US 5,629,874 AGranted

Vehicular tire air pressurization system and method

AssigneeCM Automotive Systems Inc.

InventorChander P. Mittal

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Abstract

A vehicular tire air pressurization system having an intelligent controller is connected to one or more manifolds each connected to at least one set of tires with the controller for selecting current operation conditions and controlling the manifolds to maintain tire pressure at desire air pressures, the controller having non volatile memory for storing dynamic parameters used to control manifolds having inflation and deflation valves for pressurizing the sets of tires to the desired pressures subject to dynamic parameters which are field programmable and which may be updated after each pressure adjustment cycle so that the tires are efficiently pressurized to the desired pressures even during changing dynamic characteristics caused by changing conditions such as temperature, altitude and tire wear, the non volatile memory is also for storing operational data after installation to reselect operating functions and to reset operating parameters.

Claims20

Dependent claims

A system in a vehicle for adjusting respective tire air pressures in one or more respective sets of tires from an air supply, said system comprising,

a controller means comprising memory means for storing programs and data, processor means executing said programs using said data, communication means for communicating signals used for adjusting said respective tire air pressures to said respective desired pressures, panel means for selecting said respective desired pressures and entering entered data, said memory means comprising rewritable non volatile for storing said entered data and for updating said data,
respective manifold means comprising respective electronic means for communicating said signals and for adjusting said respective tire air pressures to said respective desired pressures, respective inflation means for supplying supply air from said air supply to said respective sets of tires, respective deflation means for exhausting air from said respective sets of tires, and respective air pressure sensors for sensing said respective tire air pressures in said respective sets of tires, and
respective air channel means connected between both of said respective inflation means and said respective deflation means to said respective sets of tires for communicating said supply air to said respective sets of tires, for communicating said exhaust air from said respective sets of tires, and for communicating said respective tire air pressures to said respective air pressure sensors.

A method for adjusting respective tire air pressures to respective desired pressures in a vehicle comprising one or more respective sets of tires, respective air channels, an air supply, a controller comprising rewritable non volatile memory for storing entered data and a panel for entering said entered data, and respective manifolds for inflating, deflating, and sensing said respective tire air pressures, said method comprising the steps of,

storing sets of desired pressures respectively referenced to operating conditions,
storing said entered data in said rewritable non volatile memory for adjusting said respective tire air pressures,
selecting one of said operating conditions so as to select one of said sets of desired pressures,
sensing respective static pressures of said respective tire air pressure in said respective air channels,
determining if said respective static pressures are above or below said respective desired pressures,
inflating said respective tire air pressures to said respeective desired pressures when said respective static pressures are below said respective desired pressures, and
deflating said respective tire air pressures to said respective desired pressures when said respective static pressures are above said desired pressures.

4 more elements

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.