Method and apparatus for a remote tire pressure monitoring system

A tire characteristic monitoring method comprising acts of:

• (a) transmitting an excitation signal including a relatively low frequency signal having a frequency less than 3 MHz from a remote exciter;
• (b) at a tire monitor associated with a tire of a vehicle, in response to the excitation signal, communicating data indicative of a tire characteristic to a receiver of the remote exciter using a signal having a frequency different from the relatively low frequency signal;
• (c) repeating act (b) for at least one additional tire of the vehicle;
• and
• (d) conveying the data and associated tire identification information from the exciter to a controller mounted on the vehicle, the controller being configured to subsequently provide to a user tire characteristic information based on the data for each tire of the vehicle.

A method for operating a remote tire pressure monitoring system, the system including a plurality of tire monitors associated with tires of a vehicle and a controller mounted on the vehicle, the method comprising:

• (a) programming at least some tire monitors by
• (a1) activating a tire monitor with only a relatively low frequency signal having a frequency below 3 MHz from a remotely located exciter;
• (a2) in response to the low frequency signal, transmitting identification information from the tire monitor;
• and
• (a3) associating the identification information with position of a tire associated with the tire monitor on the vehicle;
• (b) subsequently, at the tire monitor detecting a tire characteristic of the tire;
• and
• (c) conveying data indicative of the tire characteristic from the tire monitor directly to the controller by communicating a relatively high frequency signal having a frequency above 3 MHz for reception by a receiver of the controller.

A system for monitoring a tire characteristic of tires of a vehicles with reduced interference and crosstalk, the system comprising:

• a plurality of tire monitors, each tire monitor associated with a tire of the vehicle and including a sensor which produces data indicative of a tire characteristic and a transmitter circuit to transmit a relatively high frequency signal in response to an activation signal, the relatively high frequency signal having a frequency greater than 3 MHz;
• a controller for providing tire characteristic information to a user, the controller including a receiver circuit configured to receive the relatively high frequency signal;
• and
• a plurality of exciters electrically coupled to the controller, each exciter located on the vehicle near an associated tire monitor, each exciter including a transmission circuit configured to transmit, in response to a control signal from the controller, only a relatively low frequency signal as the activation signal for the associated tire monitor, the relatively low frequency signal having a frequency less than 3 MHz.

A method for determining position of a tire monitor in a remote tire monitoring system with reduced interference and crosstalk, the tire monitor being associated with a tire of a vehicle, the method comprising:

• (a) transmitting a radio signal from an exciter to a tire monitor at a first frequency, the first frequency having a frequency less than 3 MHz;
• (b) detecting the radio signal at the tire monitor and, in response thereto, transmitting a tire monitor radio signal at a second frequency, the second frequency being different from the first frequency, the second frequency being greater than 3 MHz;
• and
• (c) receiving at a remote location the tire monitor radio signal and position information for the tire monitor and associating the position information and the tire monitor radio signal.