The Goodyear & Tire Rubber Company

Jack Edward Brown, Jr

Robert Leon Benedict

Peter Ross Shepler

Multiple leak rate methodologies are combined and operate in parallel in a system for providing optimal results under different tire conditions. The methodologies may operate continuously or alternatively. Tandem large leak rate and low leak rate algorithms and methodology, for example, may deployed in a system in which, for large leak rates, a large leak rate methodology is employed and used to trigger a warning. At some pre-designated low leak rate threshold value, the system employs a low leak rate methodology either as an exclusive diagnostic monitor or in parallel with the companion large leak rate methodology. In the low leak rate analytical system, a change in tire pressure is correlated to a change in energy within a vehicle system pursuant to the algorithm W=&#x222b;&#x394;P*dx and derivative algorithms are used to calculate a final time and pressure drop at the final time as a basis for issuing a low pressure warning.

Method for detection of low leak rates in a tire

Methods of monitoring tire pressure and responding to a tire pressure error. A tire pressure monitoring apparatus provides signals to a vehicle control representing pressures in respective ones of the tires. The vehicle control first detects a tire pressure error in one of the tires, and then presents to a user a first signal representing the tire pressure error in the one of the tires. Then, a user input representing a prospective tire filling activity is detected. Thereafter, a second signal is presented to the user in response to a pressure in the one of the tires being substantially equal to a desired tire pressure.

Tire pressure monitoring method

A method of processing information in a tire pressure monitoring system includes the steps of: establishing a reference temperature; determining a pressure warning threshold at the reference temperature; measuring gauge pressure and gauge temperature within a tire cavity; correcting the gauge pressure to a filtered pressure value at the reference temperature using the Ideal Gas Law; and comparing the filtered pressure value against the pressure warning threshold to determine the necessity for a warning signal. In an advanced form of the invention, the method includes determining a pressure leak rate; predicting the time interval that the filtered pressure value will cross the pressure warning threshold at the leak rate and generating progressive warnings to the driver over the time interval. Fuzzy logic is used to quantify the probability of a warning state for each data point, allow for measurement error; and report the state of maximum probability to minimize the occurrence of false warning. A warning utility function is derived based upon a combination of the filtered pressure and leak rate.

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Akron, OH, United States of America

Jack Edward Brown, Jr