected, and the driver is notified of this.

By doing so, the present invention can improve the wheel balance performance, consequently increase the driving stability, and it is possible to provide a technical effect that can improve the convenience of the monitoring operation because no replacement of the battery is required.

Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings. In adding reference numerals to the components of each drawing, it should be noted that the same reference numerals are assigned to the same components as much as possible even though they are shown in different drawings. In the following description of the embodiments of the present invention, a detailed description of known functions and configurations incorporated herein will be omitted when it may make the subject matter of the present invention rather unclear.

2 is a block diagram showing the overall configuration of a TPMS according to an embodiment of the present invention.

2, the TPMS 100 according to an embodiment of the present invention is a sensor module 110 for measuring the distance from the ground and the electronic control system for determining whether the tire pressure normal by calculating the measured distance And an information output unit 130 for outputting the determination information determined by the electronic control system 120 to the driver.

Unlike the conventional TPMS sensor (15 of FIG. 1), the sensor module 110 is installed on the wheel shaft 12 instead of being installed on the tire wheel side. The sensor module 110 fixes and supports the rotating shaft that transmits rotational force to the wheel 10. It means the axis. Therefore, the sensor module according to an embodiment of the present invention does not affect the performance of the tire wheel due to this mounting position, and does not cause deterioration of the wheel performance. In addition, the sensor module 110 measures the distance from the mounting position of the wheel shaft 12 to the ground, and transmits the measurement result to the electronic control system 120 in a wired communication method such as a CAN or LIN communication method in a vehicle. . As the sensor module 110, an ultrasonic sensor that measures the distance to the specific object based on the time until the ultrasonic wave is reflected by the specific object may be used, but is not particularly limited thereto, and may measure the distance. Any sensor can be used. In addition, the sensor module 110 may itself be set to measure distance at a specific period. For example, it may be set to measure the distance from the mounting position to the ground at 500 ms intervals. On the other hand, such a sensor module, unlike the prior art, if a separate battery is not required, the power for its operation may be powered from a power management system (not shown) in the vehicle through the CAN or LIN communication method in the vehicle. .

The electronic control system 120 receives the distance data measured by the sensor module 110 through a wired communication method such as a CAN or LIN communication method, and the received distance data is used to calculate the air pressure of the tire through an average operation and a comparison operation. Determine whether it is normal or abnormal.

To this end, the electronic control system 120 includes a data converter 121, a data collector 123, an average value calculator 125, a comparator 127, and a controller 129.

The data converter 121 is a component that converts distance data received through a wired communication method such as a CAN or LIN communication method into distance data that can be processed therein, and may be a kind of interface module. The data collector 123 collects distance data converted by the data converter 121 and may be a kind of memory. The data collector 123 collects distance data transmitted according to a period set by the sensor module 110, and samples the collected distance data by a specific number. For example, distance data may be sampled in ten units. As such, the plurality of distance data sampled by a specific number is transmitted to the average value calculator 125. The average value calculator 125 receives the sampled distance data and calculates an average value of these data. For example, the average value calculator 125 calculates the distance average value by dividing the total of the distance values included in the 10 distance data by 10. The comparing unit 127 is configured to compare and calculate the average value calculated by the bias value calculating unit 125 with a preset reference value. For example, when the average value is larger than the reference value as a result of the comparison operation, the tire pressure state of the tire is normal. And the normal determination data in which the determination result is informed is transmitted to the clock information output unit 130. If the result of the comparison operation, if the average value is smaller than the reference value, the abnormality determination data that informs that the tire pressure state is abnormal is transmitted to the information output unit 130. The controller 129 is a configuration for controlling the overall operation of the block components consisting of the data converter 121, the data collector 123, the average value calculator 125 and the comparison unit 127, the operation state of each block configuration Initialize or control the setting value or setting range required for each block configuration. For example, the system designer may variously adjust the reference value indicating the tire pressure normal range or the tire pressure abnormal range using various interface means provided by the controller 129.

The information output unit 130 is configured to receive the normal or abnormal determination information of the tire inflation pressure which is finally calculated and output by the comparison unit 127 of the electronic control system 120, and provides the information to the driver. It may be a cluster system, and the present invention is not limited thereto, and may include a display capable of providing normal or abnormal visual information or a speaker capable of providing normal or abnormal audio information, and a variety of such displays and speakers. It can be any type of electronic device.

 As described above, the TPMS 100 according to an embodiment of the present invention minimizes errors generated from irregular ground by using an average value using a moving average when driving a vehicle. In addition, the TPMS 100 according to an embodiment of the present invention determines the distance from the ground when the tire is in a normal state when injecting tire air pressure, and then sets the distance from the ground when the tire is in an abnormal state according to the tire specification (wheel size, flat ratio). Can be. In addition, the TPMS 100 according to an embodiment of the present invention determines the distance to the ground at 500 ms intervals while driving, obtains an average value using the latest 10 sample data, and determines whether the tire is in a normal state.

As a result, as in the embodiment of the present invention, when the distance from the ground is determined, the distance between the ground and the irregular road can be minimized, and can be used in general driving and high speed driving in the same way.

3 is a flowchart illustrating a method of monitoring tire air pressure using the TPMS shown in FIG. 2. To aid in the understanding of the description, reference may be made to FIG. 2 together.

Referring to FIG. 3, first, an initialization process of an average value of tire inflation pressures calculated based on previously sampled distance data is performed (S310). Here, the step of setting the reference value indicating the abnormal range of the tire inflation pressure or the normal value of the tire inflation pressure through the control unit 129 may be included.

Subsequently, the process of periodically measuring the distance value from the mounting position to the ground by the sensor module 110 installed in the wheel shaft 12 is performed (S320).

Subsequently, the distance value measured periodically is sampled by a specific number, and an average value calculation process for the sampled distance value is performed (S330).

Subsequently, a process of comparing the calculated average value with the reference value is performed (S340). For example, when the average value is larger than the reference value, the electronic control system 120 determines that the tire pressure state is normal. Thereafter, the steps S320 and 330 are performed again on the next sampled data.

If, as a result of the comparison operation, the average value is smaller than the reference value, the electronic control system 120 determines that the tire air pressure is abnormal, and visually alerts the driver to the driver through the cluster of the vehicle. It becomes (S350).

The above description is merely illustrative of the technical idea of the present invention, and those skilled in the art to which the present invention pertains may make various modifications and changes without departing from the essential characteristics of the present invention. Therefore, the embodiments disclosed in the present invention are intended to illustrate rather than limit the scope of the present invention, and the scope of the technical idea of the present invention is not limited by these embodiments. The scope of protection of the present invention should be construed according to the following claims, and all technical ideas falling within the scope of the same shall be construed as falling within the scope of the present invention.

Claims (8)

A sensor unit installed on the wheel shaft of the vehicle and measuring a distance value from the installed position to the ground;
An electronic controller which collects the measured distance value by a predetermined sampling number, calculates an average value of the collected distance values, and compares the calculated average value with a preset reference value to determine whether the tire is in an abnormal state; And
Information output unit for outputting the information to determine the abnormality to the driver
Tire air pressure monitoring system comprising a.
The apparatus according to claim 1,
Tire pressure monitoring system for transmitting the distance value to the electronic control unit according to a wired communication method including a CAN communication method and a LIN communication method.
The method of claim 2, wherein the sensor unit,
Tire air pressure monitoring system that operates by receiving power from the power management system in the vehicle through the wired communication method.
The electronic control unit of claim 1,
A data collection unit collecting the distance value with the preset sampling number;
An average value calculator for calculating an average value of the collected distance values; And
A comparison unit which compares the calculated average value with a reference value and outputs determination information corresponding to whether the comparison is normal
Tire air pressure monitoring system comprising a.
The apparatus according to claim 1,
Tire air pressure monitoring system that is an ultrasonic sensor.
Measuring a distance value from a location where the sensor is installed to the ground through a sensor installed on a wheel shaft of a vehicle;
Sampling, by the electronic control unit, the distance value from the sensor in a predetermined number;
Calculating an average value of the distance values sampled by the predetermined number;
Comparing the calculated average value with a reference value, and determining whether an abnormality is generated according to the comparison result; And
Providing a result of the determination of the abnormality to the driver through the information output means;
How to monitor the tire pressure including a.
The method of claim 6, wherein before sampling the distance value to a predetermined number,
And transmitting the distance value measured by the sensor to the electronic control unit in a wired communication manner.
8. The method of claim 7, wherein said sensor further comprises receiving power from a power management system in a vehicle in said wired communication manner.

Images