TIRE SENSOR PAIRING SYSTEM AND METHOD FOR PAIRING TIRE SENSORS

A tire sensor pairing system for tire sensors mounted in a tire or on a rim of a wheel for a vehicle is provided. The tire sensor pairing system comprising an Radio Frequency, RF, shielding construction arranged to envelope the wheel and one or more RF signal receivers, thereby shielding the one or more RF signal receivers from RF signals originating from outside of the RF shielding construction and enabling the one or more RF signal receivers to solely receive RF signals from tire sensors mounted in the tire or on the rim of the wheel.

TECHNICAL FIELD

Embodiments herein relate in general to a sensor discrimination. In particular, embodiments herein relate to a tire sensor pairing system for tire sensors mounted in a tire or on a rim of a wheel for a vehicle. The embodiments herein also related to a method for pairing tire sensors mounted in a tire or on a rim of a wheel for a vehicle using the tire sensor pairing system.

BACKGROUND

In vehicles today, in particular heavy-duty vehicles such as semi-trailer vehicles or trucks for cargo transport, one or more central electronic control units, ECUs, may be implemented on-board the vehicle in order to read and collect sensor readings from various different types of wireless wheel sensors on-board the vehicle. In some cases, tire sensors may be located in or on the tires or rims on the wheels of the vehicle. The sensor data transmitted from these tire sensors may comprise, for example, tire pressure, tire temperature, tire deformation, the identity of the sensor, etc. These types of systems are conventionally referred to as Tire Pressure Monitoring Systems, TPMS, or Tire Health Systems, THS. TPMS/THS systems also normally employ Radio Frequency, RF, transmissions operating on specifically dedicated frequencies for transmitting its sensor data the on-board ECU or external sensor data receivers. In additional to such TPMS/THS systems, each tire and/or rim of a wheel may also have one or more integrated or mounted Radio Frequency Identification, RFID, sensors, i.e. RFID tags, for enabling identification of the specific tire and/or specific rim of a wheel. RFID also employs RF signals or transmissions. However, there is a need to improve how wheels are fitted with a tire and properly associated to its tire sensors, particularly in a noisy environment comprising multiple transmitting tire sensors.

SUMMARY

It is an object of embodiments herein to provide a tire pairing system for tire sensors mounted in a tire or on a rim of a wheel for a vehicle that seeks to mitigate, alleviate, or eliminate all or at least some of the above-discussed drawbacks of presently known solutions.

According to a first aspect of embodiments herein, the object is achieved by a tire sensor pairing system for tire sensors mounted in a tire or on a rim of a wheel for a vehicle. The tire sensor pairing system comprises an Radio Frequency, RF, shielding construction arranged to envelope the wheel and one or more RF signal receivers, thereby shielding the one or more RF signal receivers from RF signals originating from outside of the RF shielding construction and enabling the one or more RF signal receivers to solely receive RF signals from tire sensors mounted in the tire or on the rim of the wheel.

By having an RF shielding construction arranged with one or more RF signal receivers therein as describe above, an unambiguous sensor pairing of the mounted tire sensors on a tire/rim of a wheel, e.g. pressure, deformation and RFID sensors, is enabled. This is because sensor signals from other tire sensors outside of the RF shielding will not be able to penetrate the RF shielding, and thus not interfere with the reception of the tire sensor signals from the mounted tire sensors of the wheel performed by the RF signal receivers located within the RF shielding during pairing of the mounted tire sensors, e.g. during inflation of the tire. Hence, an improved tire sensor pairing system for tire sensors mounted in a tire or on a rim of a wheel for a vehicle is provided.

In some embodiments, the RF shielding construction may be formed by a conductive metal mesh, wherein the mesh size of the conductive metal mesh are adapted to RF frequencies used by the RF signals from the one or more tire sensors. This means that the RF shielding construction is specifically adapted to the RF frequencies of the RF signals transmitted from tire sensors, e.g. in a tire fitting centre or workshop. Here, according to some embodiments, the RF frequencies may comprise one or more of: 315, 433, 868, 915, 1900 and 2450 MHz, or within the UWB range 3.1-10.6 GHz. This means that the RF shielding construction may be specifically adapted to most preferred RF frequencies of RF signals transmitted from tire sensors, e.g. in a tire fitting centre or workshop. Also, in some embodiments, the one or more tire sensors comprise one or more of: an RFID sensor/tag, a tire pressure sensor, a tire temperature sensor, a tire deformation sensor or combinations thereof. This means that the RF shielding construction may be specifically adapted to the most common tire sensors.

According to some embodiments, the one or more RF signal receivers may be further arranged to be connected to a processing unit configured to pair the one or more tire sensors mounted in the tire or on the rim of the wheel in a database registry based on the RF signals received by the one or more RF signal receivers. This means, for example, that one or more tire pressure or deformation sensors in the tire or on the rim of a wheel may be associated with one or more RFID tags identifying the tire of the wheel in a database or database registry for digital storage. The database registry may be located locally or in remote server/data cloud solution accessible via a communications network, such as, e.g. the Internet.

Further, in some embodiments, the RF shielding construction may be arranged to allow the tire to be inflated on the rim of the wheel while enveloped by the RF shielding construction. This means that the RF shielding may additionally adapted to also act as a protective cage in case a tire explodes during inflation inside the RF shielding.

According to a second aspect of embodiments herein, the object is achieved by a method for pairing tire sensors mounted in a tire or on a rim of a wheel for a vehicle as described above. The method comprises receiving the wheel inside an RF shielding construction of a tire sensor pairing system. The method also comprises obtaining RF signals from tire sensors mounted in the tire or on the rim of the wheel via one or more one or more RF signal receivers of tire sensor pairing system enveloped by the RF shielding construction as the tire is inflated on the rim of the wheel. Furthermore, the method comprises pairing the tire sensors in a database registry based on the received RF signals.

In some embodiments, obtaining the RF signal may comprise triggering at least one of the tire sensors to transmit its RF signal in response to receiving the RF signal from another one of the tire sensors. In this case, obtaining the RF signals may also comprise receiving the RF signal from the triggered at least one of the tire sensors.

Effects and features of the second aspect is to a large extent analogous to those described above in connection with the first aspect.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Embodiments will now be described more fully hereinafter with reference to the accompanying figures. The figures are schematic and simplified for clarity, and they merely show details which are essential to the understanding of the embodiments presented herein, while other details have been left out. Throughout, the same reference numerals are used for identical or corresponding parts or steps. It is to be understood that the embodiments described herein should not be construed as limiting to the aspects set forth herein; rather, these embodiments are provided by way of example so that this disclosure will be thorough and complete, and will fully convey the scope of the appended claims to those skilled in the art.

FIG.1illustrates an example of a vehicle100. In this case, the vehicle100is exemplified as a heavy-duty vehicle combination for cargo transport, i.e. a truck/towing vehicle101configured to tow a trailer unit102in a known manner, e.g. by a fifth wheel connection. The vehicle100comprises wheels103,104, and105. It should be noted that with the term heavy-duty vehicle herein is meant a vehicle designed for the handling and transport of heavier objects or large quantities of cargo. The term heavy-duty vehicle may, however, also refer to a vehicle designed for use in construction, mining operations, or similar, such as, a working or construction machine. It should also be noted that even though the embodiments herein for enabling a determination of a location of a tire sensor on a chassis of a vehicle are described mainly with respect to a heavy-duty vehicle, such as, the heavy-duty vehicle combination101,120inFIG.1, the embodiments herein should not be considered restricted to this particular type of vehicle but may also be used in other types of vehicles, such as, passenger cars, commercial vehicles, busses, etc.

FIG.2illustrates a second top-side view of the vehicle100having wheels110,120,130,140,150,160comprising tire sensors111,121,131,141,151,161. The vehicle100further comprise an electronic control unit, ECU170. The ECU170and each of the one or more tire sensors111,121,131,141,151,161on the vehicle100may be part of an on-board Tire Pressure Monitor System/Tire Health System, TPMS/THS. In other words, the one or more tire sensors111,121,131,141,151,161on the vehicle100may be TPMS/THS sensors, and the ECU170may be a TPMS/THS sensor reader. The one or more tire sensors111,121,131,141,151,161on the vehicle100may also be TPMS/THS transponders, tire pressure sensors, tire pressure and temperature sensors, or tire deformation sensors. The tire sensors111,121,131,141,151,161may use Radio Frequency, RF, transmissions operating on specifically dedicated frequencies for transmitting its sensor data the on-board ECU or external sensor data receivers.

Furthermore, each tire and/or rim of each of the wheels110,120,130,140,150,160may also have one or more integrated or mounted Radio Frequency Identification, RFID, sensor, i.e. RFID tag. The RFID tags (not shown inFIG.2) enable identification of the specific tire and/or specific rim of each of the wheels110,120,130,140,150,160. The RFID tags may also use radio frequency transmissions.

FIG.3shows a cross-section (left) and side view (right) of a wheel110. The wheel110comprise a tire114that has been fitted on a rim113. The rim113may comprise an opening for an air valve115for use when inflating or pressurizing the tire114on the rim113. In this case, the tire114of the wheel110comprises a RFID tag112. The RFID tag112may be used to identify the tire114. The wheel110may comprise a tire pressure sensor111. A suitable location of the tire pressure sensor111may be on the rim113close to the air valve115. It should be noted that although the example inFIG.3only shows two tire sensors, the wheel110may comprise further tire sensors, such as, e.g. a tire deformation sensor of the tire114or a further RFID tag identifying the rim113.

As part of the developing of the embodiments described herein, it has been realized that, for example, during pairing of tire sensors and RFID tags for a wheel at a tire fitment station, once a tire is being inflated, the tire sensor inside of the tire will get activated and start a scheduled broadcasting. However, several different wheels all around the tire fitment station may send their tire sensor readings simultaneously, which all then may mistakenly be picked up and registered by a receiver. In order to obtain a correct pairing, a tire sensor pairing system needs to be able to discriminate between any surrounding sensor signals and the sensor signals from the tire sensors actually fitted in the wheel for which a tire is currently being fitted, i.e. it must only use the sensor signal from the sensor fitted inside the currently fitted wheel. As mentioned, this may be particularly difficult in a noisy environment comprising multiple transmitting tire sensors, such as, e.g. in a tire fitment centre, station or workshop. This problem is addressed by the embodiments described herein.

FIG.4Ashows a schematic illustration of a tire sensor pairing system400according to some embodiments. The tire sensor pairing system400may comprise a Radio Frequency, RF, shielding construction401, one or more RF signal receiver402,403, a processing unit410and a database420.

The RF shielding construction401may be a metal frame enclosure or cage. For example, a conductive metal mesh701may surround a metal frame to form the RF shielding construction401as shown inFIG.7. Thus, RF shielding construction401may provide RF signal shielding by acting like a Faraday cage. This means that RF signals transmitted outside of the RF shielding construction401will not be able to enter the RF shielding construction401, while RF signals transmitted within the RF shielding construction401will not be able to escape outside of the RF shielding construction401. The RF shielding construction401may be adapted for certain frequencies of RF signals by the mesh size A, B of the conductive metal mesh701having certain lengths. Since tire sensors, such as, e.g. the tire pressure sensor111and the RFID tag112in the wheel110, normally operates on RF frequencies comprise one or more of 315, 433, 868, 915, 1900 and 2450 MHz (or within the UWB range 3.1-10.6 GHz), the mesh size A, B of the conductive metal mesh701of the RF shielding construction401may be adapted based on which frequency or frequencies the tire sensors being paired is operating on, if needed. For example, the wavelength (lambda or A) at 315 MHz is 0.95 m, and the wavelength at 2450 MHz is 0.12 m. In some embodiments, distances A and B in the conductive metal mesh701may be λ/4 of the highest frequency to be used inside the RF shielding construction401, i.e. λ/4=0.12/4=3 cm in this case.

The size of the RF shielding construction401may also be adapted to fit and surround a wheel, such as, e.g. the wheel110. The RF shielding construction401may also have an opening and closing mechanism, which allows a user to open the RF shielding construction401, place a wheel inside the RF shielding construction401and close the RF shielding construction401. The RF shielding construction401may also be adapted so as to allow for a tire of a wheel to be inflated on the rim of the wheel while the wheel is located within the RF shielding construction401. For example, as shown inFIG.4C, the RF shielding construction401may be provided with an air supply430arranged to connect to, and supply pressurized air via, the air valve115of the tire114of the wheel110while the wheel110is located within the RF shielding construction401.

It should also be noted that the RF shielding construction401may also be adapted to be function as a tire inflation protection cage; that is, in case the tire114of the wheel110explodes inside the RF shielding construction401while being inflated, the RF shielding construction401will stop any substantial debris from being spread out of the RF shielding construction401. This may be ensured by having the conductive metal mesh701of the RF shielding construction401made of a strong enough metal, such as, e.g. steel.

Located within the RF shielding construction401is one or more RF signal receivers402,403. The one or more RF signal receivers402,403may be tire sensor receivers adapted to receive RF signal transmissions from tire sensors, such as, e.g. the tire pressure sensor111or RFID tag112. For example, the one or more RF signal receivers402,403may comprise a Tire Pressure Monitor System/Tire Health System, TPMS/THS, reader402and an RFID reader/scanner403. In some cases, the TPMS/THS and RFID reader/scanner402,403may integrated into a single RF signal receiver or, in some cases, share different components. Since being located on the inside of the conductive metal mesh701of the RF shielding construction401, the one or more RF signal receivers402,403will only be able to receive RF signal transmitted from within the RF shielding construction401. Upon receiving RF signals from within the RF shielding construction401, the one or more RF signal receivers402,403may forward the signals to the processing unit410, e.g. via wired or wireless connection. The processing unit410may be arranged to pair the two or more tire sensors from which the received RF signals originated. This may, for example, be performed by creating an association between the two or more tire sensors in a database registry420. As shown inFIG.4A, the database registry420may be configured in a remote database, a remote server or a cloud-storage solution, etc. However, the database registry420may also be configured locally in a memory within the processing unit410. An example of the processing unit410is described in more detail below with reference toFIG.6.

Here, it should also be noted that tire sensors, such as, e.g. the tire pressure sensor111or RFID tag112, are normally scheduled to send frames of information in its tire sensor signals, such as, e.g. supplier identity, sensor identity, pressure info, temperature info, status information, etc. Depending on the mode of operation of the tire sensor, frames may be sent in different ways. Also, since the tires sensors conventionally are battery-powered sensors, the tire sensors are normally configured in an off-mode prior to fitment inside a wheel. This in order to save battery lifetime. Hence, the tire sensors needs to be activated in order to transmit its tire sensor signals. This is described in more detail below with reference toFIGS.4B-4D.

Further to illustrating the tire sensor pairing system400,FIGS.4B-4Dillustrates how the tire sensor pairing system400may be used by a user/operator of the tire sensor pairing system400according to the method described by the embodiments presented below with reference toFIG.5.

As shown inFIG.4B, the wheel110comprising the tire pressure sensor111and the RFID tag112may initially be inserted into the RF shielding construction401. The tire pressure sensor111of the wheel110may then be activated by a delta pressure occurring in the tire114, i.e. a pressure difference. For example, the tire114may be inflated on the rim113of the wheel110by the air supply430as shown inFIG.4C. In this case, the tire114will conventionally be provided with a recommended air pressure which is usually about 8-10 bars. As the tire pressure sensor111usually have a programmed threshold pressure level after which it gets activated, e.g. from 2 bars and above, the tire pressure sensor111will sense the change in air pressure, become activate, and thus transmit its RF signal to the one or more RF signal receivers, e.g. the TPMS/THS reader/scanner402, within the RF shielding construction401as shown inFIG.4D.

Prior to, simultaneously as, or in response to, an inflation of the tire114, the one or more RF signal receivers, e.g. the RFID reader/scanner403, may be configured to scan for RFID the RF shielding construction401, such as, the RFID tag112in the tire114of the wheel110. The RFID scanner402,403may transmit an RFID signal towards the RFID tag112. The RFID signal may, for example, be an RFID interrogation signal and/or a generated electromagnetic field configured to trigger a RFID response from the RFID tag112. Hence, as the RFID tag112receives the RFID signal from the RFID reader/scanner403, the RFID tag112will respond with a RFID response signal comprising the identity of the RFID tag112. In other words, the RFID reader/scanner403may receive a RFID response signal from the RFID tag112in response to the RFID tag112receiving its transmitted RFID signal.

Examples of embodiments of a method for pairing tire sensors111,112mounted in a tire114or on a rim113of a wheel110for a vehicle100, will now be described with reference to the flowchart depicted inFIG.5.FIG.5is an illustrated example of actions or operations which may be taken by the tire sensor pairing system400or a user thereof. The method may comprise the following actions.

Action501. Initially, the tire sensor pairing system400receives the wheel110inside an RF shielding construction401of a tire sensor pairing system400. For example, a user of the tire sensor pairing system400may place the wheel110inside the RF shielding construction401. This is exemplified inFIG.4B.

Action502. After placing the wheel110inside the RF shielding construction401, the tire sensor pairing system400obtains RF signals from tire sensors111,112mounted in the tire114or on the rim113of the wheel110via one or more one or more RF signal receivers402,403of tire sensor pairing system400enveloped by the RF shielding construction401as the tire114is inflated on the rim113of the wheel110. This is exemplified inFIG.4C, wherein a user of the tire sensor pairing system400may inflate the tire114on the rim113of the wheel110while the wheel110is located inside the RF shielding construction401.

According to some embodiments, the tire sensor pairing system400may trigger at least one of the tire sensors112to transmit its RF signal in response to receiving the RF signal from another one of the tire sensors111. In this case, the tire sensor pairing system400may also receive the RF signal from the triggered at least one of the tire sensors112. For example, the reception of RF signal by the TPMS/THS reader402from the tire pressure sensor111may be used to trigger the RFID reader/scanner403to scan for the RFID tag112and/or further RFID tags, such as e.g. a RFID tag of the rim113. According to a further example, the tire sensor pairing system400may also receive RF signals from the tire pressure sensor111, as well as, form other tire sensors (not shown) located in the tire114or rim113of the wheel110, such as, a tire temperature sensor or a tire deformation sensor (not shown).

Action503. After receiving the RF signals from the tire sensors111,112, the tire sensor pairing system400pairs the tire sensors111,112in a database registry420based on the received RF signals.

FIG.6shows an example of a processing unit410of the tire sensor pairing system400. The processing unit410may, for example, implemented in a general purpose computer. Although not shown inFIG.6, known conventional features of the processing unit410, such as, a power source (e.g. a battery or connection to the mains), may be assumed to be comprised in the processing unit410.

The processing unit410may comprise a processing circuitry610and a memory620. It should also be noted that some or all of the functionality described in the embodiments herein as being performed by the processing unit410may be provided by the processing circuitry610executing instructions stored on a computer-readable medium, such as, the memory620shown inFIG.6. Besides being arranged to communicate with the one or more RF signal receivers402,403, the processing circuitry410may further be arranged to communicate with the database registry420. Furthermore, the processing circuitry610may further comprise additional components, such as, for example, an obtaining module611and a pairing module612, each responsible for providing its functionality to support the embodiments described herein.

First, the tire sensor pairing system400may receive the wheel110inside an RF shielding construction401of a tire sensor pairing system400. Then, the processing unit410or processing circuitry610is configured to, or may comprise the obtaining module611configured to, obtain RF signals from tire sensors111,112mounted in the tire114or on the rim113of the wheel110via one or more one or more RF signal receivers402,403of tire sensor pairing system400enveloped by the RF shielding construction401as the tire114is inflated on the rim113of the wheel110. The processing unit410or processing circuitry610is further configured to, or may comprise the pairing module612configured to, pair the tire sensors111,112in a database registry420based on the received RF signals.

In some embodiments, the processing unit410or processing circuitry610may be configured to, or may comprise the obtaining module611configured to, trigger at least one of the tire sensors112to transmit its RF signal in response to receiving the RF signal from another one of the tire sensors111. In this case, the processing unit410or processing circuitry610may be configured to, or may comprise the obtaining module611configured to, receive the RF signal from the triggered at least one of the tire sensors112.

Furthermore, the embodiments for pairing tire sensors111,112mounted in a tire114or on a rim113of a wheel110for a vehicle100described above may be at least partly implemented through one or more processors, such as, the processing circuitry610in the processing unit410in the tire sensor pairing system400depicted inFIG.6, together with computer program code for performing at least parts of the functions and actions of the embodiments herein. The program code mentioned above may also be provided as a computer program product, for instance in the form of a data carrier carrying computer program code or code means for performing the embodiments herein when being loaded into the processing circuitry610in the processing unit410. The data carrier, or computer readable medium, may be one of an electronic signal, optical signal, radio signal or computer-readable storage medium. The computer program code may e.g. be provided as pure program code in the processing unit410or on a server and downloaded to the processing unit410. Thus, it should be noted that the operations of the processing unit410may in some embodiments be implemented as computer programs stored in the memory620inFIG.6, e.g. the computer readable storage unit/module, for execution by processors or processing modules, e.g. the processing circuitry610inFIG.6.

Those skilled in the art will also appreciate that the processing circuitry610and the memory620described above may refer to a combination of analog and digital circuits, and/or one or more processors configured with software and/or firmware, e.g. stored in a computer readable storage unit/module, that when executed by the one or more processors such as the processing circuitry610perform as described above. One or more of these processors, as well as the other digital hardware, may be included in a single application-specific integrated circuit (ASIC), or several processors and various digital hardware may be distributed among several separate components, whether individually packaged or assembled into a system-on-a-chip (SoC).