Communication between a wheel unit sensor and a master controller

#The present disclosure relates to electronics. More particularly, this disclosure relates to wheel unit sensors and master controllers.

#The air pressure of a motor vehicle tire can be an important factor of road safety. Improper tire pressure can lead to greater fuel consumption and inferior vehicle controllability. Tire pressure that is too low can lead to an increase in friction between the road and the tire, negatively affecting vehicle controllability. Low tire pressure can also lead to the tire rolling out of the tire rim, resulting in serious accidents. Tire pressure that is too high can reduce friction between the tire and the road, which can lead to skidding and loss of control. In addition, a high-pressure tire is more prone to burst when its temperature increases during use.

#It can be tedious to manually check the tire pressure of each tire of a vehicle before every use of the vehicle. Thus, this type of preventative maintenance was often skipped. This led to the development of tire pressure monitoring systems (TPMS). TPMS are increasingly popular in automotive applications. In fact, a TPMS is required in new cars sold in many different countries, including the United States, the European Union, South Korea, Russia, Indonesia, the Philippines, Israel, Malaysia, and Turkey.

#So that those having ordinary skill in the art to which the disclosed technology appertains will more readily understand how to make and use the same, reference may be had to the following drawings.

#FIG. 1 is an isometric view of an apparatus for improving communication between a wheel unit sensor and a master controller, according to at least one embodiment of the present disclosure.

#FIGS. 2A-2C illustrate timing diagrams associated with a receive schedule of a wheel unit sensor configured for improving communication with a master controller, according to at least one embodiment of the present disclosure.

#FIG. 1 is an isometric view of an apparatus for improving communication between a wheel unit sensor (11, 12, 13, 14) and a master controller (2), according to at least one embodiment of the present disclosure. The wheel unit sensors (11, 12, 13, 14) of FIG. 1 are each coupled to wheels (3) via mounting on a wheel or on a valve stem of a tire. In the example of FIG. 1, the wheel unit sensors are configured to collect monitoring data and transmit that monitoring data to the master controller (2). Examples of monitoring data that is collected by the wheel unit sensor include but are not limited to tire pressure information, temperature, tread depth, tire wear, vibrations/impulses, and sound. In a particular embodiment, the wheel unit sensor is a tire pressure monitoring (TPM) sensor.

#According to the present disclosure, the master controller (2) may be a central processing unit (CPU), an electronic control unit (ECU), a system on a chip (SOC), an application specific integrated circuit (ASIC), and the like. Both the wheel unit sensors (11, 12, 13, 14) and the master controller (2) may further include supporting circuits, such as volatile memory, non-volatile memory, power, and the like. Data from the master controller (2) can be used to place data on the dashboard or other display (23) of a vehicle through the use of indicator lamps, alphanumeric displays, and the like. While the display (23) is illustrated as being co-located with the master controller (2), it should be understood that display (23) may be remotely located from the master controller (2).

#In the example of FIG. 1, the wheel unit sensors (11, 12, 13, 14) of FIG. 1 may also be configured to receive data from the master controller (2). In a particular embodiment, the wheel unit sensors and the master controller utilize Bluetooth Low Energy (also known as “Bluetooth LE” or “BLE”) frequencies and technologies to transmit and receive data from each other. Because Bluetooth frequencies are commonly used in other vehicular applications, there is a reduced need for a transceiver dedicated to TPMS usage. For example, in one embodiment, the master controller is an ECU that is configured to transmit and receive BLE signals. In addition, by using BLE technology, it is possible for other BLE enabled systems on a vehicle to receive or request monitoring data (e.g., TPM data) from the wheel unit sensor. For example, the master controller may be any BLE enabled system on the vehicle. It should be understood that although certain embodiments are described in reference to BLE, embodiments are not so limited and can be used at any transmission frequency using any type of protocol. It also should be understood that while embodiments are described with respect to tire pressure sensors, embodiments can be used in any type of use case.