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US 12,661,938 B2Granted
Tire pressure detector with multiple frequencies
AssigneeSensata Technologies, Inc.
InventorsNicolas Henriet, Emmanuel Marguet, Ian G. Barrett, Felipe Blanco Pozatto
Life of this patent
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Abstract
A tire monitor includes a sensor generating tire data and a plurality of control modules having phase locked loop circuits. The control modules generate output signals carrying the tire data. A first of the control modules is configured to generate first output signals having a first frequency and according to a first protocol. A second of the control modules is configured to generate second output signals having a second frequency and according to a second protocol. In examples, the output signal can be transmitted in parallel to different computing systems.
Claims20
A tire monitor comprising:
- a pressure sensor configured to output a pressure signal associated with a pressure of a tire;
- a first control module communicatively coupled to the pressure sensor, the first control module comprising:
- a first microcontroller, and
- a first phase-locked loop (PLL) circuit coupled to the first microcontroller,
- wherein the first control module is configured to modulate information related to the pressure signal onto a first output signal having a first radio frequency by operating the first PLL circuit by the first microcontroller;
- a second control module communicatively coupled to the pressure sensor, the second control module comprising:
- a second microcontroller, and
- a second PLL circuit coupled to the second microcontroller,
- wherein the second control module is configured to modulate the information related to the pressure signal onto a second output signal having a second radio frequency different from the first radio frequency by operating the second PLL circuit by the second microcontroller;
- a first antenna via which the first control module transmits the first output signal at the first radio frequency;
- a first RF matching circuit coupled to the first control module and to the first antenna;
- a second antenna via which the second control module transmits the second output signal at the second radio frequency;
- and
- a second RF matching circuit coupled to the second control module and to the second antenna.
11 more elements
A method for configuring a tire monitor to transmit tire data to a plurality of computing devices, the method comprising:
- determining a first radio frequency at which the tire monitor is to transmit the tire data to a first computing device;
- determining a second radio frequency at which the tire monitor is to transmit the tire data to a second computing device;
- selecting a first RF matching circuit associated with the first radio frequency;
- selecting a second RF matching circuit associated with the second radio frequency;
- configuring a first control module to output first output signals associated with the tire data at the first radio frequency;
- configuring a second control module to output second output signals associated with the tire data at the second radio frequency;
- transmitting the first output signals via a first antenna;
- and
- transmitting the second output signals via a second antenna.
6 more elements
A system comprising:
- a vehicle;
- a plurality of tires associated with the vehicle;
- a first computing system disposed on the vehicle;
- a second computing system remote from the vehicle;
- and
- a tire monitor comprising:
- a pressure sensor configured to output a pressure signal associated with a pressure of a tire;
- a first control module communicatively coupled to the pressure sensor and having a first phase-locked loop (PLL) circuit, the first control module configured to modulate information related to the pressure signal onto a first output signal having a first radio frequency associated with the first computing system;
- a second control module communicatively coupled to the pressure sensor and having a second PLL circuit, the second control module configured to modulate the information related to the pressure signal onto a second output signal having a second radio frequency associated with the second computing system, wherein the second radio frequency is different from the first radio frequency;
- a first antenna via which the first control module transmits the first output signal at the first radio frequency to the first computing system;
- a first RF matching circuit coupled to the first control module and to the first antenna;
- a second antenna via which the second control module transmits the second output signal at the second radio frequency to the second computing system;
- and
- a second RF matching circuit coupled to the second control module and to the second antenna.
11 more elements
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.