Electronic tire management system

A system for measuring a tire parameter comprising:

• a tire tag disposed inside of a vehicle tire, the tire tag including:
• a sensor for measuring one or more tire parameters;
• a microprocessor coupled to the sensor for activating the sensor on a first periodic basis;
• a memory in the microprocessor for storing the one or more tire parameters;
• a transmitter coupled to the microprocessor;
• and
• a receiver coupled to the microprocessor, the microprocessor periodically partially awakening to a search mode, determining, on a second periodic basis, if a transmission is likely an interrogation signal and, if so, further awakening to an interrogation mode, determining if the transmission is a valid interrogation signal and, if so, responding to the valid interrogation signal, via the transmitter, by at least transmitting the last stored data signal representing the measured parameter.

A tire tag comprising:

• a sensor for measuring at least one tire parameter;
• a microprocessor for causing the tire tag to enter a deep sleep mode in which a minimum number of electrical components are powered to conserve battery power;
• the microprocessor, on a periodic basis, enabling only the electrical components necessary to enter a lucid sleep mode, initiate a low-speed clock, and determine if it is time to enter a search mode;
• a receiver coupled to the microprocessor;
• the microprocessor, on a periodic basis, enabling only the electrical components necessary to enter a search mode, use the low-speed clock, read data from the sensor, if it is time for such a reading, determine if a transmission received by the receiver is likely an interrogation signal from a reader/transceiver (RT) and, if so, enable all of the necessary electrical components required to enter an interrogation mode and initiate a high-speed clock.

A system for measuring a parameter of a device comprising:

• a sensor for measuring the device parameter and generating a data signal representing the measured parameter;
• a memory in the microprocessor for storing the generated data signal representing the measured parameter;
• a microprocessor coupled to the sensor for activating the sensor on a first periodic basis to measure the device parameter, the microprocessor comparing the measured parameter with one or more parameter thresholds and generating an alarm signal if the measured parameter is outside of the one or more parameter thresholds;
• and
• a transmitter coupled to the microprocessor for transmitting the alarm signal on a second periodic basis to a remote reader/transceiver (RT) without external activation.

An electronic tire management system comprising:

• a tire tag mounted in a tire and including:
• a sensor for measuring one or more tire parameters;
• a transmitter for transmitting data signals using frequency shift key (FSK) modulation, the data signals representing the measured tire parameters;
• and
• a microprocessor, coupled to the sensor and the transmitter, for activating the sensor at a first periodic interval;
• and
• a remotely located reader/transceiver (RT) for sending interrogation signals to the tire tag and receiving data signals from the tire tag, the RT transmitting the interrogation signals using amplitude shift key (ASK) modulation.

A tire tag comprising:

• a microprocessor programmed to:
• measure the current hot pressure (P2) and the current hot temperature (T2);
• and
• determine an equivalent cold pressure of a tire using P2 and T2.

An interrogator comprising:

• a microprocessor programmed to:
• receive the current hot pressure (P2) and the current hot temperature (T2) readings from a tag;
• and
• determine an equivalent cold pressure of a tire using P2 and T2.

A system for measuring at least one tire parameter comprising:

• a tire tag disposed in a vehicle tire;
• a sensor forming a part of the tire tag and measuring at least one tire parameter on a first periodic basis;
• a microprocessor in the tire tag for causing communication between the tire tag and a remote source;
• a memory in the microprocessor for storing the at least one measured tire parameter;
• a transmitter/receiver forming a part of the tire tag for communicating with the remote source and transmitting at least the last stored tire parameter to the remote source under control of the microprocessor;
• the microprocessor causing the sensor to measure the at least one tire parameter independently of causing the transmitter/receiver to communication with the remote source;
• and
• the microprocessor periodically partially awakening to determine, on a second periodic basis, if a received transmission is a valid interrogation signal and, if so, fully awakening and responding to the valid interrogation signal.

A system for measuring a vehicle parameter comprising:

• a sensor for measuring the vehicle parameter and generating a data signal representing the measured parameter;
• a microprocessor coupled to the sensor for activating the sensor on a first periodic basis to measure the vehicle parameter;
• a memory in the microprocessor for storing the generated data signal representing the measured parameter;
• a transmitter coupled to the microprocessor;
• and
• a receiver coupled to the microprocessor, the microprocessor periodically partially awakening to determine, on a second periodic basis, if a received transmission is a possible interrogation signal and, if so, fully awakening to an interrogation mode to determine if the interrogation signal is valid, and, if so, responding to the valid interrogation signal, via the transmitter, by at least transmitting the last stored measured vehicle parameter.