US6922140B2 — System for monitoring the pressure of tires of a …

Claim 1

Independent Claim 168 words

A system for monitoring the pressure of tires of a motor vehicle with location of the wheels, comprising a monitoring element, one pressure sensor per wheel i associated with a transmitter with which it transmits to the monitoring element a radio signal comprising sensor identification data, the system comprising: a means for determining the phase shift (di) between two radio signals transmitted at two distinct times (T 1 and T 2 ) for each wheel i; a means for determining the rotation angle (Dj), modulo 2π, traveled by each of the wheels j between the two times (T 1 and T 2 ); a means for comparison between the phase shifts (di) and the rotation angles (Dj), including determining first wheel angles based on the phase shifts and second wheel angles based on the rotation angles, and ranking the first wheel angles and second wheel angles in order to create pairs of wheel angles; and a means for identify the location of the wheels based on the ranking.

Claim 2

Independent Claim 168 words

A system for monitoring the pressure of tires of a motor vehicle with location of the wheels, comprising a monitoring element, one pressure sensor per wheel i associated with a transmitter with which it transmits to the monitoring element a radio signal comprising sensor identification data, the system comprising: a means for determining the phase shift (di) between two radio signals transmitted at two distinct times (T 1 and T 2 ) for each wheel i; a means for determining the rotation angle (Dj), modulo 2π, traveled by each of the wheels j between the two times (T 1 and T 2 ); a means for comparison between the phase shifts (di) and the rotation angles (Dj), including determining first wheel angles based on the phase shifts and second wheel angles based on the rotation angles, and ranking the first wheel angles and second wheel angles in order to create pairs of wheel angles; and a means for identify the location of the wheels based on the ranking.

Claim 3

Dependent Claim 29 words

The system as defined in claim 1 , wherein the means for determining the rotation angle traveled by each wheel comprise means for determining the speed of each wheel.

Claim 4

Dependent Claim 20 words

The system as defined in claim 2 , wherein the means are speed sensors of the vehicle's antilock braking system.

Claim 5

Dependent Claim 35 words

The system as defined in claim 1 , wherein the monitoring element comprises a means for storing the digital data at the two times (T 1 and T 2 ) corresponding to the radio signals.

Claim 6

Independent Claim 104 words

A method of identifying the locations of wheels on a vehicle, comprising: determining phase shifts between radio frequency signals transmitted at a plurality of times from each wheel; determining rotation angles traveled by each wheel at the plurality of times; identifying the locations of the wheels on the vehicle based on the phase shifts and the rotation angles. determining first wheel angles based on the phase shifts and second wheel angles based on the rotation angles; ranking the first wheel angles and second wheel angles in order to create pairs of wheel angles; and identifying the location of the wheels based on the ranking.

Claim 7

Independent Claim 104 words

A method of identifying the locations of wheels on a vehicle, comprising: determining phase shifts between radio frequency signals transmitted at a plurality of times from each wheel; determining rotation angles traveled by each wheel at the plurality of times; identifying the locations of the wheels on the vehicle based on the phase shifts and the rotation angles. determining first wheel angles based on the phase shifts and second wheel angles based on the rotation angles; ranking the first wheel angles and second wheel angles in order to create pairs of wheel angles; and identifying the location of the wheels based on the ranking.

Claim 8

Dependent Claim 106 words

The method of claim 5 , further comprising: identifying a first period, in the range [T 1 , T 1 +t 1 ] of a radio frequency reception level S 1 [T 1 , T 1 +t 1 ] of the radio frequency signals; identifying a second period, in the range [T 2 , T 2 +t 2 ] of the radio frequency reception level S 2 [T 2 , T 2 +t 2 ] of the radio frequency signals, wherein t 1 and t 2 represent one period of the radio frequency signals; and determining the phase shifts based on the first and second periods.

Claim 9

Dependent Claim 20 words

The method of claim 5 , wherein the rotation angles are determined based on the speed traveled by each wheel.

Claim 10

Dependent Claim 23 words

The method of claim 7 , wherein the speed traveled by each wheel is received from an antilock braking system of the vehicle.

Claim 11

Independent Claim 102 words

A method of identifying the locations of wheels on a vehicle, comprising, for each of a plurality of wheels: receiving a radio frequency signal having a periodic modulation at first and second times and determining a phase shift in the periodic modulation between the first and second times; receiving a speed signal from a wheel speed sensor; identifying the locations of the wheels on the vehicle based on the phase shifts and the speed signals; ranking the phase shifts and wheel rotation angles in order to create pairs of wheel angles; and identifying the locations of the wheels based on the ranking.

Claim 12

Independent Claim 102 words

A method of identifying the locations of wheels on a vehicle, comprising, for each of a plurality of wheels: receiving a radio frequency signal having a periodic modulation at first and second times and determining a phase shift in the periodic modulation between the first and second times; receiving a speed signal from a wheel speed sensor; identifying the locations of the wheels on the vehicle based on the phase shifts and the speed signals; ranking the phase shifts and wheel rotation angles in order to create pairs of wheel angles; and identifying the locations of the wheels based on the ranking.

Claim 13

Dependent Claim 36 words

The method of claim 9 , further comprising: for each of the plurality of wheels, receiving the speed signal at the first and second times and determining a wheel rotation angle based on the speed signals.

Claim 14

Dependent Claim 18 words

The method of claim 10 , wherein the wheel speed sensor is associated with an antilock braking system.

Claim 15

Dependent Claim 14 words

The method of claim 9 , wherein the periodic modulation is an amplitude modulation.

Claim 16

Dependent Claim 106 words

The method of claim 9 , further comprising: identifying a first period, in the range [T 1 , T 1 +t 1 ] of a radio frequency reception level S 1 [T 1 , T 1 +t 1 ] of the radio frequency signal; identifying a second period, in the range [T 2 , T 2 +t 2 ] of the radio frequency reception level S 2 [T 2 , T 2 +t 2 ] of the radio frequency signal, wherein t 1 and t 2 represent one period of the radio frequency signal; and determining the phase shifts based on the first and second periods.

Annuity Stage	Window Opens	Payment Deadline	Surcharge Period Until	Estimated Fee	Status
3.5 Years (Year 4)	2008-07-25	2009-01-24	2009-07-26	$2000.00	Window Closed / Lapsed
7.5 Years (Year 8)	2012-07-25	2013-01-24	2013-07-26	$3760.00	Window Closed / Lapsed
11.5 Years (Year 12)	2016-07-25	2017-01-24	2017-07-26	$7700.00	Window Closed / Lapsed

System for monitoring the pressure of tires of a motor vehicle

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