Denso Corporation

Nippon Soken, Inc.

Denso Corpora Tion

Nobuya Watabe

Masashi Mori

Takatoshi Sekizawa

Akira Takaoka

Takashi Saitou

Noriaki Okada

Hideki Saito

Youichirou Suzuki

Ryozo Okumura

Yoichiro Suzuki

Tomohiro Kuno

Munenori Matsumoto

Ryosuke Kanbayashi

Yuuji Kakuya

Hideaki Norimatsu

Akihiro Taguchi

Hiroaki Maehara

Ryoichi Ijima

Hideyuki Ikemoto

Toshifumi Shimoda

Ryouzou Okumura

A road surface state determination device includes a tire-side device and a vehicle-body-side system. The tire-side device is attached to each of a plurality of tires included in a vehicle. The vehicle-body-side system is included in a body of the vehicle. The tire-side device may output a detection signal corresponding to a magnitude of vibration of the tire. The tire-side device may sense the detection signal and generate road surface data indicative of a road surface state appearing in a waveform of the detection signal. The tire-side device may transmit the road surface data. The vehicle-body-side system may perform bidirectional communication with the tire-side device and receive the road surface data. The vehicle-body-side system may determine the road surface state of a road surface on which the vehicle is traveling based on the road surface data.

Road surface state determination device and tire system including same

A tire system includes a tire side device that is arranged corresponding to a tire provided in a vehicle and transmits data related to the tire, and a wear estimation unit that estimates a tire wear state based on the data related to the tire. The tire side device holds data related to an elapsed time since the tire was manufactured as data related to the tire, transmits data related to the elapsed time to the wear estimation unit. The wear estimation unit estimates the tire wear state based on the mileage from the start of use of the tire and a tire deterioration degree indicated by the data related to the elapsed time.

Tire system

In a road surface condition determining device, when determining a road surface condition, a vibration detection unit, a waveform processing unit and a data transmission unit for implementing a sensing function and a data transmission function are not set continuously to an active state for all tire side device, but at least only one tire side device is set to an active state. Remaining one or more is set to a sleep state. A reduction in power consumption of the tire side devices set to the sleep state can thus be achieved. Further, with regard to the at least one tire side device, since the sensing function and the data transmission function remain in the active state, the road surface condition can be reliably determined based on the road surface data of the tire side device.

Road surface condition determining device, and tire system provided with same

A road surface condition assessing device includes: a tire-mounted device; and a vehicle body system. The tire-mounted device includes: a vibration detector that outputs a detection signal of a vibration on a tire; a waveform processor that generates the road surface data; and a first data communication unit. The vehicle body system includes: a second data communication unit; and a road surface evaluation unit that evaluates the road surface condition. The tire-mounted device transmits an advertise signal including the road surface data indicative of a result of a waveform process on the detection signal and a waveform processing value corresponding to the road surface condition. The vehicle body system evaluates the road surface condition based on the waveform processing value.

Road surface condition assessing device

A tire air pressure detection device includes a plurality of transceivers and a receiver. The plurality of transceivers are correspondingly provided in a plurality of wheels of a vehicle. Each wheel has a tire. The receiver is attached to a vehicle body. Each of the plurality of transceivers outputs a detection signal indicative of an air pressure of the tire of the corresponding wheel. Each of the plurality of transceivers processes the detection signal, and generates a frame storing the processed detection signal as data related to the air pressure of the tire. The receiver receives the frame. The receiver detects the air pressure of the tire based on the data stored in the received frame.

Transmission and receiving arrangement for a tire pressure detection device

A road surface condition assessing device includes a tire-side device disposed in a tire and a vehicle-body-side system disposed on a vehicle body side. The tire-side device generates a detection signal corresponding to a magnitude of vibration of the tire, produces road surface data based on the detection signal, and performs data communication with the vehicle-body-side system. The vehicle-body-side system performs the data communication with the tire-side device and assesses a road surface condition based on the road surface data received from the tire-side device.

A hydroplaning determination device that determines occurrence of a hydroplaning phenomenon in a vehicle includes a tire mount sensor including a vibration detection unit, a signal process unit and a transmission unit, and a vehicle body system including a receiver, a condition determination unit and a hydroplaning determination unit. The vibration detection unit is attached to a rear surface of a tire provided in a vehicle and outputs a detection signal according to a magnitude of vibration of the tire. The signal process unit generates a vibration data based on the detection signal. The hydroplaning determination unit determines, based on the vibration data, whether a hydroplaning phenomenon has occurred when the condition determination unit determines that a road surface condition is a wet condition in which a water film exists between the tire and a road surface.

Hydroplaning determination device

A tire pressure detection apparatus includes: a transmitter at each of a plurality of wheels with a tire; and a receiver at a vehicle body. The transmitter has: a sensing device having a pressure sensor outputting a detection signal related to a tire pressure of each of the plurality of wheels and an acceleration sensor detecting an acceleration including a centrifugal acceleration caused by rotation of the wheel and a gravitational acceleration; a first controller performing signal processing on the detection signal of the pressure sensor and creating a frame storing data related to the tire pressure; and a radio wave transmitter transmitting the frame. The receiver has: a radio wave receiver receiving the frame; and a second controller detecting a tire pressure based on the data related to the tire pressure stored in the received frame.

Tire pressure detection apparatus

A wheel position detecting device can suppress an erroneous detection of a wheel position even if a moving direction of a vehicle cannot be determined by wheel speed sensors whether in a forward direction or in a rearward direction. When an edge number (or a tooth number) is incremented based on detection signals of the wheel speed sensors of one, two or three wheels while the vehicle is at a halt, the edge number (or the tooth number) is not used as learning data. Thus, it is less likely that the wheel position is erroneously detected based on erroneous learning data. Therefore, even if the moving direction of the vehicle cannot be determined whether in the forward direction or the rearward direction by the wheel speed sensors, the wheel position detecting device can suppress the erroneous wheel position detection.

Wheel position detecting device and tire air pressure detecting apparatus having the same

A road surface condition estimation device includes a tire side device and a vehicle side device. The tire side device includes a vibration detection unit attached to a back surface of a tire tread and outputting a detection signal indicating a tire vibration magnitude, a signal processing unit, and a transmitter. The signal processing unit extracts a ground contact duration during which a portion of the tread corresponding to an arrangement position of the vibration detection unit is in contact with a ground, and calculates a high frequency component level of the detection signal detected during the ground contact duration as road surface condition data. When the ground contact duration is ended, a transmission trigger is transmitted to the transmitter and the transmitter transmits the road surface condition data. The vehicle side device estimates a road surface condition of the travelling road based on the road surface condition data.

Road surface condition estimation device

A road surface condition estimation device includes a tire side device and a vehicle side device. The tire side device includes a vibration detection unit outputting a detection signal indicating a tire vibration magnitude, a signal processing unit, and a transmitter. The signal processing unit extracts a ground contact duration during which a portion of the tread corresponding to an arrangement position of the vibration detection unit is in contact with a ground, calculates a high frequency component level of the detection signal detected during the ground contact duration, counts cumulative rotation number of the tire, and corrects the level of the high frequency component based on the cumulative rotation number of the tire. The transmitter transmits corrected level of the high frequency component as road surface condition data. The vehicle side device estimates a road surface condition of the travelling road based on the received road surface condition data.

An erroneous start is controlled based on vibrations of a tire, irrespective of a poor visibility or an algorithm of an image processing. A tire-side unit detects a vibration of a tire when the tire has collided with a wheel stop or the like, and outputs collision data to a vehicle-side unit. The vehicle-side unit determines an erroneous start of the vehicle. Therefore, the erroneous start of the vehicle can be controlled without being affected by the poor visibility or the algorithm of the image processing as in a case of utilizing a camera or a radar.

Vehicle erroneous start control device

A tire device includes a vibration power generating element, a signal processing unit, and a transmitter. The vibration power generating element is arranged inside a tire and outputs a voltage corresponding to a time variation of a vibration generated in a tread of the tire. The signal processing unit is disposed inside the tire and performs signal processing on the voltage outputted from the vibration power generating element. The transmitter is arranged inside the tire and sends data subjected to the signal processing in the signal processing unit to a device provided outside the tire. The signal processing unit and the transmitter are driven by power generated in the vibration power generating element.

Tire device

A wheel position detector for a vehicle includes: a transmitter at each wheel having a first control portion for generating and transmitting a frame with specific identification information; and a receiver at a vehicle body receiving the frame from one wheel and having a second control portion for performing wheel position detection; and a wheel speed sensor for detecting a tooth of a gear. The second control portion: acquires gear information indicating a tooth position; corrects the tooth position based on a time difference between acquiring of the gear information and receiving time of the frame; and specifies the one wheel based on the tooth position at reception time.

Wheel position detector and tire inflation pressure detector having the same

In a tire inflation pressure detection device, a receiver functions such that, when an ignition switch is on, power is generated by a power supply controller to set the power supply state of the receiver to one in which frame reception is enabled to detect the inflation pressure of a tire, and such that, when the IG is off, in each predetermined intermittent cycle power is generated by the power supply controller to set the power supply state of the receiver to one in which frame reception is enabled to detect the inflation pressure of the tire. A transmitter determines whether a decrease in tire inflation pressure occurs, and when the decrease occurs, the transmitter transmits frames more frequently than before the occurrence of the decrease in tire inflation pressure at a shorter frame transmission time interval than a regular transmission cycle during a high-frequency transmission period.

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Nagoya, Japan

Nobuya Watabe