Tire pressure monitor system module
Contents
1. o o dee m e FIG 6 U S Patent Sep 22 2009 Product Name Logo 152 Other Information 154 150 FIG 7 Title Area 158 Reset 160a Diagnostics 1606 156 Update 160c Current Vehicle 2005 Cadillac Escalade EXT Sheet 6 of 8 US 7 592 904 B2 Title Area 158 Main Menu 178 Acura 178b Audi 478c 176 o Unlisted 178 as Enter Z S 162 166 164 FIG 10 Title Area 158 Main Menu 182 CTS 182b DeVille 182c Unlisted 182 Al Enter 10 ned 162 166 164 FIG 11 Title Area 158 Main Menu 186a 2006 1865 2005 1852 18 5 199 Untisted 186n LA Enter og 162 166 FIG 12 NE 164 U S Patent Sep 22 2009 Sheet 7 of 8 US 7 592 904 B2 Title Area 158 Text Area 190 Text Area 190 RE 192 194 194 FIG 13 FIG 15 B Jal x Text Area 190 196 192 198 FIG 14 FIG 16 U S Patent Sep 22 2009 Text Area 190 206 Main Menu Yes 192 210 FIG 17 Text Area 190 Main Menu 212 192 FIG 18 Sheet 8 of 8 US 7 592 904 B2. U S PATENT DOCUMENTS stand alone module that may be attached connected or in communication with a modular product The tire pressure monitor system tool may include all of the functionality avail 5 124410 A 6 1992 Campbell able to tire pressure monitor systems The tire pressure moni 5 462 374 A 10 1995 Kohno _ tor system module may include modules for transmitting and 5 562 782 10 1996 Takahashi receiving signals from a tire pressure monitor system reset 5 562 787 10 1996 Koch et al ting and diagnosing a tire pressure monitor system initiating 5 573 611 A 11 1996 Koch et al 152 152 1 determining and selecting procedures associated with the tire 3 600301 211927 Robinson TIT pressure monitor system simulating a tire pressure sensor of 5 602 301 A 2 1997 Field atire pressure monitor system storing displaying updat 5 602 524 A 2 1997 Mock et al Seg ing information related to tire pressure monitor systems and 5 731 516 A 3 1998 Handfield et al tifyi fa status r d d that d 5952935 9 1999 Mejia et al i atus of a procedure and that a procedure 6 172 609 BL 1 2001 Lu etal as een compicied 6 243 007 6 2001 McLaughlin et al 6 340 929 1 2002 Katou et al 61 Claims 8 Drawing Sheets 50 78 icle Data Procedure m 1 L Se ee 52 86 Procedure EH 58 72 86 Tran
3. 44 The method of claim 43 further comprising interfacing with an electronic control unit of the vehicle 45 The method of claim 43 further comprising determin ing at least one of an initiation procedure and a resetting procedure associated with the tire pressure monitor system 46 The method of claim 45 further comprising selecting at least one of the initiation procedure and the resetting proce dure 47 The method of claim 46 further comprising providing feedback regarding at least one of the initiation procedure and the resetting procedure 48 The method of claim 43 further comprising accessing the information stored 49 The method of claim 43 further comprising updating the information stored 50 The method of claim 49 wherein the updating uses an RS23 port 20 25 14 51 The method of claim 43 further comprising displaying at least one of vehicle information and tire pressure monitor system information 52 The method of claim 51 wherein the tire pressure monitor system information comprises at least one of tire pressure tire pressure sensor identification and sensor mode 53 The method of claim 43 further comprising resetting the tire pressure monitor system 54 The method of claim 53 further comprising notifying a user that a tire pressure monitor system has been reset 55 The method of claim 54 wherein the notifying notifies the user by causing at least one of a vehicle horn to sound and at le
4. and have a clock speed of 10 178 Mhz Alternatively the receiver 38 may operate at 433 Mhz and have a clock speed of 13 225 Mhz Although only one receiver is shown it is to be understood that multiple receivers operating at different fre quencies and having different clock speeds may be used The tool 10 may also include a power supply 40 As stated above the power supply may be for example three 3 size C batteries The power supply 40 may be in communication with a power regulator 42 The power regulator 42 may be used to regulate the power supplied to each device ofthe tool 10 FIG 4 illustrates a block diagram ofthe tire pressure moni tor tool 10 shown in FIGS 1 and 2 according to one embodi ment of the invention The tool 10 may include a storing module 50 that stores information regarding a plurality oftire pressure monitor systems According to one embodiment of the invention the information stored relates to a plurality of tire pressure monitor systems from a variety of vehicle manu factures and various models and years of the vehicles The storing module 50 may be for example any suitable storage medium such as a storage module on a microprocessor a hard disk a removable storage media such as a flash disk for other suitable storage mechanism The tool 10 also includes a vehicle data requesting module 52 The vehicle data request ing module 52 may be used to request data regarding a par ticular vehicle for which the too
5. of a vehicle horn to sound and at least one vehicle light to flash 35 The tool of claim 32 further comprising manual refer encing means for referencing a vehicle owner s manual 36 The tool of claim 22 further comprising diagnosing means for diagnosing the tire pressure monitor system 37 The tool of claim 22 wherein the vehicle data com prises vehicle make model and year data 38 The tool of claim 22 further comprising transmitting means for transmitting a signal from the tool to the tire pres sure monitor system 39 The tool of claim 22 further comprising receiving means for receiving a signal from at least one of the tire pressure monitor system and the at least one tire pressure sensor 40 The tool of claim 22 further comprising linking means for linking the vehicle data and the information stored by the storing means 41 The tool of claim 22 wherein the tool is provided in a modular product US 7 592 904 B2 13 42 The tool of claim 22 wherein the tool is provided on a modular platform 43 A method of using with a tire pressure monitoring system comprising requesting vehicle data receiving the vehicle data storing information regarding a plurality of tire pressure monitor systems initiating at least one tire pressure sensor simulating the at least one tire pressure sensor and determining a tire pressure monitor system installed on a vehicle based on the information and the vehicle data
6. or electronic control unit is able to receive tire pressure monitor system information from tire pressure sensors provided on one or more wheels of the vehicle 20 25 30 35 40 45 50 55 60 65 8 In step 122 one or more of the tire pressure sensors pro vided on the wheels of the vehicle may be initiated Initiating the tire pressure sensors enable the sensors to communicate with the tool 10 and the vehicle electronic control unit Initi ating the sensors may be performed by for example placing an antenna of a tire pressure monitor tool adjacent or near a valve stem ofa wheel ofthe vehicle The tool 10 transmits and receives information between the vehicle electronic control unit and the tire pressure sensor such that the vehicle or the electronic control unit may determine a location identifica tion number tire pressure or other information from the tire pressure sensor Feedback may be provided to the user to for example indicate that a sensor has been successfully initiated or that the signal has been received by the tire pressure monitor tool step 124 This information may be displayed on a display of the tire pressure monitor tool as illustrated in step 126 The user may also be notified whether a resetting or diagnosing procedure has been completed step 128 For example the tool 10 may cause the electronic control unit of the vehicle to sound a horn of the vehicle or flash one or more lights of the
7. pres sure monitor tool display The display 150 may include a product name and or logo 152 and or other information 154 FIG 8 illustrates a display 156 that may be for example a main menu of the tool The display 156 may include a title area 158 for displaying a title of the display The display 156 may include a plurality ofa selectable options 160a 160c that may be displayed in a list in the display 156 The selectable options 160a 160c may include for example reset 160a diagnostics 1605 and update 160c The selectable options 160a 160c may be navigated using selection displays pre sented above selector buttons provided on the tire pressure monitor tool The selection displays may be for example an up arrow 162 and a down arrow 164 By pressing the selector buttons providedonthe tool a user may navigate up and down the display 156 to select a desired function The function may be selected by pressing the selector button located beneath selection display Enter 166 provided on the display 156 The tool may indicate a function to be selected by for example highlighting circling underlining or other formatting to dis tinguish the function to be selected among other selectable functions US 7 592 904 B2 9 FIG 9 illustrates a vehicle information screen display 168 that displays information regarding a particular vehicle The display 168 may include an information display area 170 that displays vehicle data regarding a particula
8. 2 218 x B A ID 1234567 190 PS323 4 214 216 Learn Mode Main Menu Activate 192 220 FIG 19 218 Y A ID 1234567 190 a gt PSI 32 3 216 Learn Mode 214 Main Menu Activate s 192 220 FIG 20 222 US 7 592 904 B2 1 TIRE PRESSURE MONITOR SYSTEM MODULE RELATED APPLICATIONS This application is related to co pending U S Patent Appli cation titled Tire Pressure Monitor System Tool With Vehicle Entry System filed concurrently herewith co pend ing U S Patent Application titled Tire Pressure Monitor Initiation Tool With Vehicle Data Interface filed concur rently herewith and co pending U S Patent Application titled Tire Pressure Monitor System Tool With Re Learn and Diagnostic Procedures filed concurrently herewith each of which is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety FIELD OF THE INVENTION The invention relates generally to tire pressure monitor systems More particularly the invention relates to a tire pressure monitor system module that provides tire pressure monitor system functionality to modular products BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION Systems have been developed to monitor for example vehicle tire pressure and to report the tire pressure to a receiver at a central monitoring station using radio transmis sions A typical remote automotive tire condition monitoring system includes a plurality of tire based sensor
9. US007592904B2 a2 United States Patent 10 Patent No US 7 592 904 B2 Kochie et al 45 Date of Patent Sep 22 2009 54 TIRE PRESSURE MONITOR SYSTEM 6 414 592 B1 7 2002 Dixit et al MODULE 75 Inventors Robert Kochie Mantorville MN US Edward Lipscomb Lakeville MN US Continued FOREIGN PATENT DOCUMENTS 73 Assignee SPX Corporation Charlotte NC US EP 1026015 A2 8 2000 Notice Subject to any disclaimer the term of this patent is extended or adjusted under 35 U S C 154 b by 222 days Continued This patent is subject to a terminal dis OTHER PUBLICATIONS claimer Bartec Auto ID Limited Activation Tool BXR2000A1 Bartec Auto 21 Appl No 11 589 201 ID Activation Tool Sep 3 2001 22 Filed Oct 30 2006 Continued Joe Primary Examiner George A Bugg 65 Prior Publication Data 74 Attorney Agent or Firm Baker amp Hostetler LLP US 2008 0143506 Al Jun 19 2008 57 ABSTRACT 51 Int CI B60C 23 00 2006 01 523 US CL iren 340 442 340 426 33 73 146 2 A tire pressure monitor system module provides modular 116 34 R products with tire pressure monitor system functionality The 58 Field of Classification Search 340 442 tire pressure monitor system module may be added to a modu See application file for complete search history lar product to provide tire pressure monitor system function ality The tire pressure monitor system module may be a 56 References Cited
10. ansmitter to send the learn mode signal a strong magnet is swept over the outside of the associated vehicle tire monitor is located at each tire and periodically takes a measurement of the tire pressure pressure signal is gener ated that corresponds to the pressure within the tire The monitor transmits the measurement in a radio frequency transmission to the central monitoring station that produces an alarm or a display in response to the measurement When the tire pressure drops below a predetermined pressure an indicator is used to signal the vehicle operator of the low pressure During assembly and routine maintenance such as tire rotation or tire replacement the tire pressure system must be calibrated Calibration involves associating the various tire positions with the pressure transmitters that are located on the tires One proposed method for calibrating a system uses a magnet device to initiate the calibration In this system an internal display panel with locations corresponding to the tire location is activated When the tire locations are illuminated on the display the vehicle operator or service technician places the magnet near the indicated tire The transducer then sends a code corresponding thereto to the central controller When the indicator indicates another tire location the magnet must be brought near each tire location until each of the tire locations have a tire registered thereto One problem with this d
11. ast one vehicle light to flash 56 The method of claim 43 further comprising referenc ing a vehicle owner s manual 57 The method of claim 43 further comprising diagnosing the tire pressure monitor system 58 The method of claim 43 wherein the vehicle data comprises vehicle make model and year data 59 The method of claim 43 further comprising transmit ting a signal from the tool to the tire pressure monitor system 60 The method of claim 43 further comprising receiving a signal from at least one of the tire pressure monitor system and the at least one tire pressure sensor 61 The method of claim 43 further comprising linking the vehicle data and the information stored
12. b 16a Y 26 24 il FIG 1 FIG 2 US 7 592 904 B2 Sheet 2 of 8 Sep 22 2009 U S Patent Sls cv ve 4exeeds 0 JosseooJdoJo lA 2 81 9t Jayiusued U S Patent Storing Module 50 Vehicle Data Requesting Module 52 Receiving Module 54 Accessing Module 56 Linking Module 58 Transmitting Module 60 Vehicle ECU Interfacing Module 62 Sep 22 2009 Sheet 3 of 8 TPMS Determining Module 64 Procedure Determining Module 66 Procedure Selecting Module 68 Manual Referencing Module 70 Initiating Module 72 Resetting Module 74 Feedback Providing Module 76 FIG 4 US 7 592 904 B2 Displaying Module 78 Notifying Module 80 Updating Module 82 Simulating Module 84 Diagnosing Module 86 U S Patent Sep 22 2009 Sheet 4 of 8 US 7 592 904 B2 Store Information 102 Request Vehicle Data 104 Receive Vehicle Data 106 Access Information Stored 108 Link Vehicle Data and Information Stored CS BD Communicate With Vehicle ECU 112 Determine TPMS 114 Determine Procedure 116 Select Procedure 118 FIG 5 U S Patent Sep 22 2009 Sheet 5 of 8 US 7 592 904 B2
13. d selection displays 162 164 and 166 as described above The display 184 may also include a list of years from which a user can select a desired year associated with the vehicle make and model previously selected The display 184 may include list having a main menu option 186a and a plurality of selectable years 1865 1867 from which the user may select Ifthe user selects a vehicle year the user may be presented with a display 188 as illustrated in FIG 13 The display 188 may include a title area 158 that provides a title ofthe display The display 188 may also include a user instruction 190 providing a user with an instruction to perform a task For example the user may be instructed to refer to a particular section of the vehicle s user manual for performing a certain function The display 188 may also include main menu selec tion display 192 and next selection display 194 displayed abovetwo ofthe selector buttons provided on the tire pressure monitor tool The user may use the selection displays 192 194 to return to a main menu of the tire pressure monitor tool or proceed to a next step of for example a reset procedure after performing the task instructed in the display 188 If the user selects the next selection display 194 the user may be presented with a display 196 as illustrated in FIG 14 The display 196 includes an instruction 190 and a main menu selection display 192 as discussed above The display 196 may also include a s
14. diment ofthe invention the tool 10 is powered by three 3 size C batteries FIG 3 illustrates a block diagram ofthe tool 10 illustrated in FIGS 1 and 2 The tool 10 may include a microprocessor US 7 592 904 B2 5 30 that processes software used to operate the tool 10 According to one embodiment of the invention the micro processor is an ATMEGA2561 microprocessor having a clock speed of 8 Mhz The microprocessor 30 communicates with a keypad 32 According to one embodiment of the inven tion the keypad 32 includes the selector buttons 16a 16c illustrated in FIG 1 The microprocessor 30 may also be in communication with a speaker 34 The speaker 34 may be used to provide audible tones or notifications during use of the tool 10 The microprocessor 30 may also bein communication with a transmitter 36 and a receiver 38 The transmitter 36 may be used to transmit signals to a tire pressure sensor mounted on a wheel of a vehicle or an electronic control unit of a vehicle According to one embodiment ofthe invention the transmit ter 36 operates at 125 khz Although only one transmitter is shown it is to be understood that multiple transmitters includ ing transmitters of different types may be used The receiver 38 may be used to receive signals transmitted froma tire pressure sensor mounted on a wheel vehicle and an electronic control unit ofa vehicle According to one embodi ment ofthe invention the receiver 38 may operate at 315 Mhz
15. e pressure monitor system installed on a vehicle based on the information and the vehicle data 2 The tool of claim 1 further comprising a vehicle elec tronic control unit interfacing module configured to interface with an electronic control unit of the vehicle 3 The tool of claim 1 further comprising a procedure determining module in communication with the tire pressure monitor system determining module configured to determine at least one of an initiation procedure and a resetting proce dure associated with the tire pressure monitor system 4 The tool of claim 3 further comprising a procedure selecting module in communication with the procedure determining module configured to select at least one of the initiation procedure and the resetting procedure 5 The tool of claim 4 further comprising a feedback pro viding module configured to provide feedback regarding at least one of the initiation procedure and the resetting proce dure 6 The tool of claim 1 further comprising an accessing module in communication with the storing module config ured to access the information stored 7 The tool of claim 1 further comprising an updating module in communication with the storing module config ured to update the information stored by the storing module 8 The tool of claim 7 wherein the updating module com prises an RS23 port 9 The tool of claim 1 further comprising a displaying module configured to display at least o
16. e transmitter is not activated by the magnet Various tire manufacturers have suggested various loca tions for the pressure sensors Known systems include cou pling a pressure sensor to the valve stem of the tire Other known systems and proposed systems locate the pressure sensors in various locations within the tire wall or tread US 7 592 904 B2 3 These previous techniques have been limited in effective ness The magnetic programming technique may be subject to interference and crosstalk for example in a factory where many such tire monitors are being assembled with tires and vehicles Also users of modular products are required to purchase a separate tool to interface with tire pressure moni tor systems SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION In accordance with one embodiment of the invention a tire pressure monitor system module is provided that provides modular products with tire pressure monitor system function ality The tire pressure monitor system module may be added to a modular product such as for example a Genisys Solarity Scope Module a Genisys Solarity Performance Gas Module and a Genisys Cartridge Reader Module to provide tire pres sure monitor system functionality According to one embodi ment of the invention the tire pressure monitor system mod ule is a stand alone module that may be attached connected or in communication with a modular product In accordance with another embodiment of the invention the tire pres
17. essure monitor sys tem of the vehicle or other functions A transmitting module 60 may then be used to transmit a signal from the tool 10 to a tire pressure sensor of the vehicle or an electronic control unit of the vehicle If the signal is transmitted to the electronic control unit of the vehicle a vehicle electronic control unit interfacing module 62 may be used to interface with the vehicle electronic control unit The tool 10 may interface with the vehicle electronic control unit to for example reset a tire pressure monitor system of the vehicle As discussed above tire replacement and rotation requires resetting of the vehicle s tire pressure monitor sys tem This enables the vehicle electronic control unit to main tain locations of each tire pressure sensor such that accurate information may be displayed to a driver ofthe vehicle using for example a dashboard display of the vehicle A tire pressure monitor system determining module 64 may be used to determine a type of tire pressure monitor system provided on the vehicle This information may be obtained for example from the vehicle electronic control unit or by matching the vehicle data with vehicle data pro vided in a lookup table stored by the tool The vehicle data may be associated with the particular type of tire pressure monitor system installed on the vehicle Upon determining the tire pressure monitor system installed on the vehicle a procedure determining module 66 ma
18. evice is that a separate component such as a magnet must be provided to the vehicle operator that is used only in the calibration process One problem associated with a separate magnet device is that sucha device is subject to loss Thus the tire pressure sensing system would be rendered inoperable One problem with such systems is the need to program the location of the transmitters at the central station To be useful the tire pressure is preferably associated with the tire which originated the measurement when presenting a display or alarm Each monitor includes identification information that can be transmitted with the measurement The tire monitor is preferably activated to produce and convey this information to the central station and associated with the position of the tire In one technique the tire monitors include a reed switch or other magnetic device A magnet is passed near the reed switch causing the monitor to transmit a radio frequency transmission that includes identification data A service tech nician repeats this process at each wheel and then loads the identification and position information into the central moni toring station One drawback with such a system is that because many wheels are made from steel which is a magnetic material tire pressure sensing systems may not operate properly because the steel wheels may shield the magnetic energy Therefore the system may also be rendered inoperable because the pres sur
19. inking mod ule configured to link the vehicle data and the information stored by the storing module 20 The tool of claim 1 wherein the tire pressure monitor system module is provided in a modular product 21 The tool of claim 1 wherein the tire pressure monitor system module is provided on a modular platform 22 A tool for use with a tire pressure monitoring system comprising 20 25 30 35 40 45 50 55 60 65 12 vehicle data requesting means for requesting vehicle data vehicle data receiving means for receiving the vehicle data storing means for storing information regarding a plurality of tire pressure monitor systems initiating means for initiating at least one tire pressure sensor simulating means for simulating the at least one tire pres sure sensor and tire pressure monitor system determining means for deter mining a tire pressure monitor system installed on a vehicle based on the information and the vehicle data 23 The tool of claim 22 further comprising vehicle elec tronic control unit interfacing means for interfacing with an electronic control unit of the vehicle 24 The tool of claim 22 further comprising procedure determining means in communication with the tire pressure monitor system determining means for determining at least one of an initiation procedure and a resetting procedure asso ciated with the tire pressure monitor system 25 The tool of claim 24 further co
20. l 10 may be used The vehicle data requesting module 52 may present a user of the tool 10 with a plurality of screens displaying information regarding various vehicle types For example the user may be presented with the vehicle data associated with the vehicle for which the tool 10 was most recently used According to another embodi ment the user may be presented with a series of screens displaying lists of various makes models and years of vari ous vehicles The user may use the selector buttons to navi gate the lists and select the make model and year of a desired vehicle A receiving module 54 may be used to receive input provided by the user An accessing module 56 may be used to access the infor mation stored in the storing module 50 to determine whether any of the information stored by the storing module 50 is associated with the vehicle data input by the user If the storing module 50 does not include any information associ ated with the vehicle data the user may be notified that no information was located If information associated with the vehicle data is located however a linking module 58 may be an 5 20 35 40 45 50 55 6 used to link the information with the vehicle data The infor mation may include for example communication protocols for communicating with an electronic control unit of the vehicle procedures for resetting a tire pressure monitor sys tem of the vehicle diagnosing the tire pr
21. le information relating to tire pressure monitor sys tems installed on newer vehicles The tool 10 may also include a simulating module 84 The simulating module 84 may be used to simulate a tire pressure sensor to validate the functionality of a tire pressure monitor system on a vehicle A diagnosing module 86 may also be used to diagnose a tire pressure monitor system on a vehicle The diagnosing module 86 may be used to obtain for example tire pressure and other information from the sensor FIGS 5 6 illustrate a method of communicating with a tire pressure monitor system of a vehicle using a tire pressure monitor tool according to one embodiment of the invention In step 102 information regarding tire pressure monitor sys tems and vehicles using such vehicles may be stored by the tire pressure monitor tool The tool may be used to obtain tire pressure information from one or more wheels of a vehicle provided with tire pressure sensors To communicate prop erly with a tire pressure sensor the tire pressure tool must be provided with data regarding the vehicle from which tire pressure information is sought Vehicle data may be requested using the tool as illustrated in step 104 Vehicle data may be requested by for example displaying a make model and year of a vehicle and requesting that the user confirm or change the vehicle data If the vehicle data displayed is not related to the vehicle from which tire pressure information is so
22. lso include a main menu selection display 192 as discussed above Ifthe user selects Yes selection display 208 the user may be presented with a display 212 as illustrated in FIG 18 The display 212 may include a text area 188 indicating that the procedure has been completed The display 212 may also include a main menu selection display 192 as discussed above If the user selects No selection display 210 however the tool may present a previous display such as for example display 196 as illustrated in FIG 14 This enables the user to repeat the procedure to attempt to properly complete the procedure FIG 19 illustrates a diagnostic test screen display 214 according to one embodiment of the invention The display 214 includes a text area 190 and main menu selection display 192 as described above The text display 190 may include for example an identification number of a tire pressure sensor from which tire pressure information has been received the tire pressure for that particular tire and an operating mode of theelectronic control unit ofthe vehicle The display may also include a signal indicator 216 indicating whether a signal is being received from the tire sensor and a battery level indi cator 218 indicating an approximate battery level remaining in the batteries of the tire pressure monitor tool The display 216 may also include an activate selection display 220 that activates a diagnostic procedure of the tire pressure monitor to
23. mprising procedure selecting means in communication with the procedure deter mining means for selecting at least one of the initiation procedure and the resetting procedure 26 The tool of claim 25 further comprising feedback providing means for providing feedback regarding at least one of the initiation procedure and the resetting procedure 27 The tool of claim 22 further comprising accessing means in communication with the storing means for access ing the information stored 28 The tool of claim 22 further comprising updating means in communication with the storing means for updat ing the information stored by the storing means 29 The tool of claim 28 wherein the updating means comprises an RS23 port 30 The tool of claim 22 further comprising displaying means for displaying at least one of vehicle information and tire pressure monitor system information 31 The tool of claim 30 wherein the tire pressure monitor system information comprises at least one of tire pressure tire pressure sensor identification and sensor mode 32 The tool of claim 22 further comprising resetting means for resetting the tire pressure monitor system 33 The tool of claim 32 further comprising notifying means in communication with the resetting means for noti fying a user that a tire pressure monitor system has been reset 34 The tool of claim 33 wherein the notifying means is configured to notify the user by causing at least one
24. nd of being practiced and carried out in various ways For example although the invention is described in terms of a plurality of modules it is to be under stood that the invention may be implemented using one or more modules Also it is to be understood that the phraseol ogy and terminology employed herein as well as the abstract are for the purpose of description and should not be regarded as limiting As such those skilled in the art will appreciate that the conception upon which this disclosure is based may readily be utilized as a basis for the designing of other structures methods and systems for carrying out the several purposes of the present invention It is important therefore that the claims be regarded as including such equivalent constructions insofar as they do not depart from the spirit and scope of the present invention BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG 1 is a front perspective view ofa tire pressure mount ing tool according to one embodiment of the invention 20 55 65 4 FIG 2 is a rear view of tire pressure monitor tool accord ing to one embodiment of the invention FIG 3 is a block diagram of a tire pressure monitor tool according to one embodiment of the invention FIG 4 is a block diagram of a tire pressure monitor tool according to one embodiment of the invention FIGS 5 and 6 illustrate a method of communicating with a tire pressure monitor system of a vehicle according to one emb
25. ne of vehicle informa tion and tire pressure monitor system information 10 The tool of claim 9 wherein the tire pressure monitor system information comprises at least one of tire pressure tire pressure sensor identification and sensor mode 11 The tool of claim 1 further comprising a resetting module configured to reset the tire pressure monitor system 12 The tool of claim 11 further comprising a notifying module in communication with the resetting module con figured to notify a user that a tire pressure monitor system has been reset 13 The tool of claim 12 wherein the notifying module is configured to notify the user by causing at least one of a vehicle horn to sound and at least one vehicle light to flash 14 The tool of claim 11 further comprising a manual referencing module configured to reference a vehicle user manual 15 The tool of claim 1 further comprising a diagnosing module configured to diagnose the tire pressure monitor sys tem 16 The tool of claim 1 wherein the vehicle data comprises vehicle make model and year data 17 The tool of claim 1 further comprising a transmitting module configured to transmit a signal from the tool to the tire pressure monitor system 18 The tool of claim 1 further comprising a receiving module configured to receive a signal from at least one of the tire pressure monitor system and the at least one tire pressure sensor 19 The tool of claim 1 further comprising a l
26. odiment of the invention FIGS 7 9 illustrate initial screens that may be displayed by a tire pressure monitor tool according to one embodiment of the invention FIGS 10 18 illustrate procedure screens that may be dis played by a tire pressure monitor tool according to one embodiment of the invention FIGS 19 20 illustrate diagnostic procedure screens that may be displayed by a tire pressure monitor tool according to one embodiment of the invention DETAILED DESCRIPTION FIG 1 illustrates a tire pressure monitor tool 10 according to one embodiment of the invention The tool 10 includes an antenna 12 display 14 selector button 16a 16c port 18 a power button 20 a casing 22 and passages 24 The antenna 12 may be used to transmit signals from the tool 10 to an elec tronic control unit of a vehicle and a tire pressure sensor mounted for example on a rim or tire of a vehicle The display 14 may be used to display information to a user regarding for example the tool 10 a tire pressure monitor system ofa vehicle or status information regarding a resetting or diagnostic function of the tool 10 The selector buttons 16a 16c may be used to navigate through the displays pre sented on the display 14 and select that certain functions be performed The selector buttons 16a 16c may be positioned below select displays presented on the display 14 The selec tor buttons 16a 16c may be used to select one ofthe selection displays presented on di
27. ol Upon selection of the activate selection display 220 a signal transmitting signal symbol 222 may be presented in a display 218 to indicate that the tire pressure monitor tool is transmitting a signal to the tire pressure sensor as illustrated in FIG 20 The many features and advantages of the invention are apparent from the detailed specification and thus it is intended by the appended claims to cover all such features and advantages of the invention which fall within the true spirit and scope of the invention Further since numerous modifications and variations will readily occur to those skilled in the art it is not desired to limit the invention to the exact construction and operation illustrated and described and accordingly all suitable modifications and equivalents may be resorted to falling within the scope of the invention What is claimed is 1 A tool for use with a tire pressure monitoring system comprising a vehicle data requesting module configured to request vehicle data a vehicle data receiving module configured to receive the vehicle data a storing module configured to store information regarding a plurality of tire pressure monitor systems an initiating module configured to initiate at least one tire pressure sensor asimulating module configured to simulate the at least one tire pressure sensor and US 7 592 904 B2 11 atire pressure monitor system determining module config ured to determine a tir
28. operator is made aware that the tire at a certain location e g right front has the certain condition e g low inflation pressure Changes routinely occur regarding the tires and or tran sponders that are associated with a vehicle The changes can result in new different transponders being associated with the vehicle or a rearrangement of the locations of the transpon ders via rearrangement of the tires Examples of such changes occur when one or more new tires with new tran sponders are mounted on a vehicle e g the placement of the initial set of tires during vehicle manufacture or replacement ofone or more tires when the tires are rotated during routine maintenance or when a transponder is replaced on an existing tire It should be readily apparent that new modified identifi 20 25 30 35 40 45 50 55 60 65 2 cation and location information regarding the tire must be provided or taught to the ECU In order to accomplish the teaching of the tire identifi cation information to a vehicle based portion one known tire identification system is placed in a learn mode via actuation of pushbutton s on an operator accessible information panel of the vehicle based portion During the learn mode the vehicle based portion is in a ready state to receive a distinc tive learn mode signal transmitted from each of tire based transmitter of the system In order to cause each tire based tr
29. r vehicle The dis play 168 also includes selection displays 172 174 that enable a user to either reuse the vehicle data provided on the display 168 or create new vehicle data respectfully FIG 10 illus trates a display 176 that enables a user to select a vehicle make The display 176 may include a title area 158 that provides a title of the display The display 176 may also include a list of selectable options 178a 1787 that a user may use to either select a vehicle make or return to the main menu The display 176 may also include the selection displays 162 164 and 166 described above The user may use the selection displays 162 164 and 166 to navigate and select a particular vehicle make or a main menu option for returning to the main menu If a user selects a vehicle make the user may then be presented with a display 180 as shown in FIG 11 The display 180 may enable a user to select a particular model associated with the vehicle make selected using the display 176 The display 180 may include a list of selectable models associated with the vehicle make selected and also enable the user to returnto the main menu The display 180 may also include the selection displays 162 164 and 166 as described The user may navigate the list provided in the display 180 and select a desired model If a user selects a desired model the user may be presented with a display 184 as illustrated in FIG 12 The display 184 may includea title area 158 an
30. smitting Resetting Module Module 60 74 10 Venceecu Feedback i Interfacing Providing Module Module 62 76 US 7 592 904 B2 Page 2 6 438 467 6 441 727 6 617 962 6 630 885 6 662 642 6 864 785 6 904 796 6 945 087 6 989 741 7 053 761 7 075 421 7 161 476 7 319 848 2002 0130771 2003 0080862 2003 0121320 U S PATENT DOCUMENTS Bl Bl Bl B2 Al 8 2002 8 2002 9 2003 10 2003 12 2003 3 2005 6 2005 9 2005 1 2006 5 2006 7 2006 1 2007 1 2008 9 2002 5 2003 7 2003 Pacsai LeMense Horwitz et al Hardman et al Breed et al Marguet et al Pacsai et al Porter et al Kenny et al Schofield et al Tuttle Hardman et al Obradovich et al Osborne et al Kranz Okubo VICE 340 505 buts 340 447 340 449 340 442 Motus 455 99 2004 0036595 Al 2 2004 Kenny et al FOREIGN PATENT DOCUMENTS EP 1092568 A2 4 2001 GB 2305074 A 3 1997 GB 2308947 A 7 1997 OTHER PUBLICATIONS Bartec Auto ID Limited BXR LHF 2000 User Manual Bartec Auto ID BXR LHF 2000 Range of Rugged Hand Held TPMS Readers Aug 2002 Multi Standard Reader Product Range Overview of Product Range id Systems Ltd undated document Market demands RF ID standardization id Systems Ltd undated document cited by examiner U S Patent Sep 22 2009 Sheet 1 of 8 US 7 592 904 B2 i9 O X 16c 10 N 16
31. splay 14 The selection displays may be for example up and down arrows an enter function a menu function start activate and next operations yes no okay redo and stop functions and reuse or new functions The selection displays are described in further detail below The port 18 may be a port that enables the tool 10 to be connected to for example a computer or Internet connection that enables the toolto be updated with modified or additional information The port 18 may be for example an RS232 serial port that connects the tool 10 to the computer or Internet connection using an RS232 serial cable This is described in further detail below power button 20 may be used to turn the tool 10 on and off According to one embodiment of the invention the tool may turn off automatically after for example three to four minutes of inactivity casing 22 provides a housing for the tool 10 The casing may be provided with the passages 24 that may be located in front of a speaker not shown that emits audible tones or other notifications while the tool 10 1s being used FIG 2 illustrates a rear view of the tool 10 according one embodiment of the invention The tool 10 may be battery powered Therefore the tool 10 may be provided with a battery compartment 26 The battery compartment 26 may include a removable battery cover 28 that allows removable insertion of batteries within the battery compartment 26 According to one embo
32. sure monitor system tool includes substantially all if not all of the functionality available to tire pressure monitor systems For example the tire pressure monitor sys tem module may include modules for transmitting and receiv ing signals from a tire pressure monitor system resetting and diagnosing a tire pressure monitor system initiating deter mining and selecting procedures associated with the tire pressure monitor system simulating a tire pressure sensor of a tire pressure monitor system storing displaying and updat ing information related to tire pressure monitor systems and notifying auser ofa status ofa procedure and that a procedure has been completed There has thus been outlined rather broadly certain embodiments of the invention in order that the detailed description thereof herein may be better understood and in order that the present contribution to the art may be better appreciated There are of course additional embodiments of the invention that will be described below and which will form the subject matter of the claims appended hereto In this respect before explaining at least one embodiment of the invention in detail it is to be understood that the invention is not limited in its application to the details of construction and to the arrangements of the components set forth in the following description or illustrated in the draw ings The invention is capable of embodiments in addition to those described a
33. tart selection display 198 presented above a selector button provided on the tire pressure monitor tool If the user selects the start selection display 198 the user may be presented with a display 200 as illustrated in FIG 15 The display 200 may include a user instruction 190 and a next selection display 194 as discussed above After selecting the next selection display 194 the user may be presented with a display 202 as illustrated in FIG 16 The display 202 may provide text and or graphics 204 illustrating that the tool is performing a function and may provide details regarding that function For example during a reset procedure the display 202 may indicate that a left front tire pressure sensor is being reset and instructs the user to 35 40 50 55 60 65 10 please wait The display 202 may also include a main menu selection display 192 as discussed above Upon completion of the function a display 206 as illus trated in FIG 17 may be presented on the tire pressure moni tor tool The display 206 may include a text area 190 that provides information to the user and may also include an interrogatory The interrogatory may be for example Did horn sound The display 206 may include selection displays Yes 208 and No 210 that enable the user to answer the inter rogatory The selection displays 208 210 may be selected using selector buttons provided on the tool and below the selection displays The selection 206 may a
34. ught the tool may provide a series of displays to the user enabling the user to select a make model and year data from among a list of makes models and years This information may be received by the tool in step 106 The information stored in step 102 is then accessed in step 108 to determine whether tire pressure monitor system information relating to the vehicle data received by the tool is being stored If information relating to the vehicle data is located this information is linked with the vehicle data in step 110 The tool may use this information to communicate with the electronic control unit of the vehicle step 112 Based on the communication with the electronic control unit a determina tion may be made regarding a tire pressure monitor system installed on the vehicle 114 Based on the tire pressure moni tor system installed a determination may be made regarding a procedure to for example reset or diagnose the tire pressure monitor system step 116 The resetting or diagnosing proce dure is then selected based on input provided by a user using the tool 10 as illustrated in step 118 The resetting or diag nosing procedure may require a user to perform a procedure particular to the vehicle Therefore the tool may reference a vehicle owner s manual so that the user may follow the pro cedure identified in the owner s manual step 120 The pro cedure may be for example placing the vehicle in a learn mode such that the vehicle
35. umber pressure information and possibly other information from the tire pressure sensor using receiving module 54 and transmits the information to the vehicle elec tronic control unit using transmitting module 60 feedback providing module 76 may be used to determine whether the tire pressure monitor system has been reset For example the feedback providing module 76 may cause sym bols text or other information to be displayed on the display 14 indicating that a reset procedure has been completed The information may be displayed on the display 14 using dis playing module 78 notifying module 80 may be used to notify the user that a reset or other procedure has been com pleted For example the notifying module 80 may cause an US 7 592 904 B2 7 electronic control unit of a vehicle to sound a horn of the vehicle or flash one or more lights of a vehicle indicating that the reset or other procedure has been completed An updating module 82 may be used to update the infor mation stored by the storing module 50 The updating module 82 may be in communication with the port 18 The updating module 82 may receive information from a computer the Internet or other data source using for example an RS232 serial cable connected to the port 18 and the computer or other device The updating module 82 may modify information stored by the storing module 50 or add information to the storing module 50 Additional information may be for examp
36. vehicle indicating that the resetting or diagnosing procedure has been completed According to one embodiment of the invention the tool 10 may be updated with modified or additional tire pressure monitor system information step 130 For example the tool may be provided with a port that receives for example an RS232 serial cable that may be connected to a computer the Internet or other data source such that tire pressure monitor system information may be communicated to the tool in step 130 and stored in step 102 The tire pressure monitor system information may include modifications or additions to the information already stored by the tire pressure monitor tool The tool 10 may also simulate a tire pressure sensor of a vehicle step 132 The tool 10 may simulate the tire pressure sensor to validate the functionality of a tire pressure monitor system installed on a vehicle The tool 10 may also be used to diagnose the tire pressure monitor system step 134 The tool 10 may be used to obtain information such as tire pressure and sensor identification information Additionally the tool 10 may obtain information regarding a battery condition of the batteries provided in the tire pressure monitor tool 10 FIGS 7 9 illustrate initial displays that may be presented to auser ofa tire pressure monitor tool according to one embodi ment ofthe invention FIG 7 illustrates a display 150 that may be for example a start up screen displayed on the tire
37. y determine a proce dure to be followed to for example reset or diagnose the tire pressure monitor system ofthe vehicle Based on instructions input by a user a procedure selecting module 68 selects the procedure corresponding to the instructions input by the user Some procedures may require a user to perform procedures specific to a vehicle These procedures are typically located in an owner s manual of the vehicle Therefore a manual refer encing module 70 may be used to refer to the owner s manual so that the user may perform this procedure prior to continu ing to use the tool 10 According to one embodiment of the invention an initiat ing module 72 may be used to initiate one or more tire pres sure sensors of a vehicle Initiating the tire pressure sensors places the sensors in a state that enables the sensors to com municate with the tool 10 and the electronic control unit ofthe vehicle After initiating the sensors the tire pressure monitor system of the vehicle may be for example reset using reset ting module 74 The resetting module 74 enables the elec tronic control unit ofthe vehicle to determine locations iden tification numbers and other information regarding the tire pressure sensors mounted one or more wheels of the vehicle According to one embodiment of the invention the antenna 12 ofthe tool 10 is placed adjacent a valve stem of a wheel of a vehicle The tool 10 receives for example location identi fication n
38. y transponders and a central vehicle based arrangement The sensory tran sponders include a component that senses a tire condition such as tire inflation pressure or tire temperature Each tran sponder is capable of outputting a coded transmission that conveys sensed tire condition information and an identifier for reception by the vehicle based arrangement Within the vehicle based arrangement an electronic control unit ECU processes the conveyed information and controls provision of information regarding the sensed tire conditions to a vehicle operator During operation of such a system the vehicle operator is readily notified of a current tire condition such as a low inflation pressure in a tire For a vehicle operator to determine which tire has a con dition of interest e g a low inflation pressure information provided to the vehicle operator must unambiguously iden tify the location e g right front of the tire that has the condition of interest In order for the ECU to provide such tire location information the ECU has a memory that stores tire identification information for comparison with the identifica tion conveyed from the transponder Also within the memory a certain tire location is associated with each stored tire iden tification Thus once a provided identification is matched to a stored identification a location on the vehicle is associated with the provided tire condition information Accordingly the
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