Portable electronic device and method therein for locating tire sensors on a vehicle

A portable electronic device and method therein for locating tire sensors on a vehicle is provided. The portable electronic device comprises a camera and RFID circuitry. The portable electronic device determines the tire location of each tire on the vehicle using image recognition on image data from the camera. The portable electronic device also detects one or more tire sensors of each tire via the RFID circuitry as the portable electronic device sequentially guides a user of the portable electronic device via a user interface to motion the portable electronic device in proximity of each tire at each determined tire location. Further, the portable electronic device also identifies each of the one or more detected tire sensors on the vehicle.

TECHNICAL FIELD

Embodiments herein relate in general to localization of tire sensors on a vehicle. In particular, embodiments herein relate to a portable electronic device and a method therein for locating tire sensors on a vehicle. Also, the embodiments herein also relate to a computer program product and a carrier.

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 sensors on-board the vehicle. These sensor readings may, for example, comprise tire pressures, temperatures and identities of tire, or tire sensors located in or on the tires, of the vehicle. These types of systems are conventionally referred to a Tire Pressure Monitoring Systems, TPMS, or Tire Health Systems, THS. These systems normally employ Radio Frequency Identification, RFID, for their sensors.

In a TPMS/THS system, each tire may have one or more integrated tire sensors. Each tire sensor has unique identity, ID. During mounting of the tires, or re-mounting of the tires due to e.g. tire rotation, the TPMS/THS system needs to be informed about exactly in which tire position on the vehicle each tire sensor is located. This is order for the ECU to have information about where on the vehicle each specific tire sensor and tire is located.

One way to determine a tire's tire position, or its tire sensor positions, on the vehicle is to manually determine the tire or tire sensor positions and input this into the TPMS/THS system. Normally, this manual procedure is performed by selecting a specific tire position via a display interface in which all tire positions are shown, and then to hit the tire at the selected position with a mallet or hammer in order to create a small pressure variation inside the tire. The small pressure variation will then be sensed inside the tire by the tire sensor that sends a signal towards central ECUs of TPMS/THS system. Here, the ID of the tire sensor may be modulated or embedded into the signal. However, due to the human factor, this manual configuration might be prone to errors.

Another way to determine tire position on the vehicle for a tire sensor is described in U.S. Pat. No. 8,903,602 B2. U.S. Pat. No. 8,903,602 B2 describe an auto-location method that requires readings from other sensors on the vehicle, such as, for example, Automatic Brake System, ABS, sensors. Additionally, it also requires placing transmission extenders on each side of the chassis of the vehicle in order to locate form which side or tire the signal was actually sent. Unfortunately, this method requires additional hardware to be installed on the vehicle, such as, TPMS/THS transmission extenders, ABS sensors and/or other vehicle sensors.

SUMMARY

It is an object of embodiments herein to provide a portable electronic device and method therein, along with computer program products and systems, for locating tire sensors on 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 method for locating tire sensors on a vehicle. The portable electronic device comprises a camera and Radio Frequency Identification, RFID, circuitry. The method comprise determining the tire location of each tire on the vehicle using image recognition on image data from the camera. Also, the method comprise detecting one or more tire sensors of each tire via the RFID circuitry as the portable electronic device sequentially guides a user of the portable electronic device via a user interface to motion the portable electronic device in proximity of each tire at each determined tire location. Further, the method comprise identifying each of the one or more detected tire sensors on the vehicle.

By having a user of a portable electronic device being guided via a user interface to motion the portable electronic device such that the tire sensors of the tires may be read by the portable electronic device for one specific tire position at a time as the portable electronic device passes in the vicinity of each tire sensor, the tire position of each tire sensor on the vehicle able to be determined. Hence, no manual configuration or additional hardware is required for locating the tire sensors on a vehicle.

In some embodiments, the guidance of the user may be sequential in that the user is guided to each of the determined tire locations in a determined order such that each of the determined tire locations is associated with the one or more tire sensors of each tire at each determined tire location, respectively. Thus, the user may be presented with easy-to-follow directions about the tire position order in which to scan the tire for its tire sensors. In some embodiments, the user may be guided, at each tire location, to motion the portable electronic device in proximity of each tire according to a determined pattern in order to increase the probability of detecting the one or more tire sensors. Thus, the user is also provided with easy-to-follow directions on how to move the portable electronic device about a tire, i.e. how to use the portable electronic device to scan the tire for detection of its tire sensors.

According to some embodiments, the method may comprise transmitting information indicating the identity of each of the one or more detected tire sensors associated with each tire to an Electronic Control Unit, ECU, on-board the vehicle. Thus, the portable electronic device may inform the on-board ECU about the identity of each of the one or more detected tire sensors for a tire at a specific tire position on the vehicle. This is advantageous since it eliminates any possible errors in the ECU settings caused by possible erroneous manual inputs, while also eliminating the need for manual input of the tire sensor/tire position association in the ECU. In some embodiments, the information may be transmitted using WLAN, UWB or Bluetooth wireless communications. Further, in some embodiments, the ECU and the one or more tire sensors on the vehicle may be part of a Tire Pressure Monitor System/Tire Health System, TPMS/THS.

According to a second aspect of embodiments herein, the object is achieved by a portable electronic device for locating tire sensors on a vehicle. The portable electronic device comprises a camera and RFID circuitry. The portable electronic device determines the tire location of each tire on the vehicle using image recognition on image data from the camera. The portable electronic device also detects one or more tire sensors of each tire via the RFID circuitry as the portable electronic device sequentially guides a user of the portable electronic device via a user interface to motion the portable electronic device in proximity of each tire at each determined tire location. Further, the portable electronic device also identifies each of the one or more detected tire sensors on the vehicle.

In some embodiments, the guidance of the user is sequential in that the user is guided to each of the determined tire locations in a determined order such that each of the determined tire locations is associated with the one or more tire sensors of each tire at each determined tire location, respectively. Also, in some embodiments, the user may be guided, at each tire location, to motion the portable electronic device in proximity of each tire according to a determined pattern in order to increase the probability of detecting the one or more tire sensors.

According to some embodiments, the portable electronic device may further be configured to transmit information indicating the identity of each of the one or more detected tire sensors associated with each tire to an Electronic Control Unit, ECU, on-board the vehicle. In this case, according to some embodiments, the information may be transmitted using WLAN, UWB or Bluetooth wireless communications. Also, in some embodiments, the portable electronic device may be a wireless device configured to communicate via wireless telecommunications network, e.g. a cellular or mobile communications device, such as, for example, a smart phone having RFID/NFC functionality and a camera. Further, in some embodiments, the ECU and the one or more tire sensors on the vehicle are part of a Tire Pressure Monitor System/Tire Health System, TPMS/THS.

According to a third aspect of the embodiments herein, the object is achieved by a computer program comprising instructions which, when executed in a processing circuitry, cause the processing circuitry to carry out the method described above. According to a fourth aspect of the embodiments herein, the object is achieved by a carrier containing the computer program described above, wherein the carrier is one of an electronic signal, optical signal, radio signal, or computer-readable storage medium.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

The invention will now be described more fully hereinafter with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which certain aspects of the invention are shown. This invention may, however, be embodied in many different forms and should not be construed as limited to the embodiments and 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 invention to those skilled in the art. Like numbers refer to like elements throughout the description. It is to be understood that the present invention is not limited to the embodiments described herein and illustrated in the drawings; rather, the skilled person will recognize that many changes and modifications may be made within the scope of the appended claims.

FIG.1illustrates an example of a vehicle100. In this case, the vehicle100is exemplified as a heavy-duty vehicle combination for cargo transport. The vehicle100inFIG.1comprises a truck or towing vehicle101configured to tow a trailer unit102in a known manner, e.g., by a fifth wheel connection. The vehicle100comprises wheels103,104, and105. Herein, a heavy-duty vehicle is taken to be a vehicle designed for the handling and transport of heavier objects or large quantities of cargo. As an example, a heavy-duty vehicle could be a semi-trailer vehicle, or a truck as described above. As another example, a heavy-duty vehicle could be a vehicle designed for use in construction, mining operations, and the like. It is appreciated that the techniques and devices disclosed herein can be applied together with a wide variety of electrically powered vehicle units, not just those exemplified inFIG.1. Thus, the techniques disclosed herein are also applicable to, e.g., rigid trucks and also multi-trailer electric heavy-duty vehicles comprising one or more dolly vehicle units.

Thus, even though the embodiments herein for locating tire sensors on a vehicle are described mainly with respect to heavy-duty vehicles, such as, e.g. semi-trailer vehicles or trucks for cargo transport, 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, e.g. a conventional passenger vehicles with four wheels.

FIG.2illustrates a first top-side view of the vehicle100and tire positions A-L thereon. In this example, the tire position A is the front left tire position of the truck or towing vehicle101of the vehicle100, while the tire position L is the front right tire position of the truck or towing vehicle101of the vehicle100. Furthermore, the tire positions of the trailer unit102ranges around the trailer unit102from the tire position B for the front left tire of the trailer unit102to the tire position K of the front right tire of the trailer unit102. In some cases, certain tire positions may comprise a set of twin wheels as illustrated for the tire positions C, D, I, and J. In this case, the outermost tire position of the set of twin wheels is referred to as C, D, I, and J, respectively, while the innermost tire position of the set of twin wheels is referred to as C′, D′, I′, and J′.

It should also be noted that the notation of the tire positions is merely made for sake of illustrative purposes to provide a clear and concise references to different tire positions; in other words, this notation should not be construed as limiting to the embodiments herein.

FIG.3illustrates a second top-side view of the vehicle100having tires110,120,130,140,150,160comprising tire sensors111,121,131,141,151,161at each tire position A-L on the vehicle100as described above inFIG.2. The vehicle100further comprise an electronic control unit, ECU301.

In this example, the tire110at the tire position A of the truck or towing vehicle101of the vehicle100comprise at least one tire sensor111, while the tire120at the tire position L of the truck or towing vehicle101of the vehicle100comprise at least one tire sensor121. Similarly, each tire120a,120b,120cat the two front left tire positions B, C, C′ of the trailer unit102of the vehicle100comprise each at least one tire sensor121a,121b,121c, respectively. Also, each tire130a,130b,130c,130dat the three back left tire positions D, D′, E, F of the trailer unit102of the vehicle100comprise each at least one tire sensor131a,131b,131c,131d, respectively. Furthermore, each tire140a,140b,140c,140dat the three back right tire positions I, I′, H, G of the trailer unit102of the vehicle100comprise each at least one tire sensor141a,141b,141c. Lastly, each tire150a,150b,150cat the two front right tire positions K, J, J′ of the trailer unit102of the vehicle100comprise each at least one tire sensor151a,151b,151c.

The ECU301and 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 ECU301may be a TPMS/THS sensor reader. The one or more tire sensors111,121,131,141,151,161on the vehicle100may also be referred to as TPMS/THS transponders.

Examples of embodiments of performed by a portable electronic device800for locating tire sensors111,121,131,141,151,161on a vehicle100, the portable electronic device800comprising a camera830and Radio Frequency Identification, RFID, circuitry840, will now be described with reference to the flowchart depicted inFIG.4.FIG.4is an illustrated example of actions, steps or operations which may be performed by the portable electronic device800as described above with reference toFIG.4. Here, it should also be noted that a user of the portable electronic device800may be prompted or instructed via its user interface850, e.g. by a user application running in the portable electronic device800, to follow a step-by-step procedure in order for the actions described below to be carried out by the portable electronic device800. The method may comprise the following actions, steps or operations.

Action401. The portable electronic device800determines the tire location A-L of each tire110,120,130,140,150,160on the vehicle100using image recognition on image data from the camera830. This may be initiated by the portable electronic device800by, via its user interface45a, instructing the user of the portable electronic device800to walk around the vehicle100directing the camera830of the portable electric device800towards each of the tires of the vehicle100while recording camera image data. The image data from the camera830may then be used by existing image recognition software in the portable electronic device800to detect all of the tires110,120,130,140,150,160on the vehicle100. In other words, this means that all of the tires110,120,130,140,150,160on the vehicle100may be optically identified by the portable electronic device800. This is exemplified and illustrated inFIG.5. Here, inFIG.5, only one side of the vehicle100is shown, however, the procedure is continued in the same manner on the other side of the vehicle100for the remaining tires as well.

Action402. After the tire location determination in Action401, the portable electronic device800detects one or more tire sensors111,121,131,141,151,161of each tire110,120,130,140,150,160via the RFID circuitry840as the portable electronic device800sequentially guides a user of the portable electronic device800via a user interface850to motion the portable electronic device800in proximity of each tire110,120,130,140,150,160at each determined tire location A-L. This advantageously means that each tire sensor111,121,131,141,151,161on the vehicle100may be automatically associated with a tire position A-L on the vehicle100.

Here, for example, the guidance of the user is sequential in that the user is guided to each of the determined tire locations A-L in a determined order such that each of the determined tire locations A-L is associated with the one or more tire sensors111,121,131,141,151,161of each tire110,120,130,140,150,160at each determined tire location A-L, respectively. This means that an easy-to-follow step-by-step process guides the user of the portable electronic device800to approach one specific tire position of the determined tire position A-L at a time. This is exemplified and illustrated inFIG.6. Here, a specific tire position, e.g. B, among the detected tire positions A-L may be highlighted, e.g. using different graphics or prompted instructions, in the user interface850to indicate to the user of the portable electronic device800in an easy and simple manner about which tire position, e.g. B, to approach.

According to some embodiments, the user may be guided, at each tire location A-L, to motion the portable electronic device800in proximity of each tire110,120,130,140,150,160according to a determined pattern in order to increase the probability of detecting the one or more tire sensors111,121,131,141,151,161. As the user of the portable electronic device800has approached a specific tire position, e.g. B, the user may be prompted and instructed via the user interface850to move the portable electronic device800in a specific pattern along the tire, e.g. tire120aat tire location B. For example, an application may e.g. show different graphics or prompt instructions indicating to the user how the move the portable electronic device800around the tire. This may be performed in order to be able to locate the one or more tire sensors111,121,131,141,151,161inside the tire110,120,130,140,150,160, e.g. the tire sensor121ain the tire120aat tire location B. For example, as exemplified and illustrated inFIG.7, an application executing in the portable electronic device800may via the user interface850prompt the user to move the portable electronic device800along the circumference of the tire, e.g. around the circumference of the tire120aat tire location B. Thus, the portable electronic device800may locate the tire sensor121a, as well as, any further tire sensors in the tire120aat tire location B, e.g. the tire sensor121a′.

Action403. The portable electronic device800also identifies each of the one or more detected tire sensors111,121,131,141,151,161on the vehicle100. This means, for example, that an RFID/NFC module in the portable electronic device800may interrogate the tire sensors111,121,131,141,151,161in the tires110,120,130,140,150,160, which may respond with their identification information or identity, ID. Thus, by combining the visual information, i.e. the image data, from the camera830and the identities, IDs, received from the RFID/NFC tire sensor reading, each identity of each tire sensor111,121,131,141,151,161may be mapped to a a specific tire position A-L on the vehicle100.

Action404. Optionally, the portable electronic device800may transmit information indicating the identity of each of the one or more detected tire sensors111,121,131,141,151,161associated with each tire110,120,130,140,150,160to an Electronic Control Unit, ECU301on-board the vehicle100. This means that once all of tire sensor111,121,131,141,151,161are mapped to a tire position A-L, the portable electronic device800may inform the ECU301, e.g. a TPMS/THS system, about the mapping. This may, for example, be performed by prompting the user to approach the ECU301and confirm the information transfer of the mapping of each tire sensor111,121,131,141,151,161to a tire position A-L. This may be performed by wire or wirelessly. In some embodiments, the information may be transmitted using WLAN, UWB or Bluetooth wireless communication. This may be advantageous, for example, in case the ECU301is located too far away in the chassis of the vehicle100chassis and is difficult to reach. However, it should be noted that the portable electronic device800is not limited to in-proximity communications. For example, the portable electronic device800may transmit the information via a wired or wireless communications network up to a central server, e.g. a cloud or online server, from which the information later may be transferred to the ECU301in the vehicle100. Also, according to some embodiments, the ECU301and the one or more tire sensors111,121,131,141,151,161on the vehicle100are part of a Tire Pressure Monitor System/Tire Health System, TPMS/THS.

It should also be noted tires110,120,130,140,150,160alone also may have RFID tags or sensors for tire identification that is separate from the tire sensors111,121,131,141,151,161. Here, it should be noted that the portable electronic device800may be used also for detecting the identity of the tire, e.g. tire ID. Further, the portable electronic device800may be used also for pairing the identity of the tire, e.g. tire ID, with the identity of the tire sensor, e.g. tire sensor ID. Also, in case of having other sensor IDs, such as for example, separate pressure and temperature sensors, the portable electronic device800may also be used for pairing these with the tire ID/tire sensor IDs. In other words, the pairing of the different RFID tags or sensors may be performed automatically as the portable electronic device800is motioned about each tire110,120,130,140,150,160as described above.

To perform the method actions for locating tire sensors111,121,131,141,151,161on a vehicle100, the portable electronic device800may comprise the following arrangement depicted inFIG.8.FIG.8shows a schematic block diagram of embodiments of the portable electronic device800. The portable electronic device800comprise a camera830and a Radio Frequency Identification, RFID, circuitry840. Also, the portable electronic device800may comprise a user interface, UX850. It should also be noted that, although not shown inFIG.8, known conventional features of a portable electronic device800, such as, for example, a connection to a power source, e.g. a battery or an electric grid, may be assumed to be comprised in the portable electronic device800but is not shown or described in any further detail in regards toFIG.8.

It should also be noted that some or all of the functionality described in the embodiments above as being performed by the portable electronic device800may be provided by the processing circuitry810executing instructions stored on a computer-readable medium, such as, e.g. the memory820shown inFIG.8. Alternative embodiments of the portable electronic device800may comprise additional components, such as, for example, a determining module813, a detecting module814, and an identification module815, whereby each module may be configured and responsible for providing its dedicated functionality to support the embodiments described herein.

The portable electronic device800or processing circuitry810is configured to, or may comprise the determining module813being configured to, determine the tire location (A-L) of each tire110,120,130,140,150,160on the vehicle100using image recognition on image data from the camera830. Also, the portable electronic device800or processing circuitry810is configured to, or may comprise the detecting module814being configured to, detect one or more tire sensors111,121,131,141,151,161of each tire110,120,130,140,150,160via the RFID circuitry840as the portable electronic device800or processing circuitry810sequentially guides a user of the portable electronic device800via the user interface UX850, to motion the portable electronic device800in proximity of each tire110,120,130,140,150,160at each determined tire location A-L. Further, the portable electronic device800or processing circuitry810is configured to, or may comprise the identification module815being configured to, identify each of the one or more detected tire sensors111,121,131,141,151,161on the vehicle100.

In some embodiments, the guidance of the user may be sequential in that the user is guided to each of the determined tire locations A-L in a determined order such that each of the determined tire locations A-L is associated with the one or more tire sensors111,121,131,141,151,161of each tire110,120,130,140,150,160at each determined tire location A-L, respectively. In some embodiments, the user may be guided, at each tire location A-L, to motion the portable electronic device800in proximity of each tire110,120,130,140,150,160according to a determined pattern in order to increase the probability of detecting the one or more tire sensors111,121,131,141,151,161.

Further, according to some embodiments, the portable electronic device800or processing circuitry810may be configured to, or may comprise the transmitting module812being configured to, transmit information indicating the identity of each of the one or more detected tire sensors111,121,131,141,151,161associated with each tire110,120,130,140,150,160to an Electronic Control Unit, ECU301on-board the vehicle100. In some embodiments, the portable electronic device800or processing circuitry810may be configured to, or may comprise the transmitting module812being configured to, transmit the information using WLAN, UWB or Bluetooth wireless communications.

Furthermore, the embodiments for locating tire sensors111,121,131,141,151,161on a vehicle100described above may be at least partly implemented through one or more processors, such as, the processing circuitry810in the portable electronic device800depicted inFIG.7, together with computer program code for performing 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 circuitry810in the portable electronic device800. 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 portable electronic device800or on a server and downloaded to the portable electronic device800. Thus, it should be noted that the functions of the portable electronic device800may in some embodiments be implemented as computer programs stored in memory, e.g. in the computer readable storage unit820inFIG.8, for execution by processors or processing modules, e.g. the processing circuitry810in the portable electronic device800ofFIG.8.

Those skilled in the art will also appreciate that the processing circuitry810and the computer readable storage unit820described 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 memory, that when executed by the one or more processors such as the processing circuitry810perform 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).

The description of the example embodiments provided herein have been presented for purposes of illustration. The description is not intended to be exhaustive or to limit example embodiments to the precise form disclosed, and modifications and variations are possible in light of the above teachings or may be acquired from practice of various alternatives to the provided embodiments. The examples discussed herein were chosen and described in order to explain the principles and the nature of various example embodiments and its practical application to enable one skilled in the art to utilize the example embodiments in various manners and with various modifications as are suited to the particular use contemplated. The features of the embodiments described herein may be combined in all possible combinations of methods, apparatus, modules, systems and computer program products. It should be appreciated that the example embodiments presented herein may be practiced in any combination with each other. It should be noted that the word “comprising” does not necessarily exclude the presence of other elements or steps than those listed and the words “a” or “an” preceding an element do not exclude the presence of a plurality of such elements. It should further be noted that any reference signs do not limit the scope of the claims, that the example embodiments may be implemented at least in part by means of both hardware and software, and that several “means”, “units” or “devices” may be represented by the same item of hardware.